Day 4 - Lake Toya to Toyoura - 35kms
Last night it rained again and the wind picked up. Pleased to say I stayed dry and the tent remained upright!
This morning it was raining. I was able to get most of the gear packed away during a couple of breaks in the rain. I headed to the volcano at Showashinzan. Took about a hour to get there. Rained a lot for most of the ride. But when I got there it stopped. I was able to have a short walk to the red peak. This formed after an eruption in the 1940's. As it looked clear I took the cable car to the summit. The view across the lake and area was great. That was until I got to the summit. I literally got out of the cable car and it rained. I was still wearing my waterproofs and thought I do the walk to the caldera. Was not a good idea. About 5 minutes into the walk the rain turned into gale like conditions and thick fog covered the area. I decided to turn back. Which was a good idea, as it was just getting worse. I came back down the mountain and it was still raining heavily. I needed to decide which way I was going to go. The original plan was to ride towards Lake Kuttara. Looking at the weather for today and tomorrow it didn't seem look a great choice. Instead I rode back to Lake Toya and took the main road to the coast. It meant I had to go through a couple of long tunnels. Thankfully both of these had excellent sidewalks. Also taking the tunnels meant I was able to dry out a little. I was quickly descending and I could see the coast. I stopped at Toyoura. It is a small fishing village with a camp spot, onsen and restaurant (shaped like a ship!). I decided I'd stay here for the night. Very happy I did, as the onsen was fantastic and just what I needed after getting drenched. The restaurant was pretty good as well. Looking at the forecast for the next week the rain appears to be going away and will be replaced by a bit of sun. yeah! |
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Day 5 - Toyoura to Hakodate - 85kms
It was a nice surprise to not wake up to rain this morning. There were still plenty of grey clouds in the hills near by. With sunrise being so early, I was riding by 5am. I rejoined the main road and took a couple of detours along the coast. Which gave me same nice views.
Today I decided I would skip a bit of the ride which didn't seem that scenic and also the grey clouds were closing in. I caught the local train at Oshamanbe. Didn't take long to fold and bag the bike. I bought a ticket through to Onuma. Which was about 80kms down the line. The train was all of one carriage with about 5 passengers. I arrived at Onuma before 11am. I first had a ride around the lake, which was about 12kms. After I had a walk through Onuma Quasi-National Park. This park has beautiful views across the lake to Mt. Komagatake. And the sun came out whilst I was wandering around the park. When I finished I continued my ride down the main highway to Hakodate. It didn't take long, thanks to a downhill and tailwind. I am spending a couple of nights here. So tomorrow will be my first rest day. So far the trip has been going really well. I'm loving the scenery, camping and onsens. Be nice if the rain would ease off a bit. |
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Day 6 - Sightseeing in Hakodate
Last night, as seems to be a part of my daily routine, I went to the local onsen and enjoyed a nice soak it the hot pools. Such a fantastic idea, goes so well after a day on the bike.
This morning, after I got the exciting laundry done, I got the tram to Goryōkaku. Goryōkaku is a star shaped fortified area. They have built a fantastic lookout tower. Gave me pretty good views of the area.
When I finished looking around the area, instead of getting the tram I decided to have a walk back via the fish markets. Hakodate is renowned in Japan for its seafood. When I got there the fish and varied other creatures looked great. I decided to have lunch in the busiest place I could find. Great choice I made. The food was fantastic. I got to try sea urchin for the first time. Let's say it was interesting.
I continued my walk through the older part of town where there are a lot of touristy shops and lovingly restored buildings. I got back to my guest house, which is in a great quiet area. I cleaned the bike before heading out again.
You can get a cable car up the side of the hill. Me being me I thought as it was a rest day I have a walk up! The walk went through very green woods. It was on a nice gentle incline. Took about 45 minutes to get to the top. The views down to Hakodate were brilliant. I decided I'd wait until sunset to get some night shots of Hakodate.
After I joined everyone else catching the cable car back down the hill. For dinner I went to a local hamburger chain called Lucky Pierrot. It's seems to be 1950/60's themed. Very kitschy! I ordered a burger and they lady serving me rang a bell and shouted out to everyone one in the diner what I had just ordered!
About ten minutes later she walked out and again rang the bell. The burger was huge. Now I could understand why she was doing what she was doing. I have to say though the burger was pretty good. A combination of beef and chicken. I even got a card saying (according to Google translate) "Citizenship You got a perfect completion of Futosho burger with a rare stomach and spirit power. In commemoration of the fact that the happiness of the stomach and was guaranteed with the sound of the bell, I will recognize it here!"
After my eventful dinner I had a walk back to the guest house. It's a lovely little house towards the edge of town. Tomorrow I'm catching the train to Kikonai to commence my next leg of the trip.
This morning, after I got the exciting laundry done, I got the tram to Goryōkaku. Goryōkaku is a star shaped fortified area. They have built a fantastic lookout tower. Gave me pretty good views of the area.
When I finished looking around the area, instead of getting the tram I decided to have a walk back via the fish markets. Hakodate is renowned in Japan for its seafood. When I got there the fish and varied other creatures looked great. I decided to have lunch in the busiest place I could find. Great choice I made. The food was fantastic. I got to try sea urchin for the first time. Let's say it was interesting.
I continued my walk through the older part of town where there are a lot of touristy shops and lovingly restored buildings. I got back to my guest house, which is in a great quiet area. I cleaned the bike before heading out again.
You can get a cable car up the side of the hill. Me being me I thought as it was a rest day I have a walk up! The walk went through very green woods. It was on a nice gentle incline. Took about 45 minutes to get to the top. The views down to Hakodate were brilliant. I decided I'd wait until sunset to get some night shots of Hakodate.
After I joined everyone else catching the cable car back down the hill. For dinner I went to a local hamburger chain called Lucky Pierrot. It's seems to be 1950/60's themed. Very kitschy! I ordered a burger and they lady serving me rang a bell and shouted out to everyone one in the diner what I had just ordered!
About ten minutes later she walked out and again rang the bell. The burger was huge. Now I could understand why she was doing what she was doing. I have to say though the burger was pretty good. A combination of beef and chicken. I even got a card saying (according to Google translate) "Citizenship You got a perfect completion of Futosho burger with a rare stomach and spirit power. In commemoration of the fact that the happiness of the stomach and was guaranteed with the sound of the bell, I will recognize it here!"
After my eventful dinner I had a walk back to the guest house. It's a lovely little house towards the edge of town. Tomorrow I'm catching the train to Kikonai to commence my next leg of the trip.
