Day - 7 Kikonai to Esashi - 119kms
This morning I rode down to the main station in Hakodate where I would catch the train to Kikonai. Again it means I can skip a little of the not so interesting stuff. I arrived in Kikonai at 8am. Doesn't take long to put the bike together.
Once I left the little town the scenery was very lush. I would be following the coast down to Matsumae. Which was around 50kms away. The coast road was very stunning. There were a series of snow tunnels which were a lot of fun to ride through. The weather today is great. A lovely blue sky and not too warm. I arrived at Matsumae by 12pm. Matsumae has a castle which I went to have a look out. It was a lot more interesting looking at the castle from the outside than within. In April/May this town is very popular due to all the cherry blossom. Today there were about 20 tourists. As I didn't spend as long as I thought I would in Matsumae, I continued to head up the other side of the peninsula. I picked up a good tailwind, which helped a lot. The scenery on this side was no less spectacular than before. I ended up riding into Esashi at 5pm. Esashi is a small town which has a ferry which takes you to Okushiri Island. I'll be heading there tomorrow morning. Tonight I am camping in town near the harbour. A little free spot. Great location, five minutes walk to the shop for dinner. Today has been a pretty good day for a bike ride. Great roads, scenery and the weather just made in perfect. |
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Day 8 - Okushiri Island - 59kms
This morning I was awake at 4am. A great little camp spot. There was no rush to get up as my ferry didn't leave until 9.30am. So I spent the time having breakfast, tidying my stuff up and getting some extra food for the trip to the island.
Super easy getting the ferry, I even got a complimentary flag for the bike. The crew let me on first, took my bike and tied it up with great care. The trip itself took a couple of hours. I mainly relaxed in these big areas set aside for the passengers to rest. When I arrived on the island I headed south following the coast. I stopped at a massive natural arch on the coast. It was pretty impressive. I continued south until I arrived at a museum. The museum was built to commentate and educate about the devastating tsunami that hit this region in 1997. Where the museum is was once where part of the town was. It was literally wiped off the map that night. The museum had a great video about how it occurred and what the response has been. They have built extra flood tsunami protection right around the island. It must be one of the best protected islands now. I also had my lunch at the museum before heading up the west side of the island. This side is far less populated and has very rugged outcrops along the coast. I stopped at the winery on the island. Tried a few different ones and decided to grab a bottle to have with dinner. After the winery I went to the onsen. It's very small but has a nice view. The water was so hot though. I could only keep my legs in! I did feel very refreshed though. I had another 25km to go until I got to camp. I passed on old onsen which was damaged during the tsunami. All that remains is the old pump. Straight after here I began my climb over the island to get back on to the other side. It was a very nice climb. I noticed these grey clouds starting to roll in. The scenery was of course lush and green. No cars, so very peaceful. When I got to the summit I had a great downhill run pretty much to camp. I am camping at Sainokawara Park Camping Ground. I have the place all to myself. I set up my tent besides the cafe, as it is very windy here. The cafe makes a good windbreak. I enjoyed my dinner with the wine I had bought. Today the weather was pretty good. Tomorrow not too sure. |
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Day 9 - Sainokawara Park Camping Ground to Shimamaki - 50kms
Last night, at about 3.30am, my tent was being hammered by the wind and rain. When the rain eased I moved my tent next to the toilet! It gave me extra shelter and also kept the tent dry. The bike got to shelter in the disabled toilets. As my ferry didn't leave until 12pm, I stayed in my tent for a little longer.
When I was packing all my gear, the lady who owned the cafe turned up. She invited me over to get warm. Made me a coffee and gave me squid! She was so hospitable and kind. Neither she or I could understand what we were saying to each other, but that did not matter. After about a hour in the lady's cafe I rode to the ferry terminal, which was about 10km away. Thankfully didn't take too long, as the rain started to pour just as I arrived. I took off my wet waterproofs and left them next to the entrance. The ticket lady saw me and directed her colleague to turn on the heater so I could warm up. That was a great help, as it helped dry out my shoes before I caught the ferry at 12pm. The trip to Setana was about 90 minutes. On board the ferry the crew were fantastic, they took all my waterproofs and put them in a drying room. An hour later I had lovely dry clothes again. When we got to Setana the weather did not look as wet as when we left the island. I continued my northward ride up the coast. I had a nice tailwind push me along. Along the way there were a number of nice waterfalls near to the side of the road. Also I lost count on the number of tunnels I rode through. But in total the ride up the coast, for about 10kms I was in a tunnel! I arrived at Shimamaki at around 4pm. It just started to rain again when I stopped at the local hostel. They confirmed I could stay the night. Pleased I didn't have to camp tonight. Once I was all cleaned up we had dinner. Dinner was, as is the norm, super tasty. A combination of different fish and sauces. Even though the weather could had been a lot better (especially in the morning), I had a great day. The number of different people which went out of their way to make sure I was okay. It was really appreciated. |
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