Monthly Archives: August 2014

Our approximate route for the two days: https://goo.gl/maps/suFP8 Inevitably on the last few days of our annual cycle trips here in Hokkaido, I stop taking photos. Things get familiar, and I am less inclined to take out the camera. But that’s not to say that our route on these last two […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Days 14 and 15): Hobetsu to ...

29 Aug, 2014

Route for today: https://goo.gl/maps/M6lbg There are some great cycle shops in Sapporo City, where Haidee and I live. Some are better than others, and usually it’s not the stuff they stock that makes them great. It’s the people working there. Nakamura Cycles is one such shop. Mr. Nakamura himself – the […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 13): Hidaka to Hobetsu

27 Aug, 2014

After the long climb and stressful traffic of yesterday’s Nissho Pass route, we decided to lay low today and take it easy. And it was a beautiful day for it. Sunny but cool and breezy. A truly perfect day among the mountains. We also did some wandering around in town. […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 12): Rest day in Hidaka

26 Aug, 2014

Today’s route (the most stressful of the trip): https://goo.gl/maps/6rVAb The campground at Arashiyama was an interesting one. Most campgrounds we had stayed in so far on this trip had lush grass to pitch the tent on. Arashiyama’s tent sites were dirt. Which means that the idyllic photo below somewhat belies the […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 11): From Arashiyama to Hidaka

25 Aug, 2014

I hadn’t mentioned in yesterday’s post that Honbetsu campground is definitely one of the better ones we’ve stayed at in Hokkaido. Lush grass, mature trees, and obviously popular among the locals. Soon after we left the campground, it was clear it was going to be a scorcher of a day. […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 10): From Honbetsu to Arashiyama

24 Aug, 2014

We had two route options today in order to get to Honbetsu Town. A 110km down-to-the-coast-then-up-again route that would take us into the bustling city of Kushiro (https://goo.gl/maps/ejZrm). A more direct 80km route that would take us across two low ridges via forestry roads (marked on Google but not available […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 9): From Akan to Honbetsu

23 Aug, 2014

0km logged today. All spent in this general vicinity: https://goo.gl/maps/LTTV6 Essentially, the Akan Nature Recreation Campground (阿寒自然休養村野営場) is in a perfect location for spending a leisurely day. There is the International Akan Crane Center over the road, as well as a few road-side stalls selling local produce. And the icing on the […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 8): Rest day and eating ...

22 Aug, 2014

Route for the day: https://goo.gl/maps/0PBAl Another morning coffee shot. And a shot of coffee. I can’t really recommend the two-cup Bialetti mokapot for use on the MSR Whisperlite stove…too perilous a perch. The campground for last night, however, was great. Quiet, dark (many campgrounds in Hokkaido have the grounds’ lights on […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 7): From Lake Shirarutoro to ...

21 Aug, 2014

After the impending drama and doom of last night’s heavy rain, we woke to a much more demure morning: no rain, just low clouds and all-round dampness. As any good (especially wet) mornings should, this morning started with some nice brewed coffee. And of course Haidee’s amazing home-made muesli. The […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 6): From Akkeshi to Shirarutoro ...

20 Aug, 2014

The weather forecast was for rain today, but the morning started out stunning, with golden light as we prepared breakfast. Did we mention this campground is free for tents? Out of all the campgrounds we would end up in on this trip, this was by far the busiest. There were […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 5): From Kiritappu to Akkeshi

19 Aug, 2014

Just a short day today…less than 30km on the bike, but plenty to see, as we spent some time exploring the Kiritappu Wetlands. After getting away from the cow-shaped Motto Kazete campground (we had the place, above, to ourselves), we followed the coast around Hamanaka Bay. The beach would have […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 4): From Hamanaka to Kiritappu

18 Aug, 2014

We got away from Nemuro relatively late, at around 10am. The sun was already up and it promised to be a hot day. In the end we would cycle 71km to a cow-shaped campground. Cow-shaped. I kid you not. But first we did a quick detour to the famous (or […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 3): From Nemuro to Hamanaka

17 Aug, 2014

Like other summer vacations we’ve had, the first few days on the road tend to consist of tying up loose ends. One such loose end was a Skype meeting Haidee had to attend with other academics in an association she is involved in. So we booked a hotel in Nemuro […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 2): From Cape Nosappu to ...

16 Aug, 2014

It seems somewhat paradoxical that I would start a cycle-across-Hokkaido blog mini-series with the title “a train from Sapporo to Nemuro.” But that is the start of our two-week meander by bicycle across the island, from Nemuro to Sapporo; we had to get to Nemuro somehow. And that somehow was […]

Cycling Across Hokkaido, Japan (Day 1): A train from Sapporo ...

15 Aug, 2014