After our night in the internet cafe it was time to say goodbye to Hokkaido, roll our bikes onto the ferry, take a nap, and roll off an hour and a half later in the town of Oma on Honshu! I love taking the bike on ferries, it is very hassle free, especially compared to trains and airplanes. Just roll on, make sure it is tied so it won’t fall, and off you go! Oma…
Supershort update: we are now in Akita on the West coast of Honshu, hiding in yet another internetcafe from yet another typhoon that is passing through. This one, Trami, isn’t as bad as the previous one and the worst has passed already, but still strong winds are predicted for tomorrow so we are using that as an excuse to book a night in a hotel and stay here for another day. Now that we finally…
It is incredible how much we sleep this trip: most nights we are in our sleeping bags by 20:00 and then sleep until somewhere between 05:00 and 06:00 in the morning, no alarm clock required. What a luxury! Of course we are a bit more active than usual so it is normal that our bodies require more sleep, but it is also the confirmation of my suspicion that the usual 7-8 hours I give myself…
Beers & chicken skin To celebrate our last evening on Hokkaido we met up with Tai, a cyclist/mountaineer from Kobe who uses his bike to get from mountain to mountain and then hikes up them really fast. We first met him in a rider’s house somewhere in East Hokkaido, and now we were meeting again for beers, Japan style: ice cold in huge quantities and with a choosing of fried things-on-sticks on the side, such…
Feminine disorders Two days ago I used up all my McGuyver credits for this trip by repairing the pump of our stove with a chopstick and some metal packaging material. The pump wouldn’t build up pressure anymore because the little suction cup at the end kept falling off (needs to be replaced, but we don’t have a spare one), so there I was, sitting by the roadside repairing this thing, while Antonio was washing/drying/airing out…
We’re already more than two weeks in Japan (where does the time go?!) and I am barely getting used to these creepy heated toilet seats. The toilet situation in Japan is all over the place. Literally, because there are public restrooms everywhere, which means that we haven’t camped a single night without a toilet. Quite the luxury, considering that we spend most of our nights outside official campgrounds. Rumour has it that other cyclists have…
What even is this world? It is so beautiful here, and perfect for cycling! The next morning in Utoro all was quiet, weatherwise, so we set out for a hike in the national park; Shiretoko. We took the bus there (because restday) and had to attend a lecture and video presentation about bear safety before we were allowed on the trails. Shiretoko is famous for its population of Arctic brown bears (better known as grizzlies)…
After typhoon Jebi ran its course (it wasn’t bad where we were, just stormy) we headed out of Sounkyo towards Onneyu. Whatever leftover wind from Jebi there was, or maybe it was just a normal strong wind, who knows, worked in our favour as we zoomed downhill with a tailwind, and we arrived in Onneyu in no time. There, we did some sight-seeing, set up camp in a free (!) camping, had a good long…
Lazy day to Sounkyo and a sneaky camp We wake up early in Toma, but take our time and have a relaxed breakfast in the konbini across the road, leeching their internet while sipping our coffee. Today will be a short day, 55km or so, with a very gentle climb along the river to Sounkyo where we will have our first rest day. So, today there is no hurry. As we browse the morning news…
(As you might have noticed, I’m a little bit behind with posting. Right now we are in central Hokkaido, safely tucked away in a hotel. Typhoon Jebi is passing us tonight quite far to the west, but is still causing strong winds and overall nasty weather, but nothing like the total chaos it is causing in other parts of the country. Still, we don’t quite trust our tent enough so better to be in an…