It is bittersweet to be on the road departing Asahikawa. Being on the road…. always a good feeling. Leaving a place where we have greatly enjoyed its laid back charm and interesting neighbourhood?….not so much.
The pedestrian walkway which starts by our hotel, extends farther than we thought. We rode its length today and discovered more art pieces, such as this fountain with the outstretched hand sculptures the photo. The neighbourhood has made this area into its own community with small businesses, lots of seating and tables, entertainment, arts community. A funky feel.
We know that today will be hot and humid. We are excited to find that we can ride along the river for some distance on a car free cycle route. It reminds us a bit of the ride one can do along the River near Kyoto, except that here they have put up barriers that give lots of room for trikes and loaded touring bikes to use the space. An unexpected bonus.
Another surprise…we bought our tent at the outdoor store, Shigakuso in Sapporo. We knew that there was a 3rd store in this area but had no idea where it was or that we would be riding past it today. Of course we stopped.
You don’t see this everyday. While riding past the sewage treatment plant, we laughed when we saw the painting of a beaver sitting happily on the toilet using a bidet. We will miss this sense of humour when we leave Japan.
Our route is from the remains of an old highway. We are happy that they have had the foresight to keep it open and have provided some signage. The only odd thing is that this is a well kept secret. We always ask at Tourist Offices for local routes, but no one seems to know about it.
We have been seeing eagles along here. One just flew away and it was like the one we saw at the zoo with its vivid yellow feet and beak. A striking looking bird.
The Kumi-Ohashi bridge is a well known landmark. A Japanese fellow was nearby and he came up to me to explain its significance to the Indigenous people, but unfortunately he spoke only Japanese. It happens often that the conversation continues in spite of no understanding of the other’s language. The difference here is that I had no internet, which means no translation. I did my best to look like I understood. This did not deter him from his explanation.
Another humourous Japanese attempt to get one’s attention ….translates as “please slow down”. The poor fellow only has 5 teeth and he relies on a cane. It is the least we can do.
Another kit spotted us. Their colouring camouflages them well but their curiosity makes them easy to spot. These little guys have boundless energy as they pop up, run and jump and keep their eyes on us.
We are a bit concerned as the path is rapidly deteriorating. We will try to get through this as we are hopeful, that the path continues. Crews have been clearing along the path but they haven’t gotten this far.
Enough of this, will try to turn around. We managed this and slowly retraced our way, giving the kits space and distance from us. When suddenly, about 2 feet in front of me, the kit emerged from the undergrowth…it was startled and fearful, I yelped and thankfully the kit ran away.
We realized that the car free route has ended for today…back to the road. We are trying to get to a campground but the route is proving difficult to follow.
And this is the problem of relying on Google Maps with the cycling route selected. We ended up riding on trails alongside farmers fields and ended up at a dam which had a locked gate…no entry! If we could get across the river, the campground is about a Km away. Instead we must backtrack for several Km.
The cows were glad we did. Gradually they all came out of the barn to watch us. They clearly wanted affection but the heavy weeds kept us apart. Liked that the farmer was playing music for them.
We decided to try a nearby village as there will be convenience stores and a hotel there. It all seemed like a good idea until we discovered that the main road is closed due to a festival, which means the hotel is full. We turned around and finally got to the campground, having detoured about 15 Km. The fellow spoke no English and we finally were able to set up our tent and call it a night. Reminder to self….when in unknown terrain in the country….do not use the bike route on Google maps…use the car route.
