We love our new tent made by Arai, classified as 2 to 3 person. This Japanese company has long been makers of tents and are known for their high quality, spacious design and being lightweight. Our tent weighs a bit over 3 lbs and the wonder of it is that it comfortably accommodates Barry who is 6’2”. He can sit up with room to spare and even stretch out. All this in a small footprint free-standing tent that costs about half of what we would spend in Canada. We now feel comfortable that we can camp on cycling trips as it fits into a small package and is very comfortable.
7-Eleven 700 metres away…Barry rode over and brought back a hot delicious dinner and some Japanese non-alcoholic beer. On his way back, Barry saw a strange creature having a dust bath in the field. Being the “Fox Whisperer”, he thought it might be a fox, but in getting a better look he saw the long legs and pointed ears and realized it was a very large Jack rabbit. The campground provides lockers that are for charging your devices…we took advantage of this and filled it with our phones, ipad, lights etc.
We awoke to a cold and drizzly morning. Rain is forecast for 10 am and sure enough, on the dot, it started to rain. How do the forecasts here continue to be so accurate?
The campground extends for acres and we had a lot of choice…no specified tent spots. Our entertainment last night was to watch, with some concern, campers push their heavy load up the steep hill to a coveted spot on a ledge or in the trees. This morning, we would watch them navigate the steep hill with their heavy load. It would take 2 guys, one in front and one taking the rear, to hold the heavy cart from taking off. Glad we chose a spot on the bottom.
This is a vending machine for fresh Hokkaido milk…our granola will be extra good with this whole milk. Yum
A beautiful park like campground. This is called Sunrise Auto Camp and it cost 1600¥ ($16) and the shower ¥200 for 10 minutes. It was Saturday night and the campground was busy but since it stretches over several acres, we had no trouble finding a spot.
The grounds extend for some distance with small cabins and large 2 storey cabins for rent. We rode our trikes around the campground to check it out. Here are a few photos. As it is Sunday morning and check out is at 10, most people have left.
This campground is adjacent to a neighbourhood and a city park. We highly recommend it. Lovely spot.
Yesterday when we arrived, these small cabins were full. Most people had outside tents for eating etc that covered the grass and paved section. The whole family comes and they clearly love to eat. We can imagine that they must look at our set up and just shake their heads.
We love riding along rice fields. We have had the good fortune of having arrived when they were planting the rice and now some fields are ready for harvest. It is an ongoing practice through the season, it seems to us.
Finally the rain has subsided and we can carry on without our rain gear, we hope. But, as usual we have a good headwind to keep us company through the day. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right.
It is Sunday and there is much traffic. Our attempt to not ride on the main road came to an end when we were confronted by a substantial deterioration in the road…or in this case, the path. We turned around.
Roller roller coaster street is a country road that has significant continuous ups and downs. We’ll save that for another day..perhaps when we have a car!
I think this would be a nice way to see this spectacular area from Furano to Biei, visit some farms and enjoy riding a vintage train. However, they don’t take bikes.
Lunch was a bit of a problem. It is always a challenge to order at these places as you rely on instinct or the kindness of strangers to place your order in an automated machine with no translation. We did ok..we both got dipping noodles. The problem was, we forgot they were “dipping” noodles and we poured the hot yummy sauce on the cold noodles and fresh veg. A tip if you order this dish…don’t do what we did.
Upstairs at the Michi was an incredible exhibit of a photographer's photos of the area. It’s funny how things go…just yesterday Barry saw a long legged Jack rabbit in the field by the campground, and today, we are admiring a photo of one.
We have grown to appreciate that Japanese people are amazing gardeners. We see them toiling in their fields on their own, the old fashioned way and by hand. Weeding with a hoe (we never see any weeds), creating furrows for a large field of potatoes, all of it is back breaking work but clearly it is a way of life they love.
Automated, built in bidets are in every bathroom we know of…from Convenience Stores, to Gas Stations, to grotty park bathrooms….it is a way of living that we have gotten used to.
We have made it to Asahikawa and we really like what we see. Barry and I are a bit peculiar as we often find that we like places that are not tourist draws. In fact, the description of this city is that it is the second largest city in Hokkaido and has little to appeal to a tourist. We like the feeling here, it is laid back with wide streets and a beautiful setting. We want to visit the Sake Museum and Tour with tastings, plus we have heard good things about the zoo, so we may do that too. Or we will just set out and explore. Until tomorrow.
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles) Total: 1,887 km (1,172 miles)
10 months ago