We knew we only had 40km to cycle today, so we took it easy in the morning. A short walk down the cliff to the seashore revealed a Shinto torii (shrine gateway). Just up the beach from the gate was an impossibly small shrine.
Another scorcher of a day awaited us as we packed up the tent and headed out on our bikes. This is why we love Hokkaido: Wide open spaces, massive sky…
Like most days on this trip, today we also had lunch at a local restaurant. We’ve found for around 800yen (US$8) we can get a very filling lunch, consisting of rice, some sort of tasty dish, and plenty of vegetables. Having lunch in this way allows us to relax for an hour or so in the hottest part of the day before venturing out again.
Post-lunch activities for me consisted of getting a haircut. I had been playing with the idea of getting a #0 buzzcut for a while. I usually cut my own hair using clippers, at a #1 length. Believe it or not, the jump from #1 to #0 is scary. You’re pretty much just leaving stumps. So I found the most old-school looking barber in town, and asked him to buzz away.
The barber was 81 years old. He’s been doing this since he was 16. He was born in Manchuria, during the Japanese occupation of that area of China. The man was a pro.
The treatment was full and without mercy. He only trimmed my eyebrows a little bit, saying “I don’t understand these young guys these days shaving their eyebrows to a whisp.”
For an 81 year old, he had very steady hands.
After getting all spruced up, we carried on the rest of the way to Tomamae, our stop for the night. Yuhi-gaoka (Sunset Hill) Campground lived up to its name.
