Yesterday, we forgot to fill our camp stove fuel bottle with gasoline. This meant no warm porridge for breakfast this morning. Which meant a convenience store breakfast for us.
For me this meant club sandwiches, a rice ball, yogurt, and coffee.
But wait, I get ahead of myself. First we woke up. To glorious sunshine.
Then we went for a walk. And saw little green sprouts of things reaching for the sky after 4 months covered in snow.
And we took photos of ourselves enjoying the natural surroundings.
One of the first things we did once on the road, and after we had our healthy convenience store breakfast, was get fuel for the stove. 700ml of the top-shelf hard stuff set us back 93 yen.
And then we were on the road again. For all of 15 minutes, before we chanced upon a farm-direct vege stall with a fresh coffee stall right next to it. This was turning out to be a cracker start to the day.
Couldn’t really ask for better weather. A stiff tailwind breeze and the classic Hokkaido big skies and wide open farmland.
As we approached the town of Yubari (recently declared bankrupt and has appointed a 31 year-old mayor), we chanced upon the Taki-no-ue (Above the Waterfalls) Park. Most impressive in this nice park were the bridges…
and public toilets with impossibly large single-occupancy urinals.
Prerequisite double-selfie was partook before moving on.
Past Yubari (or, more precisely Shin-Yubari), we hit our first major climb of the trip. A stiff 315-meter pass, with the usual tunnel near the top. Tunnels have a curious effect on Haidee, inasmuch as she tends to speed up.
Our destination for the night was Hobetsu Campground, about 15km north of Hobetsu Town center itself. For 1,000yen (or, as we found out later should have been 500yen), a tent can be put up on the grounds there. Spacious, cheap, and with a hotspring only 2.5km away, it was a super spot.
And curiously enough, the onsen was part onsen, part post office! Hakua Onsen/Inasato Post Office.
The evening got cold as soon as the sun left for the day. On the menu for dinner was pasta with a pesto/mushroom sauce. Hobetsu Campground has a great covered cooking area with lights.
Distance for the day: 55km
Wonderful photographs. Funny to see the canned coffee labelled Mt Rainier. We’re coming up on a string of nice days too here in the Pacific Northwest USA. Wished we had a string of national holidays to spur a little mini bicycle tour.
Thanks Jason. I’m not sure why the brand is ‘Mt Rainier’….an association with Seattle, and Seattle being famous for coffee perhaps?