Day 18 - 22: Sapporo II & Hakodate

My time in Sapporo just a week ago was already memorable and I was so keen to come back. The city is lively and I made new friends here thanks to Hata San, the Buddha bar owner, who dragged me into his bar from the streets as I left miserably from a nearby eatery a week again. Time to say hello again :)

Being back in Sapporo made me really happy. The connections I made from the first evening to the last, just over a week ago made this city special, bring it to life. This time i stayed in JR Inn, a Japanese Railway operated budget hotel. It was close to the station which is why I needed, having to staff all my stuff and bike back to the station or pack everything there. Either way, i picked it and it was a great choice. A modern budget hotel with only shower facilities but a public bath and great common area with free drinks in the basement. I was probably their best customer at both, reading 2 bios there, one on Japanese gardens and one on Onsens. Both were really interesting as i really like these 2 features of Japan. The garden book gave me some inspiration on which garden to visit in Tokyo and the onsen book was just generally interesting to see how this culture of public bathing has evolved. It seems that nowadays it’s sill somewhat popular but in so cities may be dying out as most people now have baths in their homes.

This isn’t a day-to-day account as such as I officially stopped cycling but more of a diary entry. My bike remained parked near the hotel until the very fateful evening when Sapporo decided to pound my bike for having parked it apparently in a bad location (where also so many other bikes parked). This was on Friday to Saturday night. With the bike pound only open during weekdays I had little choice but to sadly say goodbye to it mentally and to arrange for a new owner for it. My selection process was pretty simple. Ask someone at Buddha bar. The bike was already 3 years old, in need of service (rear wheel spike and alignment), but maybe also a total rear wheel replacement as some spokes cannot be tightened any further and it also should need a rear cassette and chain upgrade as they were heavily used by now. Overall though I’d imagine the bike was still worth £150-£250, especially considering the great tyres (£80), good saddle, and overall being a solid bike. It’s a great gift so I would just make someone happy with it. Eventually I gave the keys to Max, one of the bar staff at Buddha bar. He’s got to free it from the bike pound, get it fixed up a little. He was very happy and so was I

During the days in Sapporo I did a lot of touristy stuff like taking the cable car to mount Moiwa, a mountain that towers over the city with its famous Hokkaido Shrine and view over the city generally. To do so I had to take the cable car, which does a loop around the city. It’s pretty inexpensive and a great way around for ¥200 (£2). I also checked out the subway, which isn’t just a subway but another city underground. As it gets pretty cold in winter, it seemed that you can easily walk to and from many places simply underground, with shops and food places abound or just take the underground to get around town. 

I used the onsen facility in the hotel at least 2 times a day sometimes even 3. My toes were still numb, even after 2 days of rest but getting better. My things and lower back was still hurting but also getting better. I do wonder, I’ve spent 3 weeks in barefoot shoes (Vivo Trail II), which literally have no cushioning. It took some time to get used to barefoot shoes generally, which I stayed to wear 6 months ago but I’d not spend entire days or weeks in them. Not sure if being solely on concrete and on uncushioned shoes is good/ bad or just a matter of getting used to them. 

Discovering Sapporo second time around was just as much fun. Now that I knew a few people here and having a “place to hang out”(Buddha bar), it’s made everything so much more enjoyable. I’ve discovered a great sushi place where I would either have lunch or dinner and I’d have 2 coffees a day usually in Starbucks to either write some notes/ Blog, do a little bit of work or just chill out. The evenings at Buddha Bar were always different, new people, stranded tourists both local or foreign were always up for a chat. I met some cool people from Osaka, Italy and Sapporo alike. We partied a little with the owner and bar staff and rounds went both ways, either the owner gave some or punters. One evening, having met a recent arrival from Osaka named Taiga, and a guy from Italy and his local girlfriend, we went out for karaoke in a tiny place and later went to a club. Gosh, I must have been the oldest person in there and the music, albeit electronic (yeh), was  super annoying and “hyped”, targeting a much younger, maybe less mature audience. Maybe it was the style here but the nightclub didn’t see us for long as we ran out an hour later all pretty tipsy by now. 

The next day it was time to leave Sapporo and to go to Hakodate, from where I’d take the Shinkansen back down to Tokyo. There is a direct train connecting Sapporo and Hakodate BT it takes 4h and isnt particularly fast. It was ok for me. I just had to ran to Buddha bar, give my key for the bike to whoever I could find, have a last coffee at Starbucks and go to Sapporo Station, where I had already bought my train tickets he day before. I reduced my luggage by one bag with better packing and having lost some of my stuff anyway, less clothes, less food. It was still a big travelling bag, one of my bike bags and a big backpack. It was heavy and annoying to carry and I was imagining also carrying my bike at that point. I’m a way I was ok having left it as it would have been such a pain to carry it around. 

The journey to Hakodate was smooth but long, I dozed off for a bit but also enjoyed the travel past mountains and along the coast. I was extremely miserable though. This marked the end of my 3 weeks vacation, the journey back. 

Hakodate I

I arrived in Hakodate around 2, checked into my extreme budget hotel right opposite the station and tried to figure out what to do. I was still very sad and wasn’t sure what was going to make this feeling go away. I didn’t bother unpacking, took my WiFi device, phone, wallet and ran out of the hotel. One of the tourist destinations is the castle but it was 3.2lm away and I felt in no shape to walk there and it was getting dark in an hour. I made it 300m before discovering (google maps) that this was the place where the last samurai died. The last samurai (Hijikata Toshizō) fighting for the Tokugawa shogunate, tragically died here in Hakodate. Not without a fight. His death and the battle of Hakodate (函館戦争) took Japan into the Meiji area. 

Finally, by 1872, the daimyōs (feudal lords), past and present, were summoned before the Emperor, where it was declared that all domains were now to be returned to the Emperor. All complied and were given a strong voice in a now united Japan. This also accelerated the growth of Japan as an industrialised nation (...Thanks Wikipedia). 

I saw the small shrine that marked the Hijikata Toshizō Deathplace Monument, where I made a quick stop before deciding to go somewhere else. I had dinner in a small ramen place and even though I told them that I don’t eat mean, the ramen was still full of tiny pieces. Oh well, they’ve made it. I better eat (most) of it. After dinner I decided to walk to Mount Hakodate (2km) to take the cable car for a night view of Hakodate. The city seemed dead to me. There were few people around and only at the cable car did it get busy. I went up, took some pictures but wasn’t “feeling” it. I went down, walked back and looked for somewhere to go. Google suggested a little bar with a friendly bar tender and foreign hang out. I still sat down on a bench, by the harbour to take stock of the last few weeks and be more miserable. 

Eventually I’d get to the bar which was close to the hotel. Here I met two young guys, both working on oil ships that take oil from Sapporo to Hakodate for 2 months before having a month off. They were form Yokohama and from Nagoya. We had a few drinks together and one of them spoke pretty good English. The female bar tender was pretty awesome, liked 90s hip hop (as I do), had most of my favourite CDs and was playing “Things to come”, a HG Wells classic from 1936. My kinda bar. Good. My mood slowly lifted being with people. Eventually one of the guys left and me and the other guy went for some food close by. I had fried potatoes and a German beer and we chatted to the exclusively local people in this tiny 6-seat food joint. I was ready for bed and we said good bye. 

Hakodate II 

3 random things happened today. 

On my way into town this morning I saw another foreigner waiting for the bus, just like me. He had a friendly face so I said hi and how are you? We quickly realised we were both cycle enthusiasts having spent a similar amount of time in Hokkaido. He was from Quebec and has been doing bike tours every year for the last 7 years since hitting retirement: http://alainricard.blogspot.ca/ We spent a few hours checking out the castle and talking about the meaning of life (no conclusions reached), life choices and how important it is to enjoy life now, as opposed to “saving up for retirement” to enjoy life then. We talked a lot about journeys and what they mean and how cycling and travelling adds to life in general, about making choices, being and staying uncomfortable, discovering new things and meeting new people. We were in broad agreement. He also said he gives talks in Quebec on his travels, as there is always an audience that wants to explore cycling tours or just like to hear of others people adventures. I’ve done this too, 2x in an old people home back in 2009. I think I’ll do it again back home in London. 

We checked out Goryukaku, a special place in Japanese history as it was here where the last remaining shogunate forces were beaten by the incoming Meiji government. There was a lot to learn in the castle about the history of it, the history of Japan and Hakodate itself. We also stumbled into a re-enactment of the fight scene of the last samurai. Good times 

Then, on our way out from the castle we saw this gentlemen (Japanese would probably refer to him as “Otaku”, meaning geek/nerd). With his “friend”, Nini, a girl puppet he had on his lap, sitting on a cloth. I asked if I could take a picture and he said sure. I asked his dolly how she was “Genki desu-ka, Nini? and he answered that “she’s fine”!

Then, we both saw a crow that had a nut in its beak. It flew over a road and waited for traffic to stop before throwing the nut into the air to drop it on the street. Intelligent crow I thought at first. But then, why not drop it somewhere with no cars so you don’t get run over. I had seen many sea urchins (the black, spiney balls) and clams being opened by sea birds 🦅 letting them fall on concrete so their shells crack. Nope, this crow had a different technique. The nut didn’t crack, it was way too hard (Japanese chestnuts have 4 chambers, not just 2 like in Europe and are much more sturdy). I was like haahaa, silly crow. Only for the traffic light to turn green again and for cars to zoom down. On car drive over the nut, and cracked it. The crow patiently sat on its power cable waiting for traffic to subside and to enjoy its nut. Wow, intelligent crow after all

It’s time to go to Shin-Hakodate, the Shinkansen terminal. From here a 4h ride to Tokyo (Ueno) and then. 40min ride to Kashiwa, home for the next few weeks as I pursue my martial arts activities. I’ll also be back at work, being able to work remotely and focusing on “going big” with our charity Hatch. It’s good to be able to work here as I’m generally 8h ahead and can can things done whilst London still sleeps...

There’s a typhoon sweeping the country, again, and I hope it won’t be too bad like the last one. I know one airport is closed and some trains will stop running but I also know it will be ok. 

Thanks Hokkaido, I’m sad to leave today, back to Tokyo...by Shinkansen.

Day 17: The Wall

The day started early, as usual as I couldn’t sleep any longer than 6am. I tried but it wasn’t possible the hostel room was too warm and people were getting up too at 6.30. I told the hostel staff to turn the room temp down from 22C to somewhere like 16C but I think they only managed about 20C, way too warm to sleep. My last porridge with banana and raisins. I shared it with some Malaysians who never seem to be going out anywhere. Either pot noodle evening or brought-in sandwiches in the morning/ evening (or vice versa). Same thing the bar owner said yesterday, they seem to be doing Japan on the cheap. Fine by me. I talked to the 4 Malaysians over breakfast but it was hard as they always went back to talking To each other. Again, fine by me. I was mentally preparing for the journey ahead. One of the longest cycles and over some challenging terrain again: 112km - 50Km mountains and over 60km hilly and flat. I’ve done this journey just a week ago but in reverse. I knew I wanted to stop in Mikasa, just after all the mountains. That was my lunch goal. 

I was already packed and left the hostel at 8.30. I have always been pinching about my bike lock key and now the hostel key (¥20K fine for loss) so I kept the key always safe. I had already lost one bike lock key along the journey so I was marked and generally bad with keys anyway. Checking out was fine, the key returned. 

The bike was waiting for me. A last saddling up to get to my almost final destination for this trip (Sapporo first, then Hakodate to get to the Bullet train). But it was my last day cycling. I had lost some of my luggage along the way as the rear rack was way smaller. Regardless, it remained a hefty beast. The first Kilometers into the mountains were awesome. It was pretty nippy at around 12C but I had only my cycle shorts and a short cycle shirt. I just had to keep moving to keep warm. I stopped at a shrine just outside Furano to ask for a safe journey. Something I’d done ever so often in various places.

I was highly motivated to get over the mountains and felt really energised. No matter whether it went up or down, I kept pedalling hard. Before I knew it I had done 35Km just after 10.30, pretty good going I thought. I stopped about twice to drink and have a banana but I felt fine. Then all of a sudden, something was wrong with my bike. It just wouldn’t move anymore. I mean it did but even pedalling hard didn’t move it as it used to. I struggled for a few hundred metres before stopping. I checked the breakers whether they were on by any chance, nope. I continued. It just seemed to get worse, even on the downhill it didn’t move properly, I had to keep pedalling hard. Eventually, on an uphill slope with a parking space I pulled in. Tested cycling up, down, rolling. Somehow it was fine, but it wasn’t. By that time I had already dislocated the rear brake completely, just in case. The rear wheel had a buckle anyway from the spikes that broke and were replaced but the spoke tension was so high on some, you couldn’t pull it straight again

1000 thoughts were racing through my mind. I was so far away from anywhere, in the middle of nowhere. If the rear wheel had caved in, I’d be screwed. Who would I call, how would I get away from here? 

Eventually I made it up the slope for another hundred metres before pulling into a side path. This time I took off all my luggage, tested the bike again on the sandy road and it seemed fine without the luggage. Was the pressure in the rear wheel making it become sticky? Would I have to leave stuff behind? Hat would be bad in so many ways, polluting the environment, being an inconvenience to someone and loosing valuable equipment. I mean, I can loose the tent, clothes but not the bike bag (2Kg) to put the bike in for the train journey. Damn. I checked the breakers again, adjusted the levers but eventually kept it dislocated. 

Screw it, i thought. I just need to stay calm, relax, have some water, have another banana. I got back on my bike. It was still so hard to pedal. Every meter cost me so much mental and physical energy. Then it hit me. This was the wall. I’ve not experienced something like this before. Total exhaustion, physically and mentally. The bike was fine, I wasn’t.

Was I too eager to get to the end of this journey? Did I exhaust my resources to get to my end destination? Why did I want to get there quickly? The mountains I had to cross were no joke but also nothing I hadn’t done before. 

Faced with this situation I just thought to myself, just keep pedalling. It may just take longer but you’ll get to Mikasa, at least. It’s 61km from Furano and it’s the end of the mountains. This thought kept me alive, by now I saw a sign Mikasa - 21km. That didn’t sound too bad. I had put my backpack on and off again, thinking I could relieve pressure on the rear wheel but the pressure on me was too much. My inner thighs were sore from the uphill battle and cycling in general. Adding more weight to myself only made it worse, quickly. So, backpack off

There were a few tunnels to get through one of them super long. Like 2-3Km and another one in such bad condition I was happy I had my bike light on to shine the way and avoid the potholes. All the while whilst not wanting to be taken over by anything big as there was no side strip. So, I placed myself firmly in the middle of my lane, telling traffic that they’ll just have to wait. It’s the best I could do as I already had a few close encounters with lorries on the way up who overtook me despite oncoming traffic. Too close for comfort. 

Eventually I reached Lake Katzurazawa, site of a huge new damn building project. I knew a big downhill part was to follow as I remembered how I struggled up here a week ago. The traffic was pretty bad by now, many lorries. There was a traffic block and a lot of cars and lorries cued up, I was behind a lorry. I took all my strength to stay behind it and not get overtaken by the lorry behind me. That meant pedalling, pedalling really hard. The downhill got steeper, the road got worse. All of a sudden I must be at 40km/h or 50km/h, still trailing the lorry. The road was only good in the middle and I had to use all my strength to hold the bike steady, then there were lengthways cuts on the road, my bike seemed to be swimming on them, just about staying on track. I felt I could go slower, I had to keep the pace. A few huge pumps in the road didn’t make this any easier. I gripped the handle bars tightly and pedalled harder. At that point I felt not in control but being controlled. Eventually the road got better and the downhill section stopped. What a ride. I felt throughly energised and back in form. Mikasa was just another 10km or so. I can do this 

As I arrived in Mikasa I knew what i was gonna do. Surprise the ice cream lady on the side of the road in the middle of town. We had a good chat a week ago and I also bought one of the fossils she was selling, something Mikasa is famous for. She really was surprised to see me again. We had a quick chat before I smelled something. Someone was cooking something somewhere. I asked the icecream lady. And she said there’s a soba place across the road. Yes, lunchtime. The little place was so busy, bikers, army people, locals, travellers. For a tiny town like Mikasa, surprising. I got the last free table and ordered hot noodles with egg inside. That felt good. I had to put on my jacket on the downhills as it got really cold, being stuck in wet cycle clothes again. The warm broth put energy in my body and I slowly came back to my former self. 

After lunch, I spend another 30min talking to Ms Hareyama...over a huge ice cream I bought. She said she had to go into the next biggest town to renew her health and safely license for the shop and stay closed tomorrow. We talked about her travels, and her upcoming journey to Europe. Then I sat in the back, soaking up the sun. She surprise me with a free coffee which I accepted gladly. 

Time to get back on the bike. Mikasa was also halftime on the journey to Sapporo. But now it would only be hilly, no more huge mountains to climb before getting flat towards Sapporo. My strength was back, the bike was fine. The next couple of hours until 2 went by going up and down country side lanes and highways. Still lots of cars but I didn’t care. Since Mikasa there was only headwind, sometimes straight frontal sometimes a bit from the side, but always headwind. Again, nothing I could do but to keep pedalling. 

Eventually, cities, Ebetsu was close. It’s the next biggest city that seemed to merge into Sapporo eventually. I had eaten all the bananas and almost finished my 2L of pocary sweat (topped up with water by Ms Hareyama). The satnav was having issues at times as I switched between car/ pedestrian mode. Before I got back into town, there was a long stretch of superhighway to clear. It feels weird being on a motorway with a bike. But it’s not forbidden. In fact, there was a road cyclist, spandex, expensive bike and all. I chased him down and stayed behind him for a good few kilometres. That was fun. As he was wiping his sweat off his face and flicking it away with his hand I got a few drops on my face (thank god i had my glasses on). At this point I was back in my old form. I wasn’t even sweating and despite my load and non-roadbike, easily kept up with the road racer. I stayed in his slipstream and could have overtaken him at any point as he was actually going slower than I was before. That was fun. Eventually he checked his odometer and watch and turned off the highway. Thanks for the ride I thought. That got me another 3-4km closer to Sapporo. It was now 2pm and I had another 30km or so to go

Being back in town (Ebetsu first), meant more traffic lights, start and stop, contending with cars who thought they can outrun me on the light, only for me to catch them at the next. Somehow I had forgotten I still didn’t reconnect my rear break. I had to frequently check the phone to use the best route, which meant taking it out of my front pannier, sometimes disabling the current route, re-entering it’s using either car/ pedestrian function. I took it out with my right, quickly check it, out it back. Oooops, a junction in a quiet neighbourhood appeared and I had my phone in my hand, desperately pulling my left lever for my rear break. Nothing. I panicked and with my phone in my hand pulled the right lever, frontbreak. Phew. That was close. I reconnected the rear break immediately. 

By now I was in Sapporo outskirts. It had also just started to drizzle and I put my jacket back on, knowing I’ll get super sweaty really quickly. With another 15km to go, “clank”!!! I knew what that was. Spoke no 3 had gone. I stopped, inspected the damage but whilst the spoke broke, I didn’t have to take it out the wheel as it was stuck between other spokes. The rear wheel now had a serious buckle but I couldn’t care less. I’m almost there. 

The I saw the huge Panasonic Clocktower, one of the sights of Sapporo (a bit like Berlin’s TV tower). That meant my final reading place, JR Sapporo Inn was close too. The sat Mac have me some more hustle but I made it. I got off the bike and pushed the last few metres before eventually stopping and unloading all my stuff from the bike. I was so happy! ...and in urgent need of a bath. Thankfully JR Sapporo Inn decided not to put bathtubs into any room but have a public bath in the basement. A great idea and just what I needed. I checked I but found that my window was facing a wall. I kindly asked to change rooms and I got transferred to the 10th floor with an actual windows facing the outside world and Sapporo. I had arrived. 

My body was aching. 3 of my toes were still numb, 2 days now. My thighs and lower back were killing me. I did 115km today in 7.5h, without stops, 6.5h. Not bad I thought. I also had everything Hokkaido has thrown at me in the last few weeks:

-   Mountains and beautiful forests 

• Extreme Downhills/ uphills
• Sunshine & rain
• Lorries and annoying traffic 
• Bike issues 
• Friendly locals (Ms Hareyama)

Hokkaidō ni dōmo arigatō. What a ride!!!! 

After the onsen, where I nearly passed out, I weighed myself: 77.5kg, which meant I lost over 6kg in the last few weeks. Wow, I can feel being lighter but also stronger. I dragged myself to a sushi place around the corner before hitting the mattress. JR Sapporo Inn has a great service of choosing your pillows out of 6 different ones. I picked two a soft one and a hard one. Not yet sure which one I was gonna go with but both being needed as they were relatively flat. 

I was knackered, happy, exhausted, tired, complete. I also don’t wanna see a bike again...at least for a few days :))

Thanks for following me on this journey! 

— The end — 

Day 16: Furano part 2 (slow coaching)

After another bath in the evening, I thought I’d be knocked out and at least sleep till my alarm clock wakes me up. Nope. 6.30...again. Oh well. I got up at 7, packed all my freshly washed clothes away, packed my bags and tidied up the room. I left the propane gas container in the hotel as I wouldn’t need it anymore. Just 2 more days of cycling and tonight I’ve got a hostel in Furano which has cooking facilities. 

Breakfast was amazing. All out Japanese style and 2 coffees. I also asked if I could take some bread with me for the road. The friendly waiter said she can keep a secret (as I’m not supposed to). Back in the room, I made lunch: bread, butter, cheese. Then it was time to pack and leave. The decision to return to Furano was easy. I checked on Shimukappu and it was a sleepy village of 1000+ people, vs Furano’s 20,000. The reception. Clerk confirmed my choice saying there is nothing in Shimukappu. And I really don’t mind not killing myself over the Shimukappu route, 2 huge hills and bad road according to the clerk. 

Ok, first 7km up, up, up the mountain and then 60km to Furano, mostly downhill or moderately hilly. I literally loved cycling today, every Kilometer was amazing and I really took in the countryside. He changing season is ever more apparent with many trees changing to yellow or red. In a few weeks there will be thousands of people flocking to Hokkaido to see this in full swing. After the 7km I was surrounded by mountains on all sides again. The clouds were plying with the mountain tops, wrapping them up in all sorts of ways. 

As i got wet from sweating up and down the countryside. I quickly changed into a new top a d put my jacket on. I the. Played a game of jacket on, jacket off as it was either too warm or too windy and cold. The kilometres literal flew by. The last 20 I took it super easy and cycled slowly. I went onto a field road thanks to walking feature on google maps and one of the field was already fully harvested. I stopped and say a few pumpkins that were not as perfect as they “should be”, or at least as I see them in the shops. I picked one up - for dinner. As I got to Furano I stopped at a farm shop and bought some tomatoes, dinner too. 

The lorries were super annoying today, one overtook me so close downhill I struggled to keep the horse steady. O wished him to veer off the next corner and straight into lorry driver hell! As they always push a lot of wind in from of them it hits you first before the whole scary thing zooms last you. There were a few such incidents today and as i got to Furano, and crossing bridges I put myself firmly in the middle, not letting cars behind me past as there was no side strip, no pavement and I didn’t fancy some stupid idiot to overtake me dangerously. 

I finally stopped at an onion farm to find out how many onions are in the box and how much they get for it: 1700Kg and ¥60,000 (£430). Hmmm. I’m not sure if this is a little or a lot. Individual onions, or olds of 3 rewrial for like £2-£5, no comparison to retail...anyways. I found out. 

Anyways, Furano is a lovely town it’s busy but not too busy and the hostel I had booked was super clean, well equipped and lovely staff. I was one of very, very few guests so had my dormitory to myself, at least for now. In the evening another dude joined true loooong room. After making my dinner: fried pumpkin, tomatoes and cheese salad, i headed back up to the hotel with the great onsen. Today I’m noticing that 3 of my toes on my right foot are a little numb. My lower back is still painful and my things haven’t stopped hurting in the morning. But all is forgotten on the bike. 

Furano gave me an amazing leaving present up near the ski station. A fantastic sunset. After that, shopping for breakfast and later getting some dinner. Tomorrow is gonna be big. 111km over some steep hills before bottle lowlands and eventually Sapporo. It’s a repeat of last week, just in reverse. It looks like the weather will hold too, which is another amazing present. 

Over and out