Date

2022-10-13, Thursday

Distance

70.68 km (76.68 km in total)

Our enthusiasm to pack up early to catch the express train to Wakkanai was met with dejection: We were told our bike’s dimension was too large to be allowed on the train. Since I have both front and rear racks, even with both wheels removed the final dimension is still too large. According to the diagram shown on the train station wall, only folding bikes seem to meet the requirement. So what should we do? The train is leaving in 15 minutes and there is no way I could decompose my bike entirely on time; we were doomed to miss the train.

So instead of taking 5 hours of train, we decided on the spot to bike 7-8 days all the way to Wakkanai then head southward. This sounds crazy and silly but we have had no better choice. Japanese seems to be utterly concerned with observation of rules and social customs that there is no need to plea or argue with the staff. What disappoints me though, is that we showed the picture of the covered bike to several workers at the train station yesterday and they all said it’s ok for us to board on the train. But in the end it turns out to be the opposite.

On a positive side, I got the chance to eat a breakfast in the Japanese style and obtain a Sapporo postmark for my Postkard project. We also visited a small Shinto shrine to pray for better luck and no more unfortunate surprise on this journey before heading out on our bikes.

The suburb of Sapporo is filled with separated recreational paths that make cycling through the area more pleasant. Today’s ride is mostly on a country road that has what I call a ‘semi-shoulder’ — meaning that there is enough of space for a bicycle even though it is not sufficient for a full-size car to park.

Japanese cars are very kawaii (‘cute’): considered to be ‘light-weighted’, they are generally smaller than the North-American equivalents, including the mini-vans. They are quiet and relatively slow; the maximum speed allowed on those roads are often 40 or 50 km/h, instead of Canada’s 60 or 70 km/h. Plus most of Japanese drivers take the care to stay away from us, so it doesn’t feel threatening or scaring at all to share roads with cars.

Japanese houses are also kawaii: they are tiny — even the country farm house is so — and interestingly painted. Japanese people seem to use up every meter square available to them, whether for growing crops or for building residences. I realised that farmers may not have space to welcome two travellers with a tent, as the parts of their land that are not farmland are the space in front of the entrance and the driveway. It doesn’t make sense to camp on these spaces. Moreover, their property is often unpaved, filled with sharp rocks that makes camping unpleasant.

Camping is an issue in Japan. All campgrounds require reservation; we cannot show up on the day to ask for a spot. When I called at 3:30 pm a campground that was still 1.5 hour away, the staff asked us to arrive by 4:30 pm. I replied that it’s impossible because we were biking (thus cannot accelerate) but would arrive before the closing time that is 5pm, the staff appeared to be hesitating. From my Japanese courses I understand that hesitation means a no, so I told him we would go somewhere else. Japanese people are very indirect. They don’t refuse others with a clear no.

Roadside stations (道の駅) which provide 24-hour heated washroom are all over the country. During the opening hours, they also serve as restaurants and touristic information centres. By the time the sun set, we arrived at the roadside station in Naie. We first asked the restaurant staff for a spot to pitch our tent. She replied that we couldn’t do so here and referred us to the campground whom I called earlier. Then we went to ask the station administrator for advice, he on the contrary showed us a grassy area where we could camp. So here we stayed!

The full take — 23 more photographs from this day