Date

2022-10-29, Saturday

Distance

40.58 km (1051.95 km in total)

After having fully rested despite sleeping just right off the road, we felt replenished to head towards the easternmost point of Japan — Cape Nosappu — passing by Nemuro. Either we didn't have very good luck with this part of the country or Mother Nature which I found unreservedly capricious was simply behaving as usual, the weather became horrible after we reached the Nemuro peninsula. We arrived at Nosappu all drenched and cold, because the wind messed up in all directions and the rain was pouring. Not only so, the level of fitness required in order to bike around the easternmost city was incredibly high. I thought Abashiri was hilly, Nemuro was no less — if not more — so: a hill after a hill after a hill … and they were all fairly steep!

Landscape-wise, the easternmost region of Japan feels even more desolate than the northernmost region; it is mainly populated by fishing communities. As we approached our destination, the number of signs and slogans for reclaiming the 4 disputed Kuril Islands / Northern territories which had been annexed by the Soviet Union since the end of WWII (interestingly, there are signs printed in Russian in the city of Nemuro). Relatively speaking to Cape Soya, there were much less things to see here and almost nothing was open today (Saturday). The park around the monument includes a wide expanse of meadow but there was nothing that could act as a shelter against the wind and the rain. I do not recommend coming here unless you are after the mention of the 'easternmost'.

We ate and waited in the public washroom for the staff to leave so that we could pitch our tent in the area. Actually, one staff member came to tell me that I couldn't stay / camp here tonight (I think this is what she meant, though I am not 100% sure), but car and truck drivers are freely allowed to park here and sleep in their vehicles, why can't we cyclists do the same? In the end, we ignored the staff's warning by pitching our tent next to the public toilet. Let’s hope we can see the earliest sunrise in Japan tomorrow.