Date

2022-11-02, Wednesday

Distance

91.04 km (1336.22 km in total)

We woke up at 2 am to a pool of water around our tent. It rained heavily and we happened to have picked a hollow part of the ground in a park to pitch our tent (to our defence, it’s hard to see the hollowness unless it’s covered by water — which is too late). In the morning when the sun rose, we had to spend extra time in drying our tent before resuming biking.

We took Roads 38 and 1038 along the shore, riding through a landscape composed of mountain on our right side, and the ocean on our left side. The beauty of the scenery really made me marvel at Mother Nature’s ingenuity. Signs of human civilisation are spare along this stretch of the road, except a couple of dairy farms sitting on the top of a hill.

Once the road in the direction of Obihiro deviated away from the seashore, we immediately felt the imposing presence of passing trucks. This area seemed to be still under development, along the way we saw a lot of ads about construction companies on the one side, and farming communities on the other side. There was virtually no rest stop. At one point we were so badly in need of a washroom that we knocked at the police station’s door to ask for help. We ended up being politely directed to komin-kaikan (公民会館), some sort of community centre in a town. My Taiwanese friend was surprised that Japanese police station cannot lend out their washroom, because it’s the opposite in Taiwan. Moreover, camping next to the police station is common in Taiwan, and at night the policemen would even bring hot soupe to travellers — hence Taiwan’s policemen are given the nickname of ‘people’s nannies’.

By the time the sun set, we entered Tokachigawa area that is known for onsen (and milk production) and arrived at the roadside station that offers spa and onsen. Originally interested in trying out their service, we became right way discouraged at learning that both their spa and onsen are of the mixed style. (According to someone who commented on my friend’s post, he only encountered men in the mixed bathroom; no woman was ever presented.) However, this roadside station is also the first place that still offers at this time of the season foot onsen which we have enjoyed.

Tomorrow, we will enter Obihiro — a must-visit for all Silver Spoon fans!

The full take — 19 more photographs from this day