Date

2022-11-09, Wednesday

Distance

106.17 km (1785.78 km in total)

By 7 am we were on the road again. Today’s mission is to get as close as possible to Hakodate to check in at our hotel the next day; other than this, we do not have much plan or time constraints.

An Ukrainian flag hung out of the window of a house located on the side of the road we took this morning; it seemed to be an ordinary residence. This is the second time I saw Ukraine-related items in Japan, which is often said to be a literally ‘apolitical’ nation (in the sense that its people are generally disinterested in politics). Japan is also the nation that has the highest number of people responding to my Ukraine project. I wonder if Japanese people feel strongly about the Ukrainian crisis because of its historical conflict with Russia and the current dispute about the ownership of the 4 islands outside of Hokkaido.

This stretch of the seaside landscape consists of a rich collection of quaint cliffs and outcrops formed by submarine volcanic action 3 millions ago, which overlook Mount Komagatake (駒ケ岳) sitting at the other side of Volcanic Bay. I find that when constructing roads in hilly areas, Japanese people tend to punch a tunnel through the hill, whereas in Canada roads tend to wind around the hill. Not sure if it’s due to Canada having much more space or not or simply the geographical property of each terrain.

Once we turned onto the rural road, there were no trucks, not even so much cars, and the ride was an absolute joy. The mountains were blanketed in layers of autumn colours, and the rockfall prevention structures were surprisingly impressive. Back on the coastal highway, the traffic picked up again with a constant stream of freight trucks — but a kind stranger’s offer and words of encouragement gave us a real boost.

By the sunset we arrived in Mori, a town that is 45 km away from Hakodate. For dinner, we went to an izakaya named Yanagi (IG: @yanagiyanagi879) that offered good food and excellent service. Upon our arrival, two waiters came to receive us, two foreigners who spoke little Japanese. They made sure that we were OK with their menu not containing any image for quick understanding, listened carefully and waited for us to use Google Translate to read the menu. We got to try the grilled skewers that southern Hokkaido is known for. Each time they brought our order to the table, they would say what it was in English: chicken, pig, Bambi (yes, that Bambi!), etc. They offered us two pieces of sushi made of salmon, freshly caught today, and two heating pads to warm us up during the trip. I am not sure if it’s because we were the only foreigners and perhaps the first who came to this place on their way biking across Japan, that they should be so nice to us. Whatever the reason was, we really appreciated their offerings and good wishes.

We were also given two cans of hot coffee by a local outside of a grocery store today. Tomorrow will be an easy ride to Hakodate.