Otobe to Pirika

June 16, 2023

For the past day and a half we have been riding along the east and west coast of Hokkaido. Our route began yesterday with a dark and misty ride along the island’s Pacific coast and through a few easy hills and tunnels over to the west coast on the Sea of Japan. Almost as soon as we emerged from the long tunnel that cut through the range separating the two sides of the island the mists lifted and the sky brightened into an almost sunny and definitely warmer day. From there it was downhill all the way to the western coast and some of the flattest riding of the trip. We rode through fishing villages dotted with small marinas and smelling the salted seaweed scented air that seems to be nearly the same in coastal communities around the world. I paused at one marina to take some pictures of a tall ship that seems to be from that transition era when both steam and sails worked side by side on metal hauled craft.

This morning we continued our coasting with a climb to bypass a tunnel that was closed for repairs before we returned to the mostly flat coastal road that only had a few gentle hills to stretch our leg mussels. The shoreline is composed of rugged volcanic rock that centuries of weather and waves have formed into mysterious shapes.

One is known locally as Unseki or the Cloud Shaped Rock in English. There is a shrine at the rock and the local story tells the tale of a battle fought between the indigenous Ainu people who controlled the island of Hokkaido and a Japanese army under the leader Sokechi. The Japanese forces were losing and they had been forced to retreat to the coast in the area of this rock. Suddenly the sky grew dark turning the area as black as night with flashes of lightning and claps of thunder coming from the direction of the cloud shaped rock. The Ainu forces withdrew giving the Japanese time to escape and reform their routed army. Later and under a new leader that army defeated the Ainu. The shrine commemorates this event.

However the story of the Ainu people is not a very happy one. These people are indigenous to the island of Hokkaido and other islands northward all the way to the Kamchatka Peninsula of Alaska. They are closely related to the Aleuts of the Aleutian Islands, as seen in the carving of totem poles by both cultures. After a series of military defeats during the 1600s, they lost territory and influence to the expanding Japanese culture. In 1799 events took a more destructive turn when the shogunate took total control over their homeland. From 1799 to 1806 the shogunate separated Ainu women from their men and husbands, forcing them to marry Japanese men or allowing them to be raped if they refused. The men were moved out of their communities and made to work as slave labor for periods of five to ten years. The result was the decimation of the Ainu population of Hokkaido and the near total assimilation of their people. Today, official estimates of their numbers are put at around 25,000 but could be as high as 200,000. No one knows for sure and most Japanese are unaware of what Ainu ancestry they might have. There is a movement to address this, much as there are movements to address the wrongs done to indigenous people in my home country of Canada as well as in many other countries around the world. It is a dark part of our past that can not be undone but that should be remembered and healed.

Pirika to Lake Toya

June 17, 2023

Today was the first of our last three rides in Japan. It was scheduled to be an easy 75 kilometers with a fairly flat 700 meters of climbing. However, that route was set up over five years ago and the current experience found that there were three tunnels on that original route with heavy traffic. TDA decided that it was unsafe and scouted out a new route to avoid the danger. That route jumped the distance from 75 kilometers to 131 and the climbing double the original 700 meters. Welcome to your day Bob.

Let me say that there have been longer rides and more climbing. The distance and climbing are things that I am built for and used to. However, when your mind has been set on a day to loaf along and now you need to get hard and gritty, it takes a bit of mental adjustment. All part of the adventure when you tour by bike, just suck it up and ride.

The ride was through a lot of countryside very similar to the places we have already been. I decided not to bother with more pictures of rice paddies and volcanic mountains. However there were a few things of interest.

Throughout the island of Hokkaido we have come across buildings that have been abandoned. Some have fallen in upon themselves while others seem to be in the process of doing so. Some are nothing more than shacks but others seem quite elaborate. In a land prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, things often lack permanence. The Japanese try to consider these threats when they build and they often build with the idea that nothing will last more than twenty or thirty years. Tall buildings are seldom seen outside of Tokyo and even the big hotels seem to top out at twenty stories. Of course there are exceptions and the Japanese are masters of building with materials and engineering that will withstand what the planet throws at them up to a point.

Another interesting sight was an ostrich farm. One of our riders decided to get personal with the birds and the bird decided to try to snatch his cell phone. He imagined that the bird may have wanted to phone its relatives back in South Africa.

Eventually, through ups and downs and zig-zaging turns that moved us in anything but a straight line we came to our evening destination, Lake Toya. The lake fills an ancient caldera of a still active volcano. While the volcano is still active, it is not still belching smoke and tossing lava and rocks the way it would if it was erupting. Active means that it may vent form time to time with time being measured in centuries and not years. Seems fairly safe for now and the Japanese flock to the Lake for summer recreation.

Lake Shikotsu to Sapporo

June 19 and 20, 2023

With a pre-party the night before and free beer, I was surprised to see all riders up early, chipper and eager to get started. It was a short ride to Sapporo but it started with a climb out of yet another caldera. (Are any Japanese lakes not either reservoirs or calderas?) As climbs go on this trip it was fairly tame; not much more than doing the Foymount hill. After that there were a few rolling hills but pretty much downhill afterwards to Sapporo. There was a nice gale force headwind coming off the lake to keep us from becoming overheated.

The only real point of interest on our short ride, aside from some nice scenery at the beginning, was a very large Buddha, reclined across what appeared to be a cross between a temple and a tourist attraction. I make this latter judgment based upon the fact that they charge an admission fee just to get close enough to take a nice picture. I guess all of that gold paint is expensive.

We arrived a the very swank JR Tower Hotel in the heart of Sapporo and convenient to the train station. Convenient in the context that it is connected to the train station and owned by the railroad. Our first duty was to begin to break down our bikes and box them for the flight home. It is a sad but necessary chore to pack away your two wheeled companion after so many days of adventures. With three connections on my flight home I can only hope it somehow follows me there.

Since I was leaving the next day, I did not get to see much of Sapporo except for a walk to the Sapporo Tower for a final group photo and another longer walk to the Sapporo Brewery for an all you can eat and drink, goodbye dinner. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Still, I managed to retain my sobriety and enough sense of mind to find my way back to the hotel to finish my final packing for the next day’s long march home.

I can’t say enough good things about the TdA crew that took care of all the details to make our Journey to the East possible. They are a cheerful, skilled and professional group. Company founder and fellow rider for part of our tour, Henry Gold, can be proud of these people and the great job they do in making his company’s tours the enjoyable experience I have found them to be.

There was a lot of discussion on how to get our bikes to the airport. Taxis in Japan are ridiculously expensive with one that can fit a bike box and a passenger charging 21000 Yen for the trip. (app $200 Canadian) However, the train will make the same trip in half the time for about $10 Canadian if you don’t mind trying to drag your large, boxed bicycle and your luggage to the proper platform and squeezing the entire package onto the train. Two of us decided to team up to make the trip in case we needed to shuttle a piece of gear of two. As it worked out we both are good pack horses and accomplished the journey without having to do any back and forth trips.

My flights home were long, boring and stressful those times when there was not much time between connecting flights. Every time I hit a new airport I was put through security screening which made it that much tougher to get to my next departure gate on time. I made it but Air Canada was unable to get my bike onto my final flight, an expected surprise when I hit the ground in Ottawa. After a very long journey home I was not too pleased to stand in yet another line to report my missing bike and wait for the paperwork to be created to track it down and see that it gets shipped to my home.

With this last chore performed I was finally free to have my son and my wife Chris, pick me up and get me started on my two hour drive home where a rye and ginger ale awaited along with a comfortable bed. No matter how far I roam, coming home is always the best part of the journey.

June 21, 2023

Every time I take one of these epic bicycle journeys I come home a slightly different person. Seeing different parts of the world and experiencing different cultures during a muscle powered journey that sometimes challenges my physical limits can have that effect. I learn things about others and myself that I don’t think could I could have achieved by staying within my comfort zone. This trip taught me some lessons about getting along with others and about my skills as a long distance bicycle rider. Meeting and experiencing a new culture with people that come from all parts of the world is a broadening experience as is dealing with the frictions that are inevitable when such diverse people are thrown together for a long and sometimes stressful journey. We all faced our challenges and overcame them while remaining good traveling companions and even friends. I rode with some really great people and feel privileged to have had that experience.

On this trip I learned that I could eat things that I never would have tried under other circumstances. While eating enough seaweed to foul the propeller on a battleship was not my favourite experience, it was one that I endured. Eating cold smoked herring for breakfast was an experience that I hope to avoid for the rest of my days. Outside of a few menu choices I really enjoyed the cuisines of Korea and Japan.

Some other observations:

There was little to no graffiti seen in either country. They just don’t seem to tolerate it.

While they manufacture ATVs in both countries, I never saw them zipping around and never saw any damage caused by their use. Where they can go seems to be tightly controlled.

Small is big in Japan. cars are small as are the parking spaces. They even use elevators to store the cars in some tighter spots. Houses are small by North American standards as are the hotel rooms.

The Japanese are winning the race in bathroom technology. Here I found bathroom mirrors with a section over the sink that would not fog up no matter how steamy the room. The Japanese toilet is a marvel that cleans all your naughty parts and some even dry you off afterwards. However, I did encounter a couple that I found creepy. I don’t feel I am ready for a toilet that opens its lid in eager anticipation as soon as I open the bathroom door.

Japanese people are polite, dedicated and very abiding of rules. Never have I ever received so may bows just for walking into a store or hotel. Even the workers who do traffic control on a road construction site bow to you as you pass by. Pedestrians will wait for the green light to cross an alley with no traffic of any kind in sight if there is a crossing light there and if the hotel says that check in is at 3:00pm don’t expect to check in at 2:59.

In Japan there appears to be a job for everyone. I saw no street people, bag ladies, panhandlers or vagrants of any type. I did see people picking up even the tiniest piece of litter and never so much as a cigarette butt tossed to the ground and this in cities where I never saw public trash recepticals.

In making these observations I an not advocating that we adopt the Japanese way of life but maybe we could take a lesson or two from them. I found Japan and Korea refreshing and interesting. Would I want to live in either country? My answer is a hard no. I like my freedom and independence. I like rules that have some flexibility. I want the freedom to cross the street against the light if I feel it is safe to do so. I do appreciate people who respect wild places and nature and wish some of my fellow citizens could see how their lack of respect damages these things and make ugly that which should be forever beautiful. We could be a bit more Japanese in this last respect. Finally, I am seriously thinking about buying one of those Japanese toilets but not the creepy type.

Some Statistics:
Days Riding: 29
Overall Distance: 2,738 Kilometers
Elevation Climbed: 32,609 Meters (Garmin) 43,697 Meters (Ride With GPS)
(Note: RWGPS and Garmin are known to disagree on elevation gain. There is debate over which one is most accurate. My guess is that the answer lies somewhere in between the two)

Lake Toya to Lake Shikotsu

June 18, 2023

Today was our last full ride before tomorrow’s short ride into Sapporo and the process of packing up the bikes and heading home. Today was our last day to stretch our legs over one last 500 meter climb and 78 kilometers of riding. Overall, an easy day but still a bit more work than tomorrow’s run to the finish.

The ride, while pretty, was not really all that distinctive from many of the other rides I have done so far. We did begin with a nice ride along Lake Toya with a view of Mount Yotei, a still active volcano, in the distance. No worries about eruptions. The last time Mount Yotei spoke its piece was around 1500 BC. Since then it has decided to keep its mouth shut.

Supposedly we are in bear country but you can not prove it through my experience. I have seen signs such as the one advertising that bears are not to be trifled with as well as one that seems to indicate that they do not appreciate tires being tossed on them.

Our last on route destination is at a resort on Lake Shikotsu, which appears to be popular with Japanese tourists. Our hotel is Japanese traditional, which means no showers in the room and bed rolls on the floor. They also seem to use some bean bag type filling for their pillows. The rooms are set up for living during the day and magically transform themselves in to sleeping spaces while we eat dinner. This has happened every time we have had this style of hotel room and I suspect house elves are involved.

Lake Shikotsu is a cold water, spring fed lake with a view of two active volcanoes, Mount Eniwa and Mount Tarumae. Mount Eniwa last erupted around 1700 (AD) while Mount Tarumae has a more active past with a 1982 eruption. Mount Tarumae is classed as an ‘A’ rank volcano and was voted, Most Likely to Erupt in the Near Future by the Japan Council Of Active Volcanoes. From a distance it seems pretty peaceful and I decided to not bother it as it appears to be sleeping.