Cycling Japan – day 58 – Hamamasu seaside park campground to Shosanbetsu

Day 58 – Hamamasu seaside park campground to Shosanbetsu
Distance: 134km
Ascent / descent: 802m / 759m
Weather: sunny
Accommodation: camped at Misakidai Park campground

I took my time this morning, waiting for the Seico Mart to open so I could grab some breakfast before starting – they’re not 24-7, and most have different opening hours from around 6 or 6:30am in this neck of the woods. It was overcast and another morning of tunnels, the longest almost 5km! There were hardly any cars on the road so I put my music on speaker and sang at the top of my lungs in the tunnels so they wouldn’t be so creepy 🙂

One of the longer tunnels today

Shiragane waterfall, Route 231

Route 231

Non-stop tunnels along the coast on Route 231

The cloud cleared away and the afternoon was glorious with beautiful coastal views and snow-capped peaks behind me.

The view in between tunnels

Route 231

Looking back across the sea at the snow-covered peaks

An old restored herring station next to Michi-no-eki Obira Nishibanya

A statue in front of an old restored herring station next to Michi-no-eki Obira Nishibanya

Having a break, I could literally fall asleep on this seawall

Coastal and mountain views on Route 232

Hokkaido fox

I made some friends

I pulled into the campground near the observatory in Shosanbetsu just as the sun was setting. There were two German guys there, Patrick and Markus, as well as two Japanese men, a young guy called Hori-kun and an older man called Takahashi-san. I got speaking to everyone and we arranged to head to the nearby onsen after I’d set up my tent. There was an onsen within walking distance and we all decided to walk there together, except Patrick. The onsen was fantastic and my favourite way to end the day cycling; I always sleep much better after one.

When we were walking back to the campground, now in the dark and rain, I noticed an animal in front of Patrick’s tent. Markus immediately shot off to try and scare it away. It was a fox, but it wasn’t intimidated at all and it had already gotten into their leftovers while Patrick was in his tent. There was rubbish strewn all over the grass and it had even left behind a present in the form of a dead mouse. After seeing this, Hori-kun explained that the police had come by earlier in the day to warn people about camping here because of these ‘problem foxes’ which had been helping themselves into people’s tents, whether or not there were people inside. The foxes in Hokkaido have a disease called Echinococcosis so it’s advised not to drink untreated water, and to not come in contact with their faeces. My tent was in a corner of the field in a dark patch, so I was advised to move, which I did, in the rain! I hadn’t had dinner yet and had grand plans of cooking ramen, but after the fox incident, I decided it was best not to and instead had a slightly more unfulfilling dinner of crackers and nuts.