Today the rain started. It was innocuous enough when I got up and out of the tent. I should have sensed something was up when I saw that most of the families we hurriedly packing up and leaving, but I was hopeful that it was a short shower that would pass.

This wasn’t the case. By about 10 I was soaked. It was a relentless downpour that soon left the roads like streams. My bags were all waterproof, and jacket and wet pants kept me relatively dry but my shoes became drenched.

When it rains on tour you become a lot more tunnel visioned. I didn’t stop all that much, or even notice that much while I was cycling. Looking back all I can remember is the rain. And this one bear statue.

Fortunately the rain didn’t last all day. Just before lunch it cleared up, which coincided quite nicely with the road joining back along the sea. Journeying to Rumoi, my half way point, was a lot easier after that.

Just before Rumoi I passed through my first tunnel of the trip. It had a wide path for pedestrians and cyclists and was sloping downhill. Pretty easy going.

I was pretty eager to keep going when I arrived at Rumoi so I only grabbed a quick lunch. After Rumoi my route turned inland towards Chippubetsu where I hoped to cut across to Takikawa, my end point.

The road to Chippubetsu was lovely, at first ringed by mountains with small fields on either side. The road followed an old train track most of the time.

After a while I left the proximity of the mountains and entered the plains of central Hokkaido where the land was flat for miles and the road straight and quiet. By now the sun was out, the day had improved so much since the morning.

I couldn’t find the road at Chippubetsu I wanted to use to cross to Takikawa quickly, so I had to cycle to Fukagawa and then turn towards Takikawa. This added about 90 minutes to the journey and meant passing through much more urban areas, wider roads and big shopping complexes with wide parking lots. It wasn’t quite as pleasant as the rural plains earlier.

Getting into Takikawa I saw a sign for a campsite only 5km away. It turned out to be 5km uphill, a tough request at the end of a long day but when I arrived it was worth it. Set in a quiet valley with a few other families car camping, it wax a great place to stay. That night was dry, and I think there must have been some sort of festival or celebration on as fireworks were set off in and around the campsite.

The morning was overcast when I got up at 5, but didn’t seem like it would rain. With a little bit of apprehension, but also some relief to be getting going finally, I packed up my tent and bags and fully loaded my bike.

My goal for today was Shosanbetsu, a small town about 100km from Wakkanai. As I was leaving the friendly old man who gave me tea the day before came over, shook my hand and said something I didn’t understand. I assume it was “good luck” or “safe trip”, and it felt good to be officially seen off by someone. Even a stranger I didn’t really know.

Cycling through Wakkanai in the early morning was a strange experience. It still didn’t yet feel like I was on tour, merely commuting to some destination. I think that changed when I left Wakkanai and saw the coast I would be following for the next two days.

The journey to my halfway point of Teshio was easy and pleasant. The road was flat, the wind was calm and after a while the sun came out. I passed a few tourers on the road around mid morning and stopped for a chat with some of them beside these windmills a bit outside Teshio. It was a group of three guys. The farthest had ridden from Nagoya, and I don’t think they believed my when I told them I planned to ride to Fukuoka.

I had planned to eat some ramen or something in Teshio, but Teshio was a lot quieter than I expected. All I could find was a 7/11 so I grabbed one of those rice triangles for lunch. I don’t know what they are called, but I do know they are delicious and so cheap.

The ride from Teshio to Shosanbetsu was a bit tougher, instead of following the coast the road moved inland slightly and followed the rolling dunes. The sun continued to shine and the day was over a lot sooner than I anticipated when I arrived at my destination around 2.30.

There was a really nice free campsite in Shosanbetsu which was situate on a promontory that overlooked the coast. I could see the road I had just ridden, a satisfying view.

There were a few car camper families in the campsite with me, but no cyclists and none of the motorcyclists that populated Wakkanai campsite.

My campsite for the night. The next day would be a longer journey, so I welcomed the ease with which I completed this day.

On this day(July 24th according to my journal, but it can’t have been that recent. It certainly feels longer) I arrived at my starting point: Wakkanai, Japan’s most northerly city. Not, technically, the most northerly point but as good as for my purpose.

Outside the station I assembled my bike; racks bottle cages and all, for the first time in Japan. I also saw a few other tourers disassembling their bikes to take the train out of Wakkanai. This, to me, was a good omen.

Wakkanai is a bit strange, it has an odd almost soviet feel to it. Understandable give the proximity to Russia. The road signs are even in Russian.

Wakkanai campsite is technically only three kilometres from the station, but it’s a steep, uphill three KM’s and my stuff still in a suitcase and not the panniers I walked it.

At Wakkanai campsite I set up my tent and made dinner. My neighbour was a very kind old Japanese man with no English but who fed me “Japanese potato” and gave me lemon tea.

In the evening I got talking to a Japanese guy who called himself Katsu. From him in got some advice about touring in Hokkaido, albeit from the perspective of a motorcyclist. Told me about rider houses, and pointed out good spots to make camp.

The next day I packed everything up, the process of moving the luggage out if my suitcase into my panniers took longer than expected. By the time it was done it was too late to leave, and I had heard from Katsu it was set to rain anyway so I stayed an extra day. I think, too, that I was nervous about starting the tour and looked to delay it.

In some ways it was good that I waited. I ran into town to pick up big plastic bin bags from the supermarket. I would have been lost without these later on. Hit the bed early with plans to rise around 5 the next morning. Getting up early would commit me to leaving.

My tent at Wakkanai campground.