Hi everyone thought I'd share a bit about my itinerary from my recent trip to Eastern Hokkaido. A bit of background – I'm from the Japanese diaspora (but my language skills are unfortunately close to non-existent), third trip in three years but first time to Hokkaido. I've cycled on day trips before overseas but this was the first time I'd done a cycle tour of some length. Did a so-called 'credit card' tour (no camping), rented an e-bike (which helped a lot on hills) and had a blast.
I went in the second week of September.
Day 0: Flew into Sapporo. Did the usual touristy things – had soup curry and gawked at the TV tower but it was ridiculously humid. Stayed at Untapped Hostel – super friendly staff but the capsule like dorm was made of wood panelling so the room felt a bit like a sauna.
Day 1: Took the early morning Limited Express Okhotsk towards Abashiri. About a five hour journey. The train switches direction about two-thirds in and everyone gets up to turn their seats around.
Met my cycle outfitter Nishihara-san from Shiretoko Cycling Support (shiretokocycling.jp). He speaks English well and ran me through what to expect with the bike. I rented an e-road bike with a range extender and his 'touring pack', which consisted of panniers, lights, a repair kit and waterproof bags.
I rode to Cape Notoro as a warm up. The ride itself isn't super spectacular but the destination was great – bright sunshine, a whitewashed lighthouse, and beautiful green fields.
I stayed at the Abashiri no Ryuhyuo guesthouse. It was a bit out of town and I startled a fox on the way, but it was a comfortable night's sleep.
Day 2: Rode towards Bihoro. I was having some trouble with navigation but eventually figured it out. Vehicle traffic wasn't super heavy and there was a lot of room on road shoulders to ride on. Rode through some nice farmland and eventually made it up the Bihoro Pass around lunchtime, looking out at Lake Kussharo. The observatory was really nice – good curry bun, good coffee, nice souvenirs. Lingered here for a bit, cycled down the pass and made a short detour to gaze out at the Lake on the shores of the Wakoto Peninsula before making my way to my hotel (Hotel Parkway) at Kawayu Onsen.
Day 3: Another beautiful day. The hotel is round the corner from Mount Io so I cycled there and checked out the volcanic fumaroles and had some soft serve. Then cycled out to Lake Mashu – there are two observatories here. No. 1 was a great spot for a lunch / coffee break. The Lake itself I heard tends to be shrouded in fog and mist most of the time but it was extremely clear when I went and just the most absurdly beautiful shade of blue. Descended and made my way towards Nakashibetsu and the Tabist hotel Denden for the night – no fuss business hotel.
Day 4: Nice ride on the coastal road towards Rausu Town. Picked up some onigiri from Seicomart and found a nice spot by the sea about halfway through to park the bike for a bit and have lunch. Had another great soft serve at the Rausu michi-no-eki. Stayed at the Bear Elephant hostel – comfortable place and they had some nice Hokkaido bread available for breakfast.
Day 5: Cycled up the Shiretoko Pass. This was hard going but weather once again was absolutely spectacular. View at the top was incredible. Made my way down to Utoro Onsen, had a nice lunch at a place called Kani Ya facing the sea. Splurged a bit on the teishoku but it was worth every penny. Then decided to cycle back up towards the Shiretoko Goko (Five Lakes) area. Started some deer but thankfully bear-less. Did the walking tour of the Five Lakes and then made my way back to Utoro Onsen for the most spectacular of sunsets. Stayed at the Shiretoko Kokun Kekun hotel and enjoyed the heck out of their onsen.
Day 6: Did a boat tour in the morning (8000 yen) but failed to spot any bears. Rode to Shari Town – it started raining on the way, but nothing too miserable. Met Nishihara-san at the michi-no-eki and returned the bike and took the train back to Abashiri. Spent the evening at the Toyoko Inn.
Day 7: Flew to Tokyo from Memanbetsu Airport on JAL.
All in all – one of the best things I've done. Got lucky with the weather, maybe but super glad I did it.
Photos: https://imgur.com/a/G0b9NXP
by TheKingOfBadgerHill