Day 4
34km. We slowed down as we are starting to run into more and more bikers.
So far they all are ALL Japanese!
This is the month to bike in Hokkaido as once winter sets in it gets brutal. We can tell by the many boxes on hills along the road with bags of sand and huge tubs in every yard full of kerosene for heaters.
We are still in the mountains but trying to get south.... up and down,
up and down. Lots of motorcyclists also, they remind us of
Kamikaze's
on their Harley's roaring past us on the up hills.
But...........
IN JAPAN BICYCLISTS RIDE ON THE SIDEWALKS!!!
My big thrill today was finding Orville Redenbacker popcorn
and Snickers. And Steve got a lesson from me about 'saving face' when
he tried to negotiate a price. But he did learn that making a joke only
gets him blank stares.....they just don't understrand!!
(It is NOT an electric jacket plugged into the wall to warm up....just charging a cell phone)
Good idea.....a place to charge up the computer.
But it was a hard day into the wind as we biked back to the sea and
made a turn up the coast....... salty air and sea gulls. Now the
captain is a happy camper!
We also found the Seicomart convenience stores have hot
salmon dinners. Our big meals are at lunch time, this time eating
on the curb in front of piles of huge plastic bags filled with
recyclables. The Japanese are very, very conscientious about this.
This is also the day we found a Laundromat ($3 wash - $1 dry) also equipped with foot massagers and sneaker washers!
Steve stripped
down to his bike shorts and bare feet. The attendant thought he was
warm so blasted us with the air conditioner.
He also hooked up the
head-set to the computer, made some calls on 'SKYPE' (for 2 cents a min)
while zeroing in on a hot spot with his WIFI.
That was before we
discovered the WIFI detector in the wash.
Turned out a good day....we got in a FREE camping ground with onsen within walking distance.
Day 6
60km Started off thinking we'd go only 23km so we wouldn't miss the onsen
at the end of the day but turned out our longest day in the saddle
yet. Then...it poured rain. I told Steve, it is not like sailing where
you put on the auto pilot and go below and read a book. We donned our
rain gear and off we went, puddles splashing, mud flying and trucks
dousing us with spray.
There are lots of fishing villages, boats with big glass lights, people with waders going out for huge sea kelp. Also lots of sea food in this area. Steve is loving that!
Found the camp and onsen we were headed for very posh....$51 a night for
camping in 'auto camps' (forget those). We
decided to move on. The rain let up and wind died down so worth
the ride on as we found an onsen, not on our map, and the camping is FREE. 
I have not let Steve forget how disappointed I was at missing that one bath our first night out and he is now recovered from his RASH from not having that one bath our first night out. We have not missed one since. Steve thinks this is just the GREATEST! He enjoys the saunas and I love the outdoor hot mineral pools and whirlpools. These have all been in some of the most beautiful settings.
So here we end up after a fabulous bath over looking the sea. It is all so
perfect except I walked into a closet instead of the toilet and still
can't tell the shampoo from the liquid bath soap!! Sure hope no one
noticed.
We have had our cold Sapporo beer out of the vending machine and really looking forward to
that cozy little tent just down the hill.
