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A Japanese Journey: Omiya to Hokkaido (and back)

by Lindsay Eccles

First printed in the WIMA GB newsletter  September 1999

My job with Shane Schools finished on 24th June 1999 and with it my company apartment in Omiya.  So, at around 12:30 on the 25th  I set off North in the rain - well, its the rainy season, isn't it?  Actually, I set off South, due to an error in my map reading. Anyway, I eventually arrived in Oarai, near Chiba. Both campsites were closed already, but a helpful chap suggested I pitch my tent anyway.

The next morning, the camp man didn't seem to mind, so, as it was sunny, I set off for the day to visit the irises and the canals at Suigo and Sawara. By the time I got back to the site, it was raining again, and it continued to rain almost continuously for several days, which were spent at a nice campsite in Ono, Fukushima. I'm sure the limestone cave would've been fascinating if I hadn't already been so wet. It was at this point that I discovered that neither my tent nor my boots were as waterproof as I thought, but my efforts were rewarded with a beautiful herb garden and a lovely museum of traditional dolls, both at Miharu.

By the time I got to Sendai, the weather was much nicer, so I skirted the city and headed straight for Matsushima, where, unfortunately, there are no campsites, so I spent two luxurious nights at the youth hostel. There, I met a nice Canadian lady, so we did some sightseeing together, including a boat trip around Oku-Matsushima. The following day, rain again. I rode down the Oshika peninsula, and then up the coast to Rikuzentakata. There, I was surprised to discover that the YH was cheaper than the campsite: when I got there, I discovered why. In all my years of hostelling, I've never been in one that was dirtier, dingier or damper than this one, and the young caretaker seemed more interested that I (the only paying guest) didn't disturb the party which he and his friends were having that evening. What a shame!

I was off very early the next morning, so I was at Geibikei gorge before lunch. Here, the only convenient way to access the gorge is by a large punt, pushed along by a very entertaining bloke - his jokes upstream were going down very well with my companions.  After a short stop by a particularly attractive cliff, he entertained us downstream with traditional Japanese songs. I camped near the famous temple town of Haraizumi, and enjoyed the temples very much, especially the beautiful Konjiki, or 'golden hall'.  My stay there was marred by dropping the bike in a car park. Fortunately, I didn't have my vast luggage with me at the time, and surprised myself by managing to pick it up on my own. I was very glad to find a guy with a front brake lever, which I'd completely broken. Unfortunately I later discovered that my camera was no longer working properly, possibly also due to my mishap, and that was a bit of a blow.

From there north and then east, along the beautiful  'lgirisu Kaikan', or 'English coast', actually a riverside ride, recommended by WIMAn Kayoko (thanks for that, Kayoko).  Through Tono, where I visited a lovely traditional L-shaped house and a pretty wooded stream, where all the rocks were carved with images of the disciples of Buddha. Onto Niisato to camp for the night. The next day, the weather was great for exploring the magnificent coastal scenery of Joudogahama beach, the highlight of the Rikuchuu Kaigan national park.  In the early afternoon, inland again to visit Ryuusendou cave: the nicest I've visited so far, with deep, clear underground lakes and a gushing stream. After that, I decided to push on to Hachinohe to get the overnight ferry to Hokkaido.

Arriving at Tomokomai at 6:45 am on the 8th of July, with 1755km under my belt, I made my way through Sapporo to Otaru on the north coast: a very elegant town, with many buildings built at the turn of the century in European style. It has great restaurants and shops around the quaint canal area. In fact, I spent a week there, making it a base for a trip into Sapporo, and relaxing a little. Visited the Nikka whisky distillery: a definite recommendation, but don't drive there: the whisky is excellent, and freely flowing! The last two days in Otaru were marred by heavy rain. I travelled further north to Furano, visiting the beautiful lavender fields there, and staying the night at a youth hostel. The following day, with better weather, I skirted the southern edge of the mountainous Daisetsuzan National Park, to Souzan, which is famous for the waterfalls and rock formations along its gorge. At Abashiri on the north-east coast, I was directed to a free campsite at the side of the lake. There are a number of these on Hokkaido: this one was a particularly nice example, with spotlessly clean facilities. Of course, it was a popular spot, and I spent a couple of great evenings with fellow bikers, and sampled the local onsens with a girl called Kumiko from Suzuka. I used this place as a base to explore Akan National Park. But unfortunately, low cloud meant that the views were very poor; in fact, there was no view at all at the crater lake of Masshu-ko, though local legend says that good view of the lake means that a girl won't marry. However, a biker had recommended the nearby Kaminoko, or Lake of the Gods, which was very beautiful. Then onto the Shiretoko peninsula, where Yuko Sugeta had recommended the Kamuiwakka falls. Of course, she rides a TDM, so the 15km of dirt road to get there would present less of a problem to her than to me, with my heavily laden road bike, but it was well worth the effort. First, I hired a pair of rope sandals at the bottom, and then waded up the warm mountain stream, for about 20 minutes. The falls at the top are fed by a hot spring, and you can bathe in the naturally formed rock pool beneath them.  It was one of the most wonderful things I've done in a long time.

I followed the east coast for a while, and then turned inland to Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya: the latter is an area of recent volcanic activity. At Muroran, I went on a 'whale-watching' cruise. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales (there's a 50% chance of seeing Minke whales at this time of year), but we did see lots of dolphins, which was wonderful. I stayed at another free campsite at Onuna lake and used this as a base to visit Hakodate. This city is best known for the view from the top of its mountain, which, I agree is wonderful. But I also enjoyed wandering around the trappist convent, the Motomachi area of the city, and the warehouse area by the waterfront, sipping beer from the local microbrewery (something else that Hokkaido has in abundance are small, local breweries). 

But that was my last day on Hokkaido: the following morning, the 28th July, I board the ferry back to Honshu. Arriving at Oma I had now completed stage 2 of my journey, and covered a total of 4774 km.

Back on Honshu, it was raining again: the perfect atmosphere for visiting the famous temple at Ozorezan, situated in an almost lunar landscape, with sulphurous steam oozing from the cracks in the earth.  Here, people pray for those who have died young, leaving mementoes of them there.  Further south, on the banks of Lake Towada, I pitched my tent at Oide campsite, which I can recommend. For the next 6 days, as well as exploring the surrounding area, I visited the cities of Aornori and Hirosaki. I had timed my arrival back in lohoku to coincide with some of the most famous of the Japanese summer festivals. The 'Nebuta' festival in Aornori is more famous, and more extravagant, than its little sister 'Neputa' in Hirosaki, but, personally, I preferred the more intimate, family atmosphere of Neputa, and found that Nebuta

was too commercialised for my tastes.

A few days before arriving at Towada-ko, I had noticed that the handling of my bike was not so good. At the first opportunity to check it properly, I realised that there was a problem with the front wheel bearing. Of course, these things always happen on a Saturday, don't they? But, I was really fortunate to find a great mechanic in Hirosaki who went to a great deal of trouble to find a new bearing, and fit it for me, AND only charge me for the part. As for myself, I was really pleased that, even though I couldn't fix it myself. I'd diagnosed the problem correctly (thanks to my 'bike maintenance' teacher, Rod).

My next stop was Akita, site of another famous festival, 'Kanto', in which men balance large bamboo frames, weighing 60 kilos and decorated with 46 paper lanterns, on their hips, shoulders and foreheads, accompanied by the frenetic music of flutes, cymbals and drums. So exciting was it, that I decided to stay a second, and then a third night: one of the best free shows I've ever seen.

The following day, I visited Dewa Sanzen, one of most sacred sites in Japan, consisting of three temple-topped mountains.  The smallest of them, Haguro-san, has a beautiful 5-storeyed pagoda near the bottom, which I thought I'd visit "quickly" before lunch.  Before I realised it, I had climbed the 2446 stone steps to the top of the mountain. It was well worth the effort, but I was glad to find a machine dispensing ice-cold Coke at the top.  This part of my journey seemed to be full of steep climbs and great views.  Two days later, I took a chair-lift to the top of Mount Zao, where the view of the lake in the crater below was as beautiful as the tourist office leaflets had promised. While I was admiring the scene, a lady gave me a bag of her homegrown cherry tomatoes, which were delicious: one of the many acts of kindness & friendship that I have received on this journey. And a further 2 days on, I climbed up hundreds more stone steps to the temple at Yamadera, and a wonderful view of the rice-field patchwork in the valley below.

The following day, absolutely soaked by rain, yet again, I arrived back in Omiya, to dry out at my friend's apartment, and to pick up some clothes that would be more suitable to wear to job interviews than the filthy jeans & T-shirts that I've been wearing for the last 2 months. When I left Omiya 2 days later and a few beers heavier, on 15th August, I had completed 7382 kilometres.

I escaped the city quickly, by breaking my usual rule: I paid to use the toll-road to travel North West as far as Lake Suwa. Just before joining the expressway, I went the wrong way and ended up taking a right turn where I shouldn't have: didn't see the cops just waiting for culprits, did I? Fortunately, they were extremely kind, examined my papers & told me not to do it again. A couple of days earlier, I had almost been pulled for speeding by a police motorcyclist, who had followed me for several kilometres before deciding not to bother. After the second incident, I decided I'd better take a little more care for a while.

I spent 3 nights in the Suwa and Matsumoto areas: the latter city has a great castle, the first real Japanese castle I'd seen, and the scenery in that part of Nagano-ken is wonderful, even when marred by clouds.

But the focus of this part of my journey was the six days I slaved on Sado-gashima: the second time that I'd visited this former island of exile. Aside from its colourful history, Sado is now famous for a community of traditional 'taiko' (Japanese drum) players, known throughout the world as 'Kodo'.  Each year, Kodo star in, and sponsor, a 3-day extravaganza of music and other visual arts from Japan & around the world: "Earth Celebration". It was my first time at EC, but it won't be the last: the relatively small size of the events, the atmosphere at the campsite, where people play drums, digeridoos and anything else they can lay their hands on 'till late into the night, whilst everyone else dances, claps or sings, taking part in some of the many workshops on offer, buying food & crafts from around the world in the market, and making many new friends, made me feel like part of the Kodo 'family'.  And the music was brilliant, too.

But that really was the end of my journey. Two days after leaving Sado, I was in Kyoto, and within a week, I had found both work and a place to stay, in Wani, on nearby Lake Biwa.

This journey is over, all 9284 kilometres of it. But I know it won't be long....

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