Sapporo – Lake Shikotsu 53 miles Between an 8-hour karaoke binge and England’s next World Cup match, I’d had very little time to rest. Normally, a 4am kick off would have been deemed an unheard of feat, yet I was still running on an excess of alcohol fumes and raring for England’s next humiliation to…
Category: Adventure Travel
Hokkaido Summer: Back to the Big Smoke
Mashike – Sapporo 74 miles When I awoke I was able to add a new tick to the list of places slept upon my journey thus far: Hostel – ✓ Baseball Pitch – ✓ Park Bench – ✓ The House of Pubes – ✓ Hotel – ✓ Tsunami Evacuation Point – ✓ Refugee Shelter –…
Hokkaido Summer: The Bus Stop
Shosanbetsu – Mashike 66 miles The night saw yet more heavy rainfall, but camping under a picnic shelter I’d find myself smug and unfazed by what would have otherwise been another soggy dilemma. I’d soon be seeing the bright lights of Sapporo again, where I’d be able to rectify my current tent situation. As I…
Hokkaido Summer: I Get Wet
Wakkanai For three days I found myself holed up in another one of Hokkaidō’s classic 1980’s themed youth hostels. It was a desolate sort of building that gave off a haunted house vibe; located atop an isolated hill. Wakkanai was still being deluged by buckets of rain and after a while I began to feel…
Hokkaido Summer: Island to Island
Rebun – Rishiri 41 miles The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was constant, and within a few hours my tent was drenched. By torchlight, I was able to find a vast bulk of the water’s entry points and under each drip I placed a plastic bag to collect the water. Every hour or so I…
Hokkaido Summer: Bum of the North
Hamatonbetsu – Rebun 73 miles I awoke cold and damp, I hadn’t jizzed myself, unfortunately things never got that far. But my tent was to prove that it wasn’t the watertight vessel that I’d hoped it would be. In fact, it was shit, just plain shit; a little like water torture. Yet, for now, the…
Hokkaido Summer: Here Cometh the Rain
Monbetsu – Hamatonbetsu 87 miles I slept uneasy though; the noise from the docks was prominent throughout the night. A seemingly 24-hour operation; ships being loaded and released of their cargo as an arrangement of sirens and horns sounded out continuously. As dawn began to slowly creep in, the low light projected an army of…
Hokkaido Summer: Banged Up Abroad
Abashiri – Monbetsu 77 miles At the base of Mt. Tento just a short distance from my camping ground next to Lake Abashiri lays the repositioned Abashiri Prison. When I heard the story of Abashiri prison and the abstract and harsh misery endured by its prisoners I felt compelled to pay a visit. The curiosity…
Hokkaido Summer: Wild is the Wind
Higashimokoto – Abashiri 71 miles The road out of Highashimokoto continued in the same hilly prevalence from where it had left off yesterday. Yet the rise and fall of the landscape would today be the least of my concerns. As a far more brutally sinister enemy raged from the east, an enemy cruel and merciless,…
Hokkaido Summer: The Beer at the End of the Tunnel
Sounkyo – Higashimokoto 88 miles At 3,388 metres, the Ginga tunnel leading out of Sounkyo was a beast of a tunnel. A safe tunnel one might add though, one to which welcomely allowed a plentiful amount of sidewalk space for the casual tour cyclist, always a bonus. This did however mean cutting out a small…
Tokyo to Tokyo 