Japan 2019 Stage 8 – Akanko to Kushiro

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Night feeling in Kushiro city. Lot of colourful lights and decoration.

Our last stage took us from Lake Akan to Kushiro. But before the start of the last trip we had our obligatory breakfast at a convenience store. This time it was at a Lawson and as always it included a variety of Onigiri, sweets and juice. We drove almost the entire distance on a straight road heading south. Akan International…

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Japan 2019 Stage 7 – Chimikeppu to Akanko

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Lake Akan sign at the round course of the lake. Part of Akan-Mashu National Park.

We started early from the Chimikeppu Campground accompanied by light rain. Leaving Lake Chimikeppu behind us we started into the direction of Akanko with the famous Lake Akan. We knew the distance would not be so long but there would be one pass just before the end of the tour (around 50 km in total). Aioi Thus, alomst halfway to…

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Japan 2019 Stage 6 – Sounkyo to Chimikeppu

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Map of Kitami area on the top of Sekihoku Pass- Welcome!

After a very comfortable night in Hotel Kumoi and the heavy rain in Sounkyo we started quite early in the morning. We knew we would have to climb a tough mountain already at the start of tour 6 into the direction of Lake Chimikeppu. But we made it up to 1050 m to the Sekihoku pass to see the sun…

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Japan 2019 Stage 5 – Kamikawa to Sounkyo

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Beautiful view from the top of the mounatin - Daisetsuzan National Park.

The fifth stage was the shortest of our tours. We wanted to stay one day at the Daisetsuzan National Park and thought Sounkyo was the best opportunity. We planned some hiking and wanted to enjoy the wild environment. So we had just to go a bit more than 20 km and do a few height meters. In the evening the…

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Japan 2019 Stage 4 – Kamifurano to Kamikawa

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Tire replacement on the side of the road to Kamikawa. Accompanied by a lot of ant attacks.

At the beginnig of the 4th stage starting from Kamifurano we had to face two problems. First was the bad weather which we could deal with. Second was Alinas sickness. But the tour must go one and our destination was 80 km far away in Kamikawa. So we took it slowly. Luckily we did not have to climb much on…

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Japan 2019 Stage 3 – Yunosawa Onsen to Kamifurano

Japan 2019 Stage 3 – Yunosawa Onsen to Kamifurano
Beautiful view on the mountains on the way to the Blue pond.

The goal of the 3rd stage was Kamifurano but we had a rough start. Alex had still problems with his stomach, so we had to do a lot of breaks in the beginning. But then we passed a 7eleven and took the chance for a late breakfast. Afterwards we had a bit of climbing and cold conditions, so we were…

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Japan 2019 Stage 2 – Inasato to Yunosawa Onsen

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The Inasato tunnel is with 1441 m very long and scared us to hell. But at least there is some light present.

We started the second day at Inasato with a small japanese breakfast (朝ごはん) which included some juice and chocolate bread. We planned just a short trip to complete yesterday's tour. Our first stop was at small shrine next to a reservoir. Thanks to the sunny weather we could relax there and enjoy the view. The plan in the morning was…

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Japan 2019 Stage 1 – Sapporo to Inasato

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Bicycle resting next to a bench in front of the Kitahiroshima City Disaster Management Center.

First day on Hokkaido's roads We equipped our rental bicycles (Spark Cycling) at our hotel (Hotel Keihan Sapporo) and after that the "Tour de Hokkaido" could start early in the morning from Sapporo. The goal of our first day was around 100 km far. But first we had to cycle accross the entire city of Sapporo. Fully equipped bicycles at…

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Japan 2018 Stage 6 – Iya Valley to Takamatsu

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Cherry blossom in the Iya Valley.

During the night the Iya Valley showed us its frostily side. This was by far the coldest night of this vacation and even the extra blankets from the staff at the campsite could not warm us up. But the good thing is even these nights end sometime and the sun will show up again. So after we warmed up a…

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Japan 2018 Stage 4 – Shimanto to Kōchi

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Tiny bird seen from the "bird watching spot" in the Nature center in the Shimanto area.

On our rest day before stage four we explored the Shimanto area. The first stop was the "Nature Center". The staff was really surprised when we entered the building. Maybe at this time of the year you don't see many people around here - especially not from Europe. But they were very friendly and offered us tea and cookies. The…

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