Japan, Hokkaido, Day 14, Iwaobetsu to Abishiri

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Day 14 Iwaobetsu to Abashiri.

Simple buffet breakfast with soup, toast, cold noodles in mayonnaise, yoghurt and a few unknowns. Sunny and high 20's again - not complaining. Out of the door and straight up the hill for 2 miles at 7%. This was followed by a descent back to the coast, which we followed for 20 miles. The first town of Utoro was very nice with a fishing harbour and large brown rocks standing in the sea near the coast. It reminded me of the East coast at Scarborough and Whitby. Along the way there were also some quite good waterfalls streaming down into the sea, one spectacular one called Oshin Koshin. Cormorants were also seen basking on rocks close by and waiting for a bite to eat. I managed to get quite a good photo of one as it took off towards the sea. Several kites were also hovering above, again no doubt scanning for food. On our way we saw hundreds of cyclists going in the opposite direction, young,old, fit and not so fit, presumably on a charity ride with police and army escorts. We stopped for lunch in Shari Town, which looked brand new, and we had take away chicken legs and rice wrapped in a leaf. Koshimuzu Flower Park was a bit of a let down, but I suppose it may look better at other times of year when there are more flowers. It was good to stand up above the sea, smell that sea air and look across the bay at the distant mountains. Just off the coast 10 miles from Abishir there was a piece of wetland with a large group of horses and foals, just like the Camargue in France, which were interesting to watch. The Abashiri Kanko Hotel on the edge of town is in stark contrast to last night, quite smart with its own Onsen again, both in and outdoor. I am going to miss them ony return. Also WiFi again and the outside world beckons again. Alas, whilst my I Phone works the signal is not strong enough for the Notebook so the blogs are delayed yet again.
We catch an early morning train tomorrow to Sapparo where I will have to bag up my bike for flying home via Heathrow. It is a long haul since I will not arrive home until 10.30pm Tuesday.

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