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Published: July 11th 2013
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On the window at night Day 11 Nakashibetsu
Last night after dinner was an hour of karioki and most of the group joined in and had some fun singing Tom Jones and Abba etc. We were warned to keep the windows closed at night when the lights are on since there are small bugs that will even get through the mesh screens. When we finished ("singing"?) the picture window was smothered in the blighters. See photo.
Our Japanese friends in the next room kept us awake with their jabbering until well after 11pm and awoke us at 5.30am with more of the same. The lake was covered in mist at breakfast with herons gliding low over the water.
Upon collecting our bikes Joy found a very small pale green frog on her saddle - cute. As we set off the sun came out and the first stop was the town of Kawayu, where the river running through the town is from a hot spring and sulphurous with benches and wooden foot baths set up in the river. A mile further up the road saw Mount Lou which is an active volcano spurting out sulphurous gas and liquid, which reminded me of Rotorua in
Frog
On Joy's saddle New Zealand. This was followed by a hard climb to Lake Mashu at an average of 7 or 8%. With a max of 11%. The lake on top of the mountain is not fed by any streams nor runs away. The sides are steep with no access allowed which enables the emerald coloured water to remain pure and it is said that you can see clearly down to 30 metres. From the viewpoint you can also see Mount Lou where we saw the sulphur rising earlier in the morning and maybe just our previous hotel nestling in the trees by Lake Kussahoro. After a much needed refueling at the top and a rest we made our pleasant descent down to Teshikaga Town for lunch of pork and rice. Along the valley we passed through two snow tunnels, which look like giant greenhouses and were hot enough to grow tomatoes as we rode through. The tunnels are to keep the road free of drifting snow , as are the large steel structures at strategic points along the road sides, both in the mountains and in the lower valleys. At this point I set off withy 16 year old Austen in pursuit
River Spa
Really hot heading for our afternoon break 30k down the road. I never looked at my map and never realised that we had a left turn off the highway. So there I went on for another 8k before realising that the road number was unfamiliar so we had to take a 5 mile deviation back to our intended route - all this at average 20mph - phew! Luckily we did not miss the brew stop and regained our strength before tackling the final leg into Nakashibetsu. Betsu is Japanese for river. It is quite a large town and a nice hotel on the Japanese style with no shoes allowed, rush matted bedroom floors and two flimsy mattresses (though I think mattress is rather a strong word for them) for a bed on the floor. Though in their favour they do have electric toilets and green tea waiting for you. The hotel also has a geothermal Onsen, which I getting quite accustomed to at the end of a ride. They are quite soothing and restful and dare I say, the water is silky smooth, as quoted in our information pack. When I read it I was thinking it was just a flowery Japanese
way of description to puff it up a bit, but it is true. Perhaps Clitheroe could get some. Luckily the weather has been warm again today in the mid to high 20's. Great for cycling, as long as you drink plenty.
The dinner tonight was absolutely scrumptious with lamb and a great array of various meats and fish. The best meal yet. I could get used to this fine cuisine.
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