Blogs from Hokkaido, Japan, Asia - page 5

Hike up to Mt Teine with friends. Top is misty and windy. So no good view. But feeling nice!! I get it the top of mountain with electric wheelchair!... read more

Geo: 43.06, 141.34 - Sapporo We experienced yet another seamless transition from Osaka to Sapporo on a short and pleasant two hour flight. I'm starting to think this is going too well. We took the more adventurous option and caught the train into town and then the subway to our hotel. Not too much of a drama apart from carrying a suitcase up and down multiple flights of stairs. Our optimism was soon dampened though when we emerged from the subway to find that it was raining quite heavily. However continuing in the theme of luck being on our side a taxi drove past quite slowly so on a whim I hailed it, it stopped and we jumped in as quickly as we could to avoid getting too wet. Our driver didn't seem to be familiar ... read more

Oshamanbe - Hakodate 87 miles When I slept, I dreamed of Pokémon, most notably an unofficial Pokémon that goes by the name of ‘Anusmouthmon,’ and the less said about his party trick the better! His ethereal-realm antics however wouldn’t put me off my breakfast of chocolate croissants from the ever trusting Seicomart; a supermarket that once away from Hokkaidō I would come to miss dearly. Of the roughly 6.7 billion different convenience stores spanning across the Japanese archipelago, Seicomart will always be held in high regard, its prices are inviting and its food delectable. Now if that free plug doesn’t get me free croissants I don’t know what will! Being a Monday, the sloppy Sunday drivers were now back in the office dreaming up a world of clerical miseries. My weekday competition was again the omnipresent ... read more

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 the Uruguayan’s. This match inevitably resulted in England being dumped out of the World Cup; the impossible dream living up to its predictable reputation. And with Japan shortly following England out of the back door, football fever soon dampened down across the board. England’s loss however would have a sobering effect upon me. I’d been in Hokkaidō for close to 2 months now, and as much as it was a an awe-inspiring and grandiose prefecture, I was eager to experience the ... read more

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 continued south along the west coast, I found very little gradient to contend with; allowing for a productive day’s progress. Passing through the charmless industrial city of Rumoi, the grisly Mt. Shokanbestu didn’t altogether seem too pleased to see me. For the best part of the day, the weather had been composed, but from the mountain range a dark foray of clouds had assembled. Vast hazy drifts of precipitation were coaxing the far reaching forests that clustered the periphery of Mashike; ... read more