Tanoshiiyo...Touring the Land of the Rising Sun - Part I: Hokkaido

[renchinrider]

Hi, Everyone! 

I promised JRobinson that I would write a story about the trip I made with my wife to Hokkaido, Japan.  The more I've thought about it, the more I realize that just writing about our trip to Hokkaido would only cover one part (albeit perhaps the best) of my visits to each of the four islands of Mainland Japan.  Hokkaido was actually the third of the islands I visited, so future story parts will be out of sequence, but since each trip was about a year apart, the sequence is really inconsequential.

Intro:  I am one of very few Americans to whom Uncle Sam afforded the opportunity to serve two consecutive military tours in Japan.  As an Army soldier, I arrived in Japan in November 2002, where I joined an Army unit for a three-year tour.  It was during this tour that, by pure luck, I found my 2002 Harley-Davidson Road King for sale.  A retiring civilian employee had bought it new as a U.S.-spec import, but couldn't take it with him on his retirement in 2004.  This bike was a super-rare find in Japan, and I jumped on it immediately!  I mustered up the money for the bike, and its owner, Sam, rode it over to our quarters and delivered it.

Sam Barnes Delivers Road King Oct 04 by

I had completed all of my required military motorcycle riders training, so I was immediately off and running on my new Road King--the motorcycle I had dreamed of since my boyhood!  However, I had to ride for a year before I could get my passenger endorsement and take my wife with me.  The year passed, and we began to ride together whenever weather and opportunity aligned.  My first tours will be covered in future parts of this story, so...Fast Forward to 2008!

Chapter 1:  Getting There

In the summer of 2008, I was mid-way through my second tour, where I was serving at the U.S. Forces headquarters.  As part of a project I was working on, I needed to travel north from my duty station in Tokyo to Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture, which is at the northern end of Honshu Island.  (Prefectures are basically comparable to our states.  There are 47 prefectures in Japan).

As soon as I knew I needed to travel north, I told my boss I wanted to take some leave while there, and I set up a travel plan with my wife so that she could meet me there and we could visit Hokkaido.  When travel time came, I loaded up and took off from Tokyo.  I hoped the driving rain of the day wasn't any indication of the rest of the trip.

Misawa Air Base is a shared facility, with Japan Air Defense Forces operating on one part of the base, and a U.S. Air Force fighter wing operating on the other.  Thankfully, the Air Base was spared most of the devastation of the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011.  Much of the fuel consumed at the air base is delivered by ship to Hachinohe Fuel Terminal.  This was one of my facilities I visited as a part of my work.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/22YNfuo]JVC by

As I did my work, my wife identified an opportunity to travel "space-available" on an Air Force plane traveling to Misawa, so she arrived two days before I finished my work visit.  In no time, my work was done, and we were on our way!  We headed north, and traveled to the terminal where we would board the ferry from Honshu to Hokkaido.  I found that I was one of several riders (both motorcycle and bicycle), and the ferry's stevedores knew exactly how to process my motorcycle.  I think they had it strapped into its bay in no more than 1-1/2 minutes!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21FT7Yp]JVC by

As we travelled across the bay, we soon realized we weren't traveling alone!  Seagulls flew alongside, boldly seeking snacks.  My wife couldn't help but indulge them.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUmbo]JVC by

A short while later, we arrived in Hakkodate, in Hokkaido.  A few notes about Hokkaido:  It is the second-largest island of the four islands that make up the Japanese "Mainland."  Though Japan's main and largest island, Honshu, contains 33 prefectures, Hokkaido, which is far less densely-populated, is a prefecture in itself.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/DnQg4M]Hokkaidomap-en by

I rode the bike off the ferry, loaded my wife on board, and we headed north.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/HY9FCg]Off the Ferry in Hokkaido by

[renchinrider]

Chapter 2:  Sapporo

We rode north toward Sapporo until dusk, when we found ourselves near the town of Mori.  We saw the perfect camping spot along a deserted beach, so we pulled off the road and set up camp.  As my wife began setting up the campsite, I rode back to a convenience store and got us some goodies to eat, then returned to help finish setting up.

JVC by

We actually gathered more wood than we could burn!  Here's another view of our campsite:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNx8Y]JVC by

And, I couldn't resist including this pic of the bike being reflected by our campfire, with the fire's smoke in the background...

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNwWL]JVC by

The next morning, we took off for Sapporo, where we were to meet friends.  My wife took this picture at a rest stop, and it gives a good idea of the terrain of Hokkaido's inland.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNwPm]JVC by

Along the way, we stopped for a light breakfast.  This photo could just as easily have been taken many other times.  It shows the informal, spontaneous way that we did most of our travel around the island.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUkQJ]JVC by

A few hours later, we arrived in downtown Sapporo, where we had arranged to linkup with our friends.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNwn9]JVC by

Within a short time, our friends met us, and we began our tour of the city.  Every visit should start with a "souvenir" pic!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNvZq]JVC by

Our friends in Sapporo were Teruyo, or "Teri", the wife of one of my workmates who was deployed to Iraq, and Teri's mother, "Okaasan", which is the Japanese word for "Mom."  One of the sites they took us to was the ski lift used when Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1972.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUkjd]JVC by

Here we are at the base of the ski jump.  The Japanese have a very complimentary saying:  "Ryo te ni, hana" which translates, "In both hands, flowers."  I can't think of a better title for this picture!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/DnQrQX]13 Ryo Te Ni, Hanna Sapporo, Hokkaido by

And this is simply, "The Three Flowers!"

[url=https://flic.kr/p/J5KiKc]JVC by

That evening, Okaasan took us to her favorite All You Can Eat crab restaurant.  A picture can't convey how delicious the food was!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUk7j]JVC by

The next day, Teri and Okaasan decided to take us to special places in the area surrounding Sapporo.  Okaasan said she wanted the chance to ride on the bike with me.  We covered well over 100 miles that day, and Okaasan was my guest the entire way!  She is one awesome lady!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUk3w]JVC by marc spencer, on Flickr

We could have toured Sapporo and Hokkaido on our own, but there is no way we could ever have immersed and enjoyed the visit the way we did with these wonderful friends as our hosts!  Teri and her mother really made our visit special!

17 West of Sapporo by

[renchinrider]

Ooops...I just erased the remaining chapters :'(  I'll re-write the rest of this story tomorrow. ;)

[renchinrider]

Chapter 3:  Hokkaido's West Coast

Following our visit to Sapporo, we hit the road and headed west, where we would again meet the coast and travel northward.  There was a very well-placed restaurant and overlook at the point where we reached the water, at the town of Ishikari.  A fellow rider offered to capture a picture for us.

JVC by

We then began to follow the coastline northward for the rest of the day.  We decided to stop and set up camp in a very nice state-operated roadside camping facility in Tomamae.  If I had been thinking toward the future, I would have taken the time to photograph our neighboring camper.  He was a large Japanese man who resembled a sumo wrestler, and he was touring Hokkaido on a 150cc Honda Cub!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUjBb]JVC by

The next morning, we resumed our northward trek, but soon found ourselves in another rain.  Thankfully, before starting our trip, we had visited our local "Workman" store, a Japanese chain which specializes in all types of work-related attire, and picked up two $25 rainsuits.  It rains a lot in Japan, so the Japanese have really nailed their engineering of rainsuits.  These turned out to be one of the best investments we've ever made.  Mine lasted several years, over countless trips and excursions, and my wife still has hers!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/DnQmip]JVC by

We pressed on in the rain, reflecting on comments we had heard from others who had traveled this part of Hokkaido's coast.  They all said it was boring, and they were right!  We had (only mildly interesting) ocean on our left, sparsely-vegetated sand dunes on our right, and unending rain overhead.  But we were dry, and it wasn't too cold, so we kept on going until we reached the northern city of Wakkanai.  I filled the bike with gas, and the gas station attendant gave me a dry terrycloth towel to clean our helmet visors--another shining example of Japanese hospitality!  We then rode over to Wakkanai's harbor to stretch our legs and snap some pictures.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ETNBwN]22 Wakkanai Seaport, Hokkaido by

We then traveled the short distance from Wakkanai to the Cape of Soya, Japan's northernmost point of land.  The Sakhalyn Islands lie just to the north, and are actually visible on clear days.  The Japanese continue to dispute Russia's claim to them.  They were previously Japanese territory until WWII, when the Soviets took them.  Though the Japanese want them back, (for now at least) they have conceded by erecting this monument on the tip of Cape Soya.  Having reached the northernmost point of our trip, we were ready to explore Hokkaido's eastern coast!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUj8L]JVC by

[Nice Goat]

This is awesome!

Do either you or your wife speak Japanese?  Did you have any trouble communicating with the locals?

[renchinrider]

Chapter 4:  Hokkaido's East Coast

Following our stops at Wakkanai and Cape Soya, we still had a couple of hours of daylight, so we began our ride down the eastern coast of the island.  Luckily, the rain stopped, but the skies remained foreboding.  We didn't relish the idea of camping and getting soaked overnight, so, when I spotted a "Rider House" in the tiny seaside village of Hamatombetsu, we pulled off the road and rented a room. 

During the summers, Hokkaido is filled with both bicyclists and motorcyclists circulating all over the place.  It is great for the economy, and one gas station chain even promotes the travel by presenting commemorative "I was here" mini-flags to riders who visit specific stations along their way.  I still have three of them.  Another of the developments from all the two-wheeled tourism is Rider Houses.  These are best described as hostels, where a rider can count on a clean, dry room, and access to bathing facilities, all at a very minimal cost.  None of the rider houses we stayed in was fancy, but each had its own charm, and placed us in the company of very enjoyable kindred spirits and generous hosts.

The Japanese use three alphabets.  The first is by far the most complex--the kanji alphabet, adopted from the Chinese many centuries ago.  The second is a phonetic alphabet called "Hiragana", which the Japanese use to "fill in the blanks" necessary to adapt Kanji to the Japanese grammatical structure.  The third is another phonetic alphabet called "Katakana" which the Japanese use to "sound out" foreign words that they adopt for use in their communication.  Thankfully, they simply adopted the English words, "Rider House", and wrote the words in Katakana on each such building in Hokkaido.  This is a picture of the Rider House we found in Hamatombetsu.

JVC by

[Chitza]

Super Awesome!!

[jrobinson]

Great report. I'm glad I gave you a little nudge.  :)

[renchinrider]

This is awesome!

Do either you or your wife speak Japanese?  Did you have any trouble communicating with the locals?

Goat, I studied Japanese with relative intensity the entire time we were there.  But I have to say, the language (especially reading and writing) is so complex that mastering it would require a lifetime.  However, I did learn enough to be able to engage in basic conversation, and I could read about 350 of the "essential" kanji characters (note that a Japanese high school student must be able to read approximately 1,250 kanji characters to graduate ???)  The two phonetic alphabets are relatively straightforward, just like our ABCs. 

It's amazing how many doors my simple, child-like speaking ability opened for us.  It seemed the Japanese people couldn't do enough to accommodate us, and it was quite humbling.

[renchinrider]

(Continuing with the Rider House)

...After we got settled in, we went out for a walk on the beach to stretch our legs and enjoy the sounds and smells of the ocean.  As we returned, I looked back at the barrier wall, and what did I find painted on it???  Wouldn't you know! ;D

JVC by

The next morning, I was standing outside drinking coffee and chatting with our host.  He asked me to stay where I was because he had something he wanted to show me.  He then disappeared.  A few minutes later, I heard a familiar rumbling sound, and around the corner came our host, with his family loaded onto his Electra Glide!  I couldn't believe it!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUiRy]JVC by

Of course, I had to hear the story of how he came to own a Harley, and we chatted on until it was time for us to go.  We loaded the bike and headed out to continue south along the coastline.  Along the way, we spotted a convenience store and decided to stop for lunch.  As we relaxed with our meals, we struck up conversation with a bicyclist who had ridden in and was hanging out next to us.  We learned that he was 72 ??? years old, and was touring Hokkaido on his bike, while his son and grandson accompanied him in a support van.  This was not the 72-year-old's first touring trip, either.  He had previously ridden his bicycle all over Thailand!  We took his picture, then humbly (but gratefully :D) climbed back onto our engine-powered cycle, and resumed our trip.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/J5KhEr]JVC by

By this time, the weather had improved significantly, so we opted to camp on the beach again.  We enjoyed the scenery until dusk.  Near the town of Mombetsu, we found a spot of beach suitable for camping, and we set up there.  The evening was serenely quiet and restful.  The next morning, we awoke to the soulful tone of fishing trawler engines as the boats passed by, just a few hundred yards from our camp.  That was our cue to get up and get out of our tent to greet the day.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/232sWVV]JVC by

We travelled the coast, stopping only briefly for lunch at a roadside stop.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21FTaAt]29 Enroute to Furano, Hokkaido by

[renchinrider]

Chapter 5:  Southern and Central Hokkaido, and Our Stay at the 民宿  (Minshuku)

We continued south after our rest stop, taking in as much of Hokkaido's eastern and southern coast as we could before our schedule dictated that we needed to continue westward.  As we rode, we didn't see any good places to set up camp, but along the road we noted an inviting minshuku in Kushiro.  We stopped and inquired, and the hosts welcomed us in.

The word "Minshuku" is made up of the two kanji characters above.  Min is "people" or "public", and shuku is "house" or "shelter."  Minshuku could best be thought about as "homestays".  Early on in my travels around Japan I learned the necessity of this word, and memorized the characters. ;)

Once we settled in, we came out of our room and entered the house's common area.  Our hosts told us that they would be celebrating the birthday of a family member that evening, and that we were invited.  How could we say no?!! :)

At the appointed time, we went to the hosts' living room, where they seated and welcomed us.  Soon, the host poured the first round of soju, and toasted the birthday of the family member.  As we chatted, the host told us that he is also a fishing boat captain and deep sea fishing guide.  He then gave us his meishi ("business card"), a gesture which carries more symbolic significance than it does in the U.S.  Soon his wife began bringing successive courses of seafood.  Each dish was absolutely delicious!! :P  We shared in an unforgettably intimate family celebration that evening, and still marvel at the generous hospitality of our hosts at that minshuku.  In this picture, the fishing boat captain is to my right, and the birthday celebrant is on my other side.

JVC by  

We took off the next morning, but quickly found ourselves in a torrential deluge of rain.  The streets began to flood, and at times the water was up to the floorboards of my motorcycle!   :(  We could see that we weren't going to get any further safely, so we searched out the nearest rider house and pulled in.  Thankfully, they had a vacancy, and showed us to our room.  We found ourselves surrounded by many others--mostly bicyclists--who had also pulled in to dodge the rain.  We all chatted, read books and watched tv throughout the day.  The rider house didn't have its own bathing facility, so that evening the hosts loaded us into their vans and took us to the local ofuro ("bath house").  In Japan, ofuros are not common, but can still frequently be found in rural areas.  They consist of gender-segregated rooms, each of which consists of a series of individual wash stations with shower heads on flexible hoses, buckets in which to contain wash water and washcloth, and another area with a large pool of hot water in which to relax after bathing.  We spent about an hour at the ofuro, and then loaded our cleansed, sleep-ready selves back into the vans and returned to the rider house, where we fell asleep almost instantly!

The next morning, we found the promise of sunshine, and we were ready to be on our way!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/232sWJx]JVC by

Because of the rain, we had not travelled as far as we had planned the day previous, so we mapped out the most direct route to Furano and made a bee-line to get there.  Hokkaido's city of Furano is famous for two reasons:  The first is for its renowned lavender gardens.  We had no problem finding the gardens, and we basked in all the beautiful colors.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/232sWCk]JVC by

The second thing that Furano is famous for is a unique form of glass-blowing, simply known as "Furano Glass."  What makes Furano Glass unique is that, as each piece cools, tiny web-like fractures develop within the glass.  Over the lifetime of the object, the glass will continue to develop more fractures, though it (somehow ???) maintains its structural integrity.  My wife bought a teacup (and they ain't cheap! :o) there, and she still uses it regularly.  For as long as we could bear the heat, we stood at the counter of one of the craftsmen and watched him form and blow a glass object right before our eyes.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21FT3F6]JVC by marc spencer

We were now in a relatively urban area and didn't see any good camping spots, so we scouted out another rider house and settled in.  Once again, we found ourselves humbled by the hospitality of our hostess!  In total, our hostess had four guests checked in by dinnertime, so she told us she wanted to prepare a meal for all of us.  Of course, we accepted gratefully, and I ran off to the nearest store to pick up a few treats to share with everyone.  Our wonderful hostess is seated to my immediate left.

JVC by

[renchinrider]

Chapter 6:  Returning Home

The time had come for us to return to Tokyo, so we headed back to Hakodate and boarded the ferry for the crossing back into Honshu.

35 Returning Home from Hokkaido by

By this time, my wife was convinced that she had experienced enough of the "comforts" that Harley-Davidson had engineered into its touring seat, and she asked me to return to Misawa and see if she could catch a flight home.  We did, but there were no flights scheduled... :'(  Reluctantly, she resigned herself to ride the ~300 miles back to Tokyo with me.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/232sWgP]JVC by

We made one more camping stop on our way back to Tokyo, in a beautiful public garden park.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/21WUhQW]JVC by

By the next evening, we were home.

[renchinrider]

Conclusion:

This was an unforgettable experience for us.  In total, my intrepid wife travelled 2,400 miles with me, over a 10-day period.  Together we built a set of memories and experiences that will remain with us forever.

JVC by

I hope this recount of our trip conveys some of the rewards of our travel with each of you.

Stand by for Parts II - IV, which will chronicle my travels around Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu!

[jrobinson]

Marc, Thank you for this excellent report.  This was a ride report, a travel report and a Japanese language lesson.

I was kinda kidding about the report, but I'm glad it prodded you to present your thoughts, words and photo to the group.

Waiting on the other stories.  :)

[klaviator]

Outstanding ride report!  You really got the chance to see japan and experience it's culture.  I've been to Japan a few times but never made it out into the countryside like you did.  So thanks for posting this and allowing to see some of the Japan that I never made it to.  Looking forward to reading about your other trips!