Hokkaido Touring Day 6: Attacked By Crows

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I woke up at 6:30. It's cloudy and cool outside. I had a cup of coffee at the Internet cafe and left at 7:30.

As I was climbing up the hill, I heard a crying sound. I looked to the side and saw two deer looking at me. I hurriedly took out my camera but I lost the chance to take the picture of them. There are so many deer in Hokkaido, it's no wonder there are so many signs warning people to be on the lookout for animals on the road. There are many other animals on the side of the road, including birds, moles, and foxes. However, if people are driving a car or riding a motorcycle, they may not be able to see these animals on the side of the road because of their fast speed. This is the privilege of bicycle travel. Being fast and efficient isn't the only thing that matters. It's just like life.

I climbed up to about 150 meters in elevation and then a lot of up and down today. However I was able to ride a bike without getting tired not as much as I expected. Today is the sixth day of cycling. I guess that means my body is getting ready to go.

On the way, I was cheered on several times by children from cars passing by. I just waved back to them, but I met this kind of scene all over the world when I was riding my bicycle with my large luggage. This would be another privilege of bicycle travel.

I was on the inland side of Route 44 at first, but it is difficult to ride due to many cars. I stopped at a "gourmet roadside station" in Akke-shi, but it was still early and there was not open yet.

From here, I decided to cylce on the ocean side of route 123. I know that there would be mountains again, but the quieter road would be better for cycling. When I actually passed the route, it was quiet and the atmosphere was very nice. I thought it was going to be a bit gassy from the Kiritappu Marshes, which are said to have a lot of fog, but the road was cold and foggy much before that. Maybe that's why I have only seen one cyclist today.

※photo from google map

There is a hot spring called "Yuyu-no-yu" about 3km before the Cape Kiritappu campsite. I stopped my bicycle and took a bath (500 jpy). As I am washing up, however, a staff member of the spa informed me that crows are scavenging for my luggage ! WTF!. The crows here seem to be able to open the zipper and take something inside. I think it's probably safe, even if they open the zipper because they were blocked with a plastic bottle or a can of chu-hai by top of the luggage. However I'm worried about the baggage,I came out quickly. I checked the luggage was indeed a little zippered open, but inside seems to be safe and secure. Of course, it is a pity that I could not relax in the hot spring.

I head up a bit of a hill to the campsite. I'd already changed into my normal clothes in the bath, but I didn't get wet from sweating because of the cold air.... I checked in the campsite and pitched the tent. When I'd take a break with a snack and a cup of coffee, I noticed that the ante-bread and chocolate bread I had left for snacks were missing. As expected of a battle-hardened crow. I was beaten wonderfully. The campsite is nice and open on a grassy field, but I couldn't see anything because of the fog. The sound of waves lapping at the headland is quite noisy.

I walk to the lighthouse and gazebo before dinner. I looked at the sea from the cape, but I couldn't see anything due to deep fog... I returned with a little unfortunate feeling and then I had a full meal and drank a canned chu-hai of Yubari melon and a green apple, which is only available in Hokkaido. In opposite of going my full of stomach my bringing foods and also the unfortunate feeling are getting lighter.

I don't have much fuel alcohol anymore and toothpaste and brush is also running over. Many of campsites don't have mirrors, so I'm also contemplating whether to buy a mirror.. I looked at my face in wash room, it's red because I don't have any sunscreen on. I also need sunscreen and aloe cream.

Before sleeping, I opened my Macbook to organize the touring record , but the SSD portable hard drive looks no good. It takes a lot of electricity and the connector comes loose from vibration. Next time I'll switch to a 256GB or larger SD card instead of SSD.

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From Kushiro to Kiritap Cape 90km