Day 180-182 Cycling with Dragonflies & Eco Power in Hokkaido

Sep 16 • Blog, Hokkaido • 809 Views • 1 Comment

Sandwiched by the beautiful yellow rice fields from Fukagawa, I was getting closer to the goal of my tour. The great thing about cycling in Hokkaido is not just this beautiful vast land, but the friendly motorcyclists out on tour too. Most of them wave or give me a thumb up as they pass by. Every time that happened, it gave me a smile as I cycled alone in the middle of nowhere.

Even better were the construction workers who guided the drivers on the road. Each and every one of them was so polite, greeted with a real smile and guided me around the site. It left me humbled to pass by people who carry on their work with integrity even in the middle of a chaos.

Speaking of smiles and happy scenes, look at the cutest bus stop in Japan I found! People told me about cyclists spending the night in some bus stops in Hokkaido, and now I know why. They are like tiny little houses. The doors are for their freezing winter with thick snow. There were several of these yellow bus stops in Hokuryu Town, where they were known for sunflowers.

The yellow rice fields and these dragonflies were giving me a real sense of change in season. Dragonflies accompanying me reminded me of cycling with butterflies in Iheya Island back in April. I had to sway my bike so I wouldn’t step of them waiting on the ground to be found by their mates.

Boiled sweetcorn can be found in many stores along the road in Hokkaido. The sweet flavor with a little bit of salt from the boiling water is a perfect snack during cycling.

Once I was out to the Sea of Japan, I saw many signs of sea urchin from this northern region called, bafun uni. I got a colorful sashimi bowl.

Along Sea of Japan, there was a long stretch of road with a series of moderate hills that felt like it went on forever. The moment I thought I was done with a hill, another one would show up. I was battered with them and the wind, but all that leg work made my the following day much happier. The road became flat, breathtakingly straight in parts, and I had the sun and wind on my back! I was especially glad since my recovering hand had been having a hard time trying to hold onto the handlebar in the side wind.

Big, beautiful fields with cows, and a long straight road with me on my bike – that was all there was.

While cycling to Wakkanai, the northernmost city of Japan, the beautiful mountain of Rishiri Island showed up on the left. This beautiful Ororon Line instantly became my favorite cycling road.

With so many wind turbines along this seaside, you can only imagine how windy it gets here. My bicycle pedals and the turbine wings going around and around were a perfect combination of eco power as I headed toward my goal.

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