japan day five – up then down then up then down

One of the most baffling things about Hokkaido is the fact that the sun rises at 3.40am. And sets at 6.30pm. I thought I must have been imagining things, the first time I woke up in daylight at 4am. But no, it really is light that early. A quirk of the Japanese single time zone and lack of daylight savings.

 

Waterfalls in Daisetsuzan

 

We head back to Sounkyo to stock up on food, then head out and uphill, through tunnels and past waterfalls, and past snow, and roadworks, and finally to the pass.

 

At the pass

 

After lunch at the pass we fly downhill to Nukabira, an onsen (hot spring!) town. We have a brief internet and food interlude, then start the climb to Lake Shikaribetsu. An ascent of around 600 metres in 9km has us in great-granny gears the whole way, as we pass through the Nukabira ski resort, where deers graze on the snow-free ski runs.

 

Pushing uphill

 

It starts raining as we start rolling downhill, and by the time we reach the lake we are saturated. The campground is closed, so we join the other stealth campers and set up in a picnic shelter. At least we have running water this time, and there’s an owl.

 

Downhill in the fog

 

Location: Sounkyo – Lake Shikaribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
Distance cycled: 89km