北海道自転車旅行：Jul, 4: 滝川へ

We woke up to bright sunlight, birds chirping and insects flying around lively in the morning, in a beautifully green valley in Iwamizawa (岩見沢). Well, it was actually the Iwamizawa city park, next to the "Green land amusment park" that we thought was closed. Well, we woke up and found out that the Farris wheel of "Green land" was moving again... Great, that must mean that they closed 5pm yesterday, no wonder we can't get into the camping grounds at 5:30. As we were having breakfast, someone came and told us that we should camp in the camping grounds, not camp in the park grounds. Well, we made our apologies got packed and get going before any other officials came.

Sunshine, lush trees, clean streets, and music playing in the city, a morning in Iwamizawa feels like a typical impression you would expect from "wonderland" in cartoons. Only thing is that the music, played from a city PA system, also plays local info and ads; not wonderland-ish,
yet still interesting. There are city people and students of the near by education university walking on the streets. Factor in all the beauty of the city, and the abundance of shopping places just out of town makes this my favorite city of all the cities that I will pass through during this trip.

We went on north on route 12 and made a brief stop at the Mikasa (三笠) "station of the road (道の駅)", a roadside rest station. Our friend Hisaishi had told us about these spots, which were places where you could find restrooms, public phones, and local agricultural goods, typically places for people on the road to take a rest. As "station of the road (道の駅)" suggests, these are to roads what train stations are to railways. Will this is the first "station of the road (道の駅)" that we stopped at, and also the first one ever built in Hokkaido. Yet, other then a stand alone bathroom, some phones, and a water mill to make the picture look better, this is practically a bazaar of vegetables and fruits. Not quite what we immagined. Turns out this is the only "station of the road" that we'll ever see that doesn't have a AC'd main building.

We then went on the the longest straight route in Japan: a segment of route 12 that spans 29.2km without and turns, directly leading to our goal of the day: Takikawa(滝川). The thought of riding on the longest straight road in Japan is sure cool, and I could imagine my self going full speed on this road to my heart's content, never having to slow down for a curve. Yet, turns out that no curves is too boring for the mind, and I was soon riding half asleep, at a high speed of 35 km/hr. I managed to collect enough consciousness, pull up by the road and catch a nap till my friends arrived. (I was riding in the front, faster then the others.) Later on, I rode slower, sticking with friends and kept talking to avoid the previous horror story of the "high speed nap".

The little cities en route are pretty much similar to what we saw yesterday. Tiny cute towns building around little train stations.

We got to Takikawa relatively early in the afternoon. Before we got to Hokkaido, we had contact with a nice photographer: Ryan, who also travels on bikes and was kind enough to offer us a free homestay at his home in Takikawa. And so we called him from the train station, and he came for us on bike soon after. He was Californian and it's kind of strange to suddenly switch to English in Japan. Yet, it was still nice to suddenly be able to communicate in a more familiar language. He came on a folding bike with inner gears and outer derailers, which he said are like double gears that changes speeds faster then normal bikes, and he rides this folding bike almost everywhere he wants. Amazing. I always thought folding bikes would be harder to ride, but, maybe I'll figure out the real answer when I have money to get one for my self.

He lives in a little house where he shares a rent with someone else. Here we were astonished by how safe it is in a Japanese community: he came to fetch us while leaving door and windows open. Talk about burglar free... Yeah, over the days, we have grown to be comfortable with leaving our bikes in the Japanese public unlocked; but leaving your home unlocked? I can't help but be surprised of how safe it is in Japan and can now better relate to the idea of the use of "paper doors" in the old times of Japan. Will, we unpacked, took baths and did our laundry. And Ryan introduced us to the beautiful photos of his, mostly of the highest mountain of Hokkaido: Daisetuzan (大雪山), where we plained to go later on. I can try to find all the fancy words that I know to describe his works, yet I don't think it's possible to communicate the breathtaking beauty of the photos in words. Better go to Ryan's site and take a look your self. Despite the great photos, a life of a freelance photographer still seems hard as he is really busy and the pay isn't high. We have always thought it's nice to have a life of a freelance worker, to work at home and set your own hours; yet now it seems that, freelance means work is part of every minute of your life.

So why a Californian living in a small town like Takikawa? Ryan said he likes to peacefulness of small towns, and Takikawa is a small town near enough to Sapporo so it's convenient to go into town get anything he needs done and not have to live in the busy city. Plus, it's close to Daisetuzan, the beautiful mountains that are the theme of many of his photos.

Ryan took us to a steak house for a "cheep all you can eat" dinner, which is the salad bar only, minus the steak. A radical way to save and have lots of salad, maybe something I could be doing in the future before I find a job. I have never been so creative in cutting corners, and after a whole day's ride, I can't help but still order the cheapest chicken steak and share it with a friend, to apase my hunger that needs more then salad. Later on, while at the supermarket shopping for tomorrow's breakfast, he told us that he never bought anything that's not 50% off. Wow...! (Although we later on figured that that particular supermarket had some of the most expensive prices we've seen in our whole trip.)
July 3rd: 岩見沢 << | July 4th: 滝川 live report | >> July 5th: 旭川