Summer Solstice Trip to Morappu Campground (Lake Shikotsu)

Chris didn’t travel all the way from New Zealand just for a weekend in Hokkaido (although that certainly would not have been a waste of time). He happened to be in China the week before, and had a stop off in Tokyo on his way back to New Zealand. He made the 1.5 hour flight from Tokyo to Sapporo on a Friday night, and we had a full two days to explore.

We are fortunate to live in Chitose City, only 25km from Lake Shikotsu. Lake Shikotsu is a caldera lake, and is one of Hokkaido’s deepest lakes. Best of all, there is a perfectly paved cycle path all the way from central Chitose to the lake, winding its way through cool forest. We packed up some camping gear on Saturday morning, and were out the door by 11am.

We put Chris on my Tern Verge S27h folding touring bike. His first reaction upon riding it before we set off was that “it looks like a kid’s bike, but it doesn’t ride like one!” That pretty much sums up the Tern Verge S27h. Looks are deceiving.

That said, I think for him (height: 183cm), the stock 6° handlepost (350mm length) would be better replaced by the 12° version (http://premiumbikegear.com/product/tern-physis-3d-t-bar-handlepost/). For me, the 6° version provides acceptable effective top-tube length, although perhaps a little longer would replicate the cockpit feel of my bigger bike (a Surly Karate Monkey, converted for touring).

That said, any intricacies in geometry were largely lost on Chris as he well and truly put the bike through its paces. On road…And off-road…

The Chitose-Lake Shikotsu cycle road is a completely separated cycleway, which I have written about previously (http://www.14degrees.org/lake-shikotsu-to-chitose-cycling-road-cycle-path-in-hokkaido/). This was the first time we had taken the trip on from the Chitose City end. The previous few times we were going the other way, downhill to Chitose. While the other direction – from Chitose to Lake Shikotsu – is a climb all the way, the gradient is always very gentle.

We arrived at Lake Shikotsu at around 3:30pm, whereby we went straight to the Kyuka-no-mura hot spring for a soak. It was my first time to share a Japanese hotspring experience with my brother. It was mildly weird.

Hotspring formalities over, we tracked down a feed of local kokanee (sockeye) salmon, and made it to Morappu Campground on the southeastern side of Lake Shikotsu just as the sun was setting. I went for a swim. It was properly cold.

We were taken aback at how many campers were there. On all our other trips (either later or earlier in the season) we’ve often been the only ones camping. Tonight, it was like tent city. Like most Japanese campsites, however, the mobs were subdued and orderly.

Day broke the next morning (at just before 4am) clear and warm. Most campers were rousing themselves at around 6am. By 6:30am, the tent city was positively heaving with activity. Barbeques were being stoked, kayaks paddled, and children encouraged to explore the shoreline. We had managed to put our tents up in a clear space towards the northern end of the campground.

We didn’t get away until just after 10am…it was just too idyllic.

There was only one other cycle tourist at the campground that we knew of. And it happened to be Kumiko, someone I’ve met by chance on two other occasions while either attending bicycle-related events or cycle touring. Kumiko has only ever owned one bicycle in her life, and that is the Surly Pugsley she is riding now. When I asked her what it was like to cycle on pavement with the bike, she explained that she’s not got anything to compare it to, so it feels just fine. The frame bag and other packs attached to the bike are all home made.