They have some very large horses in this part of Hokkaido. They are shorter than Clydesdales, but have hooves about the same size.
Kelp seems to be a large part of the economy here. Huge sheets of it are harvested by chaps on boats, and then hung to dry in large forced-air drying sheds. The guy below said that the dried kelp is sold all over Japan. Kelp of this thickness is used mostly for soup and sauce stock in Japan. It sort of acts like MSG; brings out the flavor of foods more.
For lunches on this trip, we were mostly eating out. Most meals are below 1,000yen, but for a large bowl of ‘kaisen-don’ (a bowl of rice topped with raw fish) at this nice place, they were charging 1,250yen. You’d easily pay 2,000yen for something equivalent in big-city Sapporo. I would have taken a photo of it, but alas my appetite had other ideas.
Despite an interesting start to the day, much of the cycling approaching our campsite (the Fureai Campsite in Odaito) was quite dull, in my opinion. The campsite made up for it though. Right on the seafront, it was.
Route Map
Distance: 59.8km | Time on bikes: 4h 02m | Average speed: 14.7km/h | Bears: 0
Financials: Food: 6,039yen | Accommodation: 700yen | Onsen (hotspring): 1,000yen | Laundry: 400yen
