Saturday 9 June 2012
Sapporo
- Lake Katsurazawa Distance: 123km
I had a lovely first day cycling in Japan! I slept like a log on my futon, an had
a relaxed start to the day at Ken and Katsumi’s house. I slept soundly until 8am, then got up
with the family for a weekend breakfast of fried egg, bread and coffee. (also, Katsumi made the bread!).
I was lucky enough for Ken to offer to cycle with me out of
Sapporo and all the way to Naganumi. He was able to show me a way along quiet
side-streets that I never would have found on my own, which made leaving the
city a breeze. Lucky I left
Sapporo on the weekend – reduced cars and Ken was able to cycle this morning!
I had planned to stop at Yubari tonight, but after arriving
there at 1:30pm, I decided that I wanted to press on… after lunch! I had an awesome curry rice
at a little restaurant that had a uniquely Japanese set-up – four small
kitchens sharing a large dining room.
So, you had to find a seat, read the menus attached to the table
(Japanese only), figure out which kitchen the menu with the food you wanted
relates to, then order from a girl at the appropriate kitchen. Phew! Luckily I managed to place my
order accurately and politely so as not to make a fool of myself (this is my
goal always in Japan, where a tall blonde girl on a bike really stands out!).
After lunch, I continued on to Lake Katsurazawa, where I am
camping at a closed-down summer retreat.
There isn’t anyone else here, but that’s okay – there is running water
and vending machines for drinks!
I just had cup-noodles and oreos for dinner tonight,
overlooking the lake. The Seiko-mart where I got them
was crazy – a whole wall of fridges with single-serve alcoholic drinks, and I
found out the alcohol is crazy-cheap in Japan too – a 750ml bottle of Kahlua
for ¥1650.00,
which is around $19.00!
I also saw a deer today!
Unfortunately the deer saw me first, and was running away into the
forest by the time I heard/saw it. Still, I am pretty happy to have seen one on my first
day!
No comments:
Post a Comment