Day 10 Monday 18 June
Monbetsu to Memanbetsu (via Abashiri) 121km (total 833km)
Another long day in the saddle. I had actually intended to overnight at Abashiri, but after
finding that the campsite was right next to the main road, and having energy to
spare, I checked the Touring Mapple and found a campsite right next to an onsen
and on the lake-front at Memanbetsu (only 14km away).
So, I spent the night in Memanbetsu, and had a lovely soak
in the local public onsen after setting up my tent.
Today had a variety of scenery: (dairy) farmlands and coastlines. I stopped at a Service centre about 20km from
Tokoro and bought a pumpkin and vanilla swirl ice cream – it was delicious, and
even had a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds! Along this coast, there appear to be lots of these service
centres, which have a bunch of stores selling food and souvenirs. There is always a vendor selling
Hokkaido soft-serve ice cream, which is particularly good ice cream!
Also, there was a 25km cycle path from Tokoro to Abashiri
(just keep following route 238 out of Tokoro and you’ll find it at the top of
the hill out of town – it is well sign-posted), which made for a pleasant
change of pace off the road. I was
able to zone out a bit and not focus so much on where I am on the road :)
The weather was looking a bit dicey through Tokoro, and
so-so as I entered Abashiri, so I was not sure as to whether I should tent or
stay at a hotel. Happily, I
decided to err on the side of optimism and took the camping option – there was
no rain and not too cold overnight, either.
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