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Cycle Tours / Hokkaido, Japan
« Last post by RonS on November 30, 2025, 11:11:13 PM » I am finally getting around to writing up a description of my last tour, to Hokkaido Japan. Better late than never.
On August 30 I arrived in Memambetsu, Hokkaido, Japan, after a 20 hour layover in Tokyo (where it was 38°!). Memambetsu is where I ended the Hokkaido portion of my tour in 2023. Luckily for me, it has an airport which connects to Tokyo so I was able to fly in and pick up right where I left off last time. I then travelled mostly along the coast in a clockwise direction, arriving in Sapporo 26 days later, where I departed to return home.
I'll get into the nuts and bolts of the tour in future posts. This time I'll just give a few highlights and some pics.
The weather gods smiled on me (mostly) this trip. I avoided riding in the pouring rain until the very last day. There were some good overnight storms, including one that dumped 75 mm of rain in 12 hours, with 70 km/h winds (I was inside for that one). Temps we're mostly in the low to mid 20s, and overnights in the teens, right in my riding and sleeping sweet spot. There was one night where I, for the first time in three trips to Japan, had to don a long sleeved top.
A few random stats:
Distance ridden; 1429km, with 8830m elevation gain. Longest day 101km, not by planning. I had to detour 10km after being sent by Google down a road that had a long term construction project. So much for “live traffic updates”. Most days were around 50-70km. I like taking my time.
Days that didn’t end with a trip to the onsen (hot spring spa): 1, because my guidebook was out of date, and it had closed down. The campground had plenty of water, though. Nothing like a hot soak after a day in the saddle.
Omiyage (gifts) received from random strangers: 10, ranging from a can of coffee someone handed me from their car window while I had stopped to take a photo, to having my dinner paid for by a young man who wanted to practice his English and hear about my trip.
Soft serve ice cream cones consumed (Hokkaido is famous for it) 13
And some photos
1 Memambetsu airport is small, but it has a bike reassembly station, covered, and with loaner tools, provided you get there early enough. I didn’t. While I was reassembling the bike, an employee came by and (very nicely) asked how long I was going to be because ”the airport closes in 15 minutes.”
2 Nobody does cute like the Japanese. After seeing this overhead road sign, you won't know where you're going, but you'll have a smile on your face.
3 Yup, that's a CDN $47 watermelon. I didn't buy it, but I did buy a personal sized one for $18 and it was delicious.
4 The first of my 13 ice creams. Bamboo flavor. It was actually quite good. The craziest flavour I came across was carrot, and I was going to try it, but it was the last day of a long weekend, and they were sold out!
On August 30 I arrived in Memambetsu, Hokkaido, Japan, after a 20 hour layover in Tokyo (where it was 38°!). Memambetsu is where I ended the Hokkaido portion of my tour in 2023. Luckily for me, it has an airport which connects to Tokyo so I was able to fly in and pick up right where I left off last time. I then travelled mostly along the coast in a clockwise direction, arriving in Sapporo 26 days later, where I departed to return home.
I'll get into the nuts and bolts of the tour in future posts. This time I'll just give a few highlights and some pics.
The weather gods smiled on me (mostly) this trip. I avoided riding in the pouring rain until the very last day. There were some good overnight storms, including one that dumped 75 mm of rain in 12 hours, with 70 km/h winds (I was inside for that one). Temps we're mostly in the low to mid 20s, and overnights in the teens, right in my riding and sleeping sweet spot. There was one night where I, for the first time in three trips to Japan, had to don a long sleeved top.
A few random stats:
Distance ridden; 1429km, with 8830m elevation gain. Longest day 101km, not by planning. I had to detour 10km after being sent by Google down a road that had a long term construction project. So much for “live traffic updates”. Most days were around 50-70km. I like taking my time.
Days that didn’t end with a trip to the onsen (hot spring spa): 1, because my guidebook was out of date, and it had closed down. The campground had plenty of water, though. Nothing like a hot soak after a day in the saddle.
Omiyage (gifts) received from random strangers: 10, ranging from a can of coffee someone handed me from their car window while I had stopped to take a photo, to having my dinner paid for by a young man who wanted to practice his English and hear about my trip.
Soft serve ice cream cones consumed (Hokkaido is famous for it) 13
And some photos
1 Memambetsu airport is small, but it has a bike reassembly station, covered, and with loaner tools, provided you get there early enough. I didn’t. While I was reassembling the bike, an employee came by and (very nicely) asked how long I was going to be because ”the airport closes in 15 minutes.”
2 Nobody does cute like the Japanese. After seeing this overhead road sign, you won't know where you're going, but you'll have a smile on your face.
3 Yup, that's a CDN $47 watermelon. I didn't buy it, but I did buy a personal sized one for $18 and it was delicious.
4 The first of my 13 ice creams. Bamboo flavor. It was actually quite good. The craziest flavour I came across was carrot, and I was going to try it, but it was the last day of a long weekend, and they were sold out!