Touring Hokkaido

Hello,

This is Issue from Blue Lug Kamiuma.

I went straight to vacation after my trip to the U.S.

I made myself up to Hokkaido for a week to go on a bike tour. This was the first going on a tour since my big trip around Japan I did a few years ago..

The best way to travel to Hokkaido is to fly, which means that you would have to pack your bike which also may sound like a huge deal. However, I think it’s not much different from just a normal rinko trip, once you experience it.

One thing that was tough was the way to the airport.

The Haneda airport is about 30km away from my house and I would need to ride around the entire airport to get to the entrance by bike.

If I was traveling alone, I would probably have went with a bike anyway, but I was traveling with my dear partner this time, so we kinda cheated.

We took a private reservation taxi called “nearme” to the airport. They brought a van for us to load up our bikes so it was very easy, despite being a bit pricy. I do want to say that it was totally worth every yen, since we could just load our packed up bikes to the main entrance of the airport.

One advice I can give you for flying with a bike is to pack the bike with the rear derailleurs removed.

I’ve seen many people snap the RD when flying with their bikes.

 

     

      

Hokkaido in the summer time is full of great scenery, weather and food…everything you need for a perfect trip.

I didn’t see as many bike tourists as the time I bike toured around Japan, but I can say that I saw so many normal tourists.

We started our ride from Asahikawa Airport and headed to Cape Soya. We rode about 50-70km per day in a party pace.

The land of Hokkaido is massive compared to Tokyo and there are only a few traffic lights, so you can stay on your bike without stopping for hours, but I think making some shorts stops to take in the scenery makes the trip way more entertaining.

We made a stop at Hot Chef, the bento store for lunch.

The locals said that it was a very hot summer, but the temperature that day was around 28°-ish, which feels way more cool than Tokyo.

There are many camp grounds around the prefecture, so it’s easy for tourists to find a place to spend the night.

It was the first time in 8 years since I visited Dohoku. It made me a bit emotional reminiscing the memories of my first trip being here.

I was able to meet my friend I made back in the day during this trip, which was pretty cool.

There had been a lot of change in my life, but the beautiful scenery of Hokkaido had not.

We took a flight back to Haneda from Wakkanai, the northernmost point.

You can also take the bus to Shinjuku from Haneda.

Summer is the most busiest season for Hokkaido, regardless of the purpose of the trip, so flight tickets are expensive. I recommend going to Hokkaido right after the peak of summer. (the peak of summer is around mid August)

monstercross (53)

The bike I rode during the trip was my Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross.

I would ride my Mod. Zero for my usual rinko trips, but I decided to go with the Monstercross, which is more cruisy since I was going to ride with my partner.

I also thought rim brakes would have less issues in case the bike got tossed when being transferred via plane.

That being said, I think it’s the fact that your are touring with a bike you love that makes the whole trip great, so I’d say any bike is good for touring. It’s all about love ya know?

H Plus Archetype rims x Son Delux wheels.

I wasn’t planning to ride during the night, but I felt that there would be situations that we had no choice but to ride in the night.

And yes, I was right. There were some times that we had to ride in the dark.

Pass And Stow 3 rail front rack for hanging Swift Industries Pannier bags for stowing my camping gear.

It does take a few minutes to break down the rack this small, but it’s great for rinkoing.

I remembered that there was an area that I couldn’t resupply for a 10-20km around the Dohoku area, so I brought three bottles, using the cage mount under the down tube, but this was actually too much.

Back then, I was carrying a 2L bottle and one regular water bottle, but the bike I was riding in the previous tour was much heavier, so I didn’t need as much water this time.

The Stanley bottle was great though. Having something cold on a summer bike tour is a game changer.

I was very excited to try out the All Road Bar +

I had already tried them out without all the bikepacking stuff and they felt fantastic, so I was curious to know how they felt with a loaded bike. I was very happy with how they felt.

The kink towards the hood from the shoulder is just something else.

I wished there was more flare to the where bracket is placed, but nothing it didn’t bother me too much,

This is one of the best drop bars I have ever touched, so I highly recommend them.

I had two rainy days, so the canti brakes felt slightly sketchy at times, but I didn’t have any troubles with them.

I should have felt safer with mini V’s but it’s all good.

Going in a bike tour makes you love your bike more. If are reading this and became interested in Hokkaido touring, I encourage you to do it.

I would like to give a special thanks to my friend in Hokkaido for showing around Hokkaido 8 years ago. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have thought to visit Hokkaido again.

(The picture is the little snacky he gave me)

On a side note, the airport security took the tire repair kit as a “flammable object”. (I didn’t know that)

I visited a local bike shop to buy a repair kit and found a dead stock white Ritchey WCS stem in their shelf, so I of course had to buy it. Who wouldn’t by an 80mm/84° rare stem?

I was very mad at myself but it’s a good memory of the trip. Yes, my partner judged me so hard.

This is pretty obvious, but the airport security also took my gas can for camping. I bought a big one when I arrived in Hokkaido, but I ended up not using all of it, so I had to ask the security to throw it away.

Lastly, I would like to show you this ginormous ice cream you can get at the Fujimi Roadside Station.

(The strawberry flavor I ate 8 years ago was sadly gone)

Thanks for reading!