Bicycle touring Japan - Day 12
This post describes my twelfth day of bicycle touring in Japan, today most kilometers in a train, in order to get from Iwate prefecture up to the South of Hokkaido, so tomorrow I can ferry over to Oma in Aomori.
Bicycle: 34 km
Train: 420 km
Train: 420 km
Route: Hiraizumi to Ichinoseki, then train to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto and on by bike to Hakodate
Riding time: 2 h
Weather: sunny in both locations, but rain while on the train. In Iwate, 22C, in Hokkaido dropping rapidly from 20 C to 12 C
Today was essentially a day on the move. From Iwate up North to Hokkaido, so that I can move into Aomori tomorrow. I know, it is not logical to go from Iwate through Hokkaido to Aomori, but my plan to visit Osorezan starts from Oma. And the ferry to Oma leaves in Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Today in the morning I had a leisurely start leaving the hotel probably around 9:30 and just riding straight into Ichinoseki, to catch the next available shinkansen. I had looked up the train departure times yesterday, but didn't want to stress me out for any specific train... which resulted in me missing the 10:12 shinkansen by only a few minutes. So I took the 11:28 shinkansen, arriving (after one change in Morioka) to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto at 14:37.
If you wanted to see how fast a Shinkansen is when it is NOT stopping in a station...
The ride into Ichinoseki was uneventful, but sunny.
Today was essentially a day on the move. From Iwate up North to Hokkaido, so that I can move into Aomori tomorrow. I know, it is not logical to go from Iwate through Hokkaido to Aomori, but my plan to visit Osorezan starts from Oma. And the ferry to Oma leaves in Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Today in the morning I had a leisurely start leaving the hotel probably around 9:30 and just riding straight into Ichinoseki, to catch the next available shinkansen. I had looked up the train departure times yesterday, but didn't want to stress me out for any specific train... which resulted in me missing the 10:12 shinkansen by only a few minutes. So I took the 11:28 shinkansen, arriving (after one change in Morioka) to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto at 14:37.
If you wanted to see how fast a Shinkansen is when it is NOT stopping in a station...
The ride into Ichinoseki was uneventful, but sunny.
Bicycle touring Japan - Ride maps
For details on the bicycle tour today in Iwate, checkout the below maps:
As weather forecast for Hakodate was good, I had plotted out a route from the Shin-Hakodate station to my hotel in Hakodate, so rode into town. As with some other shinkansen stations, Shin-Hakodate is quite far from the city, about 20 km. But it was a nice ride, specially initially as the sun was still higher and while it was fresh it was also sunny and riding in short sleeves was still totally possible.
The station essentially is in the middle of nowhere, a plain of fields. Apparently a lot of onion fields, as the air was thick with onion smell.
I made a brief detour to the port, to see if I could already buy the ticket for the ferry tomorrow. I could not, but I was able to reserve one. Then on to my hotel for the night, selected because of its cheap price, 4000 Yen, no meals included.
At the station I had even gotten some tourist information material about Hakodate, it seems that the most famous spot is Hakodate mountain to see the city by night. But when I arrived to my hotel a cold and strong wind was blowing and I figured that on top of the mountain the wind must be even stronger... so laziness got the better of me, and I just stayed in my hotel room.
I made a brief detour to the port, to see if I could already buy the ticket for the ferry tomorrow. I could not, but I was able to reserve one. Then on to my hotel for the night, selected because of its cheap price, 4000 Yen, no meals included.
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| View from my room |
At the station I had even gotten some tourist information material about Hakodate, it seems that the most famous spot is Hakodate mountain to see the city by night. But when I arrived to my hotel a cold and strong wind was blowing and I figured that on top of the mountain the wind must be even stronger... so laziness got the better of me, and I just stayed in my hotel room.
Bicycle touring Japan - Ride maps
For details on the bicycle tour today in Hokkaido, checkout the below maps:
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