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The ferry from Oma departing at 9:20, arriving in Muroran at 14:20, brought me to Hokkaido. First, I’ll head counterclockwise toward Kushiro. Currently, the ferry service connecting Oma and Muroran has been discontinued.

“Hokkaido, the Big Island” was the catchphrase for All Nippon Airways’ 1977 campaign. Those of a certain age should remember it.

It evoked images of vast nature and the great outdoors, and I too was one of those who yearned for Hokkaido. That feeling didn’t change even after completing a year-and-a-half bicycle trip abroad. For someone born in Tokyo like me, Hokkaido just feels immense. It’s hard to grasp, but for example, the distance from Muroran to Kushiro is roughly equivalent to the distance from Tokyo to Kyoto on Honshu.

大間 9:20発、室蘭 14:20着のフェリー便、やって来ました北海道。まずは反時計回りに釧路を目指します。現在、大間と室蘭を結ぶフェリー便は廃止されています。

「でっかいどう、北海道」1977年の全日空のキャンペーンのキャッチフレーズです。ある程度の年齢の方なら覚えているはずです。
雄大な自然と大地を思い起こさせ、私も北海道に憧れを抱いた一人です。それは１年半の海外自転車旅を終えても変わることはありませんでした。東京生まれの私にとって北海道はとにかく大きく感じます。なかなかピンときませんが、例えば室蘭から釧路までは本州でいうと東京から京都ほどの距離になります。

Driving along National Route 36 from Muroran to Tomakomai. After passing through industrial complexes with paper mills and steel plants, the road takes on a distinctly Hokkaido feel. Along Route 235 through Monbetsu, Niikappu, Shizunai, and Urakawa, numerous horse farms breeding racehorses come into view. Cape Erimo is finally drawing near.

室蘭から苫小牧まで国道36号線走ります。製紙や製鉄工場などのコンビナートを抜けると北海道らしい道路が続きます。紋別、新冠、静内、浦河と235号線沿線に競走馬を産出する牧場が数多く見られます。いよいよ襟裳岬が近づいてきます。

This photo shows the tip of Cape Erimo. From the Golden Road to the Naumann Highway. This area is described in detail in my first blog post, “I’ve posted some photos of Hokkaido.” Some photos ahead may overlap with that first post.

After passing Hiroo Town, you’ll see the “Naumann Elephant Fossil Discovery Site” with a stone monument. Turn right here and drive about 3 kilometers to reach Horokayanto Marsh, a brackish water area facing the Pacific Ocean. I took a quick soak at Bansei Onsen (bath fee: ¥300) near the marsh and pitched my tent right on the beach that night. Bansei Onsen is a rare iodine-rich hot spring in Japan. The bath fee is now ¥500. Perhaps it was the summer festival, but fireworks were going off nearly every night around this time. It felt like they were signaling the end of Hokkaido’s short summer vacation.

写真は襟裳岬の突端です。黄金道路からナウマン国道へ。このあたりは初回のブログ「北海道の写真を載せてみました」に詳しく記してあります。この先、その初回と重複する写真もあるかと思います。
広尾町を過ぎると「ナウマン象化石発見場所」が現れ、石碑があります。この先を右折して３キロほど走ると太平洋に面した気水域にあるホロカヤントウ沼に出ます。沼の近くにある晩成温泉(入浴料300円)でひとっ風呂、この日はそのまま浜辺にテントを張りました。晩成温泉は日本でも珍しいヨウ素の温泉です。現在、入浴料は500円になっています。夏祭りでしょうか、この頃毎晩のように花火が上がっていました。それは短い北海道の夏休みの終わりを告げているようです。

From Lake Akan to Lake Mashū, I drive along Hokkaido’s premier tourist route.

阿寒湖から摩周湖へ、北海道を代表する観光ルートを走ります。

Back then, the national highways were still gravel roads, and of course, they had that quintessential Hokkaido feel. Head north about 60 kilometers from Kushiro on Route 240 (the Marimo Highway), and you’ll reach Lake Akan. Around the lake are aquariums and museums, and among them, a single stuffed Ezo brown bear.

当時はまだ砂利道の国道も、もちろん北海道らしい国道も。釧路から240号線(まりも国道)を60キロほど北上、阿寒湖です。湖の周辺には水族館や博物館があり、そんな中、エゾヒグマの剥製を一枚。

From Lake Akan to Lake Mashū via Sōkodai. Along the way, I encountered Ezo deer crossing the national highway. Then, from Koshimizu Wildflower Garden to the Sea of Okhotsk, the beach at Masuura, next to Abashiri, became my spot for camping that night.

The Shiretoko Peninsula is visible hazy in the distance. The next morning, the sunrise rising from the peninsula.

阿寒湖から双湖台を経て摩周湖へ。途中、国道を横切るエゾシカに出会いました。そして小清水原生花園からオホーツク海へ、網走の隣町、鱒浦(ますうら)の浜辺がこの日の野宿の場所となりました。遠く霞んでいるのが知床半島です。翌朝、半島から昇る朝日です。

Early in the morning, a single photo at the main entrance of Abashiri Prison before opening.

早朝、開門前の網走刑務所の正面入り口で写真を一枚。

I headed straight from Kitami to Sounkyo along National Route 39.

すぐその足で国道39号線を北見から層雲峡へ。

Emerging from the primeval forest, I arrived at Sounkyo, where the dam lake, Lake Daisetsu, and numerous waterfalls awaited me.

原生林を抜けるとダム湖の大雪湖、そしていくつもの滝が待ち構える層雲峡に到着。

Descending from Sounkyo, I head north from Asahikawa along Route 40 following the Sōya Main Line. Instead of continuing straight to Cape Sōya, I decided to take Route 275 from Otoineppu, following the abandoned JR line for about 60 kilometers, aiming for the Sea of Okhotsk at Hamatonbetsu and then Sarufutsu. The reason was that at the time, Sarufutsu Village was frequently featured in the media as “Japan’s highest-income village” due to its freshwater clam fishing and dairy farming, and I wanted to see what it was like.

The photo shows the abandoned JR line between Otoineppu and Hamatonbetsu. Back then, JR lines were being abandoned one after another in Hokkaido.

Next came Lake Kutcharo in Hamatonbetsu, then a drive-in in Sarufutsu—and for some reason, a windmill. Once past Sarufutsu, Cape Soya was just ahead.

層雲峡を下り、旭川から宗谷本線沿いの40号線を北上していきます。そのまま宗谷岬へ向かわずに音威子府(おといねっぷ)から JRの廃線沿いに275号線を約60キロ走り、オホーツク海は浜頓別(はまとんべつ)、そして猿払(さるふつ)を目指すことにしました。というのも当時、猿払村はシジミ漁と酪農で「日本一の高所得村」としてメディアで度々取り上げられ、どんな所か寄ってみたかったのです。
写真は廃線になった音威子府と浜頓別間の JR 線です。当時の北海道は次々と JR 線が廃線になっていました。
続いて浜頓別のクッチャロ湖、そして猿払のドライブイン、なぜか風車があります。猿払を過ぎれば宗谷岬はもうすぐです。

Cape Soya is the destination for many cyclists and motorcyclists traveling through Hokkaido.

Next, a panoramic view of Wakkanai city. On the hill at Wakkanai Park stands the “Gate of Ice Pillars,” a memorial for those who perished in Sakhalin. On clear days, Sakhalin is said to be visible from this hill, about 90 kilometers away, but it wasn’t possible on this day.

北海道を走る自転車野郎やバイクライダーの多くが目指す宗谷岬です。
続いて稚内の街を一望。稚内公園の丘には樺太(サハリン)で亡くなった人々を慰霊する「氷柱の門」があります。天気が良ければこの丘から約90キロ先の樺太が見えるそうですが、この日はダメでした。

Departing Wakkanai at 7:30 AM by ferry to Funadomari Port on Rebun Island. Instead of my own bike, I deliberately chose a rental bicycle (¥2,000 per day) to tour the island for the day. While Cape Soya is known as “Japan’s Northernmost Point,” Cape Skoton is designated as “Japan’s Northernmost Limit.” The further south you go on the island, the clearer Mount Rishiri-Fuji becomes. The sea around Rebun and Rishiri Islands is said to be the most beautiful in Hokkaido.

朝 7:30稚内発のフェリーで礼文島の船泊港へ。自分の自転車でなく、あえてレンタサイクル(１日 2,000円)で一日島巡りをしました。宗谷岬の「日本最北端の地」に対してスコトン岬は「日本最北限の地」とあります。島の南へ行けば行くほど利尻富士がハッキリと見えてきます。礼文島と利尻島周辺の海は北海道で一番キレイだといわれています。

Departing Hakodate at 23:35 on the last ferry, arriving in Aomori at 3:15, I returned to Honshu again on Monday, September 4th. Amidst heavy rain and flood warnings, I thought I’d take shelter from the rain at the ferry terminal, but the rain gradually eased, and I managed to depart, heading south on National Route 7.

Though I started out from Tokyo with brand-new tires, the rear tire’s tread wore down to the thread, and I even had a flat the day before. Along the way, I replaced it with a new Michelin 1/2 at a shop in Aomori City. Between the rain and my hot butt, my Brooks leather saddle was also dented. By turning the nuts and moving it forward about 1 cm, I managed to restore the saddle’s firmness.

函館発 23:35の最終便のフェリーで青森着3:15、９月４日(月)再び本州へ戻ってきました。大雨洪水注意報の出る中、フェリーターミナルで雨宿りかと思いましたが、しだいに雨脚も弱まりなんとか出発、国道７号線を南下します。

東京から新品のタイヤで走り出したものの後タイヤのトレッドがすり減り糸目が露出、前日にはパンクも。途中、青森市内のショップで新品のミシュランの1/2に交換。雨と尻アツでブルックスの皮サドルも凹んでいます。ナットを回し１センチほど前に出すことでサドルの張りを取り戻しました。

This is Hirosaki Castle. The next photo shows Mount Iwaki beyond the lotus pond below the main keep, but unfortunately the weather is poor and the crucial Mount Iwaki is not visible.

Hirosaki Castle of the Tsugaru Domain was built during the Edo period. The original keep burned down when lightning ignited gunpowder; this keep was built two hundred years later.

Currently, the keep is not here; it was moved about 70 meters using a construction method called “hikiya.” The reason is the restoration of its foundation stone walls. Deformations like bulging were observed in the stone walls, and leaving them unattended risked collapse. A few years ago, I saw TV footage of many citizens happily pulling the 400-ton keep along rails with ropes.

The stone walls at that time showed no signs of distortion or bulging, as seen in the photo. The keep was also moved once during the Meiji and Taisho periods for stone wall repairs. It seems the keep will return to its current location in a few years.

At 6:30 AM, I took a quick bath at the public bathhouse in Owani Onsen before departing. The bathing fee was ¥120 for visiting adults. Local seniors and children paid ¥40.

I made a loop around Odate, Noshiro, and the Oga Peninsula. Rain again that night. Thinking it better than pitching a tent, I slept in the waiting room of the unmanned JR Oga Line station, Dedo-hama Station. I intended to stay awake until the last train from Akita at 11:03 PM, but I must have fallen asleep without realizing it.

弘前城です。続いての写真は本丸眼下の蓮池ごしの岩木山なのですが、あいにくの天気で肝心の岩木山が見えません。
津軽藩の弘前城は江戸時代に築城されました。初代の天守は落雷が火薬に引火して焼失、この天守は二百年後のものです。
現在、天守は曳屋(ひきや)と呼ばれる工法で70ｍほど移動されて、ここにありません。その理由は土台の石垣の修復、石垣に膨らみなどの変形が見られ、放置すると崩落のおそれがあるからです。数年前にレールに乗せられた総重量400トンの天守を多くの市民が楽しそうにロープで引っ張る様子をテレビの映像で見ました。
当時の石垣には写真のように歪みも膨らみも見られません。明治から大正にかけても石垣修復のために天守は一度曳屋されています。再び天守が戻されるのは数年先だそうです。

早朝６時半、大鰐温泉の共同浴場でひとっ風呂浴びて出発。入浴料は外来大人120円。地元の老人、小人40円です。
大館、能代、男鹿半島をぐるり一回り。この夜も雨、テントを張るよりもと思い JR 男鹿線の無人駅、出戸浜(でどはま)駅の待ち合い室で寝ることに。秋田発の最終電車 23:03まで起きているつもりでしたが、いつの間にか寝ていました。

The photo was taken in Akita City. I continued south along the Sea of Japan coast through Yamagata and Niigata. “Where’s the horizon?” Days of gloomy, indistinct weather like in the photo persisted.

写真は秋田市内です。さらに山形、新潟と日本海沿いを南下していきます。「水平線はどこ？」写真のようなドンヨリとハッキリしない天気が連日続いていました。