This week was spent mostly preparing for the future. I spent most of the Tuesday going shopping around Kitami. I had to find out about prices on camping equipment and cycling stuff as well, so I went out to buy cycling shorts and a helmet, order touring bags for the bike as well as look for camping stuff. It seemed that when bought shining brand new, everything from a tent to a sleeping bag would cost above 40000 yen (around 250 euros). Since this stuff is obviously going to be useful back in Finland too, I don't think it would be all that bad to take it with me. However, I do have some doubts about buying all that stuff, so I will still consider about it before actually buying especially the tent.
So, most of the preparing was about Wednesday, which is when I had planned to go cycling again. I wanted to go to Memanbetsu by myself, a city about 40km away which seemed to have some nice hot springs around it that I wanted to visit. However, I could talk Matias into coming with me and we decided together to watch the sea. That would be just 45 km away in Abashiri, the closest coastal city. Ville and Petri had been there two months back, representing Finland on a food festival. They made mashed potatoes and meatball sauce, a traditional Swedish food. Well, you can't blame them for not trying, at least.
So much for insults, though. As for the cycling trip, it started a bit slowly for me, since I was expecting to go much faster than Matias could keep up with. However, it turned out that Matias was not slow because he was in such a bad shape. Well, at least it was not the whole truth. Instead, his bike really sucked; the saddle being too low, the back wheel waving around a little and especially having something wrong with his gearing transmission. When going on the same cadence, he was going much more slowly. Another reason might've been due to tires with too much friction, but they were pretty much of the same kind, so I really don't know. In any case - he was behind me all the time, which provided me with so much free time that I could take long breaks and rest so I really didn't even break a sweat during the way to Abashiri.
Cycling is not a pissing contest, though, so I really don't mind that he was slower, because it was really nice to just have company. When we finally got to Abashiri, we went to eat in Victoria Steakhouse, a chain serving quite cheap steaks all things considered. A full-blown steak meal with all-you-can-eat salad, soup and even drinks (soft ones, though) for about ten to fifteen euros is a steal compared to prices in Finland - you'd be guaranteed to at least double the price over there.
We had chosen the shortest possible route to Abashiri, ranging at 45 km as mentioned. However, I didn't want to go back on the same route, since the road was not that good and it went winding back and forth, bumping up and down with some serious climbs at some spots. Plus, I wanted to see more of the areas close by, so I wanted to choose another route. So we went on a 55 click-long main route back to Kitami, through Memanbetsu and Bihiro, another small town.
The scenery was all beautiful and well, scenic, all around the whole trip. There was just one place which didn't quite look pretty to me. It was this three-kilometer long climb up a road with a constant elevation seeming well above humanly limits. After making it all the way up though, I felt incredibly relieved and good about my ridiculously slow performance. At the top of the hill, in the middle of nowhere, stood a Coke vending machine, an all-too familiar sight in Japan. Next to that was another machine, covered in plexiglas and advertisements about DVD video or something. So, behind the covers was a porn vending machine. On the top of a hill, next to a main route, with at least eight miles to the closest town. I can see how Japanese are supposedly shy about these things, but they have their XXX sections even in video rental shops like Geo and Tsutaya, so the purpose of this particular piece of machinery was kept hidden from me. I guess it's for the farm people.
Well, after a few more moments of cycling and battling against the last hundred-meter rise which seemed far longer, a car stopped next to me and the window opened. My immediate thought was that it'd be a Japanese person asking something about me, like where I'm from or whatever. Instead, it was Samuli with a big grin on his face. I proclaimed the Finnish "mita vit-" until stopping right there as I saw who was riding the car. Our English teacher, Christopher Bozek, had taken Samuli for a ride to see some flowers. Also, Mika was sitting on the back seat, but I was so dazed and tired that I really didn't know what to say, so they said byes and just drove away.
It was really windy and consequently, cold outside, not to mention that cycling over a hundred really strains your body, but I had to stop for Matias who was far behind. In fact, I had not even seen a glimpse of him in about half an hour or more although I had made a few stops after battling up to the vending machine mountain. After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime (15 minutes), he finally caught me and we went to onsen, a Japanese bath. He'd never been to one before and as for me, that was all I wanted at the time. Nothing is so relaxing as a bath in those places and the price of 2 euros for using those facilities makes it all the sweeter.
In total, our trip lasted 11 hours, five and a half of which was spent riding. A++, would go again. But I think next time I'll have to go by myself, since Matias wasn't too cheerful about riding the cycle any further than around Kitami in the next year. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't ride either with the kind of bike he has.
On the next day, I felt so sleepy all day that I really couldn't do anything sensible, but I managed to go shopping again anyway. I wanted to prepare better for the next trip, so I bought cycling gloves and a shirt this time. Now, I just need to buy a decent jacket and long pants to cover me from the rather violent winds, as well as new tires for my cycle, and I'll be set to go again. I hope to find the time soon, since next week is supposedly good weather all around and I don't feel like wasting such precious time.
May 28, 2007
May 18, 2007
Week 9
Back in Kitami, I was determined to head for a mountain by myself. I asked the other Finns to join me and while two of them said yes, they bailed out on last minutes. So I just went by myself, using my paper map and Google Earth as planners. The closest mountain, Nikoro-san, peaking at 829m, is about 15km away from Kitami as the crow flies, but about 30km on road.
I went on to cycle the road that was supposed to get me there and found a really beautiful cemetery along the way as well. I stopped by there to take a few photos of Kitami which could be easily seen from the upper hills of the cemetery, as the whole place was built on the hill in the first place. After that, I kept on going closer to the mountain.
In fact, my original plan was to simply go to take a look at a camping site right next to the mountain, since there was supposed to be a lake next to it, but as I arrived to the camping area, there was a path all the way up to the mountain too, even though the map didn't show it. Of course, I took the path and started to walk up!
On the journey up to the mountain, clouds started to gather, glooming above Kitami and nearby villages. I thought I was going to get soaked, but none of the rainfall actually came on the mountain. Instead, just the areas close by received some showers, but nothing too serious.
When I was climbing up the hill, I passed a few people heading down and one elderly gentleman going up. We talked a bit in Japanese although I can't really speak that much and then I headed up again. He gave me his card, though, and told me to visit his website. I didn't think much of it at the time, just thought that he was another friendly Japanese face.
I finally got on the top around 3 p.m., but couldn't have the mountain to myself, since there was someone else sitting on the peak too. After a while, he left and I had the seat all to myself, as well as the freezing wind with no cover from it. I didn't mind the weather that much, though, since the sights more than made up for it. It was absolutely beautiful in all directions. Even though the sky was getting cloudy, I could still see all the way to Kitami and across to the mountains on the other side of it.
When I started to head back down, the same old fellow, Satou-san, was still heading up and we crossed paths again. I told I had written a note to the diary on the peak, which is when he said that it was his and he had visited the mountain a lot lately - last year, 2006, he visited the mountain about 300 times and this year, by May, he had visited it for 100 times. He really seemed to like that place and explained that since he didn't have any work anymore, being in his seventies, he had all the time he wanted. I can imagine he didn't have a wife anymore, either, which made me gloomy for a while.
We parted ways with Satou-san as I headed back down and went on to cycle back to Kitami. The trip was totaling about 60km and I really didn't feel so aching in my legs after it, so if I can keep up taking such journeys, I hope to be able to manage a 100km in a day by some time. If I can do that much, it will make it possible for me to cover a huge area around Kitami and still make it back within the same day. By the summer vacation, I hope to have visited many more spots all around Hokkaido.
I went on to cycle the road that was supposed to get me there and found a really beautiful cemetery along the way as well. I stopped by there to take a few photos of Kitami which could be easily seen from the upper hills of the cemetery, as the whole place was built on the hill in the first place. After that, I kept on going closer to the mountain.
In fact, my original plan was to simply go to take a look at a camping site right next to the mountain, since there was supposed to be a lake next to it, but as I arrived to the camping area, there was a path all the way up to the mountain too, even though the map didn't show it. Of course, I took the path and started to walk up!
On the journey up to the mountain, clouds started to gather, glooming above Kitami and nearby villages. I thought I was going to get soaked, but none of the rainfall actually came on the mountain. Instead, just the areas close by received some showers, but nothing too serious.
When I was climbing up the hill, I passed a few people heading down and one elderly gentleman going up. We talked a bit in Japanese although I can't really speak that much and then I headed up again. He gave me his card, though, and told me to visit his website. I didn't think much of it at the time, just thought that he was another friendly Japanese face.
I finally got on the top around 3 p.m., but couldn't have the mountain to myself, since there was someone else sitting on the peak too. After a while, he left and I had the seat all to myself, as well as the freezing wind with no cover from it. I didn't mind the weather that much, though, since the sights more than made up for it. It was absolutely beautiful in all directions. Even though the sky was getting cloudy, I could still see all the way to Kitami and across to the mountains on the other side of it.
When I started to head back down, the same old fellow, Satou-san, was still heading up and we crossed paths again. I told I had written a note to the diary on the peak, which is when he said that it was his and he had visited the mountain a lot lately - last year, 2006, he visited the mountain about 300 times and this year, by May, he had visited it for 100 times. He really seemed to like that place and explained that since he didn't have any work anymore, being in his seventies, he had all the time he wanted. I can imagine he didn't have a wife anymore, either, which made me gloomy for a while.
We parted ways with Satou-san as I headed back down and went on to cycle back to Kitami. The trip was totaling about 60km and I really didn't feel so aching in my legs after it, so if I can keep up taking such journeys, I hope to be able to manage a 100km in a day by some time. If I can do that much, it will make it possible for me to cover a huge area around Kitami and still make it back within the same day. By the summer vacation, I hope to have visited many more spots all around Hokkaido.
Week 8
After recovering from the stomach ache, I decided to spend the Saturday in Obihiro by doing something I had wanted to do for a while. On clear days, the mountains are easily visible on the horizon of Obihiro and that's where I wanted to go. I looked up on Google Earth for some directions since I didn't have a paper map at all and went cycling. Now, my bicycle isn't the best of its kind - the saddle is really hard and too low, the rear gears don't work at all and as a result, the bike only has two gears. Nonetheless, I was determined to go, even though the map software displayed that the distance to where I was going was about 30 km away.
After cycling all through the rural landscape, horrendously thick smell of dung and across the farm fields, I finally got to my destination which I'd seen on Google Earth. There was a big waterfall and a mountain stream with crystal clear water, flowing somewhere from the mountains. The stream was a tributary to Tokachi river, which is supposed to be kind of well-known - at least some locals I've talked to have mentioned it.
All the way to the waterfall, the road was covered in tarmac, so it was a rather pleasant ride, but after getting to the waterfall, that luxury was over. I decided to take a dust road which took me nowhere, but I only figured that out after cycling on it for a few kilometers.
After turning back, I visited another spot along the tributary, which was meant to be a canoeing starting point. After admiring the sights, I started to head back. I stopped by the only shop in the whole rural area to ask for a map and to my surprise, they gave two different ones for free! It was a really happy surprise for me, since I really didn't want to take the same route back as I had come from and those maps helped me in figuring out other places of interest as well.
Eventually, I got back to the city and being really hungry, I decided to head for McDonalds. After eating three double cheeses, I was full and headed back home after a six-hour trip and 80km.
After cycling all through the rural landscape, horrendously thick smell of dung and across the farm fields, I finally got to my destination which I'd seen on Google Earth. There was a big waterfall and a mountain stream with crystal clear water, flowing somewhere from the mountains. The stream was a tributary to Tokachi river, which is supposed to be kind of well-known - at least some locals I've talked to have mentioned it.
All the way to the waterfall, the road was covered in tarmac, so it was a rather pleasant ride, but after getting to the waterfall, that luxury was over. I decided to take a dust road which took me nowhere, but I only figured that out after cycling on it for a few kilometers.
After turning back, I visited another spot along the tributary, which was meant to be a canoeing starting point. After admiring the sights, I started to head back. I stopped by the only shop in the whole rural area to ask for a map and to my surprise, they gave two different ones for free! It was a really happy surprise for me, since I really didn't want to take the same route back as I had come from and those maps helped me in figuring out other places of interest as well.
Eventually, I got back to the city and being really hungry, I decided to head for McDonalds. After eating three double cheeses, I was full and headed back home after a six-hour trip and 80km.
May 11, 2007
Weeks 6 and 7
The Japan-wide holiday, Golden Week, started for me on Friday of the fifth week. I went, of course, to Obihiro. However, that week didn't really turn out all that well. First, we had to spend three days just making some basic arrangements with Tomomi regarding the apartment and her settling down in Obihiro - going around various companies, buying furniture and so on. Nothing exciting, really, but I didn't mind too much about it. What I did mind, however, was that I got a stomach ache on Wednesday and I still had it on the day after. On Friday morning, I started to vomit and couldn't hold anything inside, not even water.
During the rest of the week, I went to two doctors, both of which gave me different kinds of medicine and contradicted each other. The doctor I went to see on Sunday put me on infusion since my stomach wouldn't just stop hurting. It was not any mild pain, even - I couldn't sleep at all, so we actually went to a small clinic in the middle of the night. Afterward, I didn't feel any pain that night, but it came back on Monday.
I didn't go to school at all on Tuesday since I only came back around 8 p.m. from Obihiro. I was afraid to go to the bus on Monday because I felt like having a diarrhea attack, so I just watched TV all day instead, being too tired to do anything else.
Every time I ate during the sickness, I got the shivers and I lost weight a couple of kilos because of not being able to eat anything. It was the same thing with drinking, too, so I was really thirsty and hungry at some times, but at least I didn't hurt so badly. On Wednesday, 9th of May, I went to a Kitami hospital too with two men from the International Student Center. They just sat in the same room with the doctor, listening to everything I told him, not really minding about the doctor-patient relationship which could be argued to be sort of private, at least most of the time. Not in Kitami, no sir - the boss's got to know every detail too.
In any case, what the English-speaking doctor in Kitami prescribed me seemed to work, because the next day I was feeling much better already, marking the first day I could eat normally without having to just stop because of the hurting. I had been like that for six days though, so it was really about time. As of writing this, I still don't feel all that sharp but recovering from this kind of illness takes more time than just a day or two.
So, the vacation was really ruined, but I don't personally mind too much about it. Just being here every week is vacation by itself, since I'm not really doing all that much on any given day.
During the rest of the week, I went to two doctors, both of which gave me different kinds of medicine and contradicted each other. The doctor I went to see on Sunday put me on infusion since my stomach wouldn't just stop hurting. It was not any mild pain, even - I couldn't sleep at all, so we actually went to a small clinic in the middle of the night. Afterward, I didn't feel any pain that night, but it came back on Monday.
I didn't go to school at all on Tuesday since I only came back around 8 p.m. from Obihiro. I was afraid to go to the bus on Monday because I felt like having a diarrhea attack, so I just watched TV all day instead, being too tired to do anything else.
Every time I ate during the sickness, I got the shivers and I lost weight a couple of kilos because of not being able to eat anything. It was the same thing with drinking, too, so I was really thirsty and hungry at some times, but at least I didn't hurt so badly. On Wednesday, 9th of May, I went to a Kitami hospital too with two men from the International Student Center. They just sat in the same room with the doctor, listening to everything I told him, not really minding about the doctor-patient relationship which could be argued to be sort of private, at least most of the time. Not in Kitami, no sir - the boss's got to know every detail too.
In any case, what the English-speaking doctor in Kitami prescribed me seemed to work, because the next day I was feeling much better already, marking the first day I could eat normally without having to just stop because of the hurting. I had been like that for six days though, so it was really about time. As of writing this, I still don't feel all that sharp but recovering from this kind of illness takes more time than just a day or two.
So, the vacation was really ruined, but I don't personally mind too much about it. Just being here every week is vacation by itself, since I'm not really doing all that much on any given day.
May 3, 2007
Pictures!
Now, there's finally some pictures on the web taken by me as well. nothing too exciting, but at least they'll give some idea of what all the text is about. So,
http://www.kolumbus.fi/zombie/japan/
http://www.kolumbus.fi/zombie/japan/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)