Week 11 - Preparation

As it may be obvious by now, the subject of this blog has become less and less about studies and more and more about cycling. So, it is only proper to dedicate this post to list a few things required to do just that, cycle around Hokkaido and finally, all around Japan.

I spent this week looking for prices and buying lots of things. By the end of the week (that is, Sunday), I had bought two more cycling bags and a front carrier for my bike, a sleeping bag, an inflator mat, wind/waterproof clothes, a bear bell (for scaring them away), a camp cooker and gas as well as some kinds of dry food needed for camping. Then, I bought a map of Daisetsuzan area too and planned to go there on the week after. The only real important thing I lacked was a tent, but because the whole area around the mountains was supposed to be covered with mountain huts, I didn't worry about it so much. In fact, I counted on the fact that the huts would be there and didn't believe my ears when, after cycling 100km to Sounkyo, a valley resort between the mountains, the officials told me how the huts are still closed because there's too much snow. They were not supposed to open until after three weeks or so. I won't go so much into detail here though, just to point out that a person with any sense would call first and ask about it before going on such a trip.

Anyway, so, I didn't have any of this camping stuff before coming to Japan. I bought everything here, except for the big backpack. I will proceed to list some prices which may or may not be interesting for someone planning to do the same thing. The prices are in yen, obviously, and may not be exactly correct either, but should be close enough to.

Camping gear

Backback (70l) - Brought from Finland
Warm clothes - Brought from Finland
Cooking unit - 4000y
Cooking gas (butane) - from 400y to 900y, depending on the can size
Bear bell - about 1000y
Sleeping bag (Mont Bell) - 11 000y
Inflator mat (Coleman) - 5000y
Wind/waterproof clothes (Mizuno) - 11 000y
Map of Daisetsuzan - 1000y
Map of Hokkaido - gift from a Japanese man, real cost probably 500-1000y

So, the total cost here is around 40k yen, depending on how much gas you intend to spend. Here, you need to remember that the tent will be costly - from 15000y to 30000y, obviously depending on its quality and size. Since sleeping in a youth hostel costs around 2500 y/night on average, sleeping ten nights in the tent would pay its money back. However, other options like the cheapest capsule hotels might be as cheap as 1000y and on urban areas, camping is difficult (or costly) anyway, so it's a good idea to really consider if you need the tent or not.

Cycling gear

Bike - Panasonic MTB - 5000y (from a recycling shop in Kitami)
Helmet - DGK, 7000y
New tires - 7000y
Front carrier - 6800y
Front bags - 6500y
Rear bags - 6800y
New saddle - 1600y
Cycle bag (for transport in bus, plane etc) - 5000y
Bottle holder and bottle - 2500y
Tools and front/back lights - 1400y
Cycling clothes (shirt/pants) - 12000y

So, the cycling stuff is about 60k yen, including the cycle. This is still pretty cheap considering that a new cycle is actually around this price range, and you'd still have to buy the touring gear anyway, which counts for the most of this sum (my cycle has only cost about 14000y and it is still well below even the cheapest good cycles which could be considered for touring).

I only know of two good cycling shops in the places I have went to. One is in Kitami, Satou Pro Cycle Shop (or something), on the main street, about five kilometers from the Institute. The other shop, a zillion times more well-equipped one, is in Obihiro. It's called Kakouchi Velo and has all kinds of cycling gear available without a need to order anything. The prices are not too bad, either, so it's obviously a better choice of the two. However, I guess this is not a good option for most people wanting to go on exchange program in Kitami, since they probably don't have much of a reason for going to Obihiro.

In euros, the total sum for both sets of gear I currently have is around 620e, so it's still quite feasible, and I only really need the tent until being able to go pretty much anywhere. I still have to make plans about it though - I don't want to spend that amount of money unless I really can't avoid it. In comparison, just the living costs of staying in cheap hotels, hostels or even dorms can easily go above 500e in one month, not to mention the travelling expenses. So, my summer holiday is about two months, from August to end of September. Aside that, there's a great deal of free time for me to spend all around Japan during this summer and next autumn, both good seasons for travelling. So, why not?