MY FIRST STEP INTO HOKKAIDO

I checked out and headed to the morning fish market to look for breakfast, but I couldn’t find anything that I liked. So I rode back over to Lucky Pierrot for a burger this time with some hot coffee. Next I hopped onto Route 5 heading north. The road just follows the toll expressway most of the way…I pretty much had the road all to myself out of Hakodate. The ride was pretty quick…it was flat mostly with minimal traffic so I just kept riding and riding. Mt. Komagatake appeared as I headed further away from Hakodate. I stopped at a small roadside café and got katsu curry for lunch. It had been overcast all morning but it started clearing up. I rode off again and after a while the road started getting closer to the bay…the road goes along the bay for a while passing small fishing villages before it goes a little inland again. This part was just straight riding, cars and trucks were flying by me.

Usually I’ll have an idea of where I’m staying the day before, but this time I really didn't know what to expect so I winged it to see where I end up. Eventually I figured that Oshamanbe would be a good place to stop for the day considering the time I had left before sunset. I rode into town late in the afternoon, just in time as the sun was going down. There wasn’t much around town, one supermarket and a 7-11.

I found a ryokan with an onsen near the train station so I settled there for 4000 yen. The onsen was really hot; maybe my body was just cold from the chilly wind. Afterwards I headed into town to look for dinner. I went to the supermarket and bought some snacks for tomorrow. I found a little mom and pop shop so I went inside to eat…I was the only customer there. I got the Shrimp Tempura rice bowl, it was good. I stopped at 7-11 to get dessert; milk and pudding. I rode back to the hotel and relaxed…no internet connection here.