I started running once I got to the park. I looped from one end to the other. At the far end (opposite to the radio tower thing that looks like a kitsch minute Eiffel tower) I came across a rose garden. It had a sign in English. So I read that it was a garden to commemorate the Munich Olympic games. That same year Sapporo hosted the winter Olympics. I suppose the two cities dealt closely with organising the two events. And when the atrocities were committed during the games in Munich, it must have affected Sapporo a lot.
The other side of the rose garden was dedicated to Portland, Oregon. It was the first sister city in the U.S. to partner with any Japanese city.
Both sides of the roses had a wonderful perfume. Wreaked havoc with my run times. As did the many traffic lights on every city block. I may have Jay walked a lot.
At one stage I ran through a huge tai chi class. I hope it didn't mess with their Fung shui. No one flinched from their arm stretching and back bending.
I got back to the room thankful for the long walk the day before because I ended up running through the city streets looking for our hotel street and crossed streets I recognised from the day before. Yay! I was soaking wet because it was so warm and humid.
Jumped in the shower and then asked Col to sit on my pack and zip it shut while I finished getting my shoes on. It took both Col and Iona to close it. Not sure what's gone wrong with my pack. It's exploded. We stepped out to walk to the train station, only to step into rain. Dug out our jackets and kept heading to the station.
We grabbed some bread products from a bakery and found our platform in plenty of time. Sat there eating my sandwich (a normal one with eggs and ham - far better than sweetened yoghurt as a sandwich filling) and pizza sub.
Got on our train and had fancy seats in the reserved carriage. Iona booked us in style. We watched the scenery fly past. Even the rural train goes super fast. I can't imagine the Shinkasen speed!
Our train stopped at Asahikawa and we switched to our bus replacement. Iona navigated us directly to the bus station and the bus stop. I managed to hook into the Starbucks Wi-Fi across the road while we waited for our bus. Texted Mike from there to update him.
We tried to get on a local bus that also stopped at our stop. Fortunately a fellow passenger on our bus (in the queue with us) spoke great English and stopped our impetuousness. Did I just invent a word? Swype thinks so.
Anyway, our bus came along shortly and we got the front seats. Col took her sea sick medicine and zonked out. I had free WiFi on the bus and updated Mike with plans. And maybe social media. I also rang Mike on the Wi-Fi. Yay for free bus Wi-Fi.
The scenery was incredible. Hilly region with loads of trees and the odd ski field. I saw a few chair lifts going up them too.
The houses in the rural areas take great care of their front gardens. Carefully manicured trees shaped beautifully. Flowers. Rocks. All artfully arranged.
The rivers were flooding and full of churning muddy water. Loads of trees stuck under bridges. The recent weather has hit Japan hard.
The bus stopped off at a few train stations around about. But we got into Kitami at 1.30 p.m. or thereabouts. Wandered over to the train station very early for our 3.08 train and managed to jump on the 1.40 train. Yay!
This train was full of high school children in uniforms. And hot! It was close to thirty degrees with just ceiling fans in the carriage. Once the kids all left, we moved to a table seat and I poked my head out the window the whole way to Abashiri.
I looked windswept and very interesting once I arrived. Ha ha. We walked to our hotel from the station. Maybe 800m. Dormy Inn. It's rather nice. I have my own room.
We dropped our bags and I washed my running gear as it was fermenting in a plastic bag in my pack. Then we headed out to find something to eat. We'd missed lunch in our dash for the earlier train.
Well, this was a fun adventure. It seems a lot of places close between 2 and 5. We walked into a pub but Iona was unsure what we'd find beyond the front door so we trotted back out. Stepped into a coffee house full of older women, eating ice-cream in bowls. Odd feeling to it.
But the woman behind the counter ushered us in and we took a table. Their menu had no English and no pictures and she had hardly any English herself. But we eventually realised she was saying she had pasta. I thought "pasta" was some Japanese word I hadn't heard yet.
Now, I do realise there are many Japanese words I haven't heard, so that might sound slightly weird. But once she added the word "Italian" in front of "pasta" we eventually figured it out.
Then she described different kinds of pasta. To no avail. No idea what she said. So we settled on the first one she mentioned.
We wondered what we were in for, really. But after some preparation behind the counter, we had a lovely bowl of spaghetti marinara. With ham, for good measure. I loved it! Might have been something to do with me starving. But it was good!
Wandered back via the 7 11 across the road from the hotel and bought an iced coffee drink and some junk food. Sat in Iona and Col's room and chatted to Mike and scoffed food.
Back into my room for a chill out before meeting the cycle tour at 6 p.m. in the lobby.
Dai is our guide, along with Tats. Ernie is an ex pat Brit from Sydney and 70 years old and fit as a fiddle by the looks. Then the three of us.
Col took the time to gloat that it looks like 3 is the minimum number for the tour to proceed. We fitted our bikes and they seem awesome. Then we headed out for dinner. Savory pancakes. I ordered the squid one. Scrumptious but I couldn't finish it.
Back to the hotel and off to bed. We're meeting at 8.30 a.m. for our first day. It's a loop so we're in the same hotel tomorrow night too.
Terribly exciting. I can't wait to start riding. Apparently a cyclist was chased by a bear recently in the later stages of the tour through the national park. No puffins though. That mystified the guide when I asked about that.
Right. Time to sleep and up to start the actual riding. Bring it on!
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