A quick pack-up and exit from our salubrious garage at the hotel – kept us dry overnight, most excellent.
Like we were never there.
We went to the closed campground to make breakfast and found an extensive, but neglected park. The water was still on, so we could have camped and cooked there after all – but there wasn’t much shelter, so wetter and less comfortable it would have been.
Back down the valley through Kamisunagawa – it looking a little better under sunny skies.
Another old mine shaft tower.
Pity we missed this local history museum’s opening hours.
More pint-sized underground machinery.
The buildings around this little bit giving off a completely different vibe to the rest of town.
At least this map made more sense than some others we’d seen. We had been at the top right overnight.
Always enjoy spotting an old Alfa, in memory of a good friend.
Leaving town we were heading for the big smoke to see if Rachel would have more luck replacing her chain. Not even ten kilometres into the day and we were out of the flats of the Ishikari River – which would take us to the city with a mixture of sealed and gravel roads through a lot of rice growing.
Kei truck conga line?
More abandoned old worker accommodation.
Immediately after a lot of these new houses – they go up in less than a month apparently. Sounds like buying from a catalogue. (Rachel’s photo.)
Started to see our first rice harvesting.
(Rachel’s photo.)
Still a few more onions around.
Crossing the Ishikari, it was a lot browner than we’d seen four weeks before. (Rachel’s photo.)
Back up on stop banks now (Rachel’s photo.)
Into the city to a multi-storey outdoor gear shop. I got a nice new rain jacket (giving up on the poncho, I sent it home – have at least used it once since, so not a complete waste of time) and replaced scratched-up sunglasses. Spent more time looking at the bikes though…
Sam’s Bike shop was open this time and, to Rachel’s relief, they had the correct chain for her bike – finally! There was also a lot of bikepacking gear in stock and they were interested in our bikes and trip. Just for Brent, here are some of the many frames they had hanging around the place.
Jen had recommended a great little hostel not far from the bike shop, checking in there we found friendly staff and an adorable and cheeky dog:
Still a bit of daylight left as we wandered out through a large park to find dinner.
We may have been distracted by animals again; unsure I can even blame that on the vet.
Struggling to interpret the menu in a Chinese restaurant (the banquet for two we ordered was extensive!), a Japanese couple the table over offered to help. Turned out that they only visit Sapporo in the summer, having lived in New Zealand for over twenty years. Shigeru had lectured dairy science at Massey (the industry and university of Dad), so was able to give us insights into all the dairy farms we’d seen – most interesting. It was lovely chatting to Shigeru and Terumi and share observations of both our countries, and get some answers to things we’d been wondering about Japan.
Ger ceiling, not as elaborate as some – but still much nicer than the inside of my tent.
Derelict industrial buildings always intriguing to me.
Strolling down to the old walled complex once home to scores of monasteries – since the Soviet occupation, not so much.
Most of the second ring of new shop buildings still sitting empty. But we did find a good cafe.
Apparently the coffee was good, but the wild rhubarb (of which we’d seen a bit in the hills) pie was of greater interest to me.
Just a small section of the wall of old Kharkhorin.
And a small part inside the walls – was staggeringly vast all up.
Not all the temples were lost, we could go inside some – but no photos.
For big prayers.
Didn’t work out what the occasion was, but good fun watching these guys enjoying themselves.
Finally found some postcards, and a lot of stamps! Back of the cards may have been mostly stamps…
Still loving the meat pockets…
Supermarket shopping a bit challenging – unless one wanted to buy a lot of candy.
First a stop at the big monument to the Mongol empire and Mongolia that we’d seen on the top of a ridge from the other side of the river on our ride into town.
Small empire.
Kharkhorin.
Vast empire.
Heading down there to stay on the true right of the Orkhon.
Yes, another ger. At least the hard beds were less of an issue after having gotten somewhat used to sleeping on the ground when my camping mattress failed.
A bit of wrangling so that we could go for a ride. Turned out to be more of a walk, but one of the adult sons of the family had spent time in New Zealand – so could chat with him a bit easier than most locals.
More homemade dairy goodness.
Ian and I managing to not fall off horses – the first time either of us had ridden one for many years. But as it was so slow, it was very easy going.
Nice evening for wandering the river flats though.
Plenty of the expected big open spaces apparent on approach, we’d find later that the fences were an exception to the norm.
UBN – bigger than I was expecting.
First bicycle sighted?
Our ride to the city.
Three bike boxes fitted in here, thankfully, with a little thought.
Ian keeping an eye on things as we venture into the traffic, note the plush ceiling covering. Unfortunately the suspension was not so.
Big empty highway most of the way into the city.
Few big coal power plants in the city contributing to the notorious air pollution in the winter. At least they also pump hot water around the city.
Should have brought a bigger wallet. About two thousand togrogs to a New Zealand dollar. 
The timing of an official visit from Japan seemed serendipitous.
Wedding party.
Walking back streets through tower blocks looking for a map store.
Annoyingly, the map store was no longer where it was marked on Maps.
Found it eventually – very near to our hostel. Through the language barrier, some paper maps of where we were intending to ride were purchased.
Cape Kidnappers from the end of my street.
Guess I won’t be downtown for
Those three houses always catch my eye from afar.
Looking back towards my little corner of the hill.
There’s still a little bit of work for these tugs…
The cliffs I was on top of last week above the container ship.
Go get it!
Got it.
Over Ahuriri fuel storage, the estuary, and Poraiti towards the Kaweka Ranges.
Those cliffs.
A touch of the old sawtooth warehouses.
Indeed.