Saying our farewells to Yumi and Ken, a rather flat morning was spent cycling looking at a blue and inviting Sea of Okhotsk. My legs must have started to recover from Mt Rishiri as I spent the first hour or so trying to bury them again just for something to do. I was tiring of all the flat coastal riding. Plenty of scallop factories gave the dominant smell of the morning.

Did stop to look through a fancy deli, all I got was this dubious photo.

When not looking at the sea, I was gazing longingly inland at the hills.

Marigold beds back!

Starting to get a bit more agricultural…

Another Seicomart lunch, but a short distance to the shore was better than eating outside the store – more sea fortifications.

Happily after lunch we could get off the highway, back to quiet lanes through immaculate dairy farms – the smells are the same as at home though, just concentrated around the barns. We even saw a dozen or so cows outside!

Skirting Monbetsu, we got a fifty metre climb!

Some interesting route finding trying to stay off the highway – mostly successful – took us to a campground at the bottom of a wee ski field.

Tent sites under the trees; mostly quiet except the neighbours in the cabins had multiple yappy dogs.

We escaped mosquitoes with a short ride into town for a very nice onsen and a good dinner.

Dog ownership not high in Japan, but what there is often makes up with curious sights.