The heavy rain cleared to leave a beautiful morning on Lake Toya. Plenty of kayakers and SUPers to watch as we cleaned much mud splatter off our tents and dried them in the sun before heading back around the lake.

Back through town and an honest climb out of the crater that the lake and surrounds sit in.

Over the crater edge onto a bit of plateau for ten kilometres, more extensive farming – even a crop of rawang buki, hadn’t seen any for over a week.

Best view of Mt Yotei yet.

Rawang buki not taller than me, this time. (Rachel’s photo.)

Sharp drop back to the ocean, back to the Pacific, at Uchiura Bay. Through a couple of town, unfortunately we’d joined the highway to get around the bay – but still much more pleasant than highway riding in other countries, particularly home.

Finding the old highway stuck closer to the coast for bit, we took that welcome option.

Buoy art.

Refreshments from a rare non-chain convenience store.

Typical small rural station.

Roadworks up ahead showed why this stretch of road may have been quieter than normal – only open every half hour, we had to stop for a bit and wait.

Wasn’t difficult to pass the time here, warm water was very inviting.

Pity it was too early to camp, would have been a great spot.

Given the green light, we rode through the work area – a new tunnel was going in, I assume due to problems with rockfall in the current cutting. Seemed excessive for a relatively redundant route – must only be a small amount of local traffic, as the new highway we had been on is near. But perhaps this is a country that can build things and I’m unused to it.

Soon to be tunnel portal.

Signs that rockfall may be a problem.

Ex-tunnel view definitely preferable.

Extensive stabilisation.

Quite the temporary fence and scaffold.

Out of the roadworks and heading for the highway.

Engineering sure saved us a lot of climbing and descending in this hilly country.

Back down to farms at sea level, we found a few back roads – and had lunch in a field. The coastal highway around Oshamanbe was busy, and we did our best to avoid it – but it was difficult as we found ourselves skirting a huge engineering build. I’d apologise, but I’m not sorry, for more construction photos below – it certainly defined that stretch of riding.

The shinkansen (bullet train) is being extended from the southern Hokkaido city of Hakodate to Sapporo (by far the biggest city in Hokkaido). Count-lost mobile cranes, form work and concrete pouring; all a bit mind-boggling in scale.

Having decided the direct route down the east to Hakodate (to get a ferry to Honshu) offered no quiet alternative, we left the Pacific and cut west across the peninsula towards the Sea of Japan. A little climbing to Pirika – with a big, open campground attached to a large hotel-onsen.

Wonder what they grow here.

Checking in – seem well catered for budding cyclists.

Unusually the cooking shelter was screened for bugs, a nice change to avoid mosquitoes. A good wash and soak at the onsen to top off a different, but interesting day. Quite the contrast between Lake Toya and all the construction; still very hot, of course.

Camp dinners still delivering; mostly Rachel’s influence.