Wet misty morning to decamp in. There sure were a lot of moths around through the night.

Some stuck around.

And some were brighter than others.

Caught up with our mates from the previous night, breakfast under their shelter. Turns out all the seats in their kei car fold flat to create a sleeping platform – not nearly as cramped as I imagined.

The photo from fifty years ago at this very beach that the guys were revisiting.

I was surprised when they pulled out what Mum would call a jaffle iron, of which one is a larger part of my childhood memories than it probably should be. Haven’t seen them used for grilling cheese on a single slice of bread.

Time for goodbyes.

The road leaving the coast due to the terrain, it was no surprise that we had a decent climb straightaway. Ten kilometres in the hills, the vegetation was dense and damp; still not cold though.

Dropping to a coastal town, we took a steep detour to some short walks high above the sea – good cliffs and a lighthouse for Orlaith, although she was back in NZ by now.

Back down to town.

A little walk away from the crowds, got some good views but didn’t have enough time to finish it.

Spotted this barge travelling around the coast; little did we know we’d shadow each other around the coast intermittently for the rest of our time on Hokkaido.

Through a teeny-tiny tunnel to the most popular viewing area. We started to see some of the famed Shakotan Blue – the crystal clear waters around the peninsula.

Back to sea urchins; dramatic cliffs seem to be the other symbol of this township.

Back at the carpark, this just seems how some dogs travel in Japan.

Not too early for an ice cream from the small store.

Can’t take the quieter, older route out of town this time.

Up to the big parking lot at Shakotan Peninsula, good time for lunch while our tents dried in the sun. Unfortunately the walks were closed around the peninsula end to the lighthouse as a bear had been spotted a couple of days beforehand.

Back to pretty flat riding along the spectacularly rugged coast. Although we probably only saw half of the coast up close, as after a particularly destructive typhoon some twenty years earlier a lot of the highway was routed through the hills in long tunnels.

Between two tunnels, we happened upon two men – one a kayaking fisherman who’d forgotten his fishing rod, and the other a cycle tourist trying to fix a punctured tube. Eventually we worked out that they were father and son. After giving the son a patch for his tube, off we went starting to look for any store we might buy things for dinner – there weren’t many along here.

In this town we found a small store and got some basics, as well as cold drinks. A cute dragon began to appear on the lamp posts.

More old road that we couldn’t take.

To make up for it, the causeway was spectacular.

Found the dragon again – the local mascot, as the indigenous Ainu people recognised the area for its ruggedness and danger.

We found more local produce in the market at the information centre, as well as bumping into father and son again – this time finding that mother was driving a support vehicle.

A shorter day of riding coming to a close as there was a popular spot for camping right there, and no better options further on. Can’t say I’ve camped on sea defences before, but plenty of people were car-camping so it must have been ok.

It had a sweet island to walk to, with its own enclosed saltwater pool.

The family from earlier turned up! The son stayed the night, the parents later driving home.

No country for pegs. But our tents stayed up ok.

Finally father, and son, got out for a fish.

We enjoyed a swim in the little pool.

Suddenly Rachel was going out to sea!

Slightly different campsite to normal.

Before long, it was my turn to sit on top of the kayak and go out for a look. Around the rocks for a bit, the water wonderfully clear and warm there was plenty to see in the slight swell.

Another excellent day drawing to a close, still very hot.

Amusingly I seemed to have got one of my worst photos to help remember the best camp meal of our four months touring. With tofu (who knew?!), mappu sauce and fresh local cherry tomatoes and soba noodles. Yum! We never quite reached this inadvertently obtained standard again, alas.