The rain forecast arrived properly overnight and it continued to tip down as we took our time to get organised and pack everything back on the bikes. Despite the smoke and mustiness, the rider house was good for meeting a few other bike tourers – a Japanese father and young son, two Israeli friends; there were quite a few bikes jammed in the gaps between buildings.

Down to the port and we had our first, of what would be many, Japanese ferry rides. Tickets bought, we tried to line up out of the rain – but not easy. The fare for a bike seemed high, the same for a motorcycle – but it did mean bikes were well looked after and securely lashed to the side of the vehicle deck.

Not a lot to see in the cloud (there’s a mountain in there somewhere, we found later that bridge is part of a bike trail), but the rain eased through the afternoon.

Ferry was not packed.

Onto a new island, we had a damp twenty kilometre ride to Rishiri town to find a campground. Mostly cycle trail, the weather wasn’t too unpleasant and the route was interesting. With only a few thousand people living in small towns around the coast, we enjoyed the quietness. Plenty of the signs were amusing too.

Is it more joyful with the liquor?

Still, no mountain.

Fortunately for her, she wasn’t standing any closer.

That’s a well-fed bird, seems to prey on children.

Magpies and cyclist conflict seems to be universal.

Tried not to take this personally.

Occasionally we got close to some really nice forest, but the trail stayed out.

We rode a little past town, and then, mistakenly past, the turn-off to a campground in the woods. Having climbed a little way up to it, we found it unstaffed, unused, very damp and not suitable – so returned, through town and out onto an exposed headland. This campground was at least in use, and had a little shelter with space to cook in and even some washing machines. Very windy, when the rain finally eased I had a bit of a struggle learning how best to pitch my tent in a gale.

Waiting for the rain to go while inside the shelter.

Having arrive mid-afternoon we had a little time before dark to potter around town, finding a cafe a priority. We found one delightfully stuck a few decades back.

The lanterns helped to brighten what had been a fairly bleak, but eventually brightening, day.

The mountain still capped, various views of the lighthouse would have to do as dusk approached.

Dinner at a local bar and a much appreciated hotel onsen capped a damp, but good, day.