Northern Hokkaido

1/6/14

We camped last night at the end of a disused road surrounded by forest. Not that this was unusual, but this road had signs indicating "The site of Sankebetsu Bear Affair". We didn't see the actual site and we don't know what the affair was, but since it involved bears it might not have been comfortable! And yesterday we read that the bear of northern Hokkaido is bigger and more aggressive than southern bears. The author advised that we should " take all possible precautions". 

Soooo..... We played Rolling Stones and other golden oldies on our car stereo, I wore my new bigger, louder bear bell, we had a camp fire, and we stayed very close to the vehicle. And we shone torches around quite often when someone thought they heard a sound. The bears never had a chance! 

We have headed north towards the northern most point of a hokkaido. The coast is not very remarkable. The mountains are not very high.

The roads are long and straight. 

3/6/14

Last night we had wifi and Joe looked up that bear affair. It was a 300kg bear which repeatedly broke into houses (broke windows) and killed 7 people. The story was very graphic. It shook us a bit.... I think our camping habits might change a bit for the next leg of the trip.....google it if you want the gruesome details.

We stayed last night in a camping area (Soya Fureai Auto Camp Jo -cost about $60 for the two vehicles and 4 people) close to Wakkamai, and will stay again tonight. This is the northern most town in Hokkaido and thus Japan. It is not quite the northern most point. Wakkamai is a fishing port, and has a Russian influence due to the proximity to the (now) Russian Sakalen islands. Russia fisherman frequent this port. 

The Russian takeover of the Sakalen Islands at the end of WW2 is not forgotten, and this statue of a woman cut off from her home reminds the residents of Wakkamai of their loss. 

This town gets an average of 6 meters of snow each year. It is one of the top 3 places on earth for depth of snow. That's 2 stories high! We can't understand how they cope with so much snow. Do they dig tunnels under it to get out of their houses? Do they manage to keep the roads open? How do people get to work -or do they just shut themselves in their houses for the winter? 

But it was SO windy, the car was rocking, the tent was flapping. I think this wind comes straight from Siberia. We did plan to go by boat out to one of the nearby islands to see the wildflowers -but not in this weather! Maybe tomorrow. 

The camping area is almost empty. It is a bit barren looking with no leaves yet on the trees or bushes. But it has a large amenities block with hot showers, big sun windows, laundry, vending machines. There is wi-Fi in the reception building, a short walk away. 

Last night we had dinner in a small Resturaunt in Wakkamai. It turned out to be a sushi house. The hosts were very freindly and a couple of other customers also joined in what was a very animated and enjoyable conversation. We learnt a little Japanese, took photos and had a great meal -vegetarian for us and lots of seafood (sashimi style) for Stuart and Nira. Although they didn't cater specifically for vegetarians the host were able to give us three different sushis (including NATO sushi), miso soup, and an assortment of wild collected greens. We also had sake -hot- which completed the meal for us. The meals were not inexpensive, but we had almost individual service, with both hosts working for a total of 6 guests (~$57 for us, and ~$102 for Nera and Stuart, who did enjoy a wide variety of fepresh sea food sushis).