Sarafutsu to Nakatonbetsu 52km

We were woken early by the deep rumble of numerous large diesel engines. The large fishing ships in the nearby port were all heading off together. They made an incredible noise that seemed to be amplified by the auditorium we were sleeping in. We followed the coast for 30km to Hamatonbetsu where we stopped for a picnic lunch. A friendly fox wanted to share our lunch. We then turned inland up a valley between some big mountains. As we neared Nakatonbetsu we saw huge black clouds coming over the mountains. We pulled into a Buddhist monastery and sheltered for about an hour under the porch while it poured down. We noticed a share house sign on the way into town, so when the rain eased we decided to check it out. We found the place in town but no one was home. Just as it started to rain again an older man beckoned us to follow him to his house. It absolutely poured down as we followed his car to his house. We dried off in his comfortable shed and he offered for us to stay the night. This turned into a night on the town with him and several locals. We first went to a local restaurant and had a traditional Hokkaido bbq meal, with lots of different thin cuts of meat. After this moved to a newly built modern bar for drinks. We then slept very well in his nicely equipped shed come bungalow, which was great as it rained all night.Read more