Karikachi to Hidaki

It rained most of the night, but had cleared to a misty day by sunrise (4am). We headed on up the Karikachi Pass which was never particularly steep, a nice climb over about 8km. As usual there was no view at the pass, totally clouded in! It was a beautiful downhill and in less than 3kms we were in brilliant sunshine and open sky! Fantastic views of the ranges and forest flowed by for the next 20km. We stopped at a cute cafe near the bottom for coffee and waffles and then continued on over the Hidaki Pass and on until we pulled into Hidaka Sarugawa Auto Camping Ground, which was a beautiful grassed area with quite a few campers and families in bungalows. There was a definite change in demographics as we get further south, with many more families with children, rather than just older people. After a good rest we enjoyed an onsen across the road.Read more