Nishiyonchōme-eki

Well well, where to begin. After one of my specials (an eternal journey to my first destination), made it from Hobart, to Sydney, to the Blue Mountains for a few days, Sydney back again, Kuala Lumpur for a lovely night in the airport floor, Tokyo for a fancy night in an airport bench, and finally Sapporo). I don't think the sleep deprivation helped with my emotional and overwhelmed state, and the big grey modern city was something I could not be more ready to leave behind me.

Nevertheless, I could not rush out of the city due to its practicalities. This first week consisted mostly of preparations, visiting biking and outdoor shops was my main activity. And spending my savings on preparing a home in a bike was the order of the day. My low bike knowledge and my nule japanese next to their inexistant english made this journey challenging and a bit scary. But, wasn't that what I was looking for? But I found japanese people to be lovely and always helpful when asking for help (which I did a lot), and always an expert on google translate;)

Now, as preparations go by, and I await for the sakura to be at its highest peak, while I let snow melt a bit in the mountains, where I am due to start for this bigbig adventure.

Now, for those wondering, what is it that I am taking for my very first BikePacking trip:
- Kona Rove St Bike (which I have named Sakura) + helmet
- My 32 l backpack on a back rack + 2 20 liter bags + a front holder to transport my camping equipment with me + a small front bag for essentials
- Phone holder with my phone (and yes, this time there is a sim card with it) + 1 water bottle in a holder in between my bike (and another bottle in my bag) + 2 lights (one front + one spare) + bell
- A riko bag (pretty roughly made with broken tires as a handle) and some tools to keep the bike safe while transporting
- bike tools: pad set, levers, 2 spare tubes, multi tool kit, oil, cloth
- clothes: long and short biking pants, long and short leggings, two thermic pants, cool long sleeve (yep, the one with the faces from pipi), marino whool thermal shirt, sports bra, 2 sports tops, tshirt (glowing in the dark one from sara), 2 fleeces (one to be left behind after hokkaido), windproof, waterproof jacket, cool colourful hat (no one let me leave it behind, another part of pipi with me), 3 bandanas (since i will quickly loose them), 5 sets of undies, 3 hiking socks and 1 normal socks, 1 swimming suit, hiking shoes, flipflops, funny pack, hiking 20 l backpack
- cooking gear: stove, pot, gas stoves (will start with 4), cutlery, knife
- camping gear: tent, sleeping bag, mat, pillow, some light sports food such as hiking food, oats and nut mix (and a bit of coffee), 2 head torches
- first aid kit: with emergency blanket, gases, bandage, hand heater, pills (ibuprofen, antihistamin, gastro), plasters, compits, and most important lavender oil, 1 caravina, tape, sewing kit portable battery, sewing threat and needle, whistle, bear spray and bell. Random: an electro device that I was gifted in the blue mountains
- Bathroom utilities: toothpaste, toothbrush, earrings, earplugs, sunscreen, insect repellant, soap, conditioning, hair ties and pins
- Random bits such as ebook, notebook, earplugs, random calming stone from Xavi (a selenite), few random papers and stickers, Ky's friendship kit, bin bags and waterproof for backpack, toilet paper, 2 sets of sunglasses.

Now, after getting everything ready I got to be a tourist for a bit (I forgot how exhausting that was!) and went for a stroll through the cherry blossoms, got my Omikugi (fortune tell?); tried all sorts of food; got stuck having dinner with a really american guy (help); stayed late night chatting to the guys from reception after getting invited to ice cream and whiskey by an interesting Japanese man, who made me breakfast the next day; went to the beer museum with Filip, a german guy I met in the hostel and a Singaporean girl we adopted in a matcha cafe on the way; had a beer at a cool venue and midnight ramen with Filip; and just organized, disorganized, planned and unplanned everything and nothing until there was nothing but to accept it was time to start (not even being sure of which direction I was gonna take, north, west, east or south?)

⛺ Accommodation: Wize Owl Hostel (not iverly social, still met some cool people, staff super nice and great installation with super quipped and clean kitchen, and lots of space in the room, super central as well), SappoLodge (so very quiet, I guess because of low season, and not the most budget friendly, nevertheless great installations, little kitchen, with so much free food and lovely staff (one of the staff even drove me to the bike store)
🥢 Food: Sapporo Ramen Haruka (Amazing cheese Ramen), SoupCurry Garako, Shirakaba Sansou (miso ramen), Genghiskan Ram, convenience store random snacks, Isono Kazuo (black ramen), d:matcha Kyoto Sapporo
🍸 Night Life: BeerInn Mugishutei (mostly imported beers from the states but pretty cool venue and owner and staff was pretty cool)
🛒 Shopping: Sam's Bike (most specialized shop I found in Sapporo, mechanic is grumpy and scary (in a cool way) but owner is so lovely and helpful, I have spent soso many hours in that shop already), 2nd outdoor (most amazing outdoor op shop I have seen in my life, they pretty much have everything, left the place with almost everything I needed), Shugakuso Shiroisi (super well stocked outdoor store with pretty much anything needed for bikes, camping and hiking store), Shugakuso Hokudai Store
🏯To do: Cherry Blossom at Mayurama Park and Hokkaido Jingu, walk around the busy Sukino Roads, Sapporo Beer Museum
❓Fun fact: spice level goes hand by hand to price, so the spicier you want your food, the more money it costs. Is it a good thing for those afraid of spice?Leer más