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The lavender has been in bloom for the past few weeks in the Daisetsuzan National Park area. It has been a pleasure to ride in the valley amongst these fields in the shadown of the great Daisetsuzan mountains and volcanoes. The lavender will continue for the next week.

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The riding season starts in Hokkaido when the snow has melted from the roads after a long winter season. By April we are making the most of warmer midday temperatures and sneaking out for shorter rides, gradually lengthening them as it gets warmer near the end of the month.

Some of the higher alpine roads are still closed as they need to be cleared of snow. The valley is the place to be at this time and leave riding the higher roads for May.

We are about to head in to our season proper. Daytime temperatures are starting to creep up to 22 or 23 degrees celsius. Looking forward to riding in just a jersey and shorts.

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We spent the first part of April researching a new route in Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. We were drawn to the warmer climate that Shikoku provides during April and May, when it can still be a little chilly in Hokkaido.

The start of the route begins from Japan’s main island of Honshu. ‘Shimanami Kaido’ is also known as the ‘Highway Above the Sea.’ There are six island between Honshu and Shikoku, all linked by bridges and a total distance of around 60km. This is one of Japan’s premier rides.

We were lucky to have a magnificent day for the ride which provided for spectacular views of Japan’s Seto inland sea. Perfect temperatures of around 20 degrees and a slight breeze made it very comfortable. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom as well.

Stay tuned for dates for this trip.

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There has been some nice Autumn riding days. Temperatures are perfect when it is sunny with temperatures getting up to 20 degrees.

We are making the most of the warm days before it starts getting cold next month. In December the valley will be covered with snow and we will be on rollers.

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The colours of the alpine area of Daisetsuzan National Park have started changing to the red, yellow and orange colours of Autumn. This is a spectacular time to see the area and to commence on the ‘Playground of the Gods’ trip.

The mountains are becoming quite cool, but the valleys can still reach 20 degrees Celsius during the day. The flower farms are still blooming and there are fields of sunflowers by the sides of the roads.

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The weather has been fantastic recently. Just when the humidity and rainy season has taken over on the main island of Honshu, the weather has been fine and dry up here on the northern island of Hokkaido.

We have a group of 6 from Australia who are making their way around the ‘Playground of the Gods.’ We managed to get some photos of them at their end of third day ride after they had been riding the rolling hills of the valley.

We then took them back up in to the mountains of the national park where they watched the sun down from the outdoor hot spring.

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The Playground of the Gods

This is a shot of Katie and Stewart who are riding in the Playground of the Gods presently. They had clear skies for the first 4 days of their trip and were treated to views like this. They had just ridden from a Canyon in the Daisetsuzan National Park where they stayed in a hot spring ryokan and were riding around the famous rolling hills area of the itinerary. Later in the summer season, this area is described as a ‘patchwork quilt,’ as all of the fields are each a different colour.

 

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It was a long winter this year, which has delayed the start to our cycling season. There is still plenty of snow on the high mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park, but the roads are all snow free and have been cleaned of the winter grit. With the recent sunny days the landscape is starting to become green again and the local farmers in the valley are busy planting their crops. On sunny days the midday temperature is rising to around 20 degrees.

Above are some photos we have taken while out riding in the area of the Playground of the Gods.

Looking forward to the season ahead.

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We were riding single track trails in the Daisetsuzan National Park on the weekend. The Autumn colours have descended from the alpine and been replaced by snow-capped peaks.

The trails snake through a silver birch forest in the shadow of Mt Tokachi, a live volcano in the southern end of the national park. It is so active that it erupts every thirty of forty years and from the trail we could see the smoke coming from its caldera.

We finished at the turquoise pond, colored by the sulfur from the volcano. This area is part of our ‘Playground of the Gods’ route.

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Summer temperatures have lasted longer than usual this year. It has only been recently that days have become cooler, and with it the leaves changing colour on the higher mountains in the Daisetsuzan National Park. This happens quickly in Hokkaido and it won’t be long before we will see the leaves change in the valley as well.

Valerie and Alisdair from Hong Kong have been enjoying the cool temperatures and the quiet back roads on the ‘Playground of the Gods’ self-guided trip. In these photos I managed to catch them on their descent from the southern end of the national park.