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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 The Autumn colours have descended from the alpine and been replaced by snow-capped peaks.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.

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We had the pleasure of Simon and Penny from Hong Kong and Christoff and Joanna from Switzerland on a ‘Cape of Divine Power’ self guided trip.

This trip’s route starts near Sapporo and threads around some of Hokkaido’s western area caldera lakes and volcanoes, including Mt Yotei which is often referred to as the ‘Mt Fuji of the North’ for its likeness to Japan’s largest mountain. It then finishes at a mini peninsula which juts out in to the Sea of Japan on the west coast of Hokkaido. The Ainu, who are the indigenous people of Hokkaido referred to the peninsula as the ‘Cape of Divine Power.’

The last night is in Hokkaido’s oldest port town where a lot of the old stone buildings from the nineteenth century still remain.

A highlight is seeing a young volcano called ‘Showa Shinzen’ which literally sprung from a farmer’s rice paddy and grew to a height of 400 meters within a few years.

Another day, the route finishes at Japan’s first whiskey factory. Ever sampled whiskey at the end of a ride?

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Sailor’s Delight

‘Red sky at night, sailors delight.’ The weather that Carolien and Dries from Belgium was fantastic with blue skies every day. This photo was taken when we had just transported them to the southern end of Daisetsuzan National Park. Apparently they had just sinked in to the outdoor hot spring to watch the beautiful sun setting.

I was just on my way down the mountain when the sun was setting and decided to drive back up to get this shot. It was taken at the highest road point in Hokkaido, a short walk away from where our customers stay on the ‘Playground of the Gods’ trip.

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We recently hosted Caroline and Dre from Belgium on a ‘Playground of the Gods’ self guided tour. They cycle locally at home, but this was their first time on a cycling tour.

They had superb weather and had views of the Daisetsuzan Mountains on each day of the trip.

Their first day at Asahidake they walked to a river where there is a hot spring and had lunch. They then descended 12km to the foot of the national park to a canyon are.

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We have been hosting Seth and Sarah from Washington this past week. We picked them up on their arrival day and took them to see the ‘Angel Robe Falls.’

From here they started riding and ascended to the highest peak in Hokkaido, which is also a live volcano.  They did a short walk around the volcano’s caldera and had good views of the many fumaroles which emit hot sulphurous gases.

Afterwards they soaked in the mountain lodge hot springs and enjoyed a traditional dinner to finish the day.

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Recently we had the pleasure of Ilene and Ben’s company on a guided trip. We combined our ‘Playground of the Gods’ and ‘Cape of Divine Power’ route over a week’s trip. It was a special journey for the both of them as Ben will be headed to college and this was a special treat from Ilene before he departs.

Highlights were the big descent from the live volcano, the lavender fields of Central Hokkaido, fresh sushi from Hokkaido’s old port town, the whiskey distillery, rafting in Hokkaido’s outdoor playground, the mysterious caldera island, and of course the quiet back roads, hot springs and delicious food that make riding in Hokkaido great.

For more pictures of the trip, click here

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We were out trialing a new GPS to be used with our tours, the Garmin Edge. It kept us on route and gave us a lot of other information as well such as heart rate and cadence, something which we may not need so much for on tours, but is good to have for training.

The route that we took was the last day of the ‘Playground of the Gods’ trip. It ascends very gradually to a plateau where you are surrounded by wheat fields, before a nice long descent back in to the valley.

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This is the most beautiful time to be in the area of the ‘Playground of the Gods.’ The lavender is in full-bloom and the flower farms are exhibiting their full summer colours.

We went for a loop ride in the morning which passed through a few of the flower farms in the area.