Daizatsuzan National Park

At breakfast, our host advises us to take a look out the window. We see a mini blizzard.

Unable to ride, we venture across to the nearby train station where, through various hand and facial gestures, we get the message that bikes are not allowed on Japanese trains.

Never. Ever.

As the snow gets deeper, however, the guard relents and allows us to hop on the next departure. We're heading north - not sure where, though.

It doesn't really matter, as we get kicked off at Asahikawa by a stroppy ticket collector. Never mind - by then the sun is out.

Asahikawa is the city where most tourists spend a night when heading to or from the gargantuan Daisetsuzan National Park. We don't have time to ride up to the park and back in a day, so lock our bikes at the back of the train station and take a bus there to have a look around. It's about an hour or so away.

From May to September, the park offers outdoorsy types miles upon miles of rambling, cycling and general fun amongst rugged peaks, pristine forests and scenic gorges. Yet many visitors don't venture very far from their comfy tour bus. Flog 'em, I say.

Apart from the stunning scenery, Japanese are attracted by the steaming hot springs - onsen - that are dotted all about the volcanic slopes. We head for one of the biggest, located in picturesque Sounkyo - kyo means gorge - which itself is one of Japan's most popular tourist destinations.

Marooned amid mountainous terrain, there aren't many route options, although the road there isn't very steep, just a steady climb for about 20km. I reckon if we had cycled here, it would have added a few days to our trip, as we would have had to continue going northeast before being able to start riding back south. Unless we did a U turn. I hate doing those.

Most of the year, half a dozen waterfalls cascade down the vertical rock faces of the 24-kilometer-long canyon. All are frozen solid. Nevertheless, we enjoy the crisp air and gaze at the slightly melted ice sculptures that had recently been the centerpiece of an annual snow festival that always attracts countless visitors.

There are normally coach-loads packed into its high-rise hotels (a couple rent out bikes) and spas, but the whole place is ghostly quiet when we arrive. These high-end hotels welcome low-season visitors with open arms - we could have easily haggled a bargain.

We get a bus back to town, pick up our bikes and find a hotel - right next to the station. It looks swanky, but isn't very expensive and at night we head out and have a couple of beers.

Asahikawa is a busy city with quite a few bars and groups of office workers are seemingly on pub crawls. It feels cold and it's good to have down jackets.

Today's ride: 2 km (1 miles)
Total: 139 km (86 miles)

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