October 2, 2024
Day 7: Hakodate to Aomori (travel day)
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This being our 9th day in Japan, we could absolutely go no longer without doing some laundry. When we stay in hotels, we hand-wash a few things here and there to keep them fresh. Even the occasional commercial campground will have a washing machine we can utilize.
It isn't just a matter of preference or social acceptance. Saddle sores and other nasty things can result from too many unwanted microorganisms lurking about one's clothing.
Luckily, a laundromat was just a couple blocks away, and even luckier for us, they had the type of washer that adds soap and also dries all in one neat little package.
The smell and stains of so many days of sweat and dampness were magically gone! Feeling a sense of accomplishment and relief, we relaxed until shortly before our 10am checkout.
A stop at Lawson for some lunch items resulted in some delicious irony:
Wasn't I just talking about this exact instance of overpackaging a couple of days ago? Anyway, we're fruit-deprived, so funny and pathetic as it may be, I enjoyed every bite of this particular banana.
We had about an hour to kill before boarding, so we had an early lunch and then fiddled with our phones for a while. When they called for boarding, there was a mixup in which we queued behind a line of cars, only to be told very apologetically by the attendant that we should go ahead of them all. We've been on a lot of ferries before, and each one has its own method of boarding. It's confusing.
Once inside, the crew quickly placed chocks and straps on our bikes to secure them.
Wait. What's with the third bike? It's this guy below, who, according to the sign, started in Okinawa. He's a long way from there, that's for sure. He's a young Japanese fellow. We said hello to him, but he didn't respond. Are Americans too friendly? Or is everyone else too unfriendly? You'd think that with a sign like that, he'd be begging people to ask him about his trip. Maybe other bike tourists make him feel "not special enough," and he'd rather ignore us. Sometimes I just don't get people.
I'd long been curious how Asian ferries work, at least in terms of the different fare classes. There are the suites, then the rooms, then the "view seats" in the front, then the lowly shared floor space. The latter sounds awful, doesn't it? Quite the opposite on this voyage. It's midday, so there's no desire to sleep. Tables and comfy chairs line the port and starboard windows. Most importantly, there weren't many passengers. Pretty much a best-case scenario for us.
Data coverage was spotty but generally usable for the duration of the 3 1/2 hour journey. I did a lot of research for our next couple of days of riding.
It was raining lightly in Aomori, but the puddles told a different story. I guess we missed the worst of it.
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We continue to strike out with overnight bike storage. This is Japan, so I'm trying not to be anxious about the possibility of theft. We locked our bikes together, and hotel staff have CCTV trained on this very spot. I wonder if at some point we should start getting more aggressive responding to their suggestions for bike parking. I think we fared much better in Korea, but then again, we had a native speaker to argue our case.
Dinner was soon calling. I had a nearby soba shop all lined up. They were inexplicably closed. The only signage they had showed that they should have been open. This randomness is starting to become very amusing, but at some critical juncture, I feel like it's going to get very frustrating.
The next soba shop we tried was also closed, but the place upstairs from it was very open. We were the only customers, which was both suspicious and awkward. But the prices were okay and the food quite delicious. We each had tempura and rice (and a beer). The staff were very friendly, so it ended up being a very pleasant experience.
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We walked off the meal by visiting the train station and its many shops. We were able to strike a couple more items off our "want to buy" list. So that's nice. Plus, we now have breakfast items for tomorrow. The goal is to get an early start to our ride. It will probably be wet, and there will definitely be a lot of climbing to do!
Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 453 km (281 miles)
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