Cycling in Hokkaido, Japan

Hokkaido is the northern-most main island of Japan. I often cycle there in the summer, escaping the heat of the sourthern part of Japan. On my 13 trips, I've spent over 12 months cycling in Hokkaido.

Near Lake Shikotsu, August 2005

My 2007 Trip - Photos

See A Few Random Photos of my 2007 Trip
I took a few thousand photos, so I just chose a few at random.

My 2006 Trip - Photos

See Selected Photos of my 2006 Trip

My 2006 Course Marked in Blue

This was my 12th time to go cycling and camping in Hokkaido.

Started in Muroran, then to Lake Toya, then backtracked to Muroran, then east, ...

My 2005 Trip - Photos

See 196 Selected Photos of my 2005 Trip
This year, I carried a harmonica and a ukulele. See and hear me play a tune. charles_kelly-hokkaido2005.mov (800 Kb - QuickTime)

My 2005 Course Marked in Blue

This was my eleventh time to go cycling and camping in Hokkaido.

My 2004 Trip - Photos

You can see Some Selected Photos from My 2004 Cycling Trip in Hokkaido, Japan.

My 2004 Course Marked in Blue

This was my tenth time to go cycling and camping in Hokkaido.

My Trips Before 2004

I had no digital camera, but did carry a disposable camera twice. On most trips, I didn't carry a camera. These are a few scanned photos.

A Few Photos from Previous Trips

Other Pages of Mine

Interesting Things for ESL Students
Charles Kelly One Man Band
aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly - My Personal Home Page

2004 Course Links to map.yahoo.co.jp

[Map] - Tomakomai (苫小牧市) - I entered Hokkaido here.
2004-08-04 [Photo] - [Map] - Near Hayakita (早来町) (Tsuru no Yuu Onsen) Camp.
2004-08-05 [Photo] - [Map] - Near Sunagawa (砂川市) - Hokkaido Kodomo no Kuni Campsite
[Map] - Fukagawa (深川市)
[Photo] - [Map] - I crossed the bridge to the cycling road here - Bicycles weren't allowed in the tunnel.
[Map] - This is near where the cycling road ends
2004-08-06 [Photo] - [Map] - Asahikawa (旭川市) - Camp
[Map] - Left Rt. 12, entered Rt. 40
2004-08-07 [Photo] - [Map] - Wassamu (和寒町) - Camp
[Map] - Nayoro (名寄市)
2004-08-08 [Photo] - [Map] - Shibetsu (士別市) - Camp = Free, Onsen = 300 yen
2004-08-09 [Photo] - [Map] - Bifuka (美深町) - Teshio-gawa Onsen - Camp
[Map] - Otoineppu (音威子府村)- Left Rt. 40, entered Rt. 275
[Map] - Met a guy who had cycled in Europe (Ireland, ...) [Photo]
[Map] - Left Rt. 275, entered Rt. 647 (back road)
[Map] - Got back on Rt. 275
2004-08-10 [Photo] - [Map] - Kutcharoko (クッチャロ湖) - Camp
[Photo] - [Map] - Entered the cycling road here
[Photo] - [Map] - Got off the cycling road here
[Photo] - [Map] - 宗谷郡猿払村 > 浜鬼志別の周辺 - Met an AIT student here - There is also a campsite here.
[Photo] - [Map] - Soya Misaki - Northern-most place in Japan
2004-08-11 - [Photo] - [Map] - Wakkanai (稚内市) - Camped in Dome
[Photo] - [Map] - Got on Rt. 106
2004-08-12 - [Photo] - [Map] - Teshio (天塩町) - Kagami Numa - Camp
[Photo] - Michi no Eki
2004-08-13 - [Photo] - [Map] - Tomamae (苫前)- White Beach Campsite
[Photo] - [Map] - Golden Beach, Rumoi (留萌市). I spent a couple of hours hanging out here. I didn't camp here.
2004-08-14 - [Photo] - [Map] - Mashike Train Station (増毛町)
2004-08-15 - [Photo] - [Map] - Hamamasu (浜益村) - I got my tent up about 5 minutes before it started pouring rain.
2004-08-16 - [Photo] - [Map] - Atsuta (厚田村) - Hamanasu Kaisuiyokujo
[Photo] - [Map] - Otaru (小樽市)- I charged my camera's battery in this park.
2004-08-17 - [Photo] - [Map] - Yoichi (余市町) - Nikka Whiskey was originally made in this town.
[Photo] - [Map] - Tunnel at the top of the hill.
2004-08-18 - [Photo] - [Map] - 野塚町 - Camp
2004-08-19 - [Photo] - [Map] - Iwanai (岩内町) - The night before the typhoon came.
[Photo] - I took a break inside this bus stop on a rainy, windy day.
[Photo] - [Map] - Benkei-Misaki - Still raining and windy. I took another break inside a building near here.
2004-08-20 - [Photo] - [Map] - Setana - Sambon-Sugi - I played fiddle for a couple, a 17-year old girl who liked bluegrass and a guy with a guitar. He owned the fiddle, but didn't know how to play it yet.
2004-08-21 - [Photo] - [Map] - Assapu
2004-08-22 - [Photo] - [Map] - Natowa-Esan (恵山町) - The campsite right next to the Michi no Eki
2004-08-23 - [Photo] - [Map] - Mori (森町)
2004-08-24 - [Photo] - [Map] - Aurutori Misaki - Swimming Area
2004-08-25 - [Photo] - [Map] - Shiraoi (白老町) - Lake Poroto
[Map] - Tomakomai (苫小牧市) - I left Hokkaido from here.

Since I often take cycling/camping trips in Hokkaido, people frequently ask for information. I'll start you off with a few useful websites. Even if you can't read Japanese, you might find some of these links useful.

Camping Links

hokkaicamp.com (Shift_JIS)
Not easily printable, but lots of information. Grab the whole site and put it on your iPod. :-)
北海道の無料キャンプ場 (Free Campsites in Hokkaido)
Vehicle Camp Page - Prices Listed - [Shift-JIS]
Hokkaido Camping Network - Clickable Map with campsites.
Hokkaido Camping (お出かけ無料情報全国網羅)
Select "無料キャンプ" (free campsites) in the pull-down options menu.
ごきげんキャンプ場（北海道１） - Places 1 person stayed: photos and notes
新得町の宿泊のご案内【キャンプ場＆ライダーハウス】 (Shintoku)
IN ENGLISH: auto-net.or.jp - Auto Camping
You can download an English PDF: englishmap050715.pdf (or Japanese: japanesemap050715.pdf)
Flash Map with some campsites and other stuff

Cycling Links for Hokkaido

IN ENGLISH: Bike Paths in Hokkaido - Just a few.
大規模自転車道の紹介：北海道地方 - This lists 10 of the cycling roads.
Another entry point to this data
自転車道リンク集 - This lists 24 cycling roads, with photos and maps.
自転車旅行、輪行併用で全北海道サイクリング - Jump to the bottom of the page and click on the map. (Cycling courses and travel dairies)
Not Hokkaido Specific: Cycling Road Map - I put this here for myself.
This one's in Hokkaido: Sapporo - Lake Shikotsu - Chitose