September 12, 2025
Day 10 — Horonobe to Shosambetsu
Today’s mission was pretty straightforward. Complete the crossing to the coast, and head south to Shosambetsu.
We rolled out at a decent hour in the blazing sunshine in Horonobe. Horonobe, like a lot of these towns we go through, had not a lot going on.
We made our way out of town, and found our route along back country roads. It was pretty flat, and whatever wind there was wasn’t in our faces so we made decent time.
Pretty soon we were in Teshio, where we decided to stop at the train station to use the bathrooms and see what snacks we could find. There we encountered two other bike tourists, two girls, one from England, one from New Zealand, who were also doing the same thing. We exchanged stories and intel, as one does, and found we were all headed to the same place.
After getting our first Hokkaido ice cream of the trip (very creamy soft serve!), we left the pair and started south down the coast highway. The highway was definitely busier than the roads we had been on previously, though with a decent but occasionally intermittent shoulder. It did mean paying more attention to riding predictably and mindful of traffic behind.
Before long, we reached Enbetsu, and called a long lunch break. We were way ahead of schedule so decided to relax at a vacant seaside pavilion with our Horonobe grocery store purchases — onagiri, oranges, peanuts, cookies, plus a salmon sausage we bought in Teshio.
Our weather apps were telling us that there was a significant rainfall imminent over Saturday night, so we spent some time trying to book a hotel in Rumoi, our destination Saturday. No luck. Agoda would come up with a “last room” at a hotel, then say it was booked when we tried to book it. Then it would pop up in the search as available. Frustrating, but we figured we could sort things out in Rumoi.
After lunch it was a straight shot down the highway to Shoshanbetsu, where we found the free camping near an observatory. I don’t understand why you would put an observatory at sea level in a pervasively humid and rainy place, but there it was.
In any event, the campsite was spectacular, with views north to Rishiri in the distance. There was also a walk down the shore to a Torii gate, with a small shrine up in the rocks.
As an added bonus, the site was steps to the onsen, which made the most of its location. It had spectacular views, and we each (separately) were able to soak in an outdoor hot pool watching the sun set over the ocean. Truly spectacular.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 430 km (267 miles)
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