Monday 8th May 2017
Kushiro to Rausu
Driving from the hotel in Kushiro we passed only the second roundabout we have seen in Japan.
Traffic lights are everywhere, even in isolated villages. Replacing these with a few roundabouts might ease the traffic flow, although the locals seem very patient with all these lights.
It was a cool morning and there were threatening clouds ahead. By morning coffee we had the bimini up and it rained steadily. A warning sign on the road read "Caution Lightning".
Nothing much to see on this stretch as we followed the coast.
There were big dairy farms along the road with lush looking grass. You rarely see any cows as they are mostly inside. We had some Hokkaido milk at breakfast and it was rich and creamy.
Many of the sheds look like very large Nissan huts, but with coloured roofs.
Some of the fishing villages looked prosperous with recently built houses, quite large and western looking.
We thought, judging by past distances that it woulkd take us six hours to get to our overnight stop at Rausu. It only took three hours so we took a road that goes into a national park . We could see snow on the surrounding mountains.
Half way along we were stopped and had to turn around due to ice on the road. So much for seeing some bears!
Japanese hotels are inflexible when it comes to checking-in. No-one can check-in before 3pm (it is all over Japan so wonder if it is a government regulation) so we sat in the lobby as it was raining steadily again.
The hotel is on the road we were due to take tomorrow. Driving out there was a traffic information board indicating that the road over the Shiretoko Pass (700mts) was closed. It is usually open by this time of year. We will have to backtrack about 50kms tomorrow in order to get across to the north coast.
Restaurants are scarce in this town, everyone must eat at home. Found a fish warehouse and processing area for seaweed and marine products with a retail shop at the front. It had four tables and we got there just as it was about to close (5pm). The fish was excellent as were the friendly ladies running the place. As we'd parked on the footpath out the front, the ladies were excited about the car, took photographs, asked questions so they got a Puce Goose business card & once again the recipient asked for our autographs!
Kushiro to Rausu
Driving from the hotel in Kushiro we passed only the second roundabout we have seen in Japan.
Traffic lights are everywhere, even in isolated villages. Replacing these with a few roundabouts might ease the traffic flow, although the locals seem very patient with all these lights.
It was a cool morning and there were threatening clouds ahead. By morning coffee we had the bimini up and it rained steadily. A warning sign on the road read "Caution Lightning".
Nothing much to see on this stretch as we followed the coast.
There were big dairy farms along the road with lush looking grass. You rarely see any cows as they are mostly inside. We had some Hokkaido milk at breakfast and it was rich and creamy.
Many of the sheds look like very large Nissan huts, but with coloured roofs.
Some of the fishing villages looked prosperous with recently built houses, quite large and western looking.
We thought, judging by past distances that it woulkd take us six hours to get to our overnight stop at Rausu. It only took three hours so we took a road that goes into a national park . We could see snow on the surrounding mountains.
Half way along we were stopped and had to turn around due to ice on the road. So much for seeing some bears!
Japanese hotels are inflexible when it comes to checking-in. No-one can check-in before 3pm (it is all over Japan so wonder if it is a government regulation) so we sat in the lobby as it was raining steadily again.
The hotel is on the road we were due to take tomorrow. Driving out there was a traffic information board indicating that the road over the Shiretoko Pass (700mts) was closed. It is usually open by this time of year. We will have to backtrack about 50kms tomorrow in order to get across to the north coast.
Restaurants are scarce in this town, everyone must eat at home. Found a fish warehouse and processing area for seaweed and marine products with a retail shop at the front. It had four tables and we got there just as it was about to close (5pm). The fish was excellent as were the friendly ladies running the place. As we'd parked on the footpath out the front, the ladies were excited about the car, took photographs, asked questions so they got a Puce Goose business card & once again the recipient asked for our autographs!
No comments:
Post a Comment