Dokkodo: Lonesome Road of Running

Gusty and misty in the morning. Visited Cape Erimo, the southernmost tip of Hokkaido. Took me three weeks from Cape Soya, the northernmost point of Japan. Covered 500 miles so far. I'll finish crossing Hokkaido in three days. Enjoy meeting good people everyday. That's why I keep going. *Distance today: 28.8miles (46.4km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 498.6miles (802.3km) More photos on KAY'S BLOG

Warm, sunny day. No rain three days in a row. R336 is partly called Ogon Doro(Golden Road) because it has cost a huge amount of money to get it maintained. Lots of tunnels. The longest one is Erimo Ogon Tunnel, about 3 miles long. It is also the longest tunnel in Hokkaido. I don't like tunnel because of its smell and noise. Some tunnels have no sidewalks or shoulders. Sometimes it's scary. About noon, I finished today's run at Hyakuninhama Campground. This is a perfect day for camping. *Distance today: 24.6miles (39.6km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 494.4miles (795.5km) More photos on KAY'S BLOG http://kaytaka.blog35.fc2.com/blog-entry-2011.html

It was not warm but hot today. The temperature rose all of a sudden. As I was not ready for the heat yet, this heat was hard for me. Here I am in Hiroo, about 50 miles (80km) south from Urahoro. Today I saw the first convenience store since I left Urahoro. I guess people living in the city can't believe there is a town like that in Japan even now. Lots of farmers' house here and smells of dried grass and animals remind me that I am in Hokkaido. Tomorrow I'll be camping in campsite near Cape Erimo, the southernmost tip of Hokkaido Island. *Distance today: 22.3miles (35.9km) *Total Distance from Wakkanai: 469.8miles (755.9km) More photos on KAY'S BLOG   http://kaytaka.blog35.fc2.com/blog-entry-2010.html

Sunny day. Warm enough to run. 50 miles (80km) nothing between Urahoro and Hiroo. It's been fun running in the wild land. So many ups and downs. Kind of boring, sometimes depressive. Probably my run in Hokkaido will soon end in 5 or 6 days. I wish I would stay a little bit longer in Hokkaido. *Today's distance:  27.3miles (44km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 447.5 miles (720km) More photos on KAY'S BLOG. http://kaytaka.blog35.fc2.com/blog-entry-2008.html

Misty morning. Not that cold for camping out. Pitched my tend under a tree but a bird kept tweeting almost all night long. I guess I must have invaded its territory. Sunny day breaks. Blue sky was seen for the first time in a week. Warm enough to run. Felt like the first summer day! Short day. Ran through three tunnels. Tunnels are what I scare most. Noise and smell... If they have sidewalk, they are very nice to bikers and walkers. But most of tunnels have narrow shoulders. Some of them have no shoulders. If they are long, I have to struggle in the dark. I have run 3 mile (5km) tunnel before. It took me about 40 minutes to get through. I finished today's run about 11am at Urahoro. Took a bath and washed my clothes. Got to dry something wet such as tent, sleeping bag and matress. Getting closer to the southernmost tip of Hokkaido, Cape Erimo. *Distance today: 18.8miles  (30.2km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 420.1miles (676.0km)

As is often the case, I started running in the morning. Rain suits on again. Left one of the biggest cities in Hokkaido, Kushiro, I see mountains, rivers and wild land again/ It stopped raining in the afternoon. Getting warm. There were two inns in Ombetsu, today's goal, but both were occupied. So I found a place to camp out at a community center. Not that cold tonight. Fortunately no rain at all! *Distance today: 29.3 miles (47.1km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 401.4mniles (645.8km)

Wet, wet, wet because of misty weather. Put on and off my rain suits. But the temperature was not so low. Warm enough to run. As I got closer to downtown Kushiro, traffic became heavier. The city of Kushiro is as big as Sapporo. It has almost everything such as McDonalds, Kentucky and Aeon. There were some uncomfortable parts on Route 44. The shoulder was narrow and was not smooth partly. I saw some sighboards of BEAR WARNING.   *Distance today: 34.4 miles (55.3km) *Total distance from Wakkanai: 372.1 imles (598.7km) More photos on KAY'S BLOG http://kaytaka.blog35.fc2.com/blog-entry-2005.html