The route from Asahikawa to Sapporo via Furano

After Asahikawa I moved on. I needed to get to a settlement called Furano. According to the guidebook, this area became famous thanks to the popular Japanese TV drama Kitanokunikara, which tells the story of a father and his children who moved to Furano from Tokyo and faced hardships.

The road to Furano goes through picturesque farm fields. The settlements are still just one street, but the houses are richer and more beautiful. Butterflies and dragonflies fly over the fields. Around the perimeter of the fields there's an irrigation system made of artificial streams. I got so caught up in contemplating and photographing that I didn't notice how the sun set and a warm night fell, and I kept riding and thinking. That day I didn't say a word and composed my first haiku: Oh stream of thoughts Where do you lead the traveler On this warm night?

When I reached Furano, it was already completely dark. They grow lavender in this place, and even though the flowers had already been cut, you could smell a pleasant aroma in the air. I started looking for a camping spot, but except for a tourist van by the roadside, there was no hint of one existing. I stopped a small truck to ask about camping. The driver offered me to stay the night at his house.

A family with two children, living in a big house. The parents have had an online shoe store for 10 years. They're actively into sports. Cycling, skiing, fishing, surfing. What I liked most was that all their sports equipment and tools weren't hidden away in sheds and closets, but were part of the interior. August 19th was the first day of school in Japanese schools. Here's a girl carrying a dragonfly to class — homework.

After the farm I headed further, to Yubari. This wasn't the best day for the ride. It was pouring rain, and I had to wait it out in gazebos. Soon the rivers filled up, and the water in them turned the color of puddles, and when the rain stopped, thick steam appeared over the water and swarms of dragonflies rose into the sky from the surface of lakes. Has a wet dragonfly ever hit you in the eye?

Her father and I went to a farm where they grow lavender and make perfume from it.

This is an almost three-kilometer tunnel. When a car enters it, you hear a terrible rumble even before you can see the car. It's impossible to tell where to expect it from — front or back. The rumble is so loud that each time it seems like a huge truck taking up two lanes is about to appear, but some compact car comes out. On one of the steep descents, when I was enjoying the speed after a long climb, this girl riding toward me stopped on the shoulder and waved at me. I stopped too. She ran up to me with her phone and asked: — Are you Ilya?? — Yes.

She said that this morning she saw my photo on a friend's Facebook. We chatted and took a photo. To ride in the rain, you need to pretend it's not there. As if there's only you, the bicycle and the distance. Meanwhile it's pouring buckets and mud is flying into your face from under the wheels, and passing cars splash your legs, which are already in wet boots. To avoid stress, you need to pamper yourself. I encountered different bear warnings.

To let the forest inhabitants know about my presence, I whistled. I'm best at Zingle Ball. Coming out of the tunnel, I found myself in a forest with towering spruces. Suddenly there was a cry, similar to the one I heard in the tent a few nights ago. I flinched, and when I turned toward the sound, I saw two huge deer fifty meters away from me, running into the thick of the forest.

There was nowhere to stay overnight in Yubari, I got there at night. The rain had pretty much worn me and my things out. My feet turned white, like when you sit in water too long. My face, clothes, bags and bicycle were covered with sand and mud. That day I rode almost 90 kilometers. While I was cleaning myself off by a store, some farmers — the guys in the photo — came up to me and asked if everything was okay. I asked about camping or a hotel. They offered to drive me to the railway station.

In the morning a policeman came to wake me up. This was the second time I was being checked. He wrote down my information and asked all kinds of questions about my stay in Japan. I still haven't managed to photograph policemen, just like deer.

The new day was a real gift. This is exactly how the day of my arrival in Sapporo should look. I rode in anticipation of a big beautiful city, a soft bed and a shower.