Cycling Hokkaido’s mountainous panoramas

[Guest post by Barbara Gao in Asahikawa, Japan]  

I just came back from a week-long cycling trip in Hokkaido. Knowing that the land will be mostly flat from my vague memory of a family trip 10 years ago and the brochures advertising a wide and expansive land, I made the difficult decision of leaving my regular 9×12 watercolor pad behind and brought along only a small panorama sketchbook. Turned out the size of the sketchbook is perfect for Hokkaido! After days of cycling up and down the hills with my gears, I think I also made the right decision for my legs.

I arrived to a bright and sunny morning in Asahikawa airport and had a few hours to explore before my biking buddy arrived. Very rarely do I get to see neat farmlands with a mountain backdrop, so I immediately set to give myself a test ride and sketch the rural landscape.

The weather was much hotter and more humid than I expected, so sketching between biking also gave me a break from the sun.

The next morning started at Mount Asahidake, Hokkaido’s highest peak. The mountain top was covered in a lively green and offered generous panoramic view to the valley and clouds below. Hard to imagine there’s so much going on above the tree line! The lone cabin is used as shelter for emergency situations.

The next day of biking took us to Tenninkyo the back side of the Daisetsuzan National Park that offered sheer cliffs and clear streams. I haven’t slept to the sound of natural noises in a long time, but it was surprisingly soothing (even at Niagara Falls, the hotels all had thick windows to block out the sound of crashing water).

Flower farms were obligatory stops in central Hokkaido. I was wondering at first why they were always located on the steeper hills, but once you get over the initial slope at the entrance, the view onto the neat rows of flowers is rewarding, even in the overcast weather!

The distant mountains and rolling farm lands were so mesmerizing that I ended sketching another piece at the parking lot of the flower farm, all the while eavesdropping on tour bus drivers complaining about the weather and their employers.

The last biking day was just some casual strolls through the streets of Furano because of the unstable weather. The winery perched on top of a hill overlooking the city offered a wonderful view of the nearby mountain range. Mountains are no rarity along the Pacific Northwest, but the low-hanging clouds and lush green fields beneath really bring a mystical feel to the scene – or maybe it is just the tourist talking, who knows!

I couldn’t resist one last sketch of the mountains before I depart. This view is from the observation deck of the airport.

Barbara is an engineer from Vancouver currently living in San Jose, CA. She can never resist to sketch a good scene when traveling. You can see more of her sketches and stories on her blog and Flickr.