Day 8 of Running the Length of Japan – Asahikawa to Fukagawa (37.37 km) #runjapan

Day 8 of Running the Length of Japan – Asahikawa to Fukagawa (37.37 km) #runjapan

Absolutely beautiful morning here. We’re going slowly. We’re always going slowly.

We had a good breakfast at the hotel. I had plenty of croissants, tea, orange juice and milk, while Joy had fish, rice, and miso soup. It was good to have something other than convenience store food for breakfast.

I picked up a couple of heel inserts for my shoes to try to fix my ankle pain. It’ll just add a millimetre or two to my Altra FWD Via for a few days, and hopefully take some pressure off my Achilles. Food and pharmacy done, and we set off, following the river out of town, and along a cycle path that ran up through a valley, just enough away from a main road to be peaceful.

We stopped at a little train station by the river, called Kamuy Kotan. It was a wonderful spot for lunch. There were two old steam trains up there, and a few other people taking in the sights. A couple of bikers looked at us in confusion, seeing one bicycle for the two of us. We had to explain that I was running while she was cycling. Admittedly, one person running while the other cycles is a rather strange way to see a country.

We had a bit of a climb late in the evening, having to push the Brompton up some gravel roads. Unfortunately, we were too late to see the Catbus we had planned to visit, so we’ll double back to that tomorrow.

We camped by an onsen, and I begrudginly paid to camp in the field next to it, even though I wasn’t allowed in due to my tattoos. So while I cleaned myself in the sink of the public toilets, Joy had a wonderful hot soak in the baths. If either of us needed the bath, it was me, but she was definitely the one who deserved it.