ROAD TRIP (6/6) : Shakotan Peninsula and conclusion

Sixth and last part of this series! It was supposed to be a relaxing day. Supposed to be…

I chose my last destination of the week the same way I did for the day before. One of the most popular places near Sapporo is the Shakotan peninsula. The rain finally stopped and the sky was clear, it was the opportunity to go!

Shakotan peninsula is located in the north-west of Hokkaido about two hours and a half away from Sapporo. To reach it you need to drive through Otaru and near by Ebisuiwa and Daikokuiwa rocks. A couple of kilometers farther away, I pulled over to watch the famous candle shaped rock of Yoichi. Unfortunately once again the environment wasn’t very nice.

SHAKOTAN PENINSULA

On the Shakotan peninsula I went to Cape Kamui. A pathway leads you there and you can enjoy a stunning view on Kamui rock and the rest of the peninsula.

Cape Kamui has its own legend. It says that an Ainu princess, Charenka fell in love with a man called Yoshitsune of Minamo. He escaped from his ennemies and found a shelter in Hidaka’s tribe, Charenka’s father. Yoshitsune left to go towards the north of the island leaving Charenka behind him. The princess followed him to Cape Kamui but arrived too late, her lover had already left by boat. Drunk on anger she cursed all the boats getting close to the shores having a woman on board to sink. Heart broken Charenka let herself fall from the top of the cliff. It is said that her spirit transfered into a rock. The Kamui rock that we see from the edge of the peninsula. For a long time after that, women were forbideen to approach the area.
Today you can find the remainings of an old communication tower that served during the war.

Cape Kamui’s landscape is wonderful. The green cliffs look like the island of Jurassic Park. I was expecting to see dinosaurs coming out of the woods, flying above my head.

The weather was good, the path to the extremity of the peninsula was showing some beautiful views and the Kamui rock was standing up out of the « Shokatan blue » water of the Sea of Japan.
On the down side unfortunately, at the bottom of the cliffs, the beaches were very polluted.

This last destination was perfect to finish the week. The landscape was beautiful. It was very peaceful to walk on the top of the cliffs with the sound of the waves in the background and a light wind in my hair. I felt that my mind was rested even though my body was exhausted from the road trip.

If only I could have finished the week on this lovely moment… That would have been too easy!

On my way back, two hours before giving back the car, I had an accident. Nothing serious fortunately. My left mirror hit the back of a bus. It made me laugh, I won’t lie. It wasn’t that bad and no one got injured and the car didn’t get much damaged. The bus on the contrary… Just kidding! I did not worry, I didn’t take it very seriously. I was amused because it reminded me of the accident I had in Greece almost one year ago to the day (at that time, I litterally broke down a house with a buggy… I am real danger when I drive!). Back in Greece I had to talk with local police and this time I had to report the accident with the Japanese police. With the language barrier, good luck! It only amplified this situation’s funny aspect.

I laughed until I gave back the car to the rental company when they told me how much I’ll be charged. More than 1000€. Ouch! I did well to save as much money as I could during this trip. Renting a car with a discount, sleeping 3 nights in the car, choosing free activities, not taaking a single road with a toll, all of this to get involved in a stupid accident and being charged 1000€ for a freaking mirror. Obviously when I took the car at the beginning of the week I chose to not get an extra insurance offered by the company. Thank god I am rich and 1000€ means nothing to me…

At the end of the week I was totally desperate and broke.
I contacted my French insurance and normally it should be taken care of. Nevertheless when I am writing this article I still haven’t got any news. The suspense is unbearable.

CONCLUSION

The two last hours aside I spent a very good week. I saw some stunning landscapes, lived beautiful moments, was disappointed in some place and amazed by so many others.

The most difficult thing was to adapt my trip to the weather. July was hot and sunny so I didn’t expect August to be that grey and rainy. Another difficulty for me was to travel alone. I was living incredible moment and I had no one to share them with. It made me a bit sad. I rather like being accompanied by a friend.

However, I enjoyed this solo trip as much as I could and I am ready to do it again to explore new regions in Japan. I’ll wait a few months though, the mirror is still stuck in my craw…