Given our decision to avoid the coast road, we decided to head south to Lake Toma and the Niseko resort area. Heading inland into the mountains was never going to be easy - and it wasn't - but we surprised ourselves with our hill climbing endurance and were pleased we had left camp early to avoid the heat. We arrived at the town of Kuchan early in the afternoon after two gigantic climbs, and after setting up camp at a very busy site (lots of motorbikes and even some guys touring on folding bicycles) it was off to the onsen yet again. The mountains around Kuchan are spectacular, all the more so because they tower out of the landscape in relative isolation from other hills which accentuates their size. You can see snow on their tops way up in the clouds, and they make a pretty contrast with the neat houses with their fabulous veggie gardens and masses of colourful flowers.
It was a very social campsite and we chatted to lots of friendly folk, but alas we were worn out so we skipped the nighttime festivities and tucked in early. There were bugs everywhere, and it was satisfying to see them excluded on the other side of the flymesh.
