Asahikawa part two

After a very comfortable sleep at Mark and Miwako's, it was time to see more of Asahikawa. With Miwako's help we were able to call a local electronics retailer and enquire about a data sim card so we could blog from afar.  A short drive later and we finally had internet: expect more regular posts from us.  There is a fairly strict data cap though, so we may not put as many pics up as we would like.
Next we were off to an eatery attached to a supermarket where I had okonomiyaki and Bron had ramen noodles.  Yum yum as usual, we are consistently impressed with the quality and prices of the food here.  While eating we struck up a conversation with two high schoolers centred on the neatness of their lunchboxes (they were very organised bento boxes) and after we showed them a picture of our bikes and chariot to explain what we were up to one of them lit up; turns out he had seen us on the road in between Biei and Asahikawa. A pleasant small world moment.
After lunch we headed off to a fishing shop and we bought a Japanese tenkara rod and some flies for my birthday.  It's a lot like a fly rod, but longer and there is no reel.  I look forward to giving it a go in some of the mountain streams.  It telescopes down nicely, so it's perfect for traveling.
Next stop was an op shop. It was massive and the used goods were in excellent condition.  We could have spent all day in there, but we were aware of how heavy everything would be on the bikes and the kids were tiring fast.
Finally, we stopped at Miwako's English school on the way back to their place.  It was really well set up, and it was interesting to see  the shelves full of classic kids books for the students to read.