In other parts of Japan, it’s the rice paddies right by the seashore that seem other-worldly to me; here, it’s the cows grazing with blue ocean in the background. I don’t know why it should seem so strange; I saw seaside sheep in Ireland a few years ago.

Back to the story. Predictably, the minute I got ambitious and canceled my reservation, things started to go wrong. I got a minor flat that required two stops to fix. The road went further inland with significant ups and downs (as you see here, outside Monbetsu). And fierce headwinds slowed my progress even further. Just as I was wondering what would happen next, I heard - naturally - the sound of thunder. Within minutes I was in the middle of a torrential downpour, with lightning and thunder all around (actually quite scary). The rain soon slackened a bit, but as I was soaked to the skin and it was clear that if I stuck to the schedule I would be cycling on wet, unlit roads after dark, I switched plans and started asking around for lodgings at the next town I came to. Luck was with me and I found a very cheap place almost immediately. After a much-needed bath, I opened the front door to see what restaurants might be nearby and accessible to someone walking in wooden geta (my shoes were drying along with everything else)... and I saw that there was a sushi shop literally right across the street. As a result, I had a fabulous, reasonably-priced dinner that night. Sometimes life works out.