From the road station called Toma at Pippu I walked 12 hours north to one near the town of Nayoro. I saw four small shrines, notable because Hokkaido doesn’t have as many as the other islands since it only became part of Japan relatively recently.

I think someone offered me a lift today, or they were just generally interested in where I was going. I’ve had a few toots from passing cars and motorbikes too. Now I’m preparing for another night on a tough surface trying to ignore the blaring radio, probably installed to stop scragamuffins like me hanging out here over night. There are a few campervans here and the usual assortment of in-car sleepers. I wonder who’ll be the first to talk to me.

Word of the day: go = five

update: the winner is Grumpy Employee who, as I walked around the building, called me over to ask where I was going.
“I don’t know yet”
“Well you can’t stay here”
Not that I’d been planning to. Instead I settled on the other side of the building where a guy gave me watermelon and yogurt. He returned a bit later with his pile of pots and pans and looked ready to cook me a full meal. I’d already laid out my sleeping bag and figured it was too much to take any more food and he was ok with that.
Update: I left my toiletries at the last place. Now I need a new razor, toothbrush and paste for just five nights.

Distance today: 57 km