One of the last things you might expect to see in Japan is a canoe - because of course kayaking is more popular here. For years I've fantasized about some kind of lightweight, collapsible boat that would enable me to roll up to a lake, inflate the boat and paddle around - or even across - the lake, with the bike in the boat. Let's hope some talented engineers visit this site from time to time, and keep our fingers crossed...

Toya-ko - Lake Two on this portion of the Hokkaido trip, which could be called the Lake Tour since it includes no fewer than FOUR separate lake districts. Like Onuma, it was eerily quiet in the wake of the typhoon, with barely a ripple on the surface. These boats made a nice photographic subject.