#2: [06-Jul-07]

#1: [15-Sep-03]

08-Aug-2011 -- This is the 4^th out of 6 confluences that we reached on a 3-week trip through Honshū and Hokkaidō. The story starts at 36°N 140°E. The previous report is 43°N 142°E.

Coming from the western part of Hokkaidō, we had to cross the Hidaka Mountain Range on country roads to Shimizu (清水町). The new motorway would be opened to road traffic not before October 2011. Without having maps and without any a-priori information of the area, we found a road that came as close as 880 m to the confluence point. From there, we hiked to the confluence (thereby crossing deep thickets and underwood) only to find out that the confluence is actually located right next to a nice asphalt road. Coming unprepared to a confluence adds an additional challenge to the hunt.

The exact location of the confluence is on an agricultural field that is split up into tiny patches. It gives more the impression of a private garden than commercial agriculture. There are beans, corn, grass, herbs and other little plantings. Most memorably is the view to the north. In 20 m distance there is a greenhouse and a little hut. Looking to the north in 2007 there is evidence of a two-story building that has now been removed. And in 2003 there has been a strange one-story building that Greg Michaels described as a seemingly extraterrestrial house.

We walked back on a longer, but easier route to our vehicle and headed into the nearby city Obihiro (帯広市) to have lunch.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to a road: 20 m
• Distance to a track: 20 m
• Distance of parking: 880 m
• Distance to houses: 20 m
• Time starting the hike: 9:35 a.m.
• Time at the CP: 10:00 a.m.
• Measured height: 193 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
• Position accuracy at the CP: 10 m
• Topography: hilly
• Vegetation: garden land, meadow, nearby forest.
• Weather: partly cloudy, 25° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Changing House Confluence

We continued further east where the story continues at 43°N 144°E.