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Published: September 16th 2007
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Shiretoko National Park
Goko Mizusu (Five Lakes). Wow we have done a lot since our last post, and we've been off the grid so let's get to it! Sept 10th was overcast and rainy. Not too fun for our last day in Asahikawa, but a chance to try out our rain gear. We headed to the zoo and were AMAZED at the amount of people that would still go on a rainy day. A sea of umbrellas! A pretty good zoo, with lots of variety. We were very happy with our rain gear because after being out in the rain for more than four hours neither of us got wet underneath! After the zoo we tried the Asahikawa Ramen which was quite salty and made with alcohol. Very tasty! We explored a bit more of the town and that was it for the night.
On the 11th we were delighted to see some sun poking through the clouds. Our destination that night was Abashiri, on the north-east coast of Hokkaido, with a few scenic stops along the way. Incredible views on the drive and stopped to hike up to a lookout point up a steep mountainside that looks out over two stunning waterfalls: Ryusei-no-taki (Shooting Stars Falls)
Sounkyo Gorge
Two waterfalls - Ryusei-no-taki (Shooting Stars Falls) and Ginga-no-taki (Milky Way Falls) and Ginga-no-taki (Milky Way Falls). Everyone was out of breath after the long climb. We laugh every time we ask someone to take our picture because instead of saying "cheese!" they say "Mickey Mouse" which gives us a genuine laugh! After climbing back down, we sat by the creek and had a picnic lunch. We continued the drive - about 4 hours in total - through winding mountain passes and tunnels. A spectacular drive.
We arrived in Abashiri as the sun was setting and made it to our hostel before dark. The hostel is run by an elderly Japanese couple who are very friendly and helpful. We had a "private" room which is to say that we had a room of five single bunkbeds all to ourselves! When you used the Japanese bath you had to put a sign on the door "I'm a boy in here!" which made us laugh. The owners of the hostel recommended a place in town for some food which was great tempura and sushi. Again the phrasebook is worth its weight in gold as our waitress spoke no english! We spent the next day in Abashiri touring around the sights. There was a
Sounkyo Gorge
Picnic at the base of the falls - our typical lunch of crackers, cheese and cucumbers! field filled with miniature horses right beside our hostel! Very funny.
We drove north along the coast, stopping along the way at pretty viewpoints. Abashiri is famous for a plant called Coral Seagrass which turns red only once a year (Mid-September). It was interesting. For dinner we went to the Abashiri Brewery to try some of the local beer and have dinner - the beer was tasty, but we didn't like it as much as Sapporo! We barbequed meats, potatoes and veggies on a grill in the middle of our table. Delicious!
On the 13th we left town early in the morning to drive the Shiretoko Pennisula, a national park and area of natural significance. This whole day was definitely one of our highlights! Luckily we had a sunny day - finally! Our first stop was at Oshinkoshin Falls - another great waterfall! We continued to drive into the mountains to the park office. From there we took a shuttle (there aren't any paved roads past this point) to see the beautiful Shiretoko Goko Lakes (5 lakes) and Kamuiwakka Falls. There is a huge bear population in the area, so we had to be careful while walking around,
Abashiri
Pee-Wee's long lost relatives? These guys were in a field across from the hostel we stayed at. but fortunately/unfortunately we didn't see any. The waterfalls were the best. The water running down was warm and you could walk up them and soak in the pools. We got back in the car and drove across the pennisula, a beautiful drive through the mountains. We saw some deer on the side of the road and the green hills went on forever. Another neat part of the drive is that we saw some islands from the pennisula that belong to Russia.
We ended up in Wakoto-hanto Kohan at a campground that was surprisingly scenic. We rented a small cabin (that came only with sleeping mats) on the beach overlooking Lake Kussharo-Ko and the surrounding mountains. This is the life - a cabin by the lake! For dinner we made ourselves a picnic in the cabin and over a few beers we had a decathlon of our favourite games: skip-bo, cribbage, electronic yachtzee, electronic boggle, gin, rock paper scissors, and high card to name a few. It was hilarious! We found a 100 (about 95 cents canadian) Yen shop that sold a speaker for an ipod. We bought it and it has been a great purchase!
We woke up
Abashiri - Cape Notoro
This lucky guy found two four leaf clovers. Later that day he totally stubbed his toe, so he's not sure if the 2nd cancelled the luck of the 1st. Booo! and went swimming in the lake, since there were no showers at the campground. Everyone seemed to be watching us as we went in and we were thinking "maybe you're not allowed to swim?", but we asked and you were. We figured it was on account of the frigid temperature of the lake, or maybe it was that this lake has a legend like the Loch Ness Monster, called Kusshi. Maybe everyone thought we were going to get eaten! Refreshed, we drove around the area to another lake, Lake Mashu, which is considered to be Japan's most beautiful lake and once held the world record for water clarity at 35 m. It was gorgeous. From there we headed over to Mt. Iozan - another tourist attraction. You can tell when you're close by the smell of sulfur in the air - smelly! As you get to the foot of the mountain and open the door of the car the smell hits you like a punch in the face. Several steam vents can be seen along the surface of the mountain. Walking up for a closer look we noticed a couple selling eggs, green in colour, that are steamed in one
Abashiri - Cape Notoro
The ocean view was great of the sulfur vents! Aw sick no thanks! We found a strange back alley place for lunch and had some surprisingly delicious ramen. All around town there are foot baths (onsen) for you to soak your weary feet so we stopped at one and soaked for a bit. The water was 40 degrees celsius! We continued on to a different shore of lake Kussharo which has hot sand from the mineral water bubbling up underneath it. Very soothing on the feet!
On the 15th we headed to Lake Akan which is famous for Marimo - green algae balls. Michelle loves these guys, and especially loves all of the mascots based on them! We started at the eco-museum and then walked along the forest trail to see Bokke - a gurgling bog / mud volcano. It burped and sputtered away as we watched. Walking along the path a large deer strolled out not ten feet from us. It looked us up and down and then hopped a fence and ate some berries. We stopped to rest our feet in another foot onsen and talked to some of the Japanese tourists who were doing the same. They took a picture of
Abashiri - Glasswort Festival
This area is famous for its "coral" sea grass. It's called coral because the plant looks like coral. Every year in mid september it turns a deep crimson and tourists flock from as far as Toronto - oh wait, that's us! us and we went on our way. Michelle especially loved this town for all of the marimo souveniers AND there was a delicious bakery! We had some fresh baked bread which was awesome...it was the first time we'd had bread since we arrived. yum.
In Tomakomai now we have a few days left of vacation and then we fly to Tokyo on Wednesday morning to start our jobs.
Hope everyone is well
m & t
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