The area has rich geo-thermal activities. Here in Iwo-yama, or sulfur mountain,
you can walk in the moon-like baren sights amid smoking springs.
Our final visit was the city of Otaru.
It once was a major financial hub of the north, when Sapporo was only a
small farmer's settlements. The city's nostalgic air today enchants visitors.
The sun setting on the calm lake. A perfect silence prevails, disturbed
only by occasional rise rings . . .
A public bath house by the lake Kussharo.
The big bath tub is carpeted with pebbles, which make pleasant noises underneath
the soles. With naturally heated water welling out at 1,200litre per minute,
it is a luxury not easy to find.
Stayed a night in Naka-furano.
A pastoral, almost European landscape.
Only a mile up from the rivermouth, most fish are still in bright silver.
This one, that probably came into the river the night before, was very
fresh still carrying sealice.
Rounding off our holiday, we got invited to a friends' home in downtown
Otaru, to say a cordial good bye (more to their cuddly pussy cat).
See what I meant by 'interactive display'?
The lake is famous, or notorious for its frequent development of thick
fogs.
We waited a while and captured this magical scene - the little island of 'Kamuisshu', meaning God's sanctuary in the aboriginal tongue, flared up in a mellow afternoon light.
We visited a 'Northern territory museum' in the outskirts of Shibetsu town.
Our visit incidentally was only days after a Japanese fishing boat was
captured while poaching, and a crew attempted to run away, shot dead by
the Russian coast guard.
On one side I understand, even appreciate the strict rule the Russians are enforcing - without their vigilance, we Japanese could have emptied the ocean by now - but on the other hand I cannot but feel sorry for the people who lost their homes and modest life, which were vividly portrayed in the exhibitions here.
On Aug. 22 we visited Chu-rui river, the first of the salmon rivers in
Japan that opened up for recreational fishing.
Here again I was told salmon run has been delayed this year, due to the
high water temperature in the sea. The river keeper was apologetic but
looking at the positive side, there weren't many fishermen either. It took
us a while but once we managed to locate the fish, we had a good sport,
with the river all to ourselves.
Again dropped in the Asahi-yama zoo.
Late in the evening the ferry boat left Otaru port, carrying us back south
to Maizuru, north Kyoto pref.
In the town of Asshoro, which produces excellent cheese, I had to stop
a while to greet this skeleton of Asshoroa, a gigantic mammal that once
prowled in Japan.
'06 Hokkaido in summer - 3At a nearby waterfall you can view the returning Sakuramasu, an anadoromous
version of Yamame, sometimes translated as Cherry salmon.
.
We drove east to Hokkaido's lake district. One of the most mysterious is
lake Mashu.
It is a corn shaped volcanic lak. In the early days they put in rainbow
trout but it's long since fishing is banned completely. The slope is so
steep making access difficult anyway, but just imagine how it must be like
on a calm summer evening when mayflies hatch.
