Fishing up the stream was tough enough, coming down was just as much so.
After two hours of born wrecking treacherous march down we crawled back
to the car swearing to ourselves we shall come here never again.
Anyhow, the Shinto shrine welcomed us back to the God blessed flat ground.
Not many trophies around in the harsh environment up here. But lovely fish
in lovely surroundings by anyone's book. There are quite a few followers
in the Zen and Art of Iwana fishing, I for one.
We've heard it's not an easy gorge to fish up. And that was no joke. Let
alone the smell of Grizzly bears lurking nearby, the going was very rough
and veeery tough.
Coming down to the campground we had some relaxing bath in the Goshiki
hot springs nearby. We enjoyed bathing so much that we had to have dinner
in the torch lights with a couple foxes sniffing around for their share.
The evening in Otaru. What a difference a day's ferry ride can make!!
Thanks to the warm sunshine, we ran into some good hatches of mayflies
in the afternoon.
The next morning dawned again in a perfect blue sky. We headed further
south, picking up fresh croissant along the way.
The mysterious peak of Mt. Yohteisan, 1898m above sea, sits in the vale
of haze.
Leaving Yoichi we headed down to the township of Kucchan. The handsome
mountain Niseko Ann Nupri towers over the lush green landscape.
A slight touch of variety - we decided to go down to focus on the southern part of Hokkaido this time.
Our first stop over was at the distillery of Nikka in the small town of Yoichi.
In the sticky hot Japanese summer, scope of holiday destination gets narrowed
down. We needed not to blame our almost habitual exodus, to Hokkaido the
land of the north.
On the deck of the ferry in the cool sea breeze, a leisurely lunch of BBQ
was more than bearable.
In the brisk daylight, we could spot many fish in almost every runs and
pools.
Matsumae peninsula being off the touristic circuit, it is largely an unknown
place for most visitors including ourselves. I did traveled thru here once,
but already 15years ago - enough to blur the memories of a middle aged
man.
The first venue we chose was river O.
A highly acclaimed Iwana char fishery.
'09 Hokkaido in summer - 1The peak sits at the altitude of 1308m above sea. Only a modest hill in
the mountainous Hokkaido, but the views over the surrounding peaks, many
of which are of volcanic origin, are treat for the eyes.
We had a fun encounter with one of the hill dwellers. Pls. place the pointer
on the pic.
Mr. Taketsuru the founder spent his youth studying the real whisky making
in the capital of its art, Scotland.
The museum has an interesting display of his not too easy life in apprenticeship,
as well as some fishy memorabilia that he brought home (along with his
loving Scottish wife, Rita).
