The old man at the Hakodate tackle shop proudly claimed to us soft southerners 12'' is the 'average' up here.

Indeed we netted one nice fish after another, yet mysteriously enough every time we put the measure, they shrank down to 11''.

The stream was running at the bottom of a steep valley. The water was lowish, a perfect condition to fish for Iwana, mediocre swimmers. It was a magical fishing underneath the green canopy.

We then drove down to Hakodate in the southern most point of Hokkaido.

The city has an interesting history that culminated in the days of Japanese civil war (1868-69). Against the army of the new government armed with powerful western weaponries, the last samurais didn't have a chance. They fled up north this far, to Goryokaku, the star shaped castle in Hakodate to face their fate.

The choice for the day was river T, another of many streams running down Mt. Kariba.

The first cast of the day was taken by a lovely Amemasu, or white spotted char - a breed of Iwana that has sea run tendency.

After a break of no-fishing day out, we were bound to go back to where we belong.

The tell tale sign needs no translation.

The cannons were imported from England and Germany. Once they had a power to shake the castle. Now sitting quietly in the courtyard only to entertain the curious kids.

Had enough fun fishing the morning so we called it a day. We retired to the shade for a leisurely lunch, and enjoyed some walk along the hiker's trail. The view at the end of the path didn't disappoint us.

The river was a lot flatter than the one the day before, offering much easier exercise. A welcome relief for our aching bodies.

Another fine day dawned. The crisp chill dissipated as soon as the blazing sun hit the edge of our tent. We jumped out and packed it up, headed straight down to the nearby stream in search of a shade.

Not well known is the fact that deep in this beautiful valley there once was a gold mine in the still warlord era of the 17th century. The workers included Japanese Christians, who were persecuted for their 'pagan faith', forced to work in the harsh conditions. Even less is known as to the reason of the sad incident in 1639. Over a hundred of them were executed on this bank which today is filled only with rustling sound of the pristine stream.

We offered a moment of prayer before leaving the place in peace.

to Summer in Hokkaido - 3

Bush bashing in a bear country needs some special equipment. Apart from bear bells, popular tricks include firing chinese crackers. For a peace of mind if nothing more.

Night view from the top of Hakodate mountain shares a claim with Kobe and Yokohama as the three most gorgeous night treat in Japan.

Fish were plentiful, dense in fact. Again, most were pansize fish like this but they won't leave your dryfly dry for too long.

There seems some stocking going on.
We landed occasional rainbows also.

On the smooth faces of rocks we could spot numerous giant stonefly shacks. Every living thing around here must make the most of the short summer.