Sunday 29 June 2014

Problems!

30/6/14
The last week has not gone smoothly! We had problems with Zef's flights, and we had car problems! 
When Zef tried to board his flight in Cairns he was told he needed an onwards flight booking. They did not allow him to board! (This is really strange because when they asked us the same question we explained that we would leave Japan by ferry to St. Korea. But they didn't accept that from Zef.) He lost 2 days before another suitable flight came available! That's a lot out of an already short trip! 

But he is here now and we've had some good times already! 


 He had a great time with these fox cubs. They were playing on the track when we came up to them they were very tame, but of course he didn't touch them (foxes here carry echinococcus which is like our hydatid disease, and is often fatal).

 Wildflower season is in full swing. 



We have also glad vehicle problems! The transfer case oil leak which was fixed recently has recurred! We needed to take the vehicle back to Asahikawa to the Tadano OT team for the oil leak and to get our safety inspection certificate for the renewal of our vehicle registration. Nakamura San there speaks excellent English, and this was essential for what was to come. 



In order to complete the safety certificate the mechanics took off the wheels, and they didn't like what they saw! They declared that the method of fixing the wheels to the drums was wrong, and not safe! There was a 3mm gap between the alloy wheels and the brake drums. They consulted with Fuso and their engineers and we consulted with Mark at Earthcruiser but an impass was reached and our certificate was not forthcoming. 

The mechanics said that there was too much stress on the bolts and that they were already damaged. 



The heads of the bolts needed to be machined down flush with the wheel surface so that there was no gap between the wheel and the drums. This cost us ~$1600AU.

The delay also cost 2 of Zefs days here! But Tadano gave us a loan car and we were able to continue to show Zef around. 

 A bear at Bear Mountain. 

 This is a sleeping Hippo at the zoo at Asahikawa! This was quite an amazing way to view such a large animal -from below! 

Now we are off to Shirotoko National Park -and wild bears.....









Tuesday 24 June 2014

West coast and Lake Toya

22/6/14
We have been travelling down the west coast of Hokkaido since Stuart and Nira left us. We have taken a couple of lazy days with long stops, a bit of web surfing etc to recover our energy, so we haven't travelled as far as usual but what we have seen has been spectacular (and if you think I over use that word you are mistaken. It is Japan that over uses the scenery!) have a look at some of theses photos...







23/6/14 We are currently camped on Lake Toya. 



Nearby is a large hotel, "Windsor International Toya Resort." It is high up on a mountain overlooking the lake, so we thought we might get a good view. 



We dressed ourselves up a bit and went in for a cup of coffee. The view was spectacular in all directions. There was a harpist giving live music in the lounge area. The cake was sublime...


But the most interesting thing was the modern history. In 2008 there was a G8 meeting here. 



This was a climate change summit, and the papers have been buried in a time capsule to be opened in 2018! Then our kids will know who was a part of the decision process which they must live with. History will judge these world leaders. 

Yesterday we were looking for a suitable camp site on a bush track when we saw this little fellow crawling across the track. 


Our first thought was that he was a bear cub! So Joe got out and picked him up and got back in the truck quick-time in case Mama bear was nearby. Then we looked again and realised he was too small. Eventually we worked out that he was a baby Hokkaido Racoon Dog. He never made a sound, and when we put him back where we found him he immediately crawled into the grass and was undetectable there. We think we must have frightened off his mother when we drove up, so we hoped she was still nearby and would come back for him. 

After another very interesting day we found yet another fabulous camp site with a lake view.


Tomorrow our son Zef flies in to New Chitose airport and we will have company again. We are looking forward to showing him beautiful Hokkaido. 

















Friday 20 June 2014

Asahikawa, vehicle problems, west coast Central Hokkaido

16/6/14 we have arrived back at Asahikawa to get an oil leak fixed. The transfer case has been leaking. We have luckily found a mechanical workshop which seems to specialise in trucks, and has an English speaker! The workshop is called Ootani. They have got the parts we need from Mitsubishi. We also asked Nakamura San if they could do the vehicle inspection as required for our registration renewal. So we left the vehicle with them and Nakamura San, and went in the rental car for the day with Stuart and Nira. 

One of the first things we did was to call in on our new friend Rikka, who gave us our vegetarian cooking lesson last time we were here. We were vary glad to see her again, and told her we would be back for dinner in her Resturaunt in the evening, along with Stephanie and John Dyer (the American couple who have kindly agreed to have our vehicle at their place when we go home in a few weeks.)
So in the evening we arrived at Rikka's shop to find that she had spent all afternoon cooking up an absolute banquet for us! 


 We had a wonderful evening with all of these friends and Rikka's great food. 

Back at the mechanical workshop though things were not going so smoothly. We have found that in a vehicle with as many modifications as this one, it is essential to have the engineers inspection certificate which was used for the initial registration. The design of our wheels and their attachment to the brake drum was questioned by the mechanics, and they wanted to change the bolts etc. after discussion with Mark at Earthcruiser and establishing that the wheels are as designed and inspected/passed by the consulting engineer in Australia the mechanics signed off on the form. At least we think they have. We have gone on while all of this was sorted out, and will be back in Asahikawa in a few days to finalise the forms. Hopefully Nakamura-San has managed to get them completed. 

Another problem we have run into is getting the correct forms for the inspection from Qld transport. The forms are not available on-line being only given out to authorised workshops in Australia. Apparently we should have gotten the correct forms before we left home! According to Nakamura the form is almost identical to the Japanese one which of course is in Japanese! I have emailed Qld transport more than a week ago but have had no response so far. Hopefully I will have the form before we get back to Asahwikawa.


Stuart and Nira are leaving soon, so we were very happy to find a great camping spot on the west coast. 




20/6/14 Stuart and Nira have gone. We had a great month with them, with no tensions between us. We reckon we deserve a good pat on the back for that! The arrangement of having separate cars and meeting up in the evenings or any stops along the way worked very well for us! On a few occasions we went separate ways for a day, and that also worked well. So well done all of us. 









Bears!

14/6/14
We saw Bears! 




But no! This was not at a campsite -although there was certainly a possibility that it could have been. 
This was at Bear Mountain (SE of Furano), a facility with captive bears at a density of about 1bear per hectare. They take you in a fortified bus, through double gates with land cruisers following to make sure no bear has sneaked in between the gates behind the bus. 

 The busses had iron bars along the windows.

 The land cruisers had iron bars on the windows. 



We certainly did get a very close up view of a number of very large male brown bears! 



Another highly recommended place. In fact if you are planning to camp wild then I suggest that Bear Mountsin might be a place worth seeing early in your trip- before you take the bears too lightly. 







Saturday 14 June 2014

Ainu culture, Marimos, Lake Akan, sulphur fumeroles.

Thursday 12/6/14, raining heavily and cold.
On the way towards the centre of Hokkaido distant views were fairly few. Joe wanted a view of the mountains and took a turn off towards what he thought might be a view. And we certainly found a view.



 This is a sulphur spewing volcano with multiple fumaroles. Quite spectacular scenery! 

We camped the night at Lake Akan camping ground (¥620 per person) in pouring rain and wind. It was not nice to wake up to continuing rain in the morning! 

So on the shores of Lake Akan we busied ourselves with Ainu culture -first a performance of Ainu song and dance, in their cultural centre. 



 I was coerced into joining the dance -which I actually enjoyed.

And the Ainu Villiage was very beautiful, with Ainu houses...



 And the Ainu street of shops -full of wood carvings -featuring owls, bears, and Ainu patterns. 


There was also the Marimo. These are algal balls which assume a spherical shape because of the specific characterises of depth and wave action in Lake Akan. They were critically endangered until the Ainu started a culture of ceremonies involving Marimo, and an education campaign. 

 These balls are very popular with aquarists -as long as your fish don't eat algae! There are a lot of souvenir shops selling Marimo in jars and even tins. 


But these commercially sold Marimos are not real Lake Akan Marimos. They are hand rolled algae balls from other lakes, because the actual Akan Marimo are protected. People keep the Marimo in jars as pets! 

















Thursday 12 June 2014

Shirotoko National Park -Day 2

12/6/14
The best thing about being up early though was that we had the Iwaobetsu onsen to our selves. This is the rotemburro (outside onsen) to beat all rotemburros. It was spectacular! Three pools, in the forest, next to a flowing stream. 


 That is a limestone or mineral deposit formed by the water flowing over from one pool the other, over many years. The pools have been chipped out of the rocks and have been coated with limestone by the water and by time. So the surfaces are smooth. 


And then it was over the Shirotoku pass towards the southeastern coast. The pass still had snow in places but it was here we met the sea fog from the Pacific Ocean. 



As we reached the coast we ewe out of the fog, but when we turned north there it was again. The northern part of the coast was deep in the fog. I wondered how often this fog occurs and how these people get their vitamin D. 


This coast has a continuous line of fishing villages, specialising in Kombu production. In Rausu we could have taken a whale watching cruise, but opted out because of the poor visibility with the fog. 

Looking for a camping spot was a nightmare, since both camping areas on this side of the Cape are closed. The wild camping spots we found were again in bear territory, and we knew we couldn't cook either in the evening in in the morning. In addition the spots we found were occupied by clouds of biting flies and mosquitoes. We all have very itchy spots from these little blood suckers! They stay itchy and oozing for days! 

So we ended up in Shari in a free campground, back on the north coast where we were a few days ago! 

So that was the end of the Shirotoko National Park experience. It is not to be missed if you are in Hokkaido!