Central Hokkaido, Furano,

Uj 27-30 May 2014

I'll let the pictures talk first....

A feature of the last few days was this onsen, Fukiage onsen, an outdoor couple of pools, with a waterfall behind us and snow all around. The view was spectacular and it was a mixed onsen. Not to mention free! We thought this was the best onsen we have found. We camped there the night, and again the next night, after we had spent some time in Furano. 

The onsen turned out to be quite social. We met this group of men, and with limited English managed to ascertain that one of them had ( or maybe sold) drones to take agricultural photos). 

Also at this onsen we met an American couple, Stephanie and John Dyer, who 

live in Furano. And wonder of all wonders they are willing and able to look after our vehicle when we go home for a couple of months! And they like travelling in motor homes so they stopped to look at our vehicle -great luck for us. 

Nira asked for the address of a pottery, and so we found this lady and her shop. She also served coffee (made with the water from a cut in a white barked tree) and a dish of sautéed mushrooms and asparagus. Of course we couldn't resist. 

The building was a mud daubed traditional style building with a wooden tree rings floor and gravel. It was very charming. She also had a visitor who had good English so we were able to talk quite well with them and really enjoyed our time there. I'm sorry we didn't get their names! 

The Roches and us separated for the day to see the sights of a furano. Nira and Stuart found a small restaurant for lunch, which was mainly vegetarian. Nira asked the owner if she would give us a cooking lesson the next day! And she agreed! 

Next day we turned up there with Stephanie Dyer and her daughter Megan (who did a great job of translating for us) and we had a very enjoyable and education time watching Rika cook Udo, a vege soup/stew. She showed us a number of Japanese sauces. She also showed us how to reconstitute dehydrated tofu! That will be useful next year in Russia! It was one of the best afternoons we have had in Hokkaido! 

Then Rika refused payment! So I hope she gets more customers through this page. The food was delicious! Here is her shop....

And here is her card. 

The Furano area is beautiful, with beautiful agricultural views, and snow capped mountains. We went to a rope way (cable car) which takes you up to an active volcano. It was a highlight of the trip -with snow still around.

This photo was from the cable car. 

That is the volcano behind us.

And here from closer up! 

And lastly the blue pond from near Furano...

And now we are off northwards, to the very top of Hokkaido. That is wilderness, so there may be a few days before I can blog again, so please join up for email notifications of when I upload the blog -from the web page. 

Southern and SE Hokkaido.

We met Stuart and Nira at the New Chitose airport on Friday, and headed back to Shikotsu-ko Lake for the night. Of course everything was new for them, and we went to a supermarket and then a Sushi train on the way. It is going to be interesting trying to cater for their dietary needs as well as our own. They want gluten free and low carbohydrate diet. They love meat and sea food!

Next day we tried our first onsen with Stuart and Nira. This was Marukoma Hot Spring Hotel. Access to the onsen was a problem for Nira, so we opted for a private onsen. This worked out quite well, with Stuart able to help Nira into and out of the tubs. 

It was a nice introduction to onsens. However we have realised that the segregated onsens may be quite difficult for Nira without Stuart available to help her. 

24/5/14

Travelling along the south coast of Hokkaido today. 

There are lovely little seaside fishing towns, all with high Tsunami walls. Stuart and Joe climbed up one to view the fleet. It's a beautiful sunny day, with calm seas. 

26/5/14

Not so sunny today! It's raining and very windy. We went to Cape Erimo, the SE point of Hokkaido where we had been told we might see Orcas and seals. We were keen for that, but when we arrived it was bitterly cold and very poor visibility because of mist. The wind was gale force, with spume being blown off the waves. There is a visitors information centre which features wind, including having a wind tunnel with indicators showing wind strength. So strong wind is certainly a feature here! 

We went to another onsen today. This one was segregated. They had ramps so Nora could get right into the women's section of the onsen. With a little help from me and from another woman in the bath, Nira managed to get in and out of the bath. She could also use the sauna, so it was a good experience for her. For me there was an outside bath with ocean view- just what I enjoy! 

Outside parked near us was this truck...

They had a oil refinery inside! They were making diesel from plastic bottle tops! They are touring around the world demonstrating alternative fuels, and plastic recycling. Joe and Stuart particularly enjoyed talking to them. 

We found another great campsite in someone's paddock, sheltered from the wind. 

There were lots of ferns growing near us and they turned out to be the edible ferns we had been shown by a Japanese lady a few weeks ago. Foraging for wild food is right up our alley, and Stuart Nira are just as keen, so we had miso with fern and another plant called "chuki".

 We also picked a good crop for eating later. These two plants are prolific, and very tasty! 

Hokkaido!

21/5/14

We decided on the spur of the moment last night to catch the next ferry across to Hokkaido. 

This was a vehicle ferry leaving Aomori at 8.30 pm and arriving Hakodate about midnight. There were no passengers other than drivers of trucks and a few cars. It cost ~$400 one way! (Our vehicle is 6.5m long).

After boarding we went upstairs, had a cup of tea, and then realised that none of truck drivers were to be seen. They were obviously staying in their trucks. 

The ferry provided vinyl mattresses and a floor to put them on, and vending machines for refreshment. 

So we headed down to the vehicle, popped the top, and slept comfortably until we arrived! 

Of course after we disembarked we headed straight for the green bits on the map and went back to bed. 

So we are in Hokkaido! It could be a different country! Today is bleak and windy, and we are travelling around the southern coast-line. 

The boats are all pulled up well above the water. Why? I don't know.

These are squid boats -see the row of light bulbs strung between the masts.

This old lady is bent over from spinal fractures from osteoporosis. She uses a pram as a walker, and in this case is carrying a bundle of sticks. There are many such bent old people in Japan. -is it lack of calcium in the diet or lack of Vit D because of the lack of sunlight exposure? -my guess is the latter. They all use prams -we haven't seen a single "walker" as we know them in Japan -even in the cities. 

The south west coast seems ideal for wind generators, which are quite common here. This is a windy coastline, at least today. 

This is a crazy thing! It is a walkway to a tunnel through the large rock on the left, to a swimming enclosure. Just for fun I'd say! 

 And here you can see what they've done to get the road through- first they dug through the hillside, then a tunnel. 

 A different style of wave mitigation.....

And finally - our camping site for tonight, (and we have an onsen only 100m away!). We are keeping in mind that this area has the greatest concentration of brown bears on Hokkaido! So no wilderness camping until we get our bearings (pun intended). 

Northern Honshu to Aomori

19/5/14

We are back in the inland of Honshu, still in stunning landscapes.

We have met some lovelly Japanese people in the last week or so.

This lady in a small roadside cafe, is chopping and pounding wasabe. The wasabi grows wild here, and she makes it into a finely chopped topping for steamed or miso boiled vegetables. It is hot but totally different to the wasabe paste we get at home. 

These young ladies (L-R Tokako, me, Miwa, mother of Yuna) went to a lot of trouble to help us find the Miso factory and Samari display today. We stopped them on the street when we thought we were close to our destination. They got into their car and guided us to the site. Then they went in with us and explained the displays as best they could given the language difficulties. A translation app was helpful. Thanks girls! 

We also learned that Yuna practices with a Samuri fighting weapon... She gave us a demonstration and then a gift of a weapon! 

And here is the view from our camping spot tonight! Oh it's a hard life! 

20/5/14

Continuing through more spectacular landscapes towards Aomori in the very north of Honshu. We are to meet up with Stuart and Nira in Saporro (Hokkaido) on 23rd. The weather is noticeably cooler here than Southern Honshu, and we are still seeing occasional snow (at 780m!) and cherry blossoms.

The hues in the trees as spring starts to produce pink and green new leaves is quite beautiful. 

 The rice paddies are just now being prepared for planting in most places.

We are passing by lakes of the most brilliant blue colour, and steaming hot streams of milky white.

And to finish off the day we found an Onsen -this time a mixed gender one -the first of those we have tried. It was in a beautiful traditional building. 

The mixed gender wasn't too threatening. Nobody stared. The men mostly used a facecloth to cover the best bits, but not too rigorously. One woman had a cloth tied around herself like a (short) sarong, so that is apparently acceptable in the mixed context. Anyway we felt well warmed for the final leg into Aomori. 

Once in Aomori we decided to find the ferry port. And then we decided to go across tonight -spur of the moment but it will be good to be over there. We will arrive about midnight. 

So we are off on the next phase of our travels!