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After a bit more than a month in Japan I had completed my itinerary across Northern Honshu and around Hokkaido – diving into a less touristy part of Japan … well worth the trip – and I might be back … Continue reading
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9I has an early start on Monday, catching a train at 7:45 South to Shiroai for a visit of Upopoy – the National Ainu Museum and experience center. I arrived at the park just as they opened – and spent … Continue reading
I spent the morning on a train, making all the way from Kushiro to Sapporo and then on to Otaru. This being Sunday and the start of Japanese Golden Week, the place was packed. My walk got me from the station to canal and then on to some other landmark buildings, the last bit through a tourist shopping street. It was too packed to enjoy, hence I made it back to Sapporo to check-in to my hotel and for some first exploration in Hokkaido’s biggest city.
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I made it South today, with the first stop after already one hour at Toro for a visit of Kushiro-Shitsugen NP or the Kushiro Marshlands. From the station I walked over to the Sarubo Observatory and on to the Toro … Continue reading
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I made it to Kawayu-Onsen – and one of the more remote corners of Hokkaido – by another slow train (with some great views on the way). Kawayu-Onsen is situated right in the caldera of a volcano – and part … Continue reading
Today was reserved for the three big-hitters in Abashiri. In the morning I started at the Northern Peoples Museum, a museum essentially covering all Arctic regions and peoples – from the local Okthosk People, via the Sami to the Inuit. Overall another excellent museum with a good combination of exhibits – and of special interest for me given my visits to the high North. Though – I was a bit shocked by how they named the various tribes … I have not seen the word “eskimo” in a while – here it is in constant use – also it took me a while to figure out that “North-Indian” here refers to America – and not India…
A short walk got me over to the drift ice museum and experience center, which – to be honest – felt a bit like a tourist trap with just a small exhibition, a short film and an icy experienc (a room cooled down to -15°C with the option to see a wet towel turn solid) – plus of course the usual well equipped shop and restaurant … at least their viewing platfom did not disappoint.
Final stop was at the infamous Abashiri Prison Museum – a 20 minute walk away. The museum is a collection of buildings from Abashiri prison history. The prison was originally established in Abashiri in the 1880s with the prisoners pushed into forced labour, building up the infrastructure (mainly roads) – to connect this remote part of Hokkaido with the rest of the country … and to allow the establishment of a military presence to avoid a potential Russian invasion from the North. Living and working conditions here were harsh and many died in the process (incl. guards).
Today I made it back to the sea – a train trip of four hours got me from Asahikawa to Abashiri in Hokkaido’s North-East, right at the Okhtosk Sea.
After leaving my big luggage in the hotel and a quick lunch (soba with a small salmon rice bowl) I did check out the harbour and made my way to the beach. With the water temperature at 4°C I saved the bath for later (in the hotel’s onsen) – and made my way to the Moyoro Shell Mound Museum – an archeological museum on the Okhtosk people, showcasing the findings from the nearby shell mound site.
After a quick visit to the local art museum (featuring local artists) I made it back to the harbor for a viewing platform – with great views over the sea and towards the Shiretoko peninsular and mountain range – approximately 70 to 80km away.
I did stay local today – exploring what else Asahikawa had on offer. I first made my way to Tokiwa Park and the city’s Museum of Art. By chance I stumbled into an exhibition of animation art by Nizo Yamamoto. His best known movie in the west is probably Princess Mononoke -and the exhibition of course also featured a number of drawings from that film (which is one of my favorite animation movies overall). Photography was prohibited in the exhibition -so, nothing to share here.
From the art museum I made my way through the city, checking out a shopping area that was indicated in my tourist map – and turned out somewhat disappointing (I guess, Aeon Mall killed the shopping street). My destination was the science museum – which turned out very interactive and – well – targeted for school children. I still had some fun – and even experienced a full blown earthquake in a simulator. From the museum I made a loop through Miyamae Park and on to Kaguraoka Park with the Kamikawa Shrine.
For a fairly late lunch I made my way over to the ramen village, basically a strip mall with a collection of ramen restaurants … and while my ramen was good, there was still a bit of a tourist trap smell on this place. From here I walked over to a sake factory, did check out their little museum – to then skip the tasting, as the place turned out a first grade tourist trap (with two bus loads of tourists being offloaded, just as I got out of the museum). I opted for local beer as an alternative and made my way to a downtown craftbeer bar.
I had made it into Asahikawa on a rainy Sunday afternoon. After a bit of exploration I called it a day and moved over too doing laundry and getting set for the coming days.
On Monday I took the train out to Furano – a town famous for its skiing in winter and the lavender fields in summer – and not much else in between. The city sits in nice surroundings – and I can certainly see how this could be a nice place on a warm summer day – though right now it was just the wrong season … with souvenir and local product shops being the only available attraction. I made it back to town earlier than anticipated, so put in a visit at Asahikawa’s city museum with an excellent exhibition on the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Northern Hokkaido.
I stayed volcanic today, making my way from one hotspring town to another – Noboribetsu-Onsen. I made it here midday and continued straight for the main attraction – the hell valley (Jigokudani Valley). From here I followed an intricate network of walking trails from viewpoint to viewpoint, via some hotspring pools and ponds (Okunoyu pool and Oyunuma pond) back to town for spicy Emma Ramen.
After lunch I continued walking, now discovering some of the trails, I had not covered so far yet (and more good views). Eventually I got to my hotel – and it was finally time, to actually try the hot waters of Noboribetsu Onsen in the hotel’s grand bath – great to warm up and very relaxing.
