Lake Toya
On Friday morning, after everything that happened on Thursday, I decided out of the blue to go on a trip to Lake Toya 洞爺湖, said to be one of the most beautiful places in Hokkaido and host to last year's G8 Summit. And by out of the blue, I mean I made the decision to go, booked a hotel reservation, packed, and set off in a matter of say 10 minutes. I even was able to catch the 10:45 train leaving from Asahikawa station, so I arrived in Toya around 2:00pm that day.
The timing was perfect. I caught a bus to the lake right after getting off the train, and then from there immediately hopped onto a bus heading to Showa Shinzan 昭和新山, the first of the many attractions in the Lake Toya area. Showa Shinzan, literally "The New Mountain of the Showa Era," was formed in a period of about 2 years in the closing years of World War II due to an eruption by Mt. Usu 有珠山, the volcano which originally formed Lake Toya and the surrounding mountains. It's quite the impressive sight. From there I hopped on the ropeway to near the top of the real Mt. Usu and had a leisurely stroll around the volcano's crater. It was so calm and peaceful that it was hard to believe that the mountain exploded violently 8 years ago, leveling half the town. Fortunately Mt. Usu is a very predictable mountain which has never erupted without giving fair warning (earthquakes and preliminary gas expulsions) so pretty much everyone was evacuated in time, but still. I would get a more up close and personal view of the destruction the next day. Also, I was excited to be able to see Mt. Yotei 羊蹄山 (Sheep's Hoof Mountain) soaring behind the lake. It's often called "Hokkaido's Fuji" because of their similar shapes, and only on very clear days can Mt. Yotei be seen from the Lake Toya area. Lucky!
Anyway, after spending the wonderfully warm and sunny day (I even wore a t-shirt for the first time in months!) hiking I headed to the hotel to do some onsen action, watch the fireworks show over the lake, and then hit the sack in preparation for another day.
Day 2 saw me heading to the islands in the lake itself, each named after various Buddhist and Shinto deities. Most are too small to dock at, but the sightseeing boat I was riding stopped at the largest island in the lake, aptly named Ooshima 大島 ("big island"), which I found out to my delight is covered in hiking trails! Hooray! So I hiked around the island for about 2 hours or so, despite the fact that I hadn't even had breakfast yet. Then I took the boat back to the shore and had a big delicious lunch. From there I proceeded to one of the darker parts of my journey - touring the ruins from the 2000 explosion. Houses covered in volcanic ash, caved in structures, the remnants of a bath house and a school... it was both fascinating and disturbing at the same time. As I said, pretty much everyone was evacuated at that point so it's not as if anyone was in the buildings at the time, but still, something doesn't sit right with me about the town using the destruction caused by a natural disaster as... a sightseeing spot. Then again, I went all the same and took lots of pictures, so I guess I really can't talk.
Finally, to conclude my day I climbed up to the Mt. Konpira 金比羅山 crater, another sub-mountain of the Mt. Usu volcanic system. I wasn't happy about having to pay 1,000 yen to enter because I was by myself (it was 1,000 yen to enter for groups of up to 5 people... in other words had I come in a group it would have only been 200 yen for me), but the view of the lake was spectacular and the crater itself was filled in with a tiny bright green pond. Quite impressive. After that, it was still only 4:00pm or so, but I was so tired of hiking all day that I just bought some omiyage for my coworkers, grabbed dinner, and hit the sack.
Next morning I got up bright and early to catch the first train back to Sapporo and then Asahikawa, arriving back here around noonish. Had some lunch, finally unpacked all my stuff from the Tokyo trip, and then was picked up my boss who had invited me to spend the evening and have dinner with him and his family. Food ws good. Conversation was nice. Had a great time. After everything that happened before, it was nice to spend 3 really great days for once.
The timing was perfect. I caught a bus to the lake right after getting off the train, and then from there immediately hopped onto a bus heading to Showa Shinzan 昭和新山, the first of the many attractions in the Lake Toya area. Showa Shinzan, literally "The New Mountain of the Showa Era," was formed in a period of about 2 years in the closing years of World War II due to an eruption by Mt. Usu 有珠山, the volcano which originally formed Lake Toya and the surrounding mountains. It's quite the impressive sight. From there I hopped on the ropeway to near the top of the real Mt. Usu and had a leisurely stroll around the volcano's crater. It was so calm and peaceful that it was hard to believe that the mountain exploded violently 8 years ago, leveling half the town. Fortunately Mt. Usu is a very predictable mountain which has never erupted without giving fair warning (earthquakes and preliminary gas expulsions) so pretty much everyone was evacuated in time, but still. I would get a more up close and personal view of the destruction the next day. Also, I was excited to be able to see Mt. Yotei 羊蹄山 (Sheep's Hoof Mountain) soaring behind the lake. It's often called "Hokkaido's Fuji" because of their similar shapes, and only on very clear days can Mt. Yotei be seen from the Lake Toya area. Lucky!
Anyway, after spending the wonderfully warm and sunny day (I even wore a t-shirt for the first time in months!) hiking I headed to the hotel to do some onsen action, watch the fireworks show over the lake, and then hit the sack in preparation for another day.
Day 2 saw me heading to the islands in the lake itself, each named after various Buddhist and Shinto deities. Most are too small to dock at, but the sightseeing boat I was riding stopped at the largest island in the lake, aptly named Ooshima 大島 ("big island"), which I found out to my delight is covered in hiking trails! Hooray! So I hiked around the island for about 2 hours or so, despite the fact that I hadn't even had breakfast yet. Then I took the boat back to the shore and had a big delicious lunch. From there I proceeded to one of the darker parts of my journey - touring the ruins from the 2000 explosion. Houses covered in volcanic ash, caved in structures, the remnants of a bath house and a school... it was both fascinating and disturbing at the same time. As I said, pretty much everyone was evacuated at that point so it's not as if anyone was in the buildings at the time, but still, something doesn't sit right with me about the town using the destruction caused by a natural disaster as... a sightseeing spot. Then again, I went all the same and took lots of pictures, so I guess I really can't talk.
Finally, to conclude my day I climbed up to the Mt. Konpira 金比羅山 crater, another sub-mountain of the Mt. Usu volcanic system. I wasn't happy about having to pay 1,000 yen to enter because I was by myself (it was 1,000 yen to enter for groups of up to 5 people... in other words had I come in a group it would have only been 200 yen for me), but the view of the lake was spectacular and the crater itself was filled in with a tiny bright green pond. Quite impressive. After that, it was still only 4:00pm or so, but I was so tired of hiking all day that I just bought some omiyage for my coworkers, grabbed dinner, and hit the sack.
Next morning I got up bright and early to catch the first train back to Sapporo and then Asahikawa, arriving back here around noonish. Had some lunch, finally unpacked all my stuff from the Tokyo trip, and then was picked up my boss who had invited me to spend the evening and have dinner with him and his family. Food ws good. Conversation was nice. Had a great time. After everything that happened before, it was nice to spend 3 really great days for once.