Off to the Land of the Rising Sun! (Part 6)

In our remaining 3 days in Hokkaido, we headed for Noboribetsu, southwest of Sapporo. It took us about an hour and half to get to this town, well known for its volcanoes (yes, it's still active) and hot springs. Noboribetsu is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park (named after the volcanic caldera lakes of Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya). There's much to see and so we decided to put up 2 nights here. 

5 August 2013: Exploring Noboribetsu

First sight as soon as we exit the expressway. You will see many huge devilish statues all over this town - a symbol of this place as Noboribetsu is also fondly known as "Hell Valley". And yes, it was another gloomy rainy day :( 

Our first stop was the Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura, a historical theme park highlighting the Edo Period. This place was not part of our itinerary, but we decided to visit since it was still early anyways. To our surprise, it was entertaining! They had shows which showcased ninjas and oirans (top-ranked courtesans during Edo times), very well performed I must say. A must go if you have at least 2 hours to spare.

A samurai welcoming us at the entrance

The village

Weapons used by ninjas being showcased

Smack in the face >.<|

England not so good, but you get the idea

The Oiran show

And then it was lunch. Ramen... again!

Simple and nice. I had the spicy version 

After lunch, we explored the sulfurous ponds and natural hot spring rivers. Picture above is Oyunuma river, and you can enjoy foot bath here

Hidden natural beauty

 The water is very hot, hot, HOT!!!

Next up, Taisho Jigoku - sulfurous pond

Trees surrounding the pond exposed to the poisonous gas have no chance of survival

Oyunuma Pond - with surface temperature of at least 50'c. The hot waters flows through the forest and into the river that formed the Oyunuma Foot Bath area 

Oyunuma Pond view from its base

The main highlight of this area is Jigokudani or "Hell Valley". Still active, the area is filled with sulfurous streams, hot steam vents and other volcanic activities. This is also the main source of Noboribetsu's hot spring waters

Some devils found around

In the afternoon, we decided to drive to another town, next to Noboribetsu called Muroran. It is about 40 minutes drive and brings you to the tip of Hokkaido where you can see views of the peninsular sea, its cape and lighthouse. Well, as you can see from the picture, the weather was really bad. Cloudy and foggy beyond words. Often, I felt like I was driving into the unknown!

Cape Chikyu Lighthouse - it was a pretty long and windy road to get to this place.
Alas, we could not see much. Sighs! 

Should've looked like this. Oh well.... hopefully next time then!

To end the night, we scooted off for a good hot soak in the hotel's onsen. In this hotel, the onsen comes in various "flavours" - they have the sulphur, iron and salt, all of which provide different kinds of health proposition and healing. They also have an outdoor onsen in which you can soak in the hot waters whilst enjoying the cool crisp air. It was perfect. Much needed after all the adventure for the day!

Off to the Land of the Rising Sun! (Part 5)

If you only have limited number of days in Hokkaido, you must put Furano & Biei as your priority place to visit. Located in the center of Hokkaido, Furano & Biei is known for their beautiful picturesque  landscape. At time of visit, it was the height of the flower season, in which many different types of flowers are in bloom. The best way to see most of Furano & Biei is also to drive on your own as public transport is very limited in this rural area.

The views and flowers in this place is so beautiful that I'm posting all pictures in extra large size! Hehe :)

4 August 2013: Exploring Furano & Biei

First drive in Japan. Easy navigation, well planned roads and friendly signages. Most importantly, we're driving on the same side like in Malaysia :) It took us about 2 hours from Sapporo to Furano via the trunk road (which was supposedly the shortest route). No regrets using this route during the day as you can see the country side views. You can also opt to use the Expressway - the journey is shortened by 30minutes (we used this route to get back to Sapporo at night) but the toll is very costly Y3500 (that's about RM120!).

Scenic drive along the way

Some views of the flower fields. Lavender is in season during Summer. At time of visit, it was almost the tail end of it already, but we still got to see some very nice lavender.

Views from one of the most popular flower field in Furano - Farm Tomita.

The different types of flowers you will see this time of the year

Another popular flower field - Land Kamifurano

Biei on the other hand boasts of vast fields and gentle rolling hills. We drove along narrow roads and literally hop on and off at whichever scenic point we desire. Views were just breathtaking. One of the most photographed places were at the Mild Seven Hill, with its famous row of larch trees. It was named Mild Seven after the cigarette company used this spot for its commercial. 

Just fooling around

Almost sunset

This place stole my heart away...A must visit for all nature lovers out there!