Sounkyo to Lake Akan

This is my last night in Lake Akan and it's a very beautiful place! The weather is so much better than Sounkyo... phew!!! Will be posting more photos taken the last couple of days to keep my relatives and frends updated... in case the next few hotels do not have internet access...

Sounkyo

Photo taken in Sounkyo... Back was aching from sleeping on the Tatami. Western style suits us better...Or are we getting old? hahah

The dinner in Sounkyo... the food is great! but it was even better in Lake Akan.

Ok, on my way to Lake Akan now. There's a direct bus and it's very convenient... look at the frozen lake we passed by... gosh!

Lake Akan

After close to 4 hours, we reached Lake Akan. My colleague just came to Hokkaido a few weeks ago and recommended Akan Yuku no Sato Ryokan. Even though it is the most ex accommodation of our 3 weeks in Japan, it's completely worth it!!!! Service was good, room was spacious and view was great!!!

Finally arrived in Lake Akan & staying at Akan Yuku no Sato.... & we got upgraded to a room facing the lake! Wow!

Look at the view from my room....

Buffet dinner is part of the package and the selection is soooo wide.... jap, chinese & italian food!

Food, food & more food

Went for a trek in the morning... took us about 2 hrs & it was great exercise!

Not as cold as it seems which is great... ice has started to melt today, 9th Dec 2009.

No idea what is this....

Squirrels can be seen along the trek... but too bad, we din manage to see any deers or bears...

Lake Akan

This picture doesn't do justice to the scenery... you have to be here to experience it for yourself. We were told that by Jan, the whole lake will be frozen and you can play with snowmobile on it!

Some photos of the trek...

Anyone can tell me what's inscribed on the monument?

Oh yah... there's still vocanic activities in this area and you can smell the sulpher in the air.

Shadows of AudRich!

Okie... time for me to hit the hot spring again. There are two in this hotel, with v elaborate facilities.... one on level eight and the other on level one.... both with great views of Lake Akan.

A Very Cold Sounkyou

This is the hotel outdoor spring but imagine it covered in snow... wanted to take a picture but everybody is in their birthday suits...

This is our hotel... Sounkaku Grand Hotel

It's damn freaking cold in Sounkyo!!! It was raining when we arrived, and on the 2nd day it started snowing non-stop... and it got worse on the 3rd day. Apparantly there seems to be a snow storm. A picture tells a thousand words and the pictures speak for themselves! Once again, I am ever thankful for the new pair of boots I bought.

We stayed at Sounkaku Grand Hotel, and the outdoor hot spring is great. Imagine your whole body soaked in the hot spring while your head is exposed to the extreme cold... and the snow carassing your face.

The hotel is located within the Daisetsuzen National Park

The snow and wind are so strong that the cable car to the top of the Mt Kurodate has been cancelled

The cable car which we din get to take.

We were excited when we came across the Sounkyou shopping mall... but it consists of numerous shops which happen to be closed!


The scenery at the Daisetsuzan National Park is actually very nice... but we only manage to cover the area which is about 15 mins away from the hotel. Wanted to go to a waterfall which is within 30 mins of walking but the hotel staff gave us a look which suggested that it wasn't a wise thing to do.

In the end, there was nothing much to do cos of the heavy snow, and we din have a car (fortunately we din drive cos the snow was so so so heavy!).... we completed another 4 episodes of a taiwanese drama! haha... so much for my promise to cut down on drama during my wedding speech.

Day 3 - Beauty of Biei & Asahikawa

Biei

Have read so much abt the beauty that I told Xian-jun that we must go there during our stay in Hokkaido. First impression of the place is that it's a very quiet town. As the tour bus does not operate during winter times and cos I can't cycle to save my life, we decided to hire a cab for 1 hr just to see the many trees along Patchwork Road. The view is breath-taking!! For photo-enthusiasts, this is definitely a place to visit. But perhaps not during winter time hahaa..it's more worth taking the bus....not just in monetary sense, but one can visit more places, eg 拓真馆, Christmas Tree, Philosopher's Tree along the Panorama Rd. (But it was quite lucky we took the cab cos otherwise we won't know which tree is which....they all look the same, regardless how beautiful they are ..oops haha)

Along the road near the Seven Star Tree. Xian-Jun showing me how high he can jump....

Another nice shot of the row of trees near Seven Star Tree

Tree of Kinship...Doesn't the 2 taller trees at the side look like the parents to the smaller tree in the centre? This is my personal favorite view in Biei...

Mild Seven Hills

Asahikawa

As we are setting off for Sounkyo the next day and there is a free hotel shuttle from Asahikawa, we did not stay the night in Biei...(phew...it's too quiet and peaceful for me lor...I am still pretty much a city gal 哈哈). Our hotel for the night (Asahikawa Terminal Hotel) is directly next to the JR station, and super worth the money!!! 6000 yen per room per night and got internet in the room, which allowed me to watch 宫心计 at night...hahahaha. But other than that, this is not a place I'll come back again as there isn't much to see except the zoo....=P

Random shot along the street of Asahikawa

Dinner at a not very typical 居酒屋, but the sushi and yakitori are yummy. Btw the red fleece turtleneck is my first purchase in Japan!! It's from Uniqlo and cost only 1000 yen!! Love it!

Wore my leather boots which I got from HK a few yrs ago, but realised it's more fashionable than practical and it's miserable to have cold feet!! Hahahhaha it's a great reason to buy this pair of boots (3500 yen). The inner of the boot is lined with fur and is really comfortable!!!!

Mister Doughnuts..where we had our breakfast the next morning before setting off for Sounkyo. Looking forward to the hot spring le...

Day 2 in Hokkaido (Otaru & Sapporo)

When we open up the curtains and looked out of our room (Rm 0607...in case wanna buy 4D when I'm back haha), the whiteness of the surrounding struck us immediately! Wow...it snowed during the night...so romanticcccccccc.......

After a simple buffet style breakfast, we wrapped ourselves up like a 'penguin' again and get mentally prepared to brave the cold. After barely 200m from the hotel, we started to feel that walking in the snow is perhaps not as romantic as we imagined ahhaha....cos the snow had started to solidify into ice and it was sooo difficult to walk ard, esp since we have to take care of the ex and heavy alpha A700 (Side story...for those who still rem, I brought a lousy canon S3 to Japan last yr only to find that the camera was spoilt and I could not take any photo of beautiful Japan....never will I make the same mistake again. Hence.....poor Xian-Jun have to lug it ard for me...hee......).

We slowly walked to the Venetian Glass Museum, Kitaichi Glass Gallery and some musical box shop, which were located abt 30min away from our hotel. But along the way, there were many small shops which we could run into whenever we feel cold. The most satisfying shops were definitely the various pastry places where we could sample the delicious cookies and chocolate. The Japanese are really generous.....U'll never see such big pieces of cakes/ cookies for people to try in Spore!!

In the afternoon, we took the JR to Sapporo. What a vibrant city!! Kinda regret not staying here during my 7 days in Hokkaido. But well.....it's a reason to come back to Hokkaido in future. Enough said.....let the photo speak for themselves.

** Note: No time to edit yet.......haha......the real thing is def more charming.

Day view of the Otaru Canal. A different kind of charm compared to the night view.

The Musical Box Shop cum Museum. The moment you step into the shop, you can hear
music from all the little music boxes and see many Venetian Glass Lamps. Magical place...worth a visit.
Very tempted to buy a lamp for my bedroom...but vetoed by the husband who refuses to carry it back.

The above 3 photo are taken at a cafe in Kitaichi Glass Gallery. I nearly went crazy
here cos the merchandise are sooooo nice..unique...and expensive. Sob!
Ended up only bot some glass accessories...but still fairly happy. The cafe atmosphere is to die for...for photographers.

Night view at the Sapporo Beer Museum. The museum itself is not that spectacular.
But the sample beers were very cheap and the dramatic evening sky made the surrounding grounds
look like somewhere in Europe.

White Illumination 2009. It's a yearly event where the streets of Odori Park (Sapporo) is dressed up with Christmas Lights. Enjoyed the view tremendously from the TV Tower (700 yen) and
the underground shopping (@ Aurora Town).

Day 1 in Hokkaido!!

We have finally embarked on our 3 weeks adventure in Japan!! First destination is Otaru/ Sapporo where we had a flavor of how COLD Hokkaido is!!! Even though we wore 3-4 layers of clothes and walk loads each day, we still can't get acclimatised....oh well! Who's complaining! It's so exciting to be here!!

Cos Xian-Jun is worried abt driving in the snow, we decided to take a

3 Day Hokkaido Rail Pass..Good also la..cos we can sleep on the trains ehehe...

Quick summary of what we have done so far before going out to brave the cold again...

The husband claimed 2 business savers tix on SQ to Kansai Airport (not me oki...cos as a law-abiding engr working in DSTA, we are not allowed to claim krisflyer points when we fly overseas haha).....first time we were able to sleep so well on the plane and my colleague Heng arranged a special menu, which consisted of lobster thermidor for moi..and Ribeye Steak for the hubby....Must buy nice nice present for him for making this arrangement for us!!

By mid day, we reached Otaru where we walked abt 10min to reach Hotel Nord. It's a quaint building and the room is big by Japan standard and breakfast is included! It is also strategically located next to the Famous Otaru Canal.

We quickly chuck our luggage in the room, equip ourselves with 2 more layers of clothes and went out to explore. Managed to find the location where many beautiful photo of canal was taken. Even though we didn't bring along our tripod, we took some decent photo!!

It's only abt 5pm...but the sky is already so dark.....

winter sure comes early in Hokkaido...

What's next? Of cos food time!! As it was too cold to walk too much, we quickly settled into a BBQ restaurant next to the canal. hehe...But the food was good!!!!! The baked sushi rice was crispy and fragrant...the snow crab was sooo fresh (with a tinge of saltiness)....the pork was tender and melts in the mouth...What a wonderful start to the vacation......