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.