Akan | Blue Lapis Road

FISHERMEN BELOW MISTY OAKAN (雄阿寒岳), Lake Akan (阿寒湖), Kushiro (釧路), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.20

Day 6 (1/3).

During our Hokkaido trip, it was hard not to get up early when sunrise happened daily at around 3:30am. An early start to the day allowed us to enjoy the refreshing beauty of Hokkaido’s volcanic landscape under the morning mist. To enjoy the most of Lake Akan before leaving, we took a morning walk before breakfast. By the lake, we passed by the pier where staff were preparing passenger boats for the first tourist cruises of the day. Behind the pier a small trail led us into a forest towards the famous hot mud pools known as bokke.

In front of our hotel, Lake Akan was blanketed with mist in early morning.

At the tourist pier, staff were preparing the passenger boats for the first cruises of the day.

Behind the pier, a small path led us into the lakeside forest.

The path ended at a series of hot mud pools known as bokke (bubbling mud). The area around the bokke remains relatively warm and snow-free in winter, when the rest of Akan is covered in a metre of deep snow.

Occasionally, we saw people standing in the icy water of Lake Akan.

We soon realised the people in the water were actually fly fishing. We later found out that Lake Akan is the most popular venue in Japan for fly fishing.

A recreational fisherman approached us and spoke to us in Cantonese. It was his 18th consecutive year making fishing trips to Lake Akan. We followed him to a narrow path beyond the tourist trail.

Further into the path, we could see dozens other fishermen in the lake.

As well as the majestic Mount Oakan (雄阿寒岳) at the back.

Standing in the water of Lake Akan and fishing in front of the volcano must be a fantastic experience.

At this hidden location beyond the tourist trail, we could enjoy the perfect volcano view along with the fishermen.

As the sun rose, the mist began to retreat.

Minutes later, the fog almost disappeared completely.

Along the lake, there were a number of hotspring where boiling water came out from the ground and flowed into the lake.

On our way back to the hotel, we passed by a number of hotspring streams.

The hotspring footbath (弁慶の足湯) at the trailhead attracted hikers to rest their feet after their walks.

Ten to fifteen minutes on the road took us to Lake Onnetoh, a small lake where Mount Meakan (雌阿寒岳) and Akan Fuji stood along with their perfect reflection.

We hiked up a nearby hill to enjoy the scenery of Lake Onnetoh and the two stratovolcanoes.

After Lake Onnetoh, our journey in Eastern Hokkaido had come to an end. We were ready to move on to Central Hokkaido.

* * *

Introduction
HOKKAIDO ROAD TRIP, Hokkaido (北海道)

Day 1 – from Tokyo to Shiretoko Peninsula
Day 1.1 TSUKIJI OUTER MARKET (築地場外市場)
Day 1.2 ARRIVAL IN SHIRETOKO, Utoro (ウトロ)

Day 2 – Utoro
Day 2.1 SHIRETOKO FIVE LAKES (知床五湖)
Day 2.2 UTORO FISHERMAN’S WIVES CO-OPERATIVE DINER (ウトロ漁協婦人部食堂)
Day 2.3 FUREPE FALLS (フレペの滝)

Day 3 – Rausu
Day 3.1 RUSA FIELD HOUSE (ルサフィールドハウス)
Day 3.2 JUN NO BANYA (純の番屋)

Day 4 – Rausu
Day 4.1 MOUNT RAUSU (羅臼岳)
Day 4.2 FANTASTIC ORCAS, Nemuro Strait (根室海峡)

Day 5 – Lake Mashu & Lake Akan
Day 5.1 SUNRISE AT LAKE MASHU (摩周湖)
Day 5.2 MOUNT MASHU TRAIL (摩周岳) , Teshikaga (弟子屈)
Day 5.3 SILENT NIGHT AT LAKE AKAN (阿寒湖)

Day 6 – On the road from Lake Akan to Furano
Day 6.1 FISHERMEN BELOW MISTY OAKAN (雄阿寒岳), Lake Akan (阿寒湖)
Day 6.2 TREATS OF OBIHIRO (帯広), Tokachi (十勝)
Day 6.3 ARRIVING IN FURANO (富良野)

Day 7 Furano & Biei
Day 7.1 LAVENDER BUDS, Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.2 FARM TOMITA (ファーム富田), Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.3 BI.BLE, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.4 PATCHWORK ROAD & PANORAMA ROAD, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.5 NINGLE TERRACE (ニングルテラス)

Day 8 – from Furano to Otaru
Day 8.1 CHURCH ON THE WATER (水の教会), Hoshino Resorts Tomamu (星野リゾートトマム)
Day 8.2 HILL OF THE BUDDHA (頭大仏), Makomanai Takino Cemetery (真駒内滝野霊園)
Day 8.3 SEAFOOD, CANAL, & HISTORY, Otaru (小樽)
Day 8.4 RAINY NIGHT IN OTARU, Otaru (小樽)

Day 9 – Yochi & Sapporo
Day 9.1 NIKKA YOICHI DISTILLERY (余市蒸溜所), Yoichi (余市)
Day 9.2 SOUP CURRY NIGHT

Day 10 – Sapporo
10.1 OKKAIDO SHRINE (北海道神宮 )
10.2 MORIHICO COFFEE (森彦珈琲本店)
10.3 KITAKARO SAPPORO HONKAN (北菓楼札幌本館)
10.4 SATURDAYS CHOCOLATE
10.5 GOTSUBO OYSTER BAR(五坪)
10.6 MOUNT MOIWA (藻岩山) & RAMEN HARUKA (ラーメン悠)

Day 11 – Sapporo
11.1 FORMER HOKKAIDO GOVERNMENT OFFICE (北海道庁旧本庁舎)
11.2 RED STAR & GENGKIS KHAN, Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール株式会社)

August 22, 2019 | Categories: Hokkaido, Japan, Japan: Hokkaido 2019, Lake Mashu and Akan | Tags: Akan, angling, オンネトー, 釧路, 阿寒湖, Fisherman, fly fishing, fog, Hokkaido, Kushiro, lake, mist, mountain, Onneto, volcano, 北海道 | Leave a comment

SILENT NIGHT AT LAKE AKAN (阿寒湖), Kushiro (釧路), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.19

Day 5 (3/3).

About 60km southwest of Lake Mashu, we arrived at Akankohan (阿寒湖畔), our second destination in Akan Mashu National Park. Under the shadow of volcano Mount Oakan (雄阿寒岳), the onsen resort village Akankohan (阿寒湖畔) right by Lake Akan or Akanko (阿寒湖) is another great place in Eastern Hokkaido to experience the beauty of the region’s volcanic landscape. While may not be as crystal clear as Lake Mashu, Lake Akan, also a crater lake, is nonetheless also famous for its pure water. In fact, the pristine quality of the lake water has enabled the famous lake inhabitant, the marimo, to thrive in Lake Akan. Marimo, a rare ball-like algae, may grow up the size of a football if left untouched for centuries. Unlike Lake Mashu, Lake Akan has a much bigger human presence especially along the waterfront of Akankohan, where modern ryokans with all kinds of onsen baths, and shops, small museum, and cultural centre about the local Ainu people are established.

We stayed at Akankohan for a night to have a short visit of the lakeside onsen resort. We didn’t take the tourist cruise boat for a marimo museum visit on a small island in the lake; nor did we do a long hike up to one of the beautiful volcanoes around the lake or visit the Ainu cultural centre. We did however make a morning forest walk to the boiling bokke mud pool east of the resort village, enjoy a starry night standing on the lakeside boardwalk, and cleanse our bodies and souls in the mineral rich hotspring water of Akan.

At Akankohan, the waterfront is lined with resort hotels and docks for tourist cruise boats.

Located at the waterfront, our hotel Tsuruga Lake Akan Lodge Turano is a comfortable pet-friendly guesthouse with nice views to the lake.

Compared to other lakeside resort hotels, Tsuruga Lake Akan Lodge Turano is much more causal.

There was no hotspring facilities at Tsuruga Lake Akan Lodge Turano, we were invited to use one of Tsuruga’s other hotel’s facility. Recommended by the hotel staff, we went to Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga for its onsen facilities. During our visit, men were assigned to use the three-level bathing facilities at the lower floor while women at the 8/F outdoor infinity pool facing the lake.

It wasn’t the darkest and clearest night for stargazing, but chilling out in the cool air at Lake Akan after a hearty buffet dinner was delightful.

Clouds and fog moved quickly across the sky. Stars were still visible in between.

At Akankohan (阿寒湖畔), Mount Oakan (雄阿寒岳) has a dominant presence to the scenery.

Dusk fell upon with a soft touch of orange cast on the moving clouds.

In comparison, the artificial lights from the lakeside hotels looked overwhelmingly bright.

Various boardwalk structures extend out to the lake for small boats and tourist photos.

Last erupted in 2008, Mount Oakan is a shield volcano rises about 900m from the lake.

Swan like recreational boats looked quite out of place in the natural surrounding.

Most multi-level buildings in Akankohan are resort hotels. Behind the lakeside hotels, a shopping street lined with souvenir shops forms the main thoroughfare for the village. The entire village looks completely dependent on tourism.

Near our guesthouse Tsuruga Lake Akan Lodge Turano, the lights from the lakeside hotels looked far more overwhelming than the mighty volcano, which sat in tranquility in the background waiting for its next moment of eruption.

* * *

Introduction
HOKKAIDO ROAD TRIP, Hokkaido (北海道)

Day 1 – from Tokyo to Shiretoko Peninsula
Day 1.1 TSUKIJI OUTER MARKET (築地場外市場)
Day 1.2 ARRIVAL IN SHIRETOKO, Utoro (ウトロ)

Day 2 – Utoro
Day 2.1 SHIRETOKO FIVE LAKES (知床五湖)
Day 2.2 UTORO FISHERMAN’S WIVES CO-OPERATIVE DINER (ウトロ漁協婦人部食堂)
Day 2.3 FUREPE FALLS (フレペの滝)

Day 3 – Rausu
Day 3.1 RUSA FIELD HOUSE (ルサフィールドハウス)
Day 3.2 JUN NO BANYA (純の番屋)

Day 4 – Rausu
Day 4.1 MOUNT RAUSU (羅臼岳)
Day 4.2 FANTASTIC ORCAS, Nemuro Strait (根室海峡)

Day 5 – Lake Mashu & Lake Akan
Day 5.1 SUNRISE AT LAKE MASHU (摩周湖)
Day 5.2 MOUNT MASHU TRAIL (摩周岳) , Teshikaga (弟子屈)
Day 5.3 SILENT NIGHT AT LAKE AKAN (阿寒湖)

Day 9 – Yochi & Sapporo
Day 9.1 NIKKA YOICHI DISTILLERY (余市蒸溜所), Yoichi (余市)
Day 9.2 SOUP CURRY NIGHT

Day 11 – Sapporo
11.1 FORMER HOKKAIDO GOVERNMENT OFFICE (北海道庁旧本庁舎)
11.2 RED STAR & GENGKIS KHAN, Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール株式会社)

August 20, 2019 | Categories: Hokkaido, Japan, Japan: Hokkaido 2019, Lake Mashu and Akan | Tags: Akan, Akankohan, clouds, 釧路, 阿寒湖, 阿寒湖畔, Hokkaido, Japan, Japanese, Kushiro, lake, marimo, Mashu, night, ryokan, star, 北海道 | Leave a comment

HOKKAIDO ROAD TRIP, Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, June 15-25, 2019

Tsuyu (梅雨), the rain season, begins to hit Okinawa in May and gradually makes its way north to the rest of Japan until the end of June. During the wet season, rainy and cloudy weather affects the entire country except Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest island north of the main Honshu Island. The seismic active island is 3.6% smaller than Ireland, with a climate significantly cooler than the rest of Japan. Seeking for a pleasant getaway from Hong Kong’s humid and hot summer, we picked Hokkaido as the destination for our 11-day vacation from 15th to 25th of June. Traveling in the remote national parks and rural countryside of Hokkaido, hiring a car was a necessity. The Hokkaido journey was our first road trip in Japan.

Known as Japan’s last true wilderness, Shiretoko National Park (知床国立公園) is the natural haven where Brown Bears and Blakiston Fish Owls ruled the primeval forests and Orcas, Minke and Sperm Whales roamed the waters of Nemuro Strait. With fantastic natural scenery, wildlife and seafood to offer, this easternmost part of Hokkaido topped our priority list in the travel itinerary. Next in the journey took us to the spectacular volcanoes of Akan Mashu National Park (阿寒摩周国立公園), where we came close to Japan’s clearest water at caldera Lake Mashu (摩周湖) and the fantastic onsen and fly fishing hot spot of Lake Akan (阿寒湖). While the lavender fields of Furano (富良野) and Biei (美瑛) had yet reached the peak bloom moment, the ultra fertile soil below the Tokachi Volcanic Group (十勝火山群) treated us with some of the best bread, corn, potatoes, asparagus, melons and milk that we ever had in our lives. Despite far away from Tokyo and Osaka, the architectural magic of Tadao Ando (安藤忠雄) in Hokkaido satisfied our thirst of contemporary design and aesthetics. Back in Obihiro (帯広), Otaru (小樽) and Sapporo (札幌), historic traces of early pioneers and contemporary dessert shops and local eateries brought us back to delightful charm of urban Japan. What’s more? Day after day of mouthwatering seafood, fresh produces, good coffee, and lovely patisseries reminded us how wonderful our world could be, when the water is clean, soil is rich, forests are healthy and people are friendly. Thank you Hokkaido. You have truly touched our hearts.

Located north of Honshu Island, Hokkaido is the second largest island in Japan.

Flying in from Tokyo Haneda, our Hokkaido journey began from Memanbetsu (女満別空港) near the Shiretoko Peninsula. After more than 1,181km of driving, we arrived at Otaru and Sapporo at the western side of the island.

This black hatchback hybrid Toyota Prius c (Toyota Aqua in Japan) provided us the means of transport from east to west across Hokkaido.

After 2 days of rain and wind, we finally had a glimpse of the active volcano of Mount Rausu (羅臼岳), the tallest peak in Shiretoko Peninsula.

The greatest experience we took away from Shiretoko was the close encounter with a pod of orcas in the Nemuro Strait.

The Mashu Lake (摩周湖) offered us a peaceful sunrise at 3:30am.

Under the shadow of Mount Oakan (雄阿寒岳), dozens of fly fishermen stepped into the crystal water of Lake Akan (阿寒湖) to test their luck.

Farms and greenhouses were washed with heavy rain as we entered into Furano (富良野).

Still at least half a month to go before the peak season of lavender blossom, visitors were enjoying themselves at a relatively less crowded Farm Tomita in Nakafurano.

Compared with rainbow flower fields, we loved the wheat fields at Biei the most.

Tadao Ando’s Chapel on the Water has been famous in the designer’s world since the 1980s.

The Hill of Buddha is the latest addition in Hokkaido by Tadao Ando.

At Yoichi Distillery (余市蒸溜所), whiskey has been produced since 1934.

Saturdays Chocolate in Sapporo is one of the many excellent local eateries and cafes that we visited in the journey.

Last but not least, Hokkaido offered us the best seafood and dessert that we ever had as far as we could remember. Let’s begin to tell the story of our journey!