Lake Toya

After we left Hakodate, we went up to Lake Toya.

Lake Toya (Toyako) is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. In addition to the lake itself, the Toyako region features hot springs and an active volcano, Mount Usu, which last erupted in the year 2000. The area also offers many fishing, hiking, and camping opportunities.

The picturesque lake was chosen as the location of the the G8 summit which Japan hosted from July 7 to 9, 2008. The leaders of the world's eight major industrialized democracies met at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa.

This information came from this site: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6725.html

The night we stayed in Lake Toya they had fireworks. I don't have pictures of that, but there was a boat in the lake, and I have pictures of that.

The view from our hotel room when we got there, late in the day.

This boat was getting ready to view the fireworks

Soooo pretty....

Charles and I got up early the next morning and jogged along the boardwalk. It was a nice jog, very pretty and cool but also very foggy. No pictures

Here is the lobby of the hotel. It has giant glass doors that open onto a large patio with a view of the lake. The doors are open all day, and there was a nice cool breeze the day we were there. I could have sat there for hours. The pictures below are all from the hotel website.

dinner in the room

Also, this was a traditional ryokhan, so we had dinner in the the room with lots of amazing sushi, crab and other delicacies.

the dining part of our room

This place also had an amazing ohnsen, with an indoor bath and an outdoor bath that looked out onto the lake. Very very nice.

Japanese Onsens

An onsen (Ohn-sen) is a public bath. The tradition began when most Japanese did not have indoor plumbing, and it has continued. It is a delight, and we have stayed at some of the best in Japan. The first one is of the ohnsen in the Hakodate. There are rules for using the onsen:

1)You must enter the bath naked. No clothing or towels allowed.

2)Men and women are separated completely. No opposite sex allowed.

3)You have to take a bath and completely wash everything, including your hair, in a side area before you enter the bath. Along the edge of the bath there are little stations with mirrors. You sit at one and soap up and shower off. The water is warm and pleasant.

4)Once you are in the bath, relax. Nothing else is important.

The entrance to the onsen. Men go to the left, women go to the right.

The entrance to the women's side

another perspective on the entrance

The area where you get undressed

The shower area

The indoor bath

The outdoor bath

This ryokan's outdoor bath looked out onto a beautiful japanese garden.

YuNoKawa Koen

A Koen (Ko-En) is a park. Charles and I got up early to go jogging, and we didn't have a plan, so we just went down the road until we found this little park. At the entrance was a baseball diamond, and even though it was 5:00 am on a Monday morning, there were men out playing baseball. Because there is no daylight savings time in Japan, it gets light at about 4:30 in the morning, and people take advantage of it. It is annoying if you are trying to sleep late, but why sleep when there is so much to see!

The baseball diamond was to Charles' left, but I didn't take a picture of it. We ran through a heavily wooded area, with beautiful trails that wove through ferns and dense evergreens. At the top was a garden area.

It was a foggy, cool, damp morning. Perfect for running!

It seemed as though every perspective was thought out.

A bird house

There are Koi in the pond.

The Ryokhan

After two and a half days in Tokyo, we flew to the northern island of Hokkaido (Hoe-Kai-Doh). We flew into the port city of Hakodate (Hah-Koe-Dah-Teh). This was Charles' birthday, so we stayed at a very special kind of Hotel, call a Ryokhan, (Ree-Oh-Kahn). A Ryokhan is like a hotel except that it has traditional japanese rooms. When you first enter your room there is a small entry way where you take off your shoes and put on slippers (the japanese word is sue-ree-pah. Say it fast. Yes, it is the word slipper). Then the rest of the rooms are covered with tatami mats. These are a tightly woven grass mats that have a fabric binding around the edges. When they are new they have a slightly acrid smell, but it is pleasant. As they age, the smell goes away.

Our room was actually three rooms, all rather non-descript, in that they were covered with the tatami mat and contained very little furniture. The bedroom on the left was empty, the center room had a table, and the room behind that was a small glass room for viewing the garden. Here are some pictures of the ryokhan.

The entrance to the ryokhan

The lobby

The central room

The view from our room

Charles had a very special birthday meal in the room. He is wearing a robe that is called a yukatta (you-kaht-tah)

Hirmi and I are also wearing them

This was our server.

the appetizers. almost all raw fish

soy sauce container

the second course

It was too much food!

Edo Museum in Tokyo

I am so far behind that I am posting these with no comments. I haven't had internet for several days, and I've taken about 200 pictures.

Tokyo Train

A view from the train.

This is a train. It is so clean!

Another shot of passengers on the train. I was trying to take pictures inconspicuously.

This is a typical view out of the window. They really try to put green space wherever they can.

An interesting food item.

The guy on the train has giant gold balls on his head.