Volcanic Activity at Lake Kussharo...

After leaving Rausu we drove a "scenic route" to Yoroushi with many stops on the way. One of the highlights was a diversion to Kaiyodai Observatory near Nakashibetsu, a very impressive structure high on a hill complete with rooftop ampitheatre for guided stargazing, in summer we think. For our visit, the cafe here was firmly closed.

We approach Kaiodai Observatory.

Stellar observation theatre with Mt. Unabetsu directly to the north.

Icy hill track to the observatory made safe with our Sapporo-bought non-slip grips.

Then, in Akan National Park, we stopped to peer down into the volcanic crater that holds Lake Mashu. The crater walls are 200m high, the lake large and very blue, partially frozen at its shadier end. Measurements of clarity reveal that Lake Mashu is maybe the clearest in the world. Other measurements rate the volcano as "potentially active", but all was quiet for our visit. Lake Mashu is a newcomer in geologic terms, under 32,000 years old. Eruptions occurred 7,000 years ago, and 2,000 years ago. The Ainu people knew the potential here and called Mashu the "Lake of the Devil".

Panorama of Lake Mashu's stunning caldera.

Sika deer safe inside Lake Masha's huge crater.

On the shores of nearby Lake Kussharo we visited Sunayu where we where entertained by the antics of Whooper Swans on the verge of being fed by a business owner no doubt hoping to attract paying customers. More interestingly, we discovered that the 56km circumference Lake Kussharo is also a volcanic caldera which, prior to some eruption, was much larger and included what is now Lake Masha. We saw more swans further around the lake's edge at what seems to be called a "Wild Onsen", where there is a public onsen right on the beach, with an absurd little fence to segregate the sexes. Public nudity here would be rather discouraged by the swarms of photographers lurking in the onsen steam, hoping for great shots of the swans. It's possible to create your own private onsen here - just digging in the sand produces hot water. We imagine the swans are attracted by the warm water.

The Whooper Swans have their eyes on the man with the bucket.

Feeding time at Sunayu.

Another handful of swan food.

Swan photographers in wait by the "Wild Onsen".

You can imagine how the Lake Kussharo crater once encompassed Lake Machu, in this GPS map.

If we had any doubts about how the earth works beneath the surface, having been in the caldera of a "potentially active" volcano, and seen hot water and steam around the edge of a lake, we dispelled them by visiting the active volcano Iou-zan (literally "sulphur mountain"). Here numerous steam jets eject from the side of the hill, leaving the characteristic yellow colour and pungent odour of sulphur. It's a spectacular sight, a wonder to behold and amazing to contemplate what's going on beneath your feet! Inside a nearby souvenir shop, you can buy eggs boiled in the hot springs of Iou-zan.

From a distance, Iou-zan billows steam into the air.

The warning sign tells it all.

Boiling water and steam fizzing out of this hole.

Nice warm spot on a cold day.

As soon as we arrived, we knew the Yoroushi Yuyado Dai-Ichi Ryokan would be a highlight of the trip, a destination in itself, and we should have spent two nights here. It's such a shame we arrived at sunset. The lobby area was large and welcoming, with a firepit and large windows to a beautiful snowy creek replete with birdlife. Management leave food for the birds, and the clientele, mostly photographers judging from the cameras and lenses, lap it up.

Woodpecker emblem of the Yoroushi Yuyado Dai-Ichi Ryokan.

Cosy lobby and common area of the Yorouchi Ryokan.

Predawn outlook from our room.

The very pretty Euasian Jay with his eye on some tucker.

Looks like this Jay is being fed the rock-fish leftovers from last night.

Great Spotted Woodpecker just like at the Yorouchi Ryokan entrance.

Our room in this ryokan was unusual but traditional. The sleeping tatami was in a loft upstairs which we had to crawl into, because the ceiling height was only 1500mm. And we had no private bath or shower - guests here have to use the onsen! The onsen abutted the creek, and was a complex of rockpools and tubs of varying temperatures, indoors and outdoors. There was a large pool for both sexes, defying that old Edo edict requiring segregation to avoid moral depravity.

Red fox by the creek in Yorouchi.

Danger is this lady's business as Mike swings the mallett to make rice-cake.

Departing guests have their boots neatly laid out for them.

Japanese onsen tradition has particular towelling requirements. The only towel you take to the hot bath is what we could call a "hand towel", and while in the preparatory shower you can wash down with it, when you take it to the bath, it must never enter the water. Most bathers place theirs on their head, or on a nearby rock. Regardless, they still get soaking wet from all the steam, and we proved at this onsen that the laws of physics still apply - spinning it around wet in way sub-zero conditions soon freezes it. You are still expected to dry yourself with this soggy towel, and the conditions in the locker room are usually so dry, the heated humidity so low, that this works OK.

Having explained to our guide, Steve, that we were unable to find out what we were eating in the kaiseki meals, and that this was reducing the experience, he (who doesn't eat with us) went to great trouble to translate the menu for us, and helped us to select the main course. This was a great assistance, and we thank him for his responsiveness, and also, here, the staff tried hard to tell us what the various food items were, mostly fish, shrimp and shellfish as is befitting for a seaside village.

Rausu - land of long lenses...

The Oshin-Koshin Falls, fairly close to Utoro, is one the 100 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan.

This sika deer farm was originally established to protect the species, but now provides vension for human consumption.

Wary red fox somewhat spooked by our interest.

We had to take the long way from Otoro to the other side of the Shiretoko Peninsula because the most direct road is routinely closed in winter. In crossing this peninsula we passed through numerous standalone tunnels which were out in the fields and not obviously for avalanche or rockfall. Steve explained that they were in high wind areas. Before going to our utimate destination, we spent an hour or two on the Notsuke Peninsula, a tiny and narrow curved sand spit with a reputation for good wildlife spotting.

Recent wildlife spottings map inside the Notsuke Peninsula Nature Centre.

Spottings were sparse. We did see a herd of male sikadeer, red foxes, and one or two Stellers Sea Eagles at a distance, looking for fish. The peninsula does have a very nice Nature Centre to visit, and we spent some time in an excellent bird hide, but saw nothing from there. Interestingly, the sika deer were once widespread over East Asia, but it's only in Japan now where it is "overabundant".

Offshore from the Notsuke Peninsula, and disconcertingly close, is Kunashir Island, one of four disputed Kuril Islands claimed and occupied by Russia but disputed by Japan. When you look at a map of Hokkaido, it's rather difficult to rationalise the Russian claim.

Lighthouse on the Notsuke Peninsula with the disputed Russian island nearby offshore.

Then north to the little fishing village of Rausu (pop 5,300), the name taken from an Ainu word, maybe meaning "place of mean with beast-like spirit". The proximity of Kunashir Island is evident here too, and also in the language you hear spoken around town. In Rausu we encounted more "westerners" than we have seen anywhere else in Hokkaido - Russians, Europeans, a few Brits, Americans, Aussies.

No wonder the town is named after Mt. Rausu.

Stellars Sea Eagle soaring before the hills of Rausu.

The port town of Rausu.

We had two main objectives in Rausau, to spot the rare Blakistons Fish Owl and to go eagle spotting from a boat. Both these activities were successful, but in what proved to be highly contrived situations.

The Blakistons Fish Owl
is the largest species of owl and is only found in Hokkaido and is named after the dude who first found him in Hakodate in 1883. Thomas Blakiston also observed that species in parts of Hokkaido differed to those in others, the boundary now being called the "Blakiston Line." The owl lives in "riparian forest, with large, old trees for nest-sites, near lakes, rivers, springs and shoals that don't freeze in winter" (Wikipedia).

Anyway, to catch a glimpse of this owl, we visit a budget hotel which runs along such a river, quite near the coast, where the owner has built a long thin hide which he rents out to people with long lenses. No smartphones here. Our itinerary referred to the wait as Owashi no Yado - we think that's the name of the hotel. There is a "special" light which somehow don't distract the owl, then seeds a pool in the river with fish, and then we wait. Shutter speeds have to be set at 1/80sec or slower so apparently the special lights are a strobe. We were lucky, the elusive owls appeared twice after dusk and before our scheduled dinner time - they hadn't appeared for days previously, and Steve (afterwards) admitted that he's never seen the owl in this place before. On two visits, an owl appeared like a ghost, grabbed a hapless fish, and flew away within seconds, all to the clatter of a dozen or so motor drive shutters working overtime. We heard that the next appearance was at 2am. Blakistons Fish Owl is big and beautiful, and the ones we saw had fluffed up feathers which made them look quite rotund. Many of our fellow photographers spoke Russian, and one, not too bright, tried to use flash to take his pics, but was quickly dealt with by the owner who was very generous to us, providing seats, a heater and a pair of good binoculars.

The moment the Blakistons Fish Owl grabs his fish...

Takes off with it...

Puts it in his mouth ...

And flies away!

We had a reservation for a cruise from Rausu Harbour to spot white tailed eagles or Stellers Sea Eagles, but Steve was concerned that it would be too windy/rough for it to go far. That turned out to be irrelevant - it barely goes 100m then the crew attracts eagles by throwing frozen fish into the water. Both species of eagles respond in force, and it is fascinating to watch them swoop, pick up the fish with their claws, then take off. The eagles complete with gulls who seem to be faster but often not quite strong enough to carry the fish, and drop them. The gulls grab the fish in their beak, and if they can hang onto it, seem to be able to down it in one big gulp.

We were one of three boats attracting eagles for hungry photographers.

We thought the cruise operators ran a fishing business on the side, but this how they attract the eagles.

White tailed eagle flies off with his catch.

Stellars Sea Eagle in flight.

Zeroing in for his catch, a Stellars Sea Eagle skims the water.

Another eagle spotting cruise inside the seawall.

White tailed eagle guards his fish on the seawall.

Our digs in Rausu, the ryokan Daiichi Hotel (we only know its name from our itinerary, it's not written in English anywhere) was about a kilometer from town up the summer road to Utoro, closed in winter. We enjoyed yet another kaiseki meal here, delicious, varied, but with no-one able to tell us what any item was. Many of the guests were westerners - this town is obviously the destination in Hokkaido for serious photographers! Our room was Japanese style of course and had a very small bathroom which, we now start to think, is meant to encourage guests to bathe communally in the onsen. Which was a good idea here, because the outdoor bath here must be one of the best around, a large rocky pool which could almost be natural, right at the bottom of the hill at the back of the hotel, filled with milky coloured, sulphur scented water. The men's outdoor bath was not private and could be seen from 8-10 hotel rooms and anyone walking the hill. Like almost everywhere we've stayed on this trip, the Daiichi had excellent free wifi.

The Daiichi Hotel had the best onsen of the trip.

Kurashiki and its best ryokan...

Kurashiki was next in our intinerary and definitely raised the bar one notch on the quality of our visit to Japan. What a great town, but moreover, our accommodation was the highlight of the stay here!

The logistics for getting here from Miyajima were complex, but everything went smoothly. The sequence was hotel courtest bus + ferry + local train + shinkansen + local train + taxi. We arrived before check-in time, so had an opportunity to walk around this delightful canal town for a couple of hours before we entered the Ryokan Kursashiki. Lonely Planet says this ryokan is the best in town, so we had high expections, but they were well met.

We called them "yellow rattlers" but these old JR local trains were in superb condition, and always crowded.

Ryokan Kurashiki is located in the Bikan Historical Area along a canal which is the focus of visitor attractiveness here. Alan Gibson was doubtful about whether the taxi could actually deliver us to the door, because the canal-side is a pedestrian mall, but the taxi just patiently worked his way past everyone.

Front of Ryokan Kurashiki.

The ryokan was a two storey establishment on a large site, with maybe half a dozen guest rooms amongst beautifully designed and decorated common areas, a restaurant, a "terrace" and a garden. Our room (shoes off), designated Higashi was a tatami floored suite with living room, bedroom, study and bathroom. It was simply glorious.

The living room of Higashi at Ryokan Kurashiki.

The "terrace" of Ryokan Kurashiki.

We were asked to wear a yukata and slippers at breakfast and dinner. Our yakatas were personally fitted, and we were shown exactly how to wear and tie them. The left side must wrap over the right - only bodies at their funerals are wrapped the opposite way.

This ryokan did not have "his and hers" public bathhouses, but did have a private one which we could use together but had to book a time for. (In fact, the word "yakata" literally means "bathing clothes".) We made good use of it in the evenings after dinner - it had showering facilities for three, a huge hot tub, and a window which opened onto a private garden.

Kaiseki dinners at Ryokan Kurashiki were spectacular, and as said before, raised the standard a distinct notch. Each course was a picture in itself, and for each meal we had a complete menu showing all constituents. This was so helpful - without it we would never had had such a good appreciation of what we were eating, even though the kimono-clad servers explained everything to us as well. They carefully noted what we ate and didn't eat!

The first course of our first kaiseki dinner at Ryokan Kurashiki.

Garden at Ryokan Kurashiki.

This detail on Ryokan Kurashiki is given because this accommodation was the destination for us here. But the town was pretty good too, so it comes highly recommended by us.

The town was once a river port controlled by the shogunate (the military), and many extant buildings along the canal and nearby are Edo period warehouses ("kura" means "warehouse"), now transformed to cafes, restaurants, ryokans, craft and souvenir shops. Old photos of the canal aren't too pretty, and it has been beautified by damming and raising the water level in the touristy area. The canal is sided with weeping willows and stocked with koi, plus two swans.

Very pretty streetscape along the Bikan area canal.

Old photograph of the canal. Building which is now the Ryokan Kurashiki is bottom left.

Boat riders can't get under this bridge in the elevated waters of the Bikan canal.

The wooden 1600's era warehouses in Bikan are often painted white with traditional black tiles. The area has underground power to honour the look of the Meiji period.

Edo Period white painted with black tile warehouse construction typical of the Bikan Historical District.

Copper coloured roofing on one building.

Walking around this dammed canal area is a sheer pleasure, day and night, and Bikan is obviously a popular visitor spot. But we didn't see another westerner here - all day-trippers and visitors were Japanese. Riding a gondola-like boat the 200m or so of navigable water was an activity popular with many visitors. There'd be quite a queue in summer!

Ivy covered greek restaurant.

Warehouses along the Bikan canal.

Old building being renovated, at dusk.

Kurashiki side street in the evening.

Not far from the canal is an old and pretty market street Honmachi which fortunately suffers very little traffic and is lined with old warehouses in good order and condition. Heading towards the railway station, this street becomes a what we now recognise as a typical covered modern shopping mall.

Buildings of Honmachi.

Covered shopping mall.

Posing in rented kimonos may be part of coming of age celebrations.

Roof-scape of Kurashiki.

And of course, there are the inevitable shrines, the most notable (we saw) being the Achi Shrine on top of a steep hill.

Shrine roofing detail.

Cemeteries seem to pop up on hills where it is too steep to place other buildings.

Washing fountains in Japan are always photogenic.

Kurashiki delivered us two surprises. The first was the Ohara Museum of Art housed in a fine old building of Greek architecture (plus annex). Ohara was not an Irishman as you might think, but was a Kurashiki born industrialist, Magosaburo Ohara (1880-1943) who sponsored a local talented artist, Torajiro Kojima (1881-1929) to buy the best European classics available.

At the main entrance to Ohara Museum.

Modern sculptures at Ohara Art Museuem.

One of the classical art galleries in the Ohara Museum.

Kale in a teapot.

Accordingly, the Ohara Museum collection includes great works by Monet, El Greco, Gaugin, Matisse and others, as well as a good sampling of Kojima's own, and more contemporary stuff. This is a most impressive gallery, justifying a visit to Kurashiki in its own right.

Cuppa complete with origami crane in the courtyard of the Ohara house.

Twilight illuminations in Kurashiki.

The other surprise was on the far side of Kurashiki Station, which we discovered purely by accident. There is a beautiful clock tower central to a roundabout decorated with an unexpected Nordic theme. On the hour, the tower reveals mobile displays of four Hans Christian Andersen tales, accompanied by carillon music.

Clock tower square and north entrance to Kurashiki Station.

We also saw a themed cafe called "The Little Mermaid" in the station. Why is this here? It seems that there was once a fun-park next to the station called Tivoli but it went broke in 2008 and was replaced by a shopping mall. The clock tower and Nordic themes are a commemoration of the Tivoli.

Nordic warrior statues protect the clock tower at Kurashiki Station.

Fairy tales on the hour at the clock tower.

It was sad to leave Kurashiki, but our three days here was up, and very well spent. We absolutely loved our Ryokan Kurashiki, and our Higashi suite. To top it off, management there gave us our tickets to the Ohara Museum, and paid for our taxi back to the station. They know how to make their customers feed good!

No espresso but exquisite Guatemalan coffee preparation at the Cafe Coffee-Kan.

French style cappucino, with rich sweet cream.