Sitting in Sapporo Once Again

Hello,

Been a few days since our last post, but since we are up in Hokkaido and travelling here and forth in the countryside, it`s a bit hard to find internet.

Anyway, since out last post we`ve had the time to explore Sapporo quite a bit, been to southern Hokkaido to Toya-ko Onsen and also Noboribetsu Onsen (the latter was today even), and (apparently) experienced a rather massive earthquake. Once again terror lashes upon Japan and we don`t even notice it. Although this happened something like 40 km north of Tokyo, and we were something like 400 km north, so at least we have a good excuse. We didn`t even hear about it till our relatives called and asked if we were okay.

Well, enough about what we didn`t experience, and more about what we actually did experience.

After our last post we stayed in Sapporo for three nights, and had time to explore it more. We went to see the famed Sapporo TV-Tower (the eiffel-tower look-alike in the picture), where on the grounds beneath it was a Fairtrade-festival\gathering of sorts. They sold organic things and played traditonal Ainu-music amongst other things.

We also visited the American Phred and his Beer-Inn (the picture below is of him), where we gave him two beers from our homecountry The Aland Islands (in Finland). He was grateful and even bought us two (delicious) beers. It was nice to talk to someone who could speak english in it`s proper form for once. But we also talked to two of his friends for quite a bit, whom also were nice, and were then joined by yet another two people. They were two women working for the Sapporo City (if we understood it correctly. I`m sure at least the one nearest me did). They were really nice and we ended up talking to them until we had to go, since our curfew at the International Youth Hostel was early. Phred, by the way, had more than 5000 beers on display, and more than 300 for sale. I highly recommend the place.

Well, that`s about it for Sapporo, and since I`m in somewhat of a hurry (every 10 minutes costs me 100 Yen) and we want to go to sleep early, I going to make this post in a haste.

For your information we are now back in Sapporo for the night, since there weren`t any cheap place to stay in Noboribetsu Onsen, so we just took the train up here again and are travelling to Furano tomorrow morning. It`s nice to have a JR-pass.

Well, after Sapporo we went to Toya-ko, as mentioned. A really nice, really volcanic little town, which displays 400 fireworks every night from the huge craterlake besides the town (the town is on the south side). We went up in the volcanoes via ropeway and hiked along a mountaintrail for a few kilometers. It was really nice, but extremely tough, since the sun blazed and there were fumaroles everywhere (volcanic vents that release gas, sometimes poisonous, although not the ones we went by). I`ll post all the pictures at the end later.

After that we went, as said, to Noboribetsu Onsen. The most famous Onses Resort in Hokkaido apparently (onsen=hot spring). We went to a really luxurious Onsen-hotel and paid 2000 Yen there, where we stayed for three hours enjoying the more than 15 different, mineral-rich, onsens. And the 82 degrees celsius sauna with a freezing cold onsen right nest to, so it almost felt like Finland again. We didn`t take any pictures there, since it wouldn`t really be appreciated by all the naked people.

Anyhoo, I`m feeling extremely rushed right now, so I`ll just upload the pictures and maybe write a more fulfilling post when we acquire internet again.

Enjoy!

A few of the many beers on display at Phred`s place.

Our room at the Youth Hostel in Sapporo where we stayed a night (after that we stayed in a Capsule Hotel)

Sappory city itself.

A huge botanical garden we visited.

A beer-museum we visited in Sapporo, really nice.

One of the volcanoes in Toya-ko, which was apparently dangerous. Called Uzu-san I think.

A huge crater in Toya-ko with a huge fumarole. Very nice views.

Me with lake Toya at the left and Mount Uzu on the right. (Nice hat, eh. Had to keep the sun out..)

The mascot of Noboribetsu Onsen. This guy was everywhere.

Well, that`s it for now. Hope you liked it!