The Calm and Scenic Lake Toya @ Hokkaido [Japan]

It doesn't seem right for me to stay in Lake Toya without a longer glimpse of its beauty and so, i pulled Alex out of bed and drove out at about 7 am from Daiwa Ryokan when the lack of curtain forced me to wake up at about 4 am! 

Emptiness greeted us as the entire promenade was devoid of humans; guess most, if not all people were sleeping whereas dumb-assess like me were facing insomnia due to the bright morning sunshine. 

Cruise ship from the night before; the same one that's used to catch the daily fireworks show at night on Lake Toya. Oh wait, there's an uncle there! 

I actually had plans to visit Nakajima Island in the middle of Lake Toya but time wasn't on our time. Anyway, here's where i am going to pepper you with information about the caldera lake! 

It was formed about 110,000 years ago due to a volcano eruption with a maximum depth of close to 180 meter. Nakajima rose up from the middle of the lake about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Do thank Japan's Ministry of Environment for providing the information panel.

Mount Yotei from the lake! Don't recall what's that mountain? It's the source of ice cold spring water at Fukidashi Park! For more information, click here. 

Lonesome boat in the middle of the lake. 

The circumference of Lake Toya is about 43 kilometers and it's unfair if i didn't give it a different perspective; since i didn't want to drive too far along a boring highway, let's just check out the eight views of toyako! 

I have no idea where the eight views were although this location brings us much closer to the lake. If you wish, i believe you can play around with the water and get yourself soaking wet! 

We were not prepared and were happy to stand on rocks while marveling at the clear water and rocks covered with slippery moss. 

Did you see that building on top of the hill in the middle of the picture? Now, go check out the first picture of my fireworks post and you would notice a bright shimmer on the top left; think it's the same building. 

Boat rental service! More on that shortly.

Always curious to check out the living creatures in the lake in case there is a lake monster like the one at Loch Ness. Interestingly, there's a reported one in Hokkaido but not at Lake Toya; it's in Lake Kussharo and you may refer to here for more information. 

So many shrimps in the lake!

Sign on shore mentioning a fine or imprisonment for people who catch the crayfish in the lake. Hm... the shrimps would be okay right? Well, since we are foreigners, better don't play play. 

Think the butterfly is dead...

Looks a bit like tomatoes from one of the nearby bushes.

Nakajima Island from lakeside - notice any difference from the picture i shared earlier? Let's see if any one of you has hawk eyes to spot it! 

That island on the left is a separate isle and even though the name is known as kannon island, i am more intrigued by the Chinese translation; guanyin which is the name of a very popular bodhisattva! 

Edging nearer towards the boat rental area.

The speedboat by the pier can also be rented for around-the-lake courses! Cheapest was a 10-minute ride at about S$37.50 for two persons. I was more keen in route G which would have cost me close to S$170 for a 45-minute ride! 

Definitely cheaper to go with the pedal boat but i think i would be dead scared if i am stuck at the deepest part of the lake.

Nevertheless, the rental rate wasn't that cheap at 1,200 yen (30 minutes) for a two-seater pedal boat. Furthermore, it's still not open for business which means i can save some money! p.s. Alex has the tendency to go with such rides (evidence here at Taiwan's Yun-Hsien Park & Resort).

=====

Location

Lake Toya,

Hokkaido, Japan

Map

As above.

For our 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.

Sengen Park (Geyser) beside Takimoto Inn @ Noboribetsu [Hokkaido, Japan]

The good thing about modern technology is that searching for information is much more convenient nowadays and for a free and easy traveler, the use of google map is terribly helpful for planning! 

Before my Hokkaido trip, i was already wondering about this particular place i chanced upon at google map when i was searching for the route to Takimoto Inn, our accommodation in Noboribetsu. 

Sengen Park - interestingly as you can see, there were 8 over-sized spiked cudgels dotted over this tiny park and with each of them painted a different color, it's a visual attraction that beckons you to come nearer for a closer look.

In addition to the colorful cudgels, your eyes would also be mystified by the bursts of natural hot spring mist generated from the nearby Hell's Valley. 

If not for the fact that this is the main area of the onsen village with buildings all over, the loud cloud of steam would have generated quite a fright in the middle of the night for someone driving past the park! 

I believe there's some significance to the color for each of the cudgels and the above would have provided the required information if it's available in other languages like English. Anyway, i counted nine on the panel but there were only eight on site! Maybe the last one is the humongous cudgel in Dai-ichi Takimotokan. 

Remember what are those wooden tablets known as? Votive tablets and as with the one at Mt. Tengu, you can purchase, write your wishes and hang them up using the existing ropes circling the cudgel. 

For someone who is short (like me), i can only use the rope on the lower segment. I did regret not buying the votive tablet in noboribetsu as i could add on to the one i got in Mt. Tengu. 

Park is more a parade square than a park per-se as i tend to associate the former with tons of trees and maybe a lake. Whatever the case, i did notice a slight of staircase leading to what appeared to be a tunnel.

With hot mists gushing out at certain intervals, there's actually a fence to prevent anyone from climbing any further; obviously for safety reasons. 

The above is the reason why sengen park is also known as geyser park although i am under the impression that geyser is a lot more towering than the hardly 3-4 meters height that it's contained under. 

Clearer scene when the geyser is not in much activity; the mist continued to be generated even though it's in much lesser quantity.  

A helpful notice on the side shared that every three hours, the geyser would purge at least 2,000 liters of water of about 80 degrees celcius for about 50 minutes. Loud noise will be generated and it's supposed to eject up to 8 meters high! How to be 8 meters when the compartment is not as high?! 

The only cudgel with a child demon statue.

Aside from bearing the name of the park (in Japanese), the cudgel next to the adorable statue is for those who are praying for luck in studying. 

=====

Location

Noboribetsuonsencho, Noboribetsu, 

Hokkaido 059-0551, Japan

Entry Fees

Free

For our itinerary (8 days, 7 nights) to Hokkaido in summer, click here.

Dinner at Isekura (いせくら) in Noboribetsu [Hokkaido, Japan]

Following lunch, we were once again hit with a dilemma on where to have dinner and eventually chose Isekura for two reasons; the aroma of grilled meat and the customers seated outside (latter of which gave us the presumption it should be popular).

Essentially a charcoal grill restaurant, it also offered normal donburi (rice bowls) and ramen (specialty was milk ramen)! Surprisingly, none of us was in the correct mood for bbq (and ramen); I was in fact craving for white rice! 

Free-range Chicken Bowl - i think i am quite lucky with food throughout this Hokkaido trip whereas Alex had his misses. The chicken bowl for Alex wasn't bad; just didn't taste extraordinary enough to differentiate itself from those sold in Japanese chains in Singapore like Sakae Sushi. 

Ginger Pork Set - Mine with pork that hailed from noboribetsu itself; there's nothing fresher than that unless i stayed in a pig farm and with just 100 yen more, i thought this was more worth it compared to what Alex had. 

The meat had that distinctive ginger flavour that didn't strike me as overwhelming. In fact, it featured just the right amount to bring out the taste and complement perfectly with the tenderised pork which wasn't as sinfully fat as i expected it to be. 

Good enough for me to leave one piece as the grand finale. I almost wanted to forgo the tomatoes since i don't particularly fancy them. However, i decided not to waste my food and popped one slice into my mouth; mmmm, crunchy with a dash of sweetness! Needless to say, nothing was left on the plate at the end. 

=====

Location Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Free-range Chicken Bowl - 800 yen

Ginger Pork Set - 900 yen

For our itinerary (8 days, 7 nights) to Hokkaido in summer, click here.