Japan: Day #11 (October 1, 2008 Wednesday)

We left Kushiro for Utoro in Hokkaido. Sorry to say we were not able to access the Internet connection that we requested.

Here are photos from Wednesday. One of our most memorable events of that day was the foot soak at Lake Kushiro’s hot springs and Lake Mashuko in Akan National Park. This crater lake is considered by many to be the most beautiful lake in Japan. The island in the middle of the lake is called “Island of the Gods” by the Ainu who are the indigenous people of Hokkaido.



It was a foggy morning in Kushiro when we started out and we were worried that the driving would be tricky. However once we started out, it cleared up!

Learning to fill gas was a bit of a trick.


What you can't see is me in the back pushing my mom up the stairs to get a better view of the Kushiro marshland.

The view was a spectacular view. Unfortunately there weren't any of the rare cranes.

The marshland was beautiful.


We had a great time soaking our feet in the hot springs. Although the water was very hot, we got used to it and when we left, our feet felt remarkably, tingly wonderful.


Art tried the hot sand treatment and declared it too HOT!


Lunch was ramen. We're eating a lot of ramen!


Our favorite thing is the soft serve. This time we tried the melon flavor....... Mmmmmmmmm!

Our next stop was to see Lake Masshu which was considered by the indigenous Ainu as the "Island of the Gods."


This is our room at the Dolphin Hotel in Utoro, Hokkaido.


Here's the Dolphin hotel from the outside.


And here's the big surprise! We thought our rooms were expensive until we saw our dinner and the breakfasts to come! Unbelievable epicurean delights!