Japan Day 6: Lake Towada

We were now farther north on the island of Honshu.

North of Honshu is the island of Hokkaido where temperatures are cooler. We were now expecting to see more fall colors so that the tour would live up to its name.

We arrived at night the day before so when we woke up that following morning and pulled the shades we saw through our window that fall colors were all around us.

We could hardly wait to go out to take some photos.

The buffet breakfast was wonderful. This is Art's plate with salad, miso soup, rice, pickled vegetables, etc.

Even at breakfast, we could look out the window to see the glorious autumn display.

We rushed through our breakfast and ventured outside into the brisk mountain air.

It was all very lovely.

The trees were gorgeous and our tour guide, John told us he was relieved that we were finally able to see some real fall colors and he wouldn't have to commit harakiri in shame. Actually, mom says harakiri (ritual suicide by disembowelment) is not the proper term. It should be seppuku, but most Westerners refer to it as harakiri which literally means cutting the stomach.

It was fun to see acorns again. We used to have an oak tree at our Illinois house that the squirrels loved. Hmmmm... I didn't see any squirrels in Japan.

One thing people did on this tour was to buy something at one of the gift shops to share with their fellow passengers.

It was fun to try different sweets while riding through the gold and crimson leaves of the forest.

We stopped at this Hachimantai gorge and walked to the bridge in order to gaze at the gorgeous colors and waterfall.

We arrived at Lake Towada and had our lunch at Yasumiya Restaurant.

It was very relaxing to look out at the beautiful lake.

Lake Towada is the largest crater lake in Honshu island. It is located between Aomori and Akita prefectures and is 1,073 ft deep. It is Japan's 12th largest lake and deep blue because of its depth.

After the warm, delicious lunch, we boarded a sightseeing boat for a view of the gorgeous colors around Lake Towada.

The light wasn't perfect for photos, but you can see how pretty it was.

My kids and grandkids asked for ika (dried squid) so we made sure to find some for them. What looks like a ghost that we used to make as children in the U.S. is called Teru Teru Bozu in Japan.

A teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主, literally "shine shine monk") is a small traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. In shape and construction they are essentially identical to ghost dolls, such as those made at Halloween. This talisman is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. Teru is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a bōzu is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, "bald-headed"; bōzu is also used as a term of endearment for addressing little boys.                                     --Wikipedia

John and Yoko would also sing a Japanese song about teru teru bozu.

Teru-teru-bōzu, teru bōzu
Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure
Itsuka no yume no sora no yo ni
Haretara kin no suzu ageyo

English translation:

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
Like the sky in a dream sometime
If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell

I must tell you that 90% of the time, it worked and we had sunny skies when we needed it. We would be going apple picking on the following day so John added an Ainu (Japanese aboriginal people from Hokkaido) song and a Buddhist chant for good luck.