Japan: Day #12 (October 2, 2008 Thursday)

We are in Utoro at the Iruka (Dolphin) Hotel. We get a breakfast and dinner for each of the three days that we are here and they are incredible works of art for the most discerning of palates. People must think we’re out of our minds to be taking photos of each of our meals.

We took a two hour hike through the Shiretoko National Park which is a World Natural Heritage Site. My mother did very well on the hike passing by five of the most gorgeous lakes you’d ever be lucky enough to see.

Art loved sleeping on the futon beds. He's hinted that sleeping on the floor might be better than getting King sized beds.


Breakfast was another work of art!


Here we are at the beginning of the Shiretoko National Park 5 lake trail. Each lake was more breathtaking than the last.


We met this lady on the trail dragging two pieces of luggage along with her. We could hardly believe it! She was going in the opposite direction from us so we couldn't help her.


Gorgeous lake!


We took a million photos!


And here's another!


We were staring out looking for deers when we turned around to see this huge buck crossing right in front of us.


He was as curious about us as we were of him.


Art and Dennis decided to climb up Mr. Oronko. Mom and I took a nap!


We were once again surprised to see a meal completely different from the night before and just as amazing. We discovered later that the crab alone (a whole one) costs $30.00!

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!

Japan: Day #10 (September 30, Tuesday)

We were almost reluctant to leave the Toyoko Inn Sapporo because we liked the ammenities so much but we were up early and ready for the long drive ahead of us to the city of Kushiro.



Once we got used to using the bidet and butt washer, I'm thinking it would be a pretty neat thing to market in the U.S.



When we learned that we would be having rice balls and miso soup for breakfast, we were a little skeptical that it would satisfy us. We were delighted to find that the rice balls (mixed with salmon, sesame seeds or tuna) were delicious with various pickled veggies and the miso soup and tea. It was more than enought to sustain us until lunch.



We liked the Japanese heading to their newspaper. "Without fear or favor..." Lovely!



At first we found the Japanese traffic lights rather daunting and confusing. The red light would be on but there would also be green arrows.... and several of them....what to do...what to do. Art must have nerves of steel. He got into the car and after turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal several times, he was on his way. My mother sat next to him and translated what the GPS system was saying.



We stopped for lunch in a town called Shimuzu that must have a lot of bears. We saw bears in the shops but none on the road.



After watching Art drive for a while, Dennis offered to give it a try. He was a real trooper... hmmmm... even more daring than Art I'd say. Mom has nerves of steel too, sitting next to him.



These arrows over the road helped us keep to the left side of the road.



My dinner tonight was fish eggs over rice and miso soup. Very nice but I was hungry again an hour later.

Today was a long day of driving. Tomorrow, we'll be on our way to Utoro!

Here are some fun differences we've noticed about Japan so far:
1. No taxes on things you buy so most things are round numbered and you pay the price listed.

2. No tipping. We especially like this one. You never have to wonder how much you should be tipping, you don't have to.

3. Toilet seat wipes are provided in many toilets. But then again, there are often no soap to wash your hands with and no paper towels to wipe your hands with.

4. The service people are extremely kind and solicitous. I really, really like this. This is very impressive. I wish it could be this way all around the world. It would make for a happier, kinder world.

5. Many cars have a boxy shape to them and the colors are usually white or black or muted.