The Insignificance and Vulnerability of Simplicity

Tuesday, December 30

A brand new day awaited us..

And he was never a morning person.
Look at his sleepy face..

LOL

With packed events ahead, our only worry was insufficent time.
Perhaps my itinerary was a lil too ambitious for the short daytime in Hokkaido..

Had breakfast at the same dining area in our yukata..
It seemed as if the two of us chose all the western food for breakfast..
Cos we cant really get used to eating rice in the morning..

Stepped out into the chilly wilderness and and into the forested trail..
The view was awesome in bright daylight!
Pure white was everywhere and the endowment of snow left us very very speechless.
The last time I went hiking was fourteen years back..
Loved every part of the nature then..

What more can I say with the addition of snow this time round =)

The whole place smelt of heavy sulphur, somewhat similar to that of sewage drains..
This, is Noboribestu Onsen, the hot thermal ground.

Noboribetsu Onsen or 登别温泉

Finally took a proper picture of the signatory blueish statue at the beginning of the trail..
Wasnt in a proper mind to do so the previous day after the fall..
From afar, we could see thick trail of fog caused by the confrontation of the heat from the ground and the snow piled on from the top.

Without proper gears and footwear, the trail was a very slippery one...

Then we saw the natural foot bath which you could sit by the banks and soak your legs in.

In the midst of snapping pictures when dear suddenly disappeared to the fascination of the footbath..
He went to test the temperature of the waters..
They were warm indeed!
Was very tempted to soak our legs in but later decided against it as we wouldnt want to risk freezing our feet after taking them out.

Along the way we saw pretty leaves adorned with snowflakes, tall tree branches held some pure, wooden logs were half dipped in white..
Next to these were young small icicles on pieces of rock that didnt seem to belong to its surrounding and yet added a kind of geographical poise to all.

Every detail was a piece of drawing..
So fairy-tale alike..

Came to the Oyunuma river which we walked with a lot of caution..
Nature has not been disturbed much to our delight, just that there is a high risk of tumbling into the river beside the narrow snow path.
The river emitted some sort of a holy mist..
So breathtaking..

Next to the small rapids in the river were rocks that had a strange red color..
And the flow of water was the only welcoming sound that broke the silence within the vicinity..

All at the same time..
We saw snow, the colored rocks, beautiful green growth and the mist to top it all..

Gosh..
As if nature heard us, we came to Taishou Jigoku..

Taishou Jigoku or 大正地狱

A marsh that changes color every now and then.
Too bad the area was cordoned off..

Adapted from the signboard that introduces this place:

"The hot water that fills the Taishou Jigoku marsh sometimes drains away.
The new hot water that floods into the marsh is clear at first, then it gradually changes color to blue white pink and black.
This process is due to the changes in the ingredients of the hot water."

After rounds and rounds of trekking and navigating in the wild, we finally found a refuge..

The Noboribetsu Park Centre

Again, the colorful vending machines were the first conspicuous things we saw inside this small little hut.
Half frosted, we coined in for some hot drinks to get the blood flowing..
I had noticed that the toilets in Japan had various cute signs to differentiate ladies and gentlemen..
Themed creativity is vehement, even for the restrooms..

We saw a number of tour buses around the vicinity.
Somewhere inside me, I was glad that we were not confined to a half an hour for this place..
This, is the beatuy of free and easy travelling..

Jigokudani or 地狱谷

This, was the second place for the same day that took our breath away..
A crater that is so majestically wrecked..
So richly filled with fossil deposits..
So artfully merged into the blue skies as a picturesque landscape
The sun was there to emphasise all..
And the abundance of snow garnished the jagged edges well and kept the temperatures low..
The Hell Valley lived up to its name indeed with smoke emerging from various places under the ground..

From the Noboribetsu guide:

A Hokkaido Heritage site
Jigoku dani, or Hell Valley is in reality an explosion crater and the remnant of an active volcano known as Kasayama that erupted nearly 10,000 years ago.
Encompassing an area of 11 ha gas and steam vents and pools of boiling water can be found in numerous places throughout the valley, giving this boiling, bubbling landscape the nickname,
"The Inferno where demons dwell”

Spend our time without much constraints,
Slowly taking in the scene, the sight, the spectacular..
Simply refreshing..

Here's a short clip on Jigoku Dani, on the same trail that leads to the 80 degrees celsius Tessen Ike..

After Tessen Ike (pond), we went back to the park centre for another break before heading back to the hotel..

And that ice cream vending machine kept beckoning to us..
We gave in..

Marine Park Nixe was our next destination..
The main aim was to catch the penguin parade..

The ferris wheel was the first to greet us at the carpark..
Again, the blue sky was very prominent.
In the middle of the field, snow was clearly untounched.
Very tempted to jump and sprawl flat on the seemingly thick fluffy snow..

We ended catching all the animal shows in a marathon manner =)
After the seals and the dolphins show, finally the Penguin Parade.

Surprisingly the penguins were all tall and lanky..
Yea only the brown baby was fat =p
The penguins would stop for the patrons beside the paths to allow them to snap pictures.

LOL

Three other adult penguins surrounded the baby like escorts would.

Damn cute.

The marine park is similar to our own underwater world.
Except the colors in the Nobo marine park was much more vibrant.
And there were more interesting species on showcase.
The different exhibition storeys in Marine Park Nixe had interesting infrastructures.
Slopes were made in a swirled manner surrounding the tower.
There were no stairs except for the emergency exits.

At the end of the day, popped into one lil dining place within the park.
All single-handedly run by an old friendly uncle.
We ate ice cream again

For lunch =p
And the chicken karaage was fabulous.
No pics here, cos my second camera battery lost charge -,-

I love Noboribetsu..

*****

irony @

11:25 PM