A ten minutes drive away from our ryokan, travelling was hassle free..
The red mountain was very prominently perched high up, amidst clouds..
Smoke was puffing generously..

As usual, we became accustomed to the vending machines that were propped at the most unusual places or in the middle of nowhere =)

Bougt hot cocoa.

Then off to the ropeway ticketing counter..

And we chartered the whole cable ride to ourselves again =p

The clouds were low and the air was foggy.

Seemed like heaven..

The fifteen minutes short ride took us quickly to Mount Usu.

The ropeway carries visitors up to the top of Mt. Usuzan where two observation decks are located.

On the right side of the ropeway station, stands the Toya-ko Tenbodai (Lake Toya Observation Deck), from which you can command an excellent bird's-eye view of Lake Toya and Mt. Showa Shinzan.

Initially, the thick clouds hindered all views possible..

But then the sun rose high and some clouds cleared gradually.

From this platform, we saw a different angle of Showa Shinza and a partial Lake Toya..

It was indeed a piece of peaceful tranquility..

To the left of the station, located 300 metres away is a seven-minutes walk to Usu Kakogen Tenbodai (Usu Crater Basin Observation Deck) from which you can observe the largest crater basin in the area.

We climbed A LOT of steps and slopes..

We climbed Mount Usu =D

Slightly to the right of the Crater Observation deck, we saw a huge charcoal hole-like platform.

It seemed like the mouth of a volcano.

That, was one of the biggest Nishiyama crater created when Mount Usu erupted in year 2000.

Usuzan West Craters or 西山火口

Craters are circular depressions in the ground caused by volcanoic activities..

Or simply to say, when a volcano erupts and collapses to create a deep basin, a crater is formed.

When Mount Usu erupted the fourth time in year 2000, several new craters opened up on the west side of the mountain.
The west craters can be accessed from a 40 mins 1.1 km trail.
But too bad the trail is closed Early November to Mid April.
Hence we could only watch them emit smoke from a distance.

Then we saw few red cherry trees along the path to back to the ropeway..

They were a real red, yes, in this cold winter..

What a sight!

Perhaps of the red mountains and cherries, the contrasting sky in the background was painted a rich blue color.

This would be our second volcanic tour in Japan =)

Proceeded to the Showa Shinzan Volcano Village after the ropeway to experience the Eruption Chamber.
Sounds and images are simulated to allow visitors feel the power of magma welling up from deep inside Earth.

At the "Hokkaido Budoshu-kan (Hall of Wine)," famous wines from around the world as well as local beers are on sale.

We merely browsed through to see if there were plum wines..

The lifestyle here is so relaxed and peaceful that even the village cats are holy fat..

Next to the ropeway station..

Bought our tickets and we stepped into the dens =p

Look at how the "big bear" posed with his tickets..

LOL

There was a group of Hongkies who bought apples to feed the bears..

The fuji apples were bigger than our usual ones..

After having watched them feed the bears, we got really fascinated with the bears' behaviour.

Being solitary animals, they were not prideful to ignore food from the visitors.

They even waved and put their hands together to "beg" for food.

They looked cute in fact, very different from the impression we have on bears in the wild.

What smart animals they are, as they caught the apples using their mouths as the Hongkies threw it to them..

One half portion of the apple is already enough to fill a normal human being..

But the bears crunched them in one mouthful

And then gobbled in whole o.0

Vending machines were situated randomly in the park.

We bought some cookies from the machines.

But they were actually cookies for the bears =p

At least now we know what food they eat exactly =)

Here's a short clip on how a bear even turned himself upside down to secure food..

And the silly me threw a number of cookies to feed the big black crows instead..

There were two glass museums on the Toya trail..

One was the Gla-Gla glass cafe which the signs were everywhere but the museum was nowhere to be seen -,-

Showa Shinzan is the other one..

Glass is one of my favourite material..

Clean crystal clear and reflective, decorations are so easily made chic..

Stepping into the museum brought awe to us..

The museum cum shop was quiet with poise.

All the decorative creations were deftly made and maintained by the Japanese.
Define exquisite beauty and intricate innovations..

From glass accessories to tableware and chandeliers..

Every single corner, visitors are able to find something they like.
Thought I could buy something for daddy here..
But it ended up I could buy almost anything..

And Suki, this was also the place where I bought your chopsticks =)

One thing that we thought could wholesomely complete our day was to see how exactly glass was blown..

But the Showa Shinzan Glass House was more like an exhibitionist's hangout.

With this, shalt end our Showa Shinzan voyage..

On our way to Niseko, the GPS made us pass by the small family-oriented shop which sold the whitegrain dessert.

We popped in for lunch AND had a second patronage of the yummilicious dessert =p

I ordered the scallop ramen and he had croquette curry rice..

It was instant gratification!

And we still had not learnt our lessons..

The Japanese ramen serving is huge duh..

Scallops that came with the ramen in generous sizes were fresh and succulent..

The broth was a very concentrated mix.

Dear's serving saw a nicely sized croquette, very unlike those in SG.

Imagine a whole crispy croquette was actually enough to be the only side dish for a plate of Japanese rice.

The curry was quite spicy in fact.

And of course, the full meal did not hinder us from the desserts =D

After a sumptuous one, off to Niseko..

As we drew closer to the extreme northwestern area, we noticed the dip in temperature..

Unlike Lake Toya where snow had gradually been washed off, Niseko saw a thick pile of white..

Untouched snow everywhere..

On the fields, on the lodges' roof, beside the roads..

During the drive, somewhere in the horizon, we suddenly spotted a huge ski slope..
We got excited again =)

Situated near the Hilton Niseko Village and hotel.

There are three main ski slopes in Niseko.

Namely Annupuri, Hirafu and Higashiyama.

Our hotel is facing the Higashiyama slope =)

Reaching the ryokan cum hotel, the hotel front desk passed us some brochures on skiing..

Absolutely lost, we had no idea how to go about booking the ski sessions.

What to do, what equipment to rent, how the charges are like..

Back in the room, the view was awesome..

The ski grounds was just a glass window away..

And then we saw for the first time skiers passed our room at an amicable speed =D

As the skies turned dark, we went out into the cold to walk around.

It was only four plus then.

Some distance away from Green Leaf, we chanced on another glass shop.

Too bad again, the master who blew glass sticks had knocked off..

Else we could really experience how glass are being blown.

We could only settle for some DIY earrings.

I chose the green glass for the session.

This shop was very prettily decorated by the person running it.

As patrons were scarce, she merely spent her time doing up lovely and charming ornaments and conduct DIY sessions.

Outside, it was cold and drizzling again.

We felt a plunge in temperature and sensed more snow would approach the next day.

Snowfall approached us the next half hour =)

We tried to find food when it was 5 plus..

But alas, there was none in sight.

All the shops in Higashiyama were closed at 5pm..

And due to the lack of lamp posts, the streets were a pitch black.

Stranded with absolutely no food.

We could only settle for these, bought them at the hotel's snack shop.

During dinner, the Man United fan switched on the TV and was idly changing channels..

Then...

There was a live Man United match!!

The whole team was in Japan for the Toyota Cup..

Muahahaha..

The chips were just nice for a nice match.

What a night..

During half time,

I went to the open air hot spring bath while he remained stuck to the TV =p

Baths were not made of cypress wood..

They were rock baths =)

Slight snowflakes touched my face, while I immersed myself in sheer indulgence..

Couldnt wait for a brand new day the very next day.

A promising fun of heavy snowfall and injury-inflicting skiing =)

*****