11/02/2020 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Lake Toro, Onnenai Visitor Centre at Kushiro Wetland 　塘路湖、釧路湿原

June 2019, Takkobu Auto Camp A good night at Takkobu Auto Camp. This is an excellent campsite with good cooking facilities but nothing fancy. In the morning, when we emerge, we are virtually alone. All the other campers have left. The weather is still murky but not actually raining. A chill wind is blowing. Early in the morning, the sky was alive with swallows and swifts. By the time we leave however only a few stray birds are still swooping about. Over the speaker system comes an announcement that a bear has been sighted in some area. The police, local officials and hunters are searching for it. Please be careful. […]

09/02/2020 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Cape Kiritappu, Tsuruimura　霧多布岬、鶴居村

June 2019, Kiritappu A cold, grey, cloudy morning but no real rain. Our plan is to visit Kiritappu. Due to the weather, we avoided the campsite for last night but still want to revisit this headland. On our way to Kiritappu, we spot several deer on a hillside and a very pretty young fox on the road ahead. This small fox abandons the middle of the road at our approach and hides under the large Fuki leaves on the verge. We can see its nose and bright eyes as we crawl past. We stop at Akkeshi Gourmet michi no eki which is apparently famous for its food – number one […]

30/01/2020 / Last updated : 19/03/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Wakkanai to Asahikawa, Scenic Drive　　稚内から旭川

June 2019, Cold and windy night in Wakkanai, but warm enough in the car. By morning, the breeze is still chilly but the clouds are breaking up and the sun is making the effort to break through. By the time we are ready to leave, it is a warm, sunny day. Sarobetsu wetland by Ororon line We take the coast road – Ororon line (R.232) back towards Sarobetsu. This is a great road, following the coast with splendid views of Mt. Rishiri and with flowers busting through the sasa on either side. As we head south, we can see the array of wind turbines standing tall and hazy in the […]

06/01/2020 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Shosanbetsu, Sarobetsu and Lake Kutcharo　初山別、サロベツ

June 2019, Shosanbetsu – michi no eki, Onsen and Campsite Cloudy morning and quite cold in Shosanbetsu. This is a good place to stay either down by the onsen hotel or up on the headland by the observatory and camp site. From the headland there are wonderful sea views and a choice of campsites. The onsen has left no particular impression, though I have been there twice. It is definitely not bad, I would have remembered that. We spend time watching a couple of hares that are not so timid, so it is possible to get fairly close to them. Ororon Line, Otonrui Wind turbines　オロロン・ライン From Shosanbetsu we stop at […]

06/07/2019 / Last updated : 31/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hiking on Mt. Tateyama　立山

October 2017, When we get up around am 6.45, after a very wet night, it is overcast but dry and much brighter over Mt. Tateyama. After our usual breakfast, we walk 5 minutes to Tateyama station and buy round trip cable car and bus tickets. We wait, only about 10 minutes, and board the cable car at 8. 30am. As some bus groups have already arrived, it is fairly busy. Hiking Tateyama The cable car ride takes only 7 minutes and, after another short wait, we are riding a bus to Murodo. By now, the sun has strengthened and the morning is clear and bright. Mt. Tateyama stands out, starkly, […]

08/01/2019 / Last updated : 22/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Oze wetland hiking　尾瀬

Summer 2018, Hatomachi Touge　鳩待峠 From michi-no-eki Shirasawa, we drive to Hatomachi touge (Pass) to begin our walk. The road, to the trail entrance, is open so we don’t need to take the expected shuttle bus but pay the unexpected 2500 yen parking fee. We have to wait about 15 minutes for a parking space. The attendant assures us one will soon become vacant. How he knows this is a mystery. A bluff based on experience? While we wait, we watch a construction company helicopter take off, perhaps 20 meters from us. We are advised to close all windows as the construction workers hose down the area to lay the dust. […]

02/01/2019 / Last updated : 06/11/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hiking to Ozenuma, Byobuiwa and Hinoemata Kabuki　尾瀬沼、檜枝岐村

Summer 2018, Ozenuma is our destination for today. We leave michi-no-eki Kirara 289 around 9am. It is a place I can recommend, with an adequate onsen, modern toilets plus, steps down to a picnic area, by a small river, that no one seems to notice and is sadly becoming overgrown. Byobuiwa　屏風岩 On our way to Oze National Park, or perhaps in it we stop, by chance, at Byobuiwa. Here is a splendid rushing ,rocky stream set against a sheer rock face precariously supporting quite large pines. A place well worth stopping to see. A hour or so later we reach Miike, where it is necessary to park and take a […]

19/12/2018 / Last updated : 16/03/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Nikko, Senjogahara hiking　日光

Day 61, November 2016, The morning is cold in michi-no-eki Nikko. There is ice on the windscreen for the first time. The michi-no-eki (road station) is not very large but very busy as people visit the toilet and the convenience store. Toshogu, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is time for us to pay our respects to Tokugawa Ieyasu, so we head out to his shrine, Toshogu. This shrine, where Tokugawa Ieyasu was enshrined as a god, was re-constructed in 1636 by his grandson the third Tokugawa shogun. We have some trouble finding the car park but, eventually, walk to the shrine. The entrance fee is an exorbitant 1300 yen, especially as most […]