Encountering the Mythical Lakes: Lake Akan and On'netoh

Details to be updated soon!

Five More Lakes Down! : Abashiri and Akan Areas

Such a lucky day it was.
We managed to conquer the record five lakes today!


⑳ Lake Abashiri （網走湖） in the morning light



Lake Abashiri, our first target of the day, was quite easy as it was only 10-minute drive away from our hotel.   



Yes, drive.



This time we had a car and a driver, and it made all the difference. Travelling in Hokkaido without a car is just a waste of time unless that's what you intended, or maybe that's actually the case for almost all the scenic places around the world. I guess I'm too used to living in Tokyo that I never felt the need for a car.

Ace kick-skating by the Lake Abashiri (Not a pose!)





Tarzan-ing by the ㉑Lake Notoro （能取湖）



Anyways, we started off from Lake Abashiri, went on to Lake Notoro, and then all of a sudden, our driver/guest participant Mr. T noticed a lake-looking object on his navigation system.

Why, BRING IT ON.



It reads, "Riyaushi River"...a hint so unreliable.

Change of plans, we say, and that's what Ace and I are both so good at.



We started looking for the lake that only appears on the navigation system, and we kept on searching for a good hour straying in and out of some farms (personal property, yes) until we decided we should give it up and get going.

And that's when we took our last chance and tried a road that seemed like leading to the right direction.

There we found it, the hidden Lake Riyaushi.

Man, were we happy.





Could it be...?





Oh no, this must be...





YEEEESSS!!! Lake Riyaushi unveiled!



㉒ Lake Riyaushi （リヤウシ湖） down!!

Finding Riyaushi was the day's most adventurous, the most grandeur goes to Lake Kussharo, and the most fantastic was Lake Mashu.


㉓ Lake Kussharo （屈斜路湖）, simply magnificent.



Lake Kussharo down!

  

At the top of the world.

  

Sunset at the Lake Kussharo



We enjoyed the greatest view of the Lake Kussharo against a backdrop of a gorgeous blue sky (and that, of course, led to our shooting jumping photos) and also in the sunset.  

   

Next Lake Mashu, a caldera lake famous for always being foggy, was unfortunately not foggy at all but stood in a solemn night's blue.

It's told that a person (especially a girl) is unlucky if Lake Mashu was unfoggy when s/he first saw it, for some mystical reasons, but I'd say we were so lucky to see it so clearly.
The very sight of the lake was magical enough to me.



㉔ Lake Mashu （摩周湖）

After the Lake Mashu, we went on to Lake Akan to stay for the night.

Marimo, a moss ball

It was too dark to see the lake, but we kept on being lucky until the very end of the day: there was a big festival (Marimo Festival) held by the native Ainu people gathered from all over Hokkaido.

Ainu's Marimo Festival:
Totem Poles similar to those of Northwestern Native Americans

We saw a few hundred people marching with a torch in their hands, listened to the Ainu singing and dancing, and I even ran into a famous Egyptologist, Professor Sakuji Yoshimura.

Five lakes down and 5,000 yen donated through JustGiving!

- Hero


Straightest road, so Hokkaido!



A wild fox, so Hokkaido!



Blue beer...so Hokkaido?



それでは詳細です！

なんと本日は初！！1日で5湖沼制覇という大きな偉業をなしとげました、われわれ！

では早速写真を拝見あれ～。

⑳網走湖 (Lake Abashiri)

本日１湖目は網走湖！

網走湖の形をした看板を発見！

早朝からツーリングの方々失笑を背に、
スクーターで風を切って、
さあ　本日もつっぱしるぞー。


広々として、気持ち良いモーニング！
天候も、昨日から引き続きの晴れ。

空気が気持ち良い～。




そしてお次はこちら。能取（のとろ）湖です。

㉑能取湖 (Lake Notoro)

つづいて、捜索すること１、2時間？！
やっと出会えた秘湖は、こちら！

㉒リヤウシ湖（Lake Riyaushi)



勢いにのって、美幌峠へ！
車内では一睡だってしないで、頑張る・・なんてのは到底無理で。
運転手さんのお言葉に甘えて、
Hero もAceも　うつらうつら
m(_ _)mゲストなのに、こき使って、すみません～

美幌峠よりのぞむ屈斜路湖

 ㉓ Lake Kussharo （屈斜路湖）


圧巻！！

 恒例の・・・

 Jumping photo!


どこぞやで、数１００回飛んだ甲斐あり、
本日は１人２回ずつでこのショット！
何事も無駄ではないのだ。


そして屈斜路湖の湖畔からも。

 HEROs (^^)v




そして本日最終湖は・・・

１粒も霧のかからない、晴れ渡る　摩周湖！でした～

 ㉔摩周湖 Lake Mashu

摩周湖と霧の言い伝え、ご存じでしょうか。

気にしない、気にしない。人生は自分で切り開いていくもの。と信じて。


そろそろ湖面に月が写りますよ、といわれ
しばし待つ。

とても素敵な夜の湖面がみれました～。

- Ace

The Third Largest Lake in Japan: Lake Saroma

Lake Saroma, Japan's third largest lake down!

Details to be followed.

Meeting the World Heritage: Eighth Adventure in Shiretoko

Project 29はついに北海道へ！

一人でフィンランドの湖を制してきたAceに負けてはいられないと、わたくしHeroもおひとり様冒険を敢行。Aceより２日早く北海道入りし、初日は移動と趣味（道立北方民族博物館）に費やし、二日目は北海道が誇る世界遺産、知床半島へと向かいました。


バス車内からのオホーツク海！



10月7日金曜はあいにくの雨模様で、宿で教えてもらった「ヒッチハイクまたはマウンテンバイク」という移動手段も実現困難に。残念至極だけど、なんくるないさー。

何はともあれ行動あるのみ。
噂に違わず地平線までまーっすぐ伸びる道路に感心しながら、バスで知床五湖へ。


ヒグマもシカも
いつひょっこり出てくるか・・・



知床五湖では、当然、五湖すべてを巡るコースを選択。そのために必須となる対ヒグマ講習を受け、いざ出陣。

講習ビデオでやってたように、時々「ホイホイ♪」と声を上げて、こちらの存在をヒグマに伝える。直近１カ月で６回の目撃情報があるらしく、“万が一”を想像して足取りも慎重になる。



五湖 "Lake Five"

五湖すべてをまわるルートは、約3km。ゆったり歩いて1.5時間のコースだ。

四湖 "Lake Four"

しかし途中で、草木の色合いに感嘆し、悪魔的な倒木の根っこに立ち止まり、クマの寝床になったと思われる木のうろを覗き、もちろん湖に着くたびに浮かれて写真を撮り、何だかんだで五湖すべてを廻りきるのに2時間以上かけてしまった。



三湖 "Lake Three"



 この湖畔の遊歩道が、湖の周りをなぞるようにしっかりまわらせてくれるところが気に入った（特に三湖）。湖を眺められるスポットがところどころにあるだけでは、ちょっと味気ない。

電圧柵付きの高架歩道を設けてある一湖は指定の展望台からしか望めないが、唯一開けたところにある一湖ならではのパノラマが美しい。

散策の間、雨が上がることはなく、山々や湖の向こう側には常にもやがかかっていた。しかしそれすら幻想的な美しさで、「これもこれでラッキー♪」と思えた。いつか、突き抜けるような青い青い空の季節に、また訪れたいと思う。

⑱知床五湖　Shiretoko Goko Lakes

So it's my turn to take on a sole adventure!

Just as Ace took our Project to Finland, I brought it to Shiretoko, the World Natural Heritage on the big island of Hokkaido.

My target was Shiretoko Goko ("Five Lakes"), and coincidentally enough, it was a walk in the cold rain just like when we visited the Fuji Five Lakes.

Venturing into the bear domain



There are two routes you can choose from to go viewing the Lakes: the safer and shorter Route A, and the potentially dangerous and longer Route B.

I took the latter, of course, because there's no way I (and Ace, if we had come together) would be satisfied just going to see the Lakes One and Two, when there is another route that takes you into the wild woods to go around all the Five Lakes.

Devilish root of a fallen tree

(Hey, I didn't buy a pair of brand-new trekking shoes for nothing, and I certainly did not go all the way down to Shiretoko in the feezing rain just to touch the surface of it.)

I was, I must admit, a bit scared after watching a video showing what I should do when I encountered a brown bear and braving myself into the woods all by myself with only a plastic umbrella in my hand.

So I did what I could do to prevent any unwelcome encounter: paying close attention to all directions, raising my voice saying "Hoy hoy" to let them know I'm here, and singing aloud in the rain (Not sure if Stand By Me was the best choice in that situation though).

A baby deer in the woods

Yon-ko "Lake Four"

Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet the bear family, but I caught a sight of a doe and a bambi just off the trail.

Mists hanging low, trees starting to turn into autumn colors, and everything was so calm.

At this time of the day on a normal Friday, I would be taking calls, checking expense sheets and whatnot, hoping to finish before 6, and looking forward to the weekend. It was almost surreal how such a normal Friday seemed like someone else's.

Ni-ko "Lake Two" 



The Ichi-ko, or the Lake One, is the only lake that's in the open field, and has a wooden boardwalk for those who chose the shorter route.  

For a few moment, as I was looking into far far away, I imagined the native Ainu people hunting down a bear or walking through the field. Oh how melancholy I was. 

Ichi-ko "Lake One," with misty mountains and the boardwalk

There you have it

And um...I had to have some kind of meat because that's the rule in this Project, and the only meat dish they had was a deer hamburger so...yea.



The Shiretoko Five Lakes down, and 1,000 yen donated for the relief of tsunami-affected people through JustGiving!

- Hero