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

Lake Suwa in Nagano

それでは、Heroに代わり、わたくしAceがちょっくら更新してみます！

さて、18日日曜日我々が向かったのは長野県、諏訪湖。

「かりん」の木。沢山の実が！・・・毛虫も（ＴＴ）！

絶好のキックスクーター日和！
連休の影響か、道がこんでてバスが予定よりも2時間以上も遅れてしまったが、
そんなことも、我々の士気をさげるにはおよばない！

16㎞ほどで周回できるということで、
今回は、プロジェクト29初（？）の『湖1周』に挑戦だ！

やっと半周～

あと1/4！足湯で疲れを癒しつつ・・・

「ザ・キックスクーターズ」

 そして、ついに！！！

⑰諏訪湖 (Lake Suwa)


1周達成～！！！！！

帰りのバスの時間まで、かなりぎりぎりの時間でとうちゃく。
肉（29)は食べたものの、残念ながら信州のお蕎麦は・・・

そして帰りはまたまた渋滞（ＴＴ）

でもほんとうに、今日もいい日でした！

-ACE




This was another perfect day for our memorable adventure!
We set out a bit late, as our long-distance bus was falling behind the schedule due to heavy traffic jam. The jam dragged until late into the night, and we ended up spending total of 8 hours on a bus.


A heart-shaped ski slope on a distant mountain


In any case, despite our limited time in Nagano, we managed, for the very first time, to kick-skate around the lake.

Yes, you heard me right.

This was the FIRST time we ever went around the whole lake, and let me tell you, it was a tough work (at least for me).

(Sure it's only 16 km or 10 miles, but mind you, kick-skater is so NOT the most favorable and effective means of transportation :P)



Lake Suwa has a perfectly kept walking/cycling road along the lake shore, and there are museums and hot springs and, of course, swan boats for everyone to enjoy.

The weather was great and our conditions fabulous, but there were a couple of unexpected drawbacks to dashing through the lakeside cycling road: the fat and hairy suicidal worms and jogger-friendly cushion road.

About a fourth of the whole road happened to be the Worm Paradise where, for some mysterious reasons, the little, white, hairy creatures were risking their lives to cross the cycling road.
Some were resting in the middle of the road, others slowly moving forward like any worm would, and a few were running at the speed of light. It reminded me of the newborn turtles heading for the ocean, except those worms were moving in every direction possible.

Ace was screaming like crazy, and that actually helped me calm down a bit. It's a sort of well-documented human psychology, I assume.



Mt. Fuji faintly visible in a far far distance

And the cushion road was so evil.
I believe the lakeside road was paved so as to absorb the shock and help protecting joggers' knees, but that was just a pain in the you-know-what. Simply uncalled for. We were kicking the ground in vain, and our skaters didn't go as swiftly as it should.

All in all, we enjoyed our three-hour ride around the Lake, which was rewarded with a foot bath and the gorgeous sunset.
  

Sunset at the Lake Suwa


We came back to Tokyo a bit past 11 pm.

Lake Suwa, our 17th target, down.

Our next adventure will be a few-day trip to Hokkaido, the big island up in the north!

- Hero 



Visiting a lake in Finland! -(2)

Voi etta, aika kuluu niin nopeasti!
Kohta me lahdemme taas toiseen jarveen, ja en viela saanut aikaa kirjoittaa 16th jarvesta!

もう次の湖への旅が始まるというのに、まだ更新してませんでした！
16湖目は、前回に引き続き、フィンランドです。

Kuudestoista jarvi on siis suomalainen jarvi, nimeltaan "Salmenjarvi".
Virtasalmessa oleva minun suomalaisen "mummola", ja se jarvi on sielta!

「サルメンヤルビ」とう名の湖。フィンランドのミッケリ市の近くの
ビルタサルミ村にあります。
私、ACEの第2の故郷であるフィンランドの「おばあちゃんの家」がある村です。



Went to fishing with my finnish best "Friend" :D


vesi oli aika lammin, ja venessa oli korjattu moottori,
mutta kaloa ei yhtaan;( Mutta silti, jarvi oli kaunis, ja olipa oikein mkava hetki!!!

船には、ちょうど修理したばかりのモーターをつんで、いざ出発！
魚は採れなかったものの、湖は相変わらずきれいで、ほんと
良い時間でした。



⑯Salmenjarvi(Salmi-lake) in Finland!

 最後におまけ。
"おばあちゃんの家"の目の前の景色です！あいにくの雨天でしたが、
天気がよいと、もっと空がきれいで、森や畑が広々としていて、ほんとに素敵な場所なんです。



初めて会ったときは3歳だった「弟」のバイクで湖まで！感慨深いです。



Kiitos kaikille, kalareissukavereille1:)

-Ace

Visiting a lake in Finland ! - (1)

Terveisia suomesta!!
Itse asiassa olen jo tullut kotiin, siis japaniin mutta tanaan kerron vahan
minun kesalomastani, siis suomen jarvesta!


15.Elokuuta kavin "Vesijarvi", olipa kaunis ilta!
Aurinko paistaa ja kalola tuli :D Monta ahventa ja ehka yksi kuha...


Jarvi oli kaunis ja kala oli hyva, siis nautin suomen kesasta!!
Kuvassa on minun suomalainen perhe kaveriksi: muikku!!




⑮Vesijarvi


ついに日本を飛び出てしまいました！！！
行先は私の第2の故郷ともいえる：フィンランド！

フィンランド、といえば「湖」。
そうです、今回はフィンランドからの中継・・・
といいたいところですが、すでに帰国しておりますので、
「報告」です。

フィンランド1つ目の湖は、「Vesijarvi」です。直訳すると、「水の湖」
そのまんま！

でも大きくて、空気はすんでるし、魚は採れるし。
フィンランドの過ぎ去りつつある夏にぎりぎりセーフで
すべりこみ、満喫！

いつもお世話になっている家族の方と一緒に、
はいチーズ。

星15こ目だ！！

-ACE


In August, Team Project 29 didn't get to go anywhere. Sigh.
One, because Hero had to study for an exam; and two, because Ace was going away to spend a week in Finland. So naturally, Ace took on a solo project this time, and visited a couple of lakes while in Finland.
(From what I heard, though, it's not that Ace actually made time to "visit" the lakes. Lakes are everywhere in Finland, and even if it weren't for the Project, Ace would've gone fishing in the lakes everyday anyways. :P)

Our 15th lake is called Vesijarvi, and the literal translation would be...(drum roll)...Yes, it's the one and only "WATER LAKE"!!
Yup. No doubt.

Way to go, Ace!

- Hero