Lakes & Volcanoes

After arriving at Sapporo station and some confusion about where the bus was located that we needed to take to our hostel, Lynsey & I decided to just take a taxi over to it. It was dinnertime and we still had to plan out exactly what we were going to do with our time on the island of Hokkaido. On the way to our guesthouse, Lynsey warned me that some of the reviews the hostel had not been stellar. It was definitely a different set up than anything I’ve ever experienced in a hostel. It wasn’t my favorite, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. We had booked ourselves in a female only dorm, but it had the male and female showers in our room. Like I said, a different set up. We decided that we would do as much as possible during the day to spend as little time there as possible and to be so tired that we would fall asleep quickly on the hard beds.

To get a game plan together, we went in search of dinner. We ended up at an Okonimiyaki restaurant. It was different from the set up in Hiroshima because individual tables had griddles, & the servers brought you the ingredients to cook your own. We ended up getting something that came pre-cooked that they slid onto our hot griddle. It was some type of stir-fried noodles with veggies that came in the shape of a pancake. It was good.

We decided at dinner that we were not going to hang around Sapporo as it didn’t seem like it held that many things that would truly interest us. Our first full day in Sapporo found us catching a two-hour train South to Lake Toya Onsen. There were volcanoes, lakes, and hiking. We thought it sounded right up our alley. Upon getting to the JR station, we hopped on a bus and found our way to the Tourist Information Center to get some maps and advice.

What was left of a bridge. 

There were plenty of different hiking and walking trails to choose from, so we went with the Konpira Memorial Trail and Nishiyama Course. The first allowed us to walk through an area that had been destroyed during a volcanic eruption. It allowed us to see bridges, buildings, roads, and the plan engineers have come up with to divert or slow down mudflow for future eruptions. It was really interesting to read the explanations of the types of dams, gates, and pathways they’ve created in order to control the outcome of the inevitable.

 

Crater on the mountain.

Walking around the residential and public buildings was also fascinating but sad to see. I’m not sure if many people were injured or killed as none of the signage stated this information, but I think they had enough advance warning that something was going to happen that not many people were still around. It was pretty amazing to see the power of the mudflow from the volcano. We passed a bridge that had been swept away and deposited between a public bathhouse and apartment building. The first floors of the buildings we passed were filled about halfway up with dirt. The city decided to let natural vegetation grow to see how the landscape developed after an eruption. They also left the building as a reminder to the power of Mother Nature.

After we finished with the Konpira Memorial Trail, the trail turned a little more challenging and took us through the lower part of the mountainside and by some craters that had formed during the 2000 eruption. Before the eruption there had been buildings on part of the mountainside. Some of them are now buried under new cones that were formed while the volcano was erupting.

There was a lot of great signage as we walked the trail that explained how the volcano happened, what formed as a result, what used to be in the vicinity, and how the region has prepared for future disasters. It was rather surreal to be walking along, read about a major highway that was there, and look around to see the pavement and light poles partially hidden by vegetation.

Cookie factory smokestack.

The Nishiyama Course took us to the summit of the Shinzan Mountain that was created during the 2000 volcanic eruptions. It was uplifted 246 feet by a hidden lava dome. I found this area particularly interesting as it was filled with craters, new mountains, fault lines, and partially buried or completely buried buildings. There had been a cookie factory in the area, but all that was left was a smokestack sticking out of the mountainside.

The last part of the trail took us by a kindergarten school that had been severely damaged. Luckily, no children or staff were present when the volcano erupted, but it was a little eerie to walk around and see a rusted out bus, playground equipment, and building with gaping holes in the sides and vegetation taking over.

To end our time in Lake Toya Onsen, we treated ourselves to a late lunch and a dip in an Onsen at a hotel. Since Lynsey had visited one with Danna, she knew the rules and filled me in. In some ways it was similar to Iceland as there was a dressing room and shower area where you had to wash before going in. However, this is where the similarities ended. They were gender based, had different pool options, and were completely nude. It was a little odd to be hanging out in the buff, but the hot water felt great on my sore feet and legs, so I quickly got over it.