We picked up our rental car today complete with an Audrey Hepburnish-voiced GPS navigation system advising us to “take a break” when we drove for two hours without stopping. Yet another reason why we love Japan. The nicest rental car employee on the planet patiently guided us through our route and even calculated tolls for us! Our first stop was 1 1/2 hours southwest of Sapporo to Hokkaido’s most famous onsen, or hot spring, area — Noboribetsu. We headed straight for the source of the hot springs at Jigokudani, also known as Hell Valley, an area aptly named with its intense thermal activity. A volcano once erupted here, creating a caldera or depression, forming the surrounding environment, which makes you feel like you just landed on Mars.
The water here is heavy with sulfur deposits, lining the bottom of the streams and giving the water a milky white appearance. We hiked through the rain to the Oyunuma River foot bath to bury our feet in the hot volcanic soil and soak our legs in the spring water (up to 130 deg F in some parts). I only wish I could run a pipe between this spring and our home to access this magical water that made Jules’ ridiculously stinky feet smell like roses. I’m serious. The kid’s feet smelled like roses! What miracle is this?!?
After being soaked by both the rain and sulfurous water from heaven it was nice to retreat to our toasty country rental and change to dry clothes for dinner at a local mom and pop restaurant serving up super fresh sashimi. I’m happy to report that this is where Jules ate his first sashimi ever. I think it must be a bit of an acquired taste, but I’m glad he tried.
We munched on some pastries from a local bakery while driving to Lake Toya Ranch the next morning for Jules’ first horseback riding excursion. The weather gods, or demons in the case of Noboribetsu, must have heard my prayers, since the rain that started in the morning stopped as soon as we pulled into the ranch and started again once we got back into the car after the riding tour. After his first encounter with a pony at four years old, which ended in tears, I wanted Jules’ first horseback riding experience to be a happy one. Our guide was sweet and funny, and he walked alongside Jules the entire time, which helped a lot. Our even-tempered and incredibly responsive horses were the healthiest trail horses Philip and I have ever seen. They led us into the forest and up a hillside where we caught stunning views of Lake Toya, the location of the G8 summit in 2008.
After a very successful first horseback ride for Jules we headed to Boyotei for a tasty lunch of its delicious hamburg steak, spaghetti and beef stew. The rustic interior built with reclaimed local birch trees made us feel nice and cozy.
All refueled we took a ‘castle’ boat on Lake Toya to one of the nature reserve islands in its center, Nakajima Island. Besides one other couple we were the only visitors on the entire island! It felt very tranquil and slightly eerie all at the same time. I never thought I’d look forward to seeing a castle boat, but I have to admit that once the thunder started I was happy to see the castle boat coming back to pick us up.
We took our rental host’s advice for a dinner spot (he had recommended the delicious sashimi restaurant the night before) and headed to IO Aris for a warming dinner of soup curry while watching the waves of the Pacific crash in front of us.
