Heartbeat of the earth, that’s how they are promoting this area, Toyako. Indeed you can see close up how the earth is continuously changing. And it makes you think.

I started the day taking a run along the lake. All the time I had the beautiful group of “sugar tops” visible, with Mt. Yotei in the background (which I’ve also seen from the other side when snowboarding in Niseko).

Once back after my run the time until check-out was spent in various hot tubs. Relaxing.

After checking out we stopped close by at the geopark with multiple geosites. One was a mountain created about 70 years ago, still steaming. Another was Mt. Usu with its various tops. The highest peak (Ousu) changed in 1977, it blew off in a big eruption. The latest eruption was in 2000. Hopefully nothing will happen while we are visiting.

On our way to the next ryokan/onsen we took a small road over the mountains instead of the express way. It was well worth the extra time it took, stunning views. And we encountered a fox sitting by the road, counting cars. As we slowed down (s)he approached us. We drove off. Even if we would like to bring her/him back with us we are not allowed to have pets at home, and not on the flight back either I think.

First thing we did at our destination was to have a look at the source of the hot water for the whole onsen area. We visited Hell Valley (地獄谷), and some other quite stinky and humid places.

Once we had inspected, and OKed the sources of hot water we checked in at our ryokan. And enjoyed the hot tub in our room, and the public ones too. Meditative.

At 5:30 pm we had a knock on the door in our dining area (yes, the room came with a dining area). The “maid” door opened and out came Kumi-san to serve us dinner. What a treat 🙂

Goodnight!