After very busy day I managed to complete my work, submit time report and be out of the office by 16:05. I ran to the Futakotamagawa train station, ran to change train in Jiyugaoka and ran 500 m to reach the Narita Express platform at the Musashi-Kosugi station 4 min before departure. Phew. That was close.
Chie join me on Narita Express from Shinagawa station. So now we are both on our way to Kauai.
Chie and I spent a few days on vacation at the Gyokuhokan ryokan. We enjoyed hot baths in natural hot spring water, wonderful food and relaxing environment.
Started out the day with a run through Hell Valley, up the mountain visiting a few tourist stops and back again. Almost no people so early in the morning.
Back at te ryokan I showered and marinated in sulfuric water until my soar muscles became jelly. Then it was time for breakfast.
The rest of the day we spent relaxing in our room or in a hot tub. My favorite place was in the onsen on the 5th floor, just under the roof top. Very relaxing.
But the outdoor bath in the garden was pretty nice too. Next to the pond I was soaking in were some really tasty looking fishes. Maybe dinner?
Dinner was, again, superb. And big. After this much work we desrve a good night’s sleep 😉
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ç„è°·), 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!
Started out early, just like any other weekday. However, our destination was Toyako, via Haneda, a 1.5 hour’s flight and another 1.5 hour’s drive by rental car.
Arriving at Toyako we were met by a stunning view of a roundish crater created 110,000 years ago with a group of vulcano tops covered in green in the middle (created merely 50,000 years ago). after checking in we spent the rest of te day taking in the scenary from various places, like the roof top onsen.
In the evening, after a 10 course dinner, we enjoyed fireworks over the lake from the hot tub in our room. And fell happily to sleep.