Today's post will be a bit shorter (whew!), both so I can get a bit of a breather this weekend and so I can save some good material for later in the week. Wednesday I spent a good deal of time talking about my trip to Sapporo for Golden Week. At the end of my stay, on Saturday, I took a day trip with Leo and Shih-Ming to the Toya-ko (Lake Toya) area. The main attraction for me was the famed Usu-zan (Mt. Usu), an active volcano whose last eruption was as recent as 2000.
The three of us left "Ino's Place," the backpacker's hostel where we were staying in Sapporo at 7:00am and took the subway to the Sapporo JR Station. We took a bus from Sapporo station all the way to Toya-ko. The drive was scheduled to be about three hours, but because of heavy traffic on the way, we didn't arrive until around noon (a four hour trip). I was a bit tiffed, as this meant less time to look around, but I couldn't do much about it.
The Toya-ko region is a bit higher in elevation than Sapporo, and there was ample snow to be seen on the way to the large lake, despite it being about 70F and a perfectly sunny day. We also had a spectacular view of Yotei-san (Mt. Yotei), one of the mountains in the Shkotsu-Toya National Park:
Snow!?
Yotei-san.Anyway we finally arrived to absolutely perfect weather and a beautiful view of the immense lake. First, a few words about the area. The region is named after the immense caldera lake (Toya) at its center. It is part of the greater Shikotsu-Toya National Park, and features many hiking trails and opportunities to enjoy the natural Hokkaido landscape. It is also rather close to Chitose Airport, the largest airport in Hokkaido. In the center of Toya-ko is a very large island with two smaller islands just to the side. You can take a ferry around the lake, as well as take a stop on the island and hike around its high and forested hills. There are also numerous smaller boats (motor and paddle) which you can rent to enjoy the lake at your leisure. In addition, Toya-ko is home to Usu-zan and the very young Showashin-zan (Mt. Showashin). The area is rich in volcanic and (therefore) seismic activity, and it was here that many of the now-standard techniques in eruption monitoring and predicting were developed. Japan is hosting this year's G8 summit (link) and because a major topic of the meeting will be sustainability/green economics, Toya-ko was chosen as the meeting site. The bus terminal was under intense renovation in preparation for the summit.
A ferry giving a tour of Toya-ko.
Lake Toya.
After visiting the tourist information center, we made our way to the Volcano Science Museum, which I thought would be an excellent way to start our visit to the region. The building houses both the Volcano Science museum as well as the Toya-ko Information center, which has a lot of information and displays about the natural landscape of the Toya-ko region. I was as excited as a school child as I hopped from one display to another, trying to decipher the mostly Japanese information cards and totally engrossed with all the information.
It was when we finally entered the Volcano Science Museum that I really became like a small child. The museum is pretty small, and dedicated mostly to the history and geology of Usu-zan, but it was still incredibly cool. I could hear Mrs. Paul's voice in my head throughout the entire time I was there as I recalled what I had learned from her when I was a freshman in high school: the layers of the earth, tectonic plates that float on the mantle, the mantle bursting through the crust (that's basically what a volcano is), etc. There was a really cool audio-video presentation as well about the more recent history of Usu-zan, focusing primarily on the last hundred years (during which time Usu-zan has erupted four times). The ladies at the front desk were kind enough to give us headsets that offered the audio in a variety of languages, including English, so I was able to follow the presentation perfectly. The museum also had displays of various volcanic discharge (pumice, ash, and other material) as well as simulation of what an active eruption would be like. It was all rather small - we were able to go through the entire museum including the video presentation in less than an hour - but it was all very cool and got me really excited to meet the famed Usu-zan up close.
A 3-D Map of the Usu-zan area. The large mountain on the left is Usu-zan. The smaller "holes" to the southwest of the mountain (center of picture) are the craters that formed as a result of Usu-zan's volcanic activity.
Examples of what a volcanic eruption can throw into the air (including ash, pumice, and - of course - rocks).
Before braving the volcano, we decided to grab some lunch and appreciate the beauty of the lake. Spring was just arriving in Hokkaido, and the sakura (cherry blossoms) were just now in full bloom. It was hard to find sakura in Sapporo, and I was thankful for the second opportunity to view the famed blossoms. After walking along the lake side for a few minutes, we made our way up to one of the outdoor displays before visiting the volcano.
There are two major outdoor "promenades" which you can walk and see the results of active volcanic activity. One of them walks you along the numerous craters which formed as a result of Usu-zan's eruptions, still smoking sulfurous fumes. That particular walkway was some distance away, and would require a bus ride, so we unfortunately had to skip on that due to time constraints. Instead, we visited the much closer promenade which featured many of the destroyed buildings that were damaged during the mudslides that resulted in the 1977 eruption. This walk way, which was just behind the Volcano Science Museum and took approximately 45 minutes to walk, had two or three buildings retained in their damaged state, and had a sidewalk that wound around both. You could see where the mudslides had completely covered almost half of the first story, in one case almost completely sealing in a door. You could also see some of the dams and levies built in the area that are designed to better manage future mudslides when Usu-zan inevitably erupts again. It was pretty cool, and a bit sobering as it reminded us of the often incredible force that nature can wield seemingly without notice or cause.
The mudslides actually covered most of this doorway, and filled most of the first floor with mud and soil. It almost looks like the building sunk into the ground.
We wrapped up our tour of the destroyed buildings and caught the bus that would take us to close to the summit of Showashin-zan and Usu-zan, which were very close to each other. Showshin-zan is an extremely new mountain. It began rising above the natural landscape as a result of the 1944-5 Usu-zan eruption. The progress of the mountain's growth was recored with great detail by the then local postmaster Masao Mimatsu, who is memorialized there with a bronze statue. There is also a small museum dedicated to the man who witnessed three eruptions of Usu-zan. Showashin-zan is still venting volcanic gases, and presumably still growing.
After admiring the beautiful view of the mountain from the summit station (which also included numerous tourist shops and restaurants) we took a rope-way gondola to the summit of Usu-zan. There was markedly more vents at the top of the summit, as well as a spectacular view of Toya-ko, the surrounding area, and Showashin-zan. We walked the ten-minute trail to the south face of the volcano, where we could see a large crater and the south side of the volcanic crown. There was also a much longer trail that followed all of the south face of the volcano, but it was much too long for the limited time that we had on the mountain. We tried to take a lot of pictures, but the sun was also in an infuriatingly awkward position. To be there near the crater of an active volcano was quite an awesome event, though, something that would have been hard to capture on film. We finally made our way back down to the base of the mountain and took the bus back to the main station. Shih-Ming and I grabbed the final bus back to Sapporo at 5:00pm, an annoying early hour. We bid Leo farewell as he was taking a bus to Muroran, and then a ferry/train combination to get back to Akita.
Showashin-zan (born 1945) from the bottom of Usu-zan.
Showashin-zan as seen from the summit of Usu-zan.
The south face of Usu-zan. Specifically, note the still smoking vent (one of many).
A crater-valley on the south face of Usu-zan. Many more can be seen along a ~1.5km route touring the south side of the volcano.While we only spent a few hours in the area, I was deeply impressed by the natural beauty of the area, and I wish I could have spent a few more days there. In addition to Usu-zan and its attractions, there are also numerous parks and hiking trails in the area, not to mention all of the activities on the north side of the lake (we stayed on the south side). In addition, between the months of May and September, a fireworks display is performed every night at around 9:00pm, and there is a special boat that you can take on the lake specifically for the fireworks display (we unfortunately had to miss out). Lake Toya is representative of the many opportunities that exist in Hokkaido to enjoy nature and the outdoors. If you enjoy hiking, skiing, mountains, lakes and forests, I highly suggest making Hokkaido a destination the next time you are in Japan (it is also much more comfortable in the summer, when the humidity and heat in Tokyo and Kyoto can be unbearable).
The trip back to Akita was very long, if uneventful. As I mentioned, Shih-Ming and I took a bus back to Sapporo station, arriving at 8:00pm. I made a second visit to the JR38 Tower to get a last look at the Sapporo night scape, and then we took a night train at 10:00pm that would deposit us in Aomori-shi (Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture) at 5:40am the following morning (Sunday). Anders and Rachel also took the night train and we met them in Aomori. The four of us took the next train to Akita (around 9:30am) and arrived back on campus around 1:30pm, very grateful to be done with trains for the time being.
And that's pretty much everything I have to say about my trip to Toya-ko! Please click on the Album titled "Toya-ko" for a more complete collection of the photos I took while in the area. This Wednesday I will be talking about a trip to a local elementary school that I participated in which was a lot of fun, and which also featured some beautiful Japan landscape.
Before I go, though, let me extend a warm Mother's Day wish to all the moms reading this. I traditionally give my mom flowers on Mother's Day; since I can't do that this year, I will instead post some pictures of some of the beautiful flowers I've encountered while in Japan (including some sakura) for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Mother's Day Sakura
Mother's Day Flower Boutique
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