Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
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2016 Hokkaido Trip Day 7 (8 Sep)
Shiretoko Goko知床五湖 (Shiretoko Five Lakes)
Kamuiwakka no takiカムイワッカの滝 (Kamuiwakka Falls)
Our nature cruise was cancelled due to strong waves and although the weather is cloudy, we were thankful that there is no rain so we could go to the Shiretoko Goko知床五湖 (Shiretoko Five Lakes) region. There is a ¥500 carpark fee. The long course is 3 km (1.5 hours) which starts from 5th lake and ends at 1st Lake and the short course is 1.5 km (40 min). To enter, you need to pay a small fee of ¥250 at the center, register to obtain a certification card and attend a short 10 min lecture about how to respond if you come face to face with a brown bear. The building is right in front of the carpark with clear signage so you won't miss it. There is also a souvenir shop with light meals (venison burger, soft ice cream) and toilet. There are no toilets on the trail.
Certificate for Entry
We took our time and stopped to take photos so we took about 3 hours. Do wear long pants and use insect repellant as I was bitten very badly by sandflies (I counted 82 bites in total!) in my shorts (they bit through my leggings). Do not bring any food unless you want to attract brown bears.
5th Lake
4th Lake
3rd Lake
2nd Lake
1st Lake
Finally at the boardwalk! One item off our bucket list =)
We stopped by the Shiretoko Nature Center for lunch. We had venison burger and venison cutlet with curry. Not too bad. To my surprise, they actually have Nasi Goreng (a kind of Malay fried rice popular in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia).
Venison cutlet curry
Na Shi Go Ren
We also bought a pair of non-slip socks each for Kamuiwakka Falls カムイワッカの滝 (Kamuiwakka no taki), an onsen waterfall that you can enter.
However, as we didn't dare to climb up too high, the water was only lukewarm (comfortable, not warm but not freezing cold kind). Here's a video of our experience there.
As we were driving around, we spotted some deer and a little brown fox so we managed to see 2 out of the 3 inhabitants (deer, fox, brown bear).
Dinner on the second night was much much better. The mushishabu 蒸ししゃぶ of pork slices and assorted vegetables with tare たれ dip was really satisfying after a day of walking. We also used the chartered private outdoor hot spring bath (which has a shelter).
Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html and train prices at http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at ou...
花見 hanami literally means flower-viewing and it's a really big deal in Japan. When I saw it for the first time, I can totally understand why 桜の美しさが日本人の心を捕らえる (the beauty of sakura has captured the hearts of Japanese). No words can describe the beauty of an entire park in full bloom or 桜吹雪 sakura fubuki sakura petals raining on you. Here are some of my favourite Sakura-viewing spots in Tokyo =) 1. Chidorigafuchi Park 千鳥ケ淵 Chidorigafuchi Park near the Imperial Palace has got to be my number one hanami spot. The palace moat, lined with sakura trees, transforms into a dreamy pink stream when the petals fall onto the water surface. You can also rent and row your own boat along the moat to enjoy a different view of sakura. Definitely highly recommended! It's rather strenuous! Melody enjoying the view from the boat Nearest station: 10 min walk from Kudanshita station You can couple the trip there with a visit to the Imperial Shrine of Yasukuni Shrine that commemorates those who pe...
The Tsukuba Kasumigaura Ring Ring Road is a cycling route from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station and continuing to Lake Kasumigaura loop. The stretch between JR Iwase station and JR Tsuchiura station is 40km and the loop around the lake is about 100km so the total return trip is 180km. Map of Ring Ring Road from JR Iwase station to JR Tsuchiura station We only did part of the straight route and part of the lake so we covered only about 50km. Here’s a video of our trip. IMPORTANT NOTE: We based in Tsukuba because we needed to meet a dear friend. Tsukuba is not the best starting point for this cycling route because we had to cycle 10km to intersect at a part of the Ring Ring Road since public transport connection between Tsukuba and Iwase or Tsuchiura is poor. We took a taxi from JR Tsuchiura station back to Tsukuba (¥3400). When we told the taxi-driver our destination, he smiled happily and said Arigatou!! 🤣🤣 A better plan will be as follows: Use Mito in Ibaraki as a base. Mit...
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