Japan

Far From the Hustle and Bustle

OG

02 Oct 2016 • 4 min read

Hard to tell but it was actually raining at this point.

Hokkaido isn't just physically far away from Tokyo (although thanks to the new Shinkansen line it only takes 4 hours to get there) but with its wild nature and lack of people it almost feels like a different country. Excellent place to go relax in some beautiful onsen.

We stayed at two different ryokans, one more traditional and old-fashioned and one very new and fancy. Although fancy is the wrong word to use probably because neither one of them came cheap...

While the first one felt like it had last been overhauled in the 70s they did have a family onsen room which meant we could all go and enjoy the baths together instead of having to split men/women. They also served dinner in our room which made things slightly more relaxing for us with the kids. I say slightly because while this meant BabyPaw could run around instead of having to pretend to sit in a high-chair, it also meant we had to follow him with eagle-eyes and pick up any food he dropped. Since we were later going to sleep on that same floor with our futons, this was a real concern. Still, very nice place.

Most ryokans will give you yukatas (robes) to wear which most people do from the moment they get to the hotel until they leave. Ignore our footwear.

Dinner in our room. Delicious. Although I could do without the smoked fish to be honest...

Not pictured, the large chunk of rice BabyPaw just dropped on me and the tatami floor.

The next day we drove around Lake Shikotsu.

Not a bad place to go stand-up-paddling in the morning.

Shortly after we took this picture, busloads of Chinese tourists overran the place.

It took Fa about 5 minutes to finally get his feet into the water because it was so hot. A Japanese couple about our age stopped by a little later, took off their shoes and just plunged their legs right in without even a grimace. How do they do it?!?

Then we headed to our second ryokan, the newer/fancier one. I actually don't have many pictures from there because we spent most of our time inside the onsen - it was gigantic - and you're obviously not allowed to take pictures there. They also had a delicious buffet, the reason for SmallPaw asking every day to go to a buffet restaurant now. It will break her heart when she finds out that not all buffets are created equal...

Ready for the onsen (wearing the 'male' shoes as we found out later. Oops!)

Unfortunately they didn't have a family onsen but you could bring kids and babies with you into the big onsen. We didn't get a chance to try it with BabyPaw because the timing was never right (when you're still in diapers, timing is everything...) but SmallPaw is a total pro at the whole shebang now.

From there we headed to the Onuma Quasi National Park. I thought the 'quasi' was a joke on Google maps or maybe a special Japanese word but no, it's really not quite a national park. Just a quasi national park.

How is this only a 'Quasi' national park? It's gorgeous people, come on, give it the full status!

Sunset walk around one of the many islands in Onuma.

Squid ink ice cream. Much better than this picture might lead you to believe. (It actually tastes mostly of vanilla.)

SmallPaw decided that these are fairy houses and we had to be quiet so as not to disturb them. Did not disabuse her of that notion.

Even the woods are perfect in this place. It's incredible.

So in short, if you're looking for nature and good seafood, head to Hokkaido.