Otaru

Otaru was pretty nice. Seaside town, that distinct odor everywhere, many fishing boats sitting at harbor. I walked along the canal, which is the touristy/historical area. Many of the buildings were preserved, and there were signs everywhere explaining the original purpose of each section. Also many shops, particularly glass craft shops. Otaru is also well known for it's glassmakers. You can even sign up to take a short lesson and make a blown glass creation yourself! I saw this in process, you really only get to mark where to cut, and to blow a bit into the tube. Handling the tube and working with the fire is left to your instructor.

Right around 11am, after I had been walking for a bit, all of a sudden all the tourists appeared! Because of this, I felt it was a good time to go in and have lunch. Otaru is well known for its sushi, so it was obvious what I wanted. Ordered a set meal, and most of the stuff that arrived I had no name for. I knew the standard octopus, salmon, tuna, but the rest of it was a mystery. Also, my miso soup had a bit leg of crab sticking out. Everything was good, though I hesitate to say it was the best sushi ever, I think I'm too interested in the moment of eating to compare.

Stopped for a shave and a haircut (long over due), but did not do the shaved head thing I had been thinking about. Not really sure why, but I think I just didn't want it done by that barber. So he cut it short, gave me the scalp massage and all that (Nagaokakyo barber was much better), then I went back to the hostel, picked up my backpack, and went to the Otaru train station.

I stopped at the information desk for a train schedule on how to get to my next destination. I was just in time for the next train, and went away with a nice booklet of train times for all of Hokkaido. In Japanese of course, but I can decipher enough of it to get by (bascily just matching Kanji of each location with a grid of numbers and times.) I purchased a ticket, went through the gates and saw a single car waiting on the track. Not the most popular of routes.

Two hours train ride later, I got off at Hirafu station and started hiking towards my campsite. As soon as I got out of the trees, I could immediately see my destination, Yotei-zan looming above me. Yotei-zan was formed by a volcano, 1898m tall and is one of the famous mountains of Japan. It was marked as 'hard' in my Lonely Planet Hiking in Japan book, had a convenient (free) campsite, easily public transportation accessable, and was close to my entry point to Hokkaido. Perfect!

I hiked in, Yotei-zan above me, and when I reached the campsite, discovered it to be occupied by about 16 Japanese being led by an older Australian couple. The Australian man, Peter, was a consultant and the rest of the group were part of an organization that teaches nature appreciation to children. This trip was the culmination of a month spent in Japan helping develop curiculum and training. They had just came down from the mountain after having spent 3 days up there exploring plant life and staying in the mountain hut. Peter convinced me that it would be worth it to stay up there one night, as it was supposed to rain the next day, but be perfect weather the day after, so I agreed. And they were all very interested when I mentioned Japanese painting, and immediately wanted to know more about it. So I gave a brief overview of the process and they were all very appreciative.

Before going to bed that night, I went on a short hike to a nearby lake. It was very secluded, and I had to hike down a long trail to get to the water. It was very quiet, and the trees loomed up all around me. Dusk was a perfect velvet above the tree line, and then the stars came out. Eventually I went back and called it a night.