Hokkaido Summer Trip 2017 Day 5 (5/6/2017)

In the morning, I went to the onsen again. It was 8am+ but just a few ladies were there, most people were already out and about in their day clothes when I went down in my bathing pyjamas. After two days in Asahikawa, we are going to leave this place for Noboribetsu, this is also our longest train ride for the whole of the Hokkaido trip. It turned out not too bad as the ride was broken down into two parts, one from Asahikawa back to Sapporo, then we changed to another train heading to Noboribetsu. I continued watching another episode of Goblin during the trip and also munched on some snacks while drinking my fruity beer. We did not have much to eat for breakfast, just shared a packet of noodles and sandwiches between us. But all the snacking during the trip kept me full.

A drastic change of weather coming days

Mum asked to take some pics while we waited for the train

Our reserved seats

After three hours, we arrived at a neat little station at Noboribetsu. The part that I disliked most about this station is the lack of lifts and elevators, so we had to carry our luggages up get across the tracks and then down again to exit the station. P helped me with my big luggage when we came previously but now I could only do it on my own slowly, huffing and puffing. We were the only ones who took a cab to our ryokan, while the rest of the tourists waited at the bus stop next to the station. I did not want to save this 1700Y and carry my big luggage up the bus, so we just hopped onto the cab.

Bears at the station welcomed us

We stayed at Oyado Kiyomizuya ryokan the previous time I was here, it was my first half board ryokan experience when we had dinner and breakfast served in the room and slept on futons. It was a good experience but I thought of trying out another ryokan as the onsen at Oyado (清水屋) felt a little old and creepy when I went alone at 11pm or near midnight that winter. Luckily, the male onsen was just separated by a wall and I was shouting across the wall to talk to P while we bathed and soaked. Anyway, when I was doing the booking on Agoda this time round, I saw Kashoutei Hanaya ryokan at a affordable rate ($180 sgd with no meals) and I decided to try it out. I was super tempted to book a room here the previous time but the price was too steep then, if I'm not wrong more than twice of what I'm paying this time. Probably the rate that I've gotten now is a promotional rate since it is off peak season. I did not opt for meals this time due to my previous ryokan experience at Oyado. P and I enjoyed the kiseki dinner then and we took lots of pictures, but we did not enjoy waking up early for them to come and set up the breakfast in the morning, we even drag out the futons to continue sleeping after they finally came back to clear all the stuff. I had intended to add on the dinner after reaching the ryokan as I saw many good reviews, but the price was rather steep (6400Y per pax) and Mum was not willing to pay the price. Once again, we were an hour early for check in when we reached Hanaya so we decided to go out and walk around before we make a decision about dinner.

Entrance to the Hell Valley Jigokudani

The two demons and mascots of Jigokudani

It was a very different feeling coming here again in the summer, although the weather was still quite chilly and cool for summer. The previous time we were here, snow was drifting down and super cold. We enjoyed it a lot as it fell really magical to be around these valleys and the onsen when it was snowing. There were fewer visitors this time round as it is off peak but I found the pavement and walking trails easier to navigate, I remember the slippery path and people slipped and fell the previous time we came. Despite the sun appearing today, we did not really feel the heat and the temperature was still below 15 degrees when we were out. At least the weather was still quite pleasant and not rainy like the previous day. The smell of sulfur got stronger in the small town area and near Jigokudani, I'm sure its not pleasant for some people but to me it is a smell of good onsen so I'm fine.

Nice toilet next to the visitors' centre, cute demon signs!

Mum posing at one of the observatory

Another observatory

Panoramic view before we go down to the platform nearest to the middle geyser 

Those anti-slip thingy on the bridge were god sent in winter

Mum modeling for me as I dont really like taking pictures

Instagram picture with filter

We managed to walk around quite a bit before turning back to the shopping street Gokuraku Dori, I think we managed to cover more trails this time as it was harder to walk around the slope areas in winter and nightfall also came earlier then. We only went into a few shops along the shopping street and decided to head back to check into our room to get some rest as it was already almost 3pm.

Walked past the post office on our way and we sent some post cards to US

We were glad the staff at Hanaya arranged a shuttle bus to drop us off at the shopping street earlier. It was easy to walk back although the ryokan was some distance away from the end of the shopping street (maybe 300m-400m) as it was downhill all the way back, but it could be hard for us if we had to walk up earlier. When we got back to the ryokan, the staff had already brought our luggages up and a kind lady showed us to our room on the 4th floor. As this is a new place I'm staying in, I guess it deserves a separate blog review on its own. I realised I stopped blogging about my winter trip after Niseko the previous time, so I might do a comparison of Oyado and Hanaya in the review posts and also post up some of my winter trip photos of Noboribetsu. Somehow I love comparing photos of places I've been to at different times and see what had changed.

The geyser at a mini park before the entrance of Hell Valley

We have a twin sharing room this time round, but its western style so instead of having futons, they have two beds for us with the Japanese nice fluffy blankets. It was really comfortable so I took a nap after settling down in the room. We went out again at 5pm+ to get dinner, once again the shuttle bus happened to be waiting outside and the driver allowed us to board and dropped us off at the junction between hell valley and shopping street. We decided to have dinner out as we walked past a shop selling fresh seafood earlier and we decided to have our uni and ikura don revenge there.

My stylo mama at the main entrance

The entrance again from across the street

Noisy Korean aunties came in a tour bus

We did not walk into the Jigokudani walking trails as it was getting late, only took some pictures and then went for our dinner. The shop we saw earlier (Onsen Ichiba 溫泉市場) was quite near to one end of the shopping street, right after we went across hell valley. The shop was empty when we went and we got a bit skeptical as there were no other patrons. But since there were not many other choices here, we just went inside. Mum was convinced their seafood would be fresh or at least better than the one we tasted at Otaru as they had rows of tanks with the sea urchin, crabs and other seafood at one side. After we ordered our food, a few groups of tourists came in and the shop got filled up with people.

We had these tatami seats where footwear were not allowed

Mum with our food orders

Look at the colour of the uni and ikura, much better this time!

Staff helped us take some photos

The Instagram version with filter

The texture of the uni and ikura were right this time and tasted so good with the rice. All the food taste quite good and we did save some money on dinner here although the price of the seafood was not too cheap. We paid 7200Y for our dinner instead of the 12800Y we would have paid for the kiseki dinner. It's a pity we did not enjoy the sumptuous dinner at the ryokan, but Mum was also right for making this decision as we're both not big eaters and probably would not be able to finish all the food at the ryokan.

Before (normally looking Enmado something like our 閻羅王）

After (demon looking with blazing eyes)

We left the restaurant at 8pm and encountered lots of tourists at the Enmado shrine next door with their handphones ready so we also stopped to watch what was happening. There was some mechanical trick show going on at 8pm and other designated timings so people were waiting for it to start. It's quite interesting how the crowd quickly dispersed after that and the street once again became very quiet with very few people while we were walking back. Many people were also dressed in their yukata with the little haori jacket when walking down the streets after dinner. It's quite an interesting sight as the loudspeakers on the street were also playing a soft traditional Japanese music, giving the place a very peaceful vibes. The walk back to our ryokan seemed further when it was night time and I'm sure I'll not feel comfortable walking along that path in the dark if I'm alone, so that's something to consider if I'm traveling back alone and staying at Hanaya.

Mum looking awesome in her yukata

When we got back, Mum decided that it'll be less awkward if we go to the onsen separately, so we put on our yukata to take some photos before she went down to the onsen first. This is her first Japanese onsen experience as our ryokan does not have shower in the rooms. It is also a good chance for her to soak in the sulfur water found around this area, real and authentic hot spring experience.