14 day driving holiday in Hokkaido itinerary in June 2014

June 2014	itinerary	stay	meals	Total price
6	arrive sapporo	Richmond Hotel Sapporo Ekimae  (6 to 9 June) １丁目-1-7 Kita 3 Jonishi, Chuo Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture 060-0003, Japan   (Sapporo Station)  Free! WiFi is available in all areas and is free.		¥33,000 (3 nights)
7	otaru	Richmond Hotel Sapporo Ekimae
8	sapporo	Richmond Hotel Sapporo Ekimae
9	Kushiro Airbnb	Hokkaido Akan nationalpark (9 to 11 June) Mayumi and her husband Kazuo Chome6-2-2 Akankoonsen Akancho  , Kushiro, Hokkaido Akan National Park 085-0467, Japan   Mayumi Okeya +81 9020740360 For urgent situations Mayumi's phone number is +81 9020740360 and e-mail address is marimo123point@yahoo.co.jp.	Bf& dinner ¥2000 & ¥4000	¥ 6000  (2 nights)
10	Kushiro Airbnb	Hokkaido Akan nationalpark
11	Shari cho	Shiretoko Village (Formerly Tsukudaso)  (11 to 13 June) 099-4353 Hokkaido, Shari, Utoro Nakajima 125 (Phone: +81152242124) Free! WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge. Free! Free private parking is possible on site (reservation is not needed).	half board
12	Shari cho	Shiretoko Village (Formerly Tsukudaso)	half board	¥33000 (2nights)
13	Asahikawa	Hotel Dormy Inn Asahikawa (13 to 14 June) Phone:  +81166275489  Gojo-dori 6-964-1 Asahikawa  Zip: 070-0035  Email:     inn-asahikawa@dormy-hotels.com Free! Wired internet is available in the hotel rooms and is free of charge.  (smoking)	¥8900 + (¥500 carpark)	¥9400 (1 night)
14	Higashikawa-cho	Lodge Nutapukaushipe,Asahidake Onsen (14 – 16 June) Yukomanbetsu, Higashikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido,   071-0372       Phone +81 166 97 2150 Name of host – Mariko Haruno	half board
15	Higashikawa-cho	Lodge Nutapukaushipe,Asahidake Onsen	half board	¥ 32000 (2nights)
16	Nakafurano	Guesthouse Akane-yado (16 to 17 Jun)   Nakafurano Beberui, Nakafurano, Sorachi District, Hokkaido Prefecture 071-0711, Japan    Phone:                +81167444177 Email:     akaneyado2005@ybb.ne.jp Free! WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge. Free! Free private parking is possible on site (reservation is not possible).	Bf & dinner ¥1000 & ¥2600	¥11,000  + ¥3,600 (1 night)
17	Niseko	Hilton Niseko Village Niseko-cho, Higashiyama Onsen | Abuta-gun | Japan 0481592 T: 81-136441111  Parking charges: Self parking - Complimentary,   Wired internet costs JPY 1500 per 24 hours		¥9,510 + ¥300 (1 night
18	Noboribetsu	Kashoutei Hanaya  (18 to 20 June) 059-0551, Noboribetsu, Noboribetsu Onsen-cho 134 059-0551,   Phone:             +81143842521 Email:     info@kashoutei-hanaya.co.jp Free! Wired internet is available in the hotel rooms and is free of charge   Free! Free private parking is possible on site (reservation is not needed).	half board
19	Noboribetsu	Kashoutei Hanaya	half board + beer ¥594	¥55194 (2nights)
20	leave airport

Click on the following links to read more about

Our Sapporo experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/arriving-at-sapporo.html

The Sapporo Yosakoi soran festival - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/hokkaido-sapporo-yosakoisoranfestival.html

Our Otaru experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/sapporo-to-otaru.html

Lake Akan experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/sapporo-to-lake-akan-kushiro.html

Our stay at Shari Cho and our Shiretoko National Park experience- http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/akankohan-to-shari-cho-and-shiretoko.html

Our Asahikawa and Sounkyo experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/shari-cho-to-daisetsuzan-national-park.html

Our Higashikawa-cho experience http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/asahikawa-to-higashikawa-cho.html

Our Biei and Furano experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/higashikawa-cho-to-nakafurano.html

Our Niseko experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/nakafurano-to-niseko.html

Our Noboribetsu experience - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/noboribetsu.html

Our stay at Kashoutei Hanaya - http://lucyeitchkayjapan.blogspot.sg/2018/03/kashoutei-hanaya.html

Noboribetsu

Though not of the scale and the variety of scapes as the the other volcanic geyser-parks, Hell Valley shares the same geologic landscape. Get the feel of the incessant activity that goes on in the bowels of the earth. Activity that has not stopped in the hundreds of thousands of years. See the origins of the hot water that the onsens that populated the Noboribetsu Spa Valley. Understand the wonders of Mother Earth as it unfolds. Understand the geologic activity that impacts the human environment. See how natural wonders create the attractions that make tourists come and businesses to flourish.

Noboribetsu Onsen is Hokkaido's most famous hot spring resort. A large amount of Noboribetsu's many types of hot spring water surfaces in the spectacular Jigokudani or "Hell Valley" just above the resort town. Noboribetsu is part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park.

Jigokudani (Hell Valley)

The most impressive scene at the hot spring is the Jigoku Valley (hell valley), where yellowy gray volcanic gas seeps from the surface of the rocks. This makes the whole place smell strongly of sulfur, and gives it an image like that of hell. The valley is a 450-meter-diameter mouth of a volcano, which produces 3,000 liters of hot water per minute. Jigokudani or "Hell Valley" is a spectacular, appropriately named valley just above the town of Noboribetsu Onsen, which displays hot steam vents, sulfurous streams and other volcanic activity. It is a main source of Noboribetsu's hot spring waters. From the valley, there are attractive walking trails through the wooded hills above Noboribetsu. If you follow them for about 20 to 30 minutes, you will get to Oyunuma, a sulfurous pond with a surface temperature of 50 degrees Celsius and a smaller, even hotter, mud pond nearby. Flowing out of Oyunuma is a river called Oyunumagawa. Still hot, the river flows through the forest, making for an out-of-this-world sight. It is possible to follow the river for several hundred meters and enjoy a natural foot bath (ashiyu) along the way.

River Oyunuma Natural

Footbath Onsencho, Noboribetsu, Hokkaido 059-0551

A relaxing short hike with a wonderful difference - "Onsen" for tired feet.

At the end of the hike there is geyser that boils with volcanic mud that changes colours as the different minerals predominate the mud. It can be orange, turquoise, grey or even black. It is an wondrous sight. There is also the risk of an occasional gush that is more than its usual volume.

Mid-course down (or up) the river, there is a platform at which you can relax seated and your feet dipping in the hot (40-45C) water. You can even wade in the river and feel the hot stones and pebbles under your feet. A pebble massage while you feet get the "onsen" treatment.

The River Oyunuma is really a refreshing river originating from a hot spring. The river is steaming down its course. Steaming as in hot steam rising above the waters as it cascades down the hill slope along a walkway spotted with bridges across streams, small gaps and gullys. The trek can be from various other places such as Hell's Valley and other geysers and hot springs.

Visitors to this footbath should bring along a towel to wipe your wet feet, slipper to change into your walking shoes, gloves for climbing and or walking stick for support to the climb and lastly travel light and wear something that allows you to roll up to knee level to be able to walk in the footbath provided it is not a cold weather Bring a shopping plastic bag where you can place your personal effects in it without dirtying it as most visitors are inconsiderate and tend not to dry their feet before they walk away from the footbath thus making the path wet and muddy.

Kashoutei Hanaya

After checking out from Hilton Niseko, we drove to Kashoutei Hanaya 059-0551 Hokkaido, Noboribetsu, Noboribetsu Onsen-cho 134 (Phone: +81143842521)  This was our most memorable stay. Featuring natural hot-spring baths and fresh Japanese meals, Kashoutei Hanaya Ryokan offers spacious rooms overlooking the Oyunuma River. This hotel is located right next to a river and so we could hear the sound of the river from outside our window and enjoyed a pleasant view as well. We stayed for 2 nights. We paid ¥54600. It was our most expensive stay but it was worth it.

It was meant to be our finale of our two weeks in Hokkaido. And we were spot-on in making Hanaya our final two nights' stay to relax, unwind and get ready for our real world back home. We drove into town from Niseki, about 100 km away. It was a most splendid drive through the mountain roads and along Lake Toya.

Later on in the evening, when we were greeted by the owner of the hotel herself, Madame Michio Imari while we were enjoying our dinner. She told us about the history of the hotel and how it was set up some half a century ago by her family and now it is in her hands to manage. She told of the great old days when the onsens were not more than 4 storeys high. " No taller than the trees". So that the natural environment can be enjoyed in full by the people who come to retreat into the onsens. However, now the onsens have been bought over and developed into tall hotels and obstructing the grand vistas from view.

Upon our arrival, our settling in was super easy. Feeling right at home the moment we stepped into the cosy lobby. Our bags were already in our rooms when I parked the car 50 m down the road, after dropping the bags first.

The cosy little ryokan with its own onsen is a real gem of a place. The service is impeccable and the courtesies and warmth of the staff can be heartfelt. The tatami room we were given on the second floor was very comfortable, spacious and with all the amenities one would need. It has a view of the garden on the ground floor and the vistas of the mountains across the street.

The spas for the men and the women on the ground floor are imaculately kept. The temperature of the waters are monitored by a staff periodically. The dressing room is luxurious with all the amenities including a water dispenser which dispenses water at your desired temperature. The toiletries provided in the bath area are also equally luxurious. Mild volcanic mud facial cleanser, shampoo and conditioners and even a pumice stone scrub to scrub your feet, There is both the indoor and the outdoor options of the hot spring spa.

The detail to which the management pamper to your little fancies can be seen in so many things around the hotel. The spa are switched around daily. Meaning the gents' and the ladies' spas are switched, so that your spa and the views from the spa can be different on the second visit. The flowers we see all around the hotels at the right places are all living. Many of them in minature bonsai style.

Our meals at the hotel was an in-room multi-course meals featuring local specialities (kaiseki). This was our dinner on the first night. 

And our dinner on our 2nd night. What a sumptuous spread. And every dish was just so delectable.

Our breakfast

 

We were served our welcome tea and Japanese sweets on arrival. Service was excellent from start to finish.

Guests can choose a classically furnished Western room or a Japanese room with tatami (woven-straw) flooring and traditional futon beds. We chose the traditional Japanese room. Each room includes a satellite TV and private toilet. The ryokan itself is really beautiful and every part of the hotel has nice decorative touches. There were only 1 person who could speak very basic English, but everyone was super friendly and nice. 

The highlight was definitely the onsen -- balm for anyone who walked the entirety of the Hell Valley. However, I must say that the onsen is small compared to the the ones in bigger ryokans. Nevertheless, as the ryokan is small and there were not many people, I have the onsen all to myself. :)