Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan trip — DAY 1

Ishido and his family generously invited me to join them on their New Year’s holidays in Hokkaido, Japan.

…Our flight was delayed by an hour because a pigeon had tragically been sucked into the jet’s engine while it was sitting on the tarmac. … After picking up our rent-a-car we careened down and empty highway flanked by a set of distant snowy covered peaks. The rest of the scenery, raised grassy hills along the highway reminded me of driving down the highway in Rhode Island with my parents when I was a small kid.

We checked into the hotel and I was quite surprised at the size of my room, much bigger than my apartment, a room for at least 3 people normally. … Of course everyone hit the onsen right after unpacking, but I packed up my backpack and headed for Hell Valley, a serious of sulfur emitting cracks in the ground surrounded by barren slopes. I got there at twilight’s last light and with tripod in had was able to catch some of the flittering sulfur clouds still.

Also, apparently Noboribetsu is founded by, or protected by some kind of tall red demon with horns, and a blue demon companion that wields a long spiky club. A lot of people pose for pictures with the red demon, which is of such a size and position that it’s easy to pose in a quite a inappropriate position between its legs. While I was taking all my photos of Hell Valley with camera, tripod and remote, two couples asked me to take their photos presumably thinking I knew what I was doing with such gear on display.

…After leaving Hell Valley it was time for dinner with everyone in our own private dining room called a zezokan or something like that, which dates back to the Bushi Era I was told. One feature of this style of dining is that everyone has their own 2-foot by 2-foot table to eat at, which is only about a foot off the floor.

…Everyone retired to their rooms after dinner and I begin what I thought would be a fruitless search to get jacked-in in this town. Three hotels including my own told me they had no access and that in fact all of Noboribetsu was off the grid. Having lived in Asia over 6 years now, I know not to believe what I’m told, although if I’m told the same thing by 3 different sources, it’s usually true. Yet I couldn’t accept that this major tourist area was not wired in at least some way. Heading up to what I learned earlier was the first and best hotel in the area, some 50+ years old, I found acceptable 10 minute for ¥100 access.

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