kenleewrites in 日本

Kurodake 黒岳 is probably the tallest mountain in the the Daisetsuzan 大雪山 mountain range. Daisetsuzan is affectionally know as “The Roof of Hokkaido”.

Kurodake has a different face every season; a great place to visit all year round. Flowers in spring and summer, autumn leaves in autumn (obviously). And skiing/snowboarding in winter. An abundance of wildlife to see too, including the shy Hokkaido fox.

Smack right in the heart of northern Hokkaido, sounkyo (層雲峡) is regarded as the Northern Gate of the Daisetsuzan National Park. Kurodake is located within minutes of Sounkyo.

All the hot springs 温泉 are in Sounkyo. Lots of Japanese tourists come all the way up just to enjoy the onsen. I hear 層雲峡温泉 has been a popular hot spring area since way back in the Edo period.

We stayed a night at 朝陽亭. Choyo Tei is a great inn. Check out their onsen homepage here. There’s an english page, but the Japanese page had more impressive photos… I wonder why.

The rooms were really spacious.. at least the one I stayed at was. It was a family trip and I bunked with my brother. This huge room just for the two of us. Complete with our little own tatami space. ^^.

It has a small toilet though. With the great onsen they have, I doubt guests spend time in the bathroom here.

We had a buffet dinner with lots of locally grown vegetables. Yummy.

Upon arrival, I changed into the hotel’s yukata and headed for the onsen. Because the onsens are segregated by sex and time, when I went, guys were only allowed in the outdoor onsen. It was extremely cold everywhere else except in the onsen! After dinner, I played Bingo in the lobby. Do you know the game bingo? I’m surprised many don’t know the game.

I won my first bingo game. I usually don’t win games based on luck… (I hope it’s not because I don’t have any) ^^. The prizes were good. Within 7 calls, a digicam. Within 10 calls, a Nintendo Wii. I “bingo-ed” somewhere around the 15th call. Got myself some bath salts instead.

Didn’t head for the onsen after dinner as I was already pretty worn out. But I got up earlier than usual in the morning and went straight to the onsen. This time, I was allowed in the grand indoor bath with a panoramic view of the mountain range. They usually rotate entry into the onsen in the wee hours of the morning. … Don’t get any funny ideas ok. ^^. It’s not safe to stay too long in the onsen.

Although it was pretty early, the onsen was already crowded. Guess I wasn’t the only one who wanted to enjoy a morning dip. ^^.

Related posts... maybe:

1. Hokkaido Markets
2. Out and about Lake Toya at night
3. Japanese Onsen
4. Early Morning at Lake Toya
5. Exclusive Potato from Hokkaido

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Tags: hokkaido

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