It was a long way from Kushiro to Biei, from Biei we had arranged a pick up from the ryokan. That was our destination today, to an onsen ryokan near the mountains in the Biei-Shirogane area. Time in Hokkaido seemed to irrelevant, we were like time travelers in a way, sitting in a train observing the normal people day to day lives in this corner of the world. Today we have had another 4 hours or so on the train. Some towns were so small and quiet. I wondered how they entertained themselves. I guessed lives in this region must be much simpler. It was a yearning of mine to live a simpler life, but then after 2 days in the countryside or suburbia I already wanted to go back to the city. I couldn't explain that contradiction myself.


We got to Shintoku station around 11:00pm and changed the local train to Furano. Furano is a popular destination in spring, where you would rent a car and drive around the rolling hills of blossoming lavender and/or other colorful flower fields. From Furano, we changed another local train heading north to Biei. There was a Korean couple riding with us all the way from Kushiro to Biei, after two transfers, but while we got off at Biei, they stayed on. I wondered where they were heading to. We did not have lunch today, but snacked the whole day, from the corn soup from the vending machine, to some sweet potato black sesame cake and coffee, to the traditional Japanese rice cake at the Furano stations.


Picked up by a man sent by the ryokan, he spoke no English at all, the only Japanese I knew is Thank You, I said that whenever he opened the door, or when we arrived. Just to express a little extra friendliness. We were in a small van, from Biei to the ryokan was about 20-30 mins away. We drove passed the Blue Pond entrance actually, which was a place I really wanted to go. From the Blue Pond to the ryokan seemed to be still quite a distance (maybe two miles), the road was covered with snows. I was wondering if we could actually make it there. When I booked this ryokan, I did inquire about going to Blue Pond, they said we cannot go in winters. But I clearly saw a tour bus at the parking lot by the Blue Pond. I secretly planned that we would still try if the weather permitted.


Everywhere was covered by heavy blanket of snow in this region. They must have had some huge snow storms the week before. It was like a Snow Kingdom here. I mean, I had seen serious snow condition in Boston. But here they were all undisturbed snow, thick and heavy, perhaps wet as well. Arrived at the ryokan, we were welcomed by the owner, an older Japanese woman. She spoke a little bit of English to us and she was very pleasant. She was the one who told me that there were lights shining on the Blue Pond at night. It confirmed my determination that I needed to see the blue pond despite it was frozen. She recommended us to go see the Shirahige Waterfall, which was only 300m away. We did. It was a WOW! It was such a pretty scenery that I almost couldn't believe my eyes.


The waterfall led to a little creek, for which the water was in that light bluish green (probably from the minerals in the water, the rocks covered with snow standing on the crystal clear creek were like marbles, and part of the waterfalls on the side of the creek were frozen into ice, it added a sharp edge to the overall picture. And also the surrounding trees, they were all white, the whole scenery was so mesmerizing, it took my breathe away. It really did. I could have looked at that for hours. But it was 0 degree out. After we both jumped into the snow, it soaked down from my neck and my hands were frozen. It was getting dark, even though it was not even 4pm yet. After some debate, we decided not to go to the Blue Pond today, and saved it for tomorrow morning when there will be lights. That's probably the most sensible option, it was probably not a good idea to walk in the dark on a snow-covered road by the forest. There might be some hungry bears hitchhiking on the curbside and find us tasty to eat alive all in a sudden.


Back to the hotel, we tried our own onsen in the room. Aside from a private onsen, the ryokan also provided a 11-course dinner and breakfast. The private onsen was outdoor, it was a small wooden bathtub kind of container, and both of us went in there. At first To step outdoor naked was cold, but once we were in the 42C hot spring water, it was just right. I felt so cozy in the hot spring I almost started to feel sleepy. I soaked in there for maybe 30 mins or so. Dinner was at 6:30pm. The owner of the ryokan served us herself and explained to us what was in each of the dishes in English, though I overheard from the other table where they explained in Japanese, the description were much longer. Still I was very appreciative to the owner trying to make us feel really welcomed there. We had a special menu, it had my name printed on it, for Chan-san. Most of the dishes were probably the same as the other tables, but maybe there was a difference in a one or two courses. The 11 course meal was very refined, delicate and delicious. I thought I would be hungry, since each dishes were so small, but actually, it was just right at the end.


We tried the public bath after dinner. It had an indoor part and an outdoor part. When we went in, there was only one person who was finishing up. And again when we left, there was another person just coming in. So, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. I loved the outdoor spring, it was just a few inches off from some heavy blanket of snow, and we were butt naked in a hot spring. It was an absolutely cool feeling. I know there were other onsen in Hokkaido that was loved by the monkeys and they took bath in the hot springs. I would have loved to see that. Maybe next time. So far, we have really enjoyed our experience in this ryokan and would totally recommend this place to others if anyone are coming this way.


After all these hot baths, either it really relaxed my muscles, I was extremely sleepy and almost fell asleep immediately soon after our second bath. Breakfast at 7am, then will hike to Blue Pond if it is not snowing. I really hope we will see something beautiful.

See the other photos from Day 19 here.