Penguin in Asahiyama-zoo in Spring !

by Tacky

 If you plan to visit Asahiyama-Zoo in spring, I'll strongly recommend to visit a penguin house!

 It's possible to see the state of the penguin from front, back, left and
right in the penguin house in the zoo.
 A tunnel made of transparent resin was installed in the water tank in this building.

Tough ! Mt. Chisenupuri !

by Kazu

After leaving the cozy hotel in Shimamaki Village, we drove to Niseko Area and parked our car near the entrance of the trail to Shinsen-numa Marsh and headed to Mt. Chise-nupuri that has the same name as my wife.

My wife's first name is the namesake of the word that means "house" in the language of the indigenous people in Hokkaido Ainu.

My wife is not the descendant of the tribe but her mother, my mother in law paid respectto the deities of this island and the native Hokkaido.
Please put on the bell to avoid bear-attack.

Shimamaki Village in the morning !

 by Kazu

Inhaling the fresh air that contains the smell of the ocean, I jogged around the coast. Can you imagine yourself living in such small village ?

 Living near the ocean is so nice but it may be tough to stay there without getting out of the town. Everybody knows each citizen of the village. What do you think of that ?

In a cozy hotel in Shimamaki Village 2 !

by Kazu

It was so nice to kick back and stretch our body in this accommodations in Shimamaki Village. It was like a stay in our friend's house.

 It is allowed to bring in drinks and food but I recommend you to savor the culinary delicacies sourced locally and cooked by the owner.

The peak of Mt. Kariba could not be seen even in the afternoon on that day. So many brown bears inhibit near the peaks of these mountains. Please bring the bells to avoid bear-attacks.

In a cozy hotel in the afternoon !

After bathing, we had a break before dinner. The owner family seemed so happy having the son come back with his wife.

 Many visitors have quality time reading these books, having a chat with the owner family and nodding off in this room.

The coffee was so nice that even I drank it every day during our stay. Usually, I do not drink coffee at all.

Sukki Great Waterfall !

by Kazu

Can you see the waterfall between the peaks of the mountains ? The name is "Sukki Great Waterfall".
I think "Sukki" is from the language of the indigenous people of Hokkaido "Ainu" but I am not sure what the waterfall is the namesake of.

We came back to the beach near our accommodations in Shimamaki Town. To be honest, I prefer the ocean than the peaks where the deities of the area romp around.

It was getting fine and ocean started to reflect the blue sky. A bunch of fish could be seen under the water. But it was the time for dinner.

The Lighthouse at Cape Motta 2 !

by Kazu

The peak of the mountain seemed to be that of Mt. Kariba that we gave up on that day to reach because of the heavy rainfall.

The height of the top of the lighthouse is the highest in Japan. It is 290 meters high. But it was outstripped by a lighthouse in Hyogo Prefecture but it regained the crown of the highest.
The families of the staffers were living in this site before albeit I posted "It seemed that no living space had been there in and around the lighthouse at the top of Cape Motta in Setana Town."

The Lighthouse at Cape Motta !

by Kazu

It seemed that no living space had been there in and around the lighthouse at the top of Cape Motta in Setana Town. Some of the light houses in Hokkaido had been kept and maintained by the staffers who had lived in or near the lighthouses.

The design of the lighthouses varies depending on the climate and weather around the places they were built.

The light from the lighthouses helps the crews at the helm take the right direction to go. In our lives, some people play the role of such lighthouses and help us take the way to proceed. Have you ever experienced such situation and kind mentor ?

The first female physician in Japan !

by Kazu

This is the most famous sweets 「chou à la crème」 in Setana Town. When the west coast of Hokkaido was swamped by herrings and in full flourish, so many quality patisseries came to Hokkaido from Kyoto and other part s of Japan. That is why there are many quality patisseries even in small town on the west coast of Hokkaido.

This is the statue of Ms. Ginko OGINO, the first female physician in Japan, who was born near Tokyo but devote herself to the public hygiene around this area.

After the years of her devotion, she went back to Tokyo and passed away. The citizens of Setana Town praised her devotion to the area and set up her monument.

Flowers and Sweets !

by Kazu

It was like a dream to walk around in the garden filled with hydrangea flowers flourished fully. Pale blue, violet, white flowers. The colors fitted the rainfall and the atmosphere to a T.

What do you think of these white flowers of hydrangea. The beautiful and bright white color allured us and hypnotized. It seemed be difficult to get out of the amazing world.  

This is what we bought in the local patisserie of Setana Town. It is　the best seller in the patisserie, 「chou à la crème」 with crisp dough. Believe me. So nice and sweet !  

Hydrangea Park on Mt.Risshou, Setana Town 2!

by Kazu

It seemed to require quite a few works to maintain this hydrangea park on the hillside of Mt. Risshou in Setana Town. But the beauty of the colorful flowers were worth the works, I thought.  

The surface of the hillside was a little bit slippery in the rainfall but this pale blue color might fit the atmosphere in the rain to a T.

No citizens nor tourists other than us on the hillside in the rain on that day but we were so satisfied with the flowers in full flourish and the atmosphere on the hillside.