So after the big Bon Odori party, the very next morning we woke up early to depart on the second half of our vacation camping trip.  A local resident and friend of the same village we live in volunteered to be the chauffeur and tour guide and go along with us.  Mr Masani drove his van and we all shared the gas expense.

We started off going south this time to Biei, and then on to Furano, this trip was a bit different with someone else driving as we were not able to take pictures of the towns we entered and basically slowly make our journey at our own pace.  So we just settled in and went with the flow and just enjoyed the ride.

Our trip took us through Urahoro, Kushiro, and then to our first night camping spot in Kusharako near lake Kusharro.  There is a tale of a monster similar to the Loch Ness Monster named Kusshii that lives in the lake, and I actually have a friend that says him and another have seen it.  Hmmm marketing gimmick or true story??  You decide!

The weather was not cooperating much and it rained most of the night, but that did not  stop us from  cooking a delicious meal of salmon and cabbage seasoned in Miso, with rice.  There is a big difference in the rain that we experienced in Texas vs the rain I have experienced in Hokkaido, that being when it rains in Texas, it floods!!  And so far in Hokkaido, it has only sprinkled and no heavy rains like we experienced in Texas.

The next morning we awoke to blue skies and cool weather, after a breakfast of the leftovers from last night, and also giving some other campers from Asahikawa some of the salmon, we loaded up the van and took off again.  We had originally planned to return home for the last day of the season’s Asahiyama night zoo visit, but decided to camp one more night instead. (there’s always next year)

The next part of the journey took us through, Sanomako, and Maruseppu where we camped for the second night.  The campsite in Maruseppu was very nice situated alongside a river at the bottom of a valley.  The park had a playground, insect museum, and many more attractions for the kids.

That night we visited the local Onsen (Hot Spring) and took a relaxing hot bath.  My favorite part of the onsen is the rotemburo which is the pool that is outside.  It is nice relaxing in the hot water outside in the cool air and looking at the stars.  I am looking forward to enjoying a hot spring outside during the snowy winter, what a great feeling that will be.

The next day we took our time and let the kids enjoy the park, My oldest son rode the go carts and the crazy bicycles that they had and my younger son rode the smaller cars, they had a fire engine, robot, race car and several others. After riding all of the rides we visited the insect museum that was right across the street and looked at a bunch of bugs.

Back in the van we slowly made our way back home visiting a few roadside stations (Mittchi no Eki) on the way back.  We arrived back in Asahikawa that evening and stopped and ate Ramen at a local restaurant.  All in all it was a great trip even with the rain, we got to know Masani-san a little better and got to see more of this fascinating island that we live on.

Take Care all!