Lakes, Volcanoes and deep-fried what???

Greetings my followers. It seems like we have a little catching up to do. The reason you haven't heard from me for a couple of days is because I'm been in remote places without internet.

Anyway, a couple of days back I made it to Akan National Park in the heart of Hokkaido. As I arrived there at noon, and discovered that all the sites were kilometers away rather than metres away from where I was staying I had no choice but so rent a bike. Luckily there was free rental at the tourist information office; I love getting things for free!

After swapping my first bike because the seat was too low and I couldn't adjust it (it had rusted into the perfect position for the average Japanese), I peddled off to discover the wonders of nature. I named my ride Yoshi (from Super Mario bros fame) because it's suspension squeeked whenever I went over a bump. My first destination was Lake Kussharo. Here are the highlights:


After biking it back to town (the 16 Km round trip definatlely helped burn off all that rice I'd been eating), there was enough time before i had to return the bike to see the other major site in the area - Mount Io-zan, an active volcano; this would be a first for me. As I cycled the 3 km towards the mountain I could see gas rising in the distance.

As I approached, the smell of Sulphur in the air became stronger and stronger. I parked Yoshi and walked a hundred or so metres to the base of the mountain where all the volcanic activity was taking place. I could see numerous small mounds of sulphur-covered rock with gas streaming out at a tremendous pace; the smell was intoxicating, and i thought my sister's farts were bad (sorry Marg). Experiences like this make you feel very small and you realise the power of nature; it felt like a time-bomb was waiting to explode beneath my feet.


I had seen enough of Hokkaido, so the next day I set out early to cover as much distance as I could towards the main Island, Honshu. This involved catching a bus and three trains. After a long day of train hopping I made in back to Hakodate, my first port-of-call when I arrived in Hokkaido. After checking in to a hostel near the train station and went out for a bite to eat. I ate soup-curry, yet another delicious Japanese dish. When I finished I felt like something sweet so I scanned the menu for the desserts; as I was doing so I noticed this:


Yes friends it says what you think it says: "deep-friend cock"! I paid up and got the hell out of there before I ended up on the next day's menu.