Not so bad: Emily was up at 5.30, just after dawn. The mountain appeared intermittently through layers of cloud, so we were grateful that we'd had a better day for our visit. Breakfast was good for me - omlette (fully-cooked through, thankfully) and grilled salmon. There was a serving of gigantic, winey grapes as well, that Emily partook of with relish. After eating, she entertained us with a stint on the bongo drums and guitar. It's a great place to be on a snow-bound day in winter, I bet, with all sorts of pastimes including Scrabble available, and the rotemburo to luxuriate in.
Emily also had her first experience of climbing stairs, and did very well, getting up to the fifth one on her initial attempt and further on subsequent goes. A pity that we don't have any at home for her to practise on. I shall have to seek out venues with steps that she can use wherever possible.
We set out as soon as possible for our 250km drive to Shikotsoko, and were soon down on the flat plain on the expressway. Behind, the long range of Daisetsuzan's spiky mountains were streaked with snow and made me wistful for another visit soon. We had to stop after Emily woke up and got irritable, then again within the hour so we could give her lunch. She was cross, and preferred to crawl rather than eat her jar of tasteless MSG-laden slop. Who can blame her? She got extremely grubby legs going up and down the floor of the Services, and seemed happy standing in the window waving at people coming and going in the car park.
Shikotsuko Onsen is very close to Chitose airport (the main one on Hokkaido), and our hotel, QKamura, nicely located in a lovely wooded area just above the lake. It felt luxurious after the lodge, with lots of obsequious young staff. Mum had a large twin room to herself and we had a tatami room again. We settled in then set straight out to explore. Close to the hotel, a steep path through the trees brought us down to the lake shore.
It was a really pleasant area with splendid views all around the vast lake. There was an old red cast-iron railway bridge across the river to the village, for pedestrians only these days. As we neared it we saw a plaque that said 'Wednesbury 1899'. Apparently the parts were made in the UK for a small railway.
There was the usual collection of shops selling tourist tat, and a few restaurants. We wondered into the large new visitor centre and found it to be a fantastic facility, with some displays in English too. Emily was glad to crawl around on the floor and try some more steps, and got excited about some fish in a tank. She was upset when we went outside as I unfortunately pinched her neck with the carrier fastening, but cheered up when a murder of crows flew over. Back across the bridge, in the gathering gloom of dusk, we stood on a little beach of pebbles to watch the wavelets lapping. Emily got to climb a wide, long set of wooden steps, stopping frequently to pick up leaves and twigs.
In the hotel, she succumbed quickly as she was exhausted. We'd been informed that the dining room had to be cleared by 8pm, so that dictated the time we could start eating, and I'd been anxious that I'd miss out if she didn't go down to sleep straight away. It was quite a good meal for me as it was mainly fish.
When Nick wasn't looking I cooked my raw scallop on my mini-stove, but managed to eat the slices of tuna sashimi with the aid of plenty of wasabi. At the end, fresh pineapple and apple was welcome. We also had some Japanese sweets: green tea jellies and sweet rice balls filled with red bean paste, and some that were probably made of sweet potato.
On our way out through the lobby we were waylaid. There was an evening activity for guests; this time it was paper-cutting. We had to cut out the shape of a blue-tit then stick it together to make it 3D. The mainly elderly participants enjoyed talking to Nick, and were impressed with my cutting speed and accuracy. A party of them had come by boat from Nagoya: 38 hours!
Later I went along to the communal baths. It was the first time I'd had to share with other women, and there were several in there. The shampoo and body wash were made of horse oil, according to Nick, and we wondered how exactly it was made. I felt a little self-conscious washing publically. When we returned to our room Emily startled us by sitting up suddenly but thankfully settled back down fairly quickly. It was pouring as we lay down on our futons, and carried on most of the night.
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