Forgot to mention yesterday that our hotel here at Lake Tōya is the Lake View Tōya Nanokaze Resort.  Quite a mouthful but worth every syllable.  Wonderful big rooms (unlike the ones in Hakodate, we can actually put suitcases on the floor and still have room to dance).  All with views from a balcony across to Nakajima Island in the middle of the lake.

And the food is equally magnificent — buffet dinners and breakfasts with enough variety to satisfy the pickiest of tastes.  But the real indulgence is a self-serve soft cream machine — as much as you want, even at breakfast!

This was the location for today’s painting — the opposite side of the lake from our hotel with everything an artist could desire: cherry blossoms, a little pagoda, mountains, the lake and grassy parkland where our group could set up their stools and easels and paint some inspiring scenery.

Lunch was pre-arranged at a charming little coffee shop where all 18 of us filled every chair and sofa.

More painting after lunch by which time the sun was providing some warmth from the cool wind and the clear blue sky amplified the scenery.

Back to the hotel for a soak in the onsen before posing for a group photo all dressed in our finest yukata.

What a handsome group!  More fireworks after supper and before bedtime. Here’s a photo from last night taken by Ev on her whizz bang Samsung phone, which puts my you-beaut Sony SLR (set to “fireworks” mode) to shame (reference last night’s final photo on the Day Four blog).

So not to be totally outdone, I took a few more this evening using just a regular setting and here’s one of them.  Not too shabby, but not as good as Ev’s.

And they do this every night for 20 minutes.  Extraordinary.

A change of location tomorrow — off to Otaru.