We awoke to a very chilly day and minus yesterday’s sunshine.   What is it with Hokkaidō’s late spring?  Right now (7 pm) it’s 2 degrees!

What a great morning we had at the Ginga and Ryūsei Falls, only a short bus ride from our hotel.  Freezing cold but the scenery was so spectacular, we managed to ignore it — at least until lunch time.

Three of the non-painters and one artist climbed the 4,000 steps to a viewing platform for even more stunning views of the falls and the snow capped mountains in the distance.

As you can discern from my pic above, it was a wee bit chilly on the mountain.  Clambouring back down, you could note signs that Hokkaidō’s late spring is about to be sprung.

After a warming lunch of ramen back in the Sōunkyō village, we set off, as planned, for the afternoon session at Ōbako Gorge — only to find the access road was closed for repairs!  A quick visit to other locations nearby, including the huge Taisetsu Dam, before our driver found a spot by the river.

Note the colourful bus painted with cartoon characters!  Our hardy crew set up their painting gear, only to be thwarted again — this time by rain.

Back to the hotel for everyone to finish their art in the rooms before a show and tell in the lobby, dinner and a soak in the outdoor mixed bathing rotemburo (bathing costumes provided and compulsory).

Internet failed again last night, so this is being posted Saturday morning at 8.45 am when the temperature outside has climbed to a balmy 3 degrees!

Late with my post from Day 11, as we had poor internet connections here last night.  “Here” is the Sōunkyō Kankō Hotel in the middle of the Daisetsuzan National Park, Japan’s largest.

We had a 3.5 hr journey by bus from Sapporo, with a stop for refreshments and one at a 7/11 for our usual lunch snacks.  Arrived here in brilliant sunshine with time to explore the village, ooh and ahh at the scenery, and for the painters to do some work before the onsen and dinner.

A new experience for many, as we are sleeping here on futons atop tatami matting floors.  It seems everyone has survived.

This is a photo that was taken from our bedroom window of an awesome mountain, dusted with smudges of pink from a few remaining cherry blossom trees.

And now here is the same hill painted by Ev last night.  Stunning!

We got exciting news at the end of the day last night, May 17, announcing the arrival of our newest grand-daughter, Sophia Claire Rachele, born to Nicky and Seb at 6 pm Melbourne time and weighing a healthy 3,358 grams.  Mum (and Dad) and baby Sophia are doing very well and we are looking forward to photos and their planned visit to us in Óbidos in late August.

Another perfect spring day in Sapporo.  Not an awful lot to report as we spent the whole day at Maruyama Kōen (Park) painting around the Hokkaidō Jinja.

It’s a beautiful Shintō shrine, established in 1870, set among a huge 6 hectare park only a short subway ride from Ōdori and our hotel.  Yes, a chance for our group to experience a Japanese subway and we all managed without losing a single member.

Our artists spent the morning near the cherry blossoms — these are the double blossoms — the yaezakura — that are a deep pink in colour and quite magnificent.

After lunch we moved to the surrounds of the main shrine for an afternoon of painting that produced some really magnificent works, all exhibited later at our hotel.

The evening was free for everyone to explore the culinary delights of this interesting city — very Japanese in some respects but very different to the mainland.  We’re seeing and enjoying it in spring, with flowers everywhere (it gives Amsterdam a run for its money with tulips of every hue imaginable on every street).  A different proposition one imagines in mid-winter.

Another travel day ahead tomorrow as we head to the interior of the island to the Daisetsuzan National Park.

Continue reading Day Nine: Otaru-Sapporo →

Fishing boats today.  Just a short ride away from the Neu Schloss Hotel is the fishing headquarters for Otaru at a little suburb called Takashima.  An overcast day with a chilly wind (Siberia is not that far away), but a perfect painting location with plenty of shelter.

The boats had already been unloaded by the time we arrived, although mid-morning one vessel arrived with the world’s largest octopus, which did not want to be moved.  That provided some entertainment for the artists but unfortunately, I was off wandering in search of a coffee (no luck) so missed the photo op.  Pam however got the shot of this evening’s sashimi being retrieved:

There were lots of birds.  Lots and lots of sea gulls.  Reminded me of Essaouira (Morocco), where we will be painting later this year on our next artists tour.

Even John (a designated non-painter) was inspired today to take up his crayons:

While the more serious artists (sorry, John) were busy with their works of art (also see below):

After lunch, those that were willing to brave a bracing wind stayed on to paint around the shrines and old herring houses along the Shukutsu waterfront.

Before drinks time in the quirky bar of our hotel*, there was a chance to review the day’s efforts in the hotel lobby:

Then dinner.  *: Quirky hotel explained:  a German name and definitely Teutonic architecture, a bar that would have been in its prime during the Weimar Republic, but all set in a remote area of Hokkaidō, Japan, where the food served was French and simply superb, and, just to add to the eclecticism, was washed down with a fine Dão red from Portugal.

Sapporo tomorrow.

We awoke to rain this morning and although not too cold and not pelting down, it was a steady drizzle which, to coin a phrase, put a bit of a dampener on the day’s planned activities.

Nevertheless, we stuck to the morning’s schedule and bussed to Yoichi and Cape Eboshi, a few kilometres west of the township.  This is one of the region’s picture postcard spots with two tall rocks in the sea surrounded by steep cliffs and lots of foliage.

The artists set themselves up under a bridge and were able to spend a good hour sketching the scenery.

Back to the hotel via the 7/11 store for take away lunches and painting in the afternoon from everyone’s sea-facing rooms, with even a glimpse of Russia in the distance by early evening.

Into Otaru tonight for a feast of sashimi and sushi and looking forward to sunshine again tomorrow.

Today was all about a breathtaking mountain — Yōtei-san.  We awoke to mist and fog from our rooms at the Nanokaze Resort but by breakfast time we were treated to a clear blue sky and lake and a majestic snow-covered Fuji-lookalike towering over us all.

Our bus took us first to a vantage point above the lake for views of Yōtei on one side and Tōyako on the other.

About a half hour further on, the bus driver located a prime spot by a river that suited our artists perfectly for some graphite paintings of Yōtei-san.

Plenty of wonderful views of this mountain that kept bringing sighs of amazement from our group.

No doubting whose tour this was:

Yōtei-san is very close to Niseko, the big ski resort of Hokkaidō that attracts hundreds of Australian snow boarders every year.  We saw the slopes, still with ample snow in May, but decided instead to push on to Yoichi for a brief stop at the 7/11 for obtentō lunch boxes to eat on the bus.

Our afternoon was spent with some retail therapy in Otaru township, a quite delightful city of canals and glassware shops.  And soft cream too — milk, lavender, black sesame, green tea and melon flavours.

Then to our hotel — the quaintly named Neu Schloss Hotel, perched on a mountain some kilometres out of town, and looking as if it will slide down into the Sea of Japan at the slightest tremor.  Russia is just across the water and I was authoratively informed that we are closer here to Vladivostok than to Tokyo.

All our rooms look out over the ocean and have private onsen baths with sea views.  A French inspired degustation menu in the hotel restaurant tonight was accompanied by a wine list many pages long covering everything from Portugal to Australia.

The view from our bath as the sun set over the sea:

Coming up to the end of our first week.  Much more to come.

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.

Our last breakfast at La Vista Hakodate Bay before heading north(ish) to beautiful Lake Tōya for the next two days of the tour.

But a word about breakfasts first.  This is unlike morning fast-breaking anywhere else.  First one lines up to be assigned a table, then lines up again for a tray, and moves slowly along the assembly line — first the Japanese selection and then, if so desired, the western style.

The selection includes as much as you can eat sashimi of baby shrimp, scallops, tuna, squid and trout plus two kinds of roe.  Plus rice of course and seaweed and eggs and miso soup.  You could be there all day.  Well from 6.30 am till 9.30 am.  Quite the feast and not designed for a quick on-the-run brekkie.

Onto our bus at 9.30 for the 2 hr drive along Uchiura Bay to Tōya-ko where we were greeted by warm sunshine and a good glimpse of the imposing Mount Yōtei, Hokkaidō’s Mount Fuji lookalike that towers (when there are no clouds) over this magnificent lake that was created after a massive earthquake 100,000 years ago (who keeps these records?!).

Admittedly, some imagination may be required to spot Yōtei-san in the photo above, but it’s definitely there and we all saw it.  Lots of snow on it too, which may explain why it blends so cleverly with the clouds.

Also please note the cherry blossoms.  While we really were a wee bit tardy to see the blooms in their salmon pink magnificence in Hakodate, the blooms are still in their prime around Lake Tōya.

After a quick lunch in town, we boarded a second bus (the explanation for this is too complicated but has something to do with drivers needing to get back to their futons) and headed about 5 km around the lake to a preselected spot (from last year’s shitami) for an afternoon of painting.

While the group painted, John and I wandered a few kilometres around the lakeside to see more cherry trees and a real live active volcano — well it wasn’t doing its Hawaiian number, but it was belching steam, which we thought was pretty impressive.

Back to the hotel for a soak in the rooftop rotemburo, with views over the lake to mystic Yōtei-san, before a generous buffet dinner and the evening display of fireworks turned on every night from April to October for the enjoyment of hotel guests at Lake Tōya.  Incredible.  Not the best photo, but hopefully you can get the gist.

And so to bed.

Hakodate (函館) was the first Japanese city to be opened to foreign trade in 1854 after Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate.

As a result, the city hosted a number of foreign consulates and an international community whose influence can be clearly seen today in the architecture of the Motomachi district on the hillside of Mount Hakodate.

This was the site for this morning’s art exercise in the grounds of a Buddhist temple with views over the steeples of Motomachi’s three main churches — Russian Orthodox, Anglican (Nippon Seikōkai) and Roman Catholic.

                                             The Russian Orthodox Church 

However, since the morning was freezing cold again (8 deg), Ev began with a demo in the hotel lobby before the troops ventured outside to paint.

                       Painting in Motomachi (the Anglican Church in background)

Meanwhile, some of the non-painters (including me) ventured further afield, taking the ropeway to the top of Mount Hakodate for a view of the city and its busy fishing port.  The harbour is also a popular destination for cruise ships, including our favourite Silversea.

After lunch, the group spent several hours painting in the old red brick warehouse district (金森赤レンガ倉庫) before a show and tell session in the hotel lobby.  And then bath time in the onsen before dinner — our last night in chilly Hakodate before we head north to Lake Tōya tomorrow morning.

                                        Awaiting Ev’s instructions.

                                           Velda attracts a crowd.

                                               Show and tell time.