Japanese Restaurant Sobadokoro Izumo （和風れすとらん そば処 出雲）| Soba restaurant | Teshikaga （弟子屈）

I love to find delicious soba noodles restaurants throughout Hokkaido! After visiting Lake Mashu （摩周湖） and Mt. Iou （硫黄山）, how about dropping by "Japanese Restaurant Sobadokoro Izumo （和風れすとらん そば処 出雲）"?

*If you are interested in Lake Mashi and Mt. Iou, please refer to my other posts!
■Lake Mashu: Click here!
■Mt. Iou: Click here!

This is a very popular soba restaurant among local people, and always packed with soba lovers especially during the lunch hours.

They serve hot and cold soba and udon, and I ordered .....................

Tenzaru （天ざる）, cold soba with tempura! Looks yummy x 2!!!

Their soba has distinctive aroma, and appropriately thin so that we can enjoy the feeling of soba going down our throat!

I really recommend their tempura, too. Especially their prawn tempura is super delicious!!!

My guest ordered oyster soba （かきそば）. It is hard to see plump oysters below the seaweed, but they are soooooooooooo great! Should I have ordered this soba?? Hahaha!

■Where is "Japanese Restaurant Sobadokoro Izumo （和風れすとらん そば処 出雲）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Ice Fishing （わかさぎ釣り）| Lake Akan （阿寒湖）

Hokkaido is very "hot" during the winter time! When you come to Akan National Park （阿寒国立公園）, please try ice fishing on Lake Akan （阿寒湖）↓
The ice is so thick that we can drive a car on it!!!

As it is so clear to see Mt. Oakandake （雄阿寒岳） from the lake, I believe today is the perfect day to fish smelts!

Let's go to the fishing site!

You don't have to prepare for fishing at all. At the reception, you can borrow a fishing gears such as a rod and bait with a service ticket, with which a local chef will cook your smelts as tempura on the spot! Wow! Wow! Wow! We have to catch a lot of smelts! Hahaha!

A lot of people are enjoying fishing early in the morning! If you want to catch a lot of smelts, I recommend to come here early in the morning and before the sunset.

We chose this tent↓

You don't have to make holes on the ice! They are already made like this↓ How convenient it is! In addition to that, it is equipped with a heater!! How wonderful the service is!

Around 10 minutes after we started fishing,

Voila!
I love ice fishing!!!

 And I also love smelt tempura very much!! Yummy x 2!!

■Where is Lake Akan?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Lake Mashu （摩周湖） | Akan National Park

Lake Mashu （摩周湖） is in Akan National park, located in the eastern part of Hokkaido.

Look at the beautiful lake from the first observatory. The circumference of the lake is 19.8km, and its transparency is 41.6m, the deepest in the world!

It is foggy for more than 100 days a year, and is called a mysterious lake.

Am I lucky to see such a beautiful and clear lake? Actually, yes and no! We believe that if you see a clear lake, you cannot get married early!!! Hahaha!

Please enjoy the whole picture of the lake with Mt. Mashudake (857m) and Kamuishu island. Kamuishu means a God incarnated from an old lady in Ainu language.

Just for reference, when you come here during the winter time, the scenery changes dramatically like this↓ 

I love it, too!!!

Well, well, well, let's enter the resting house!

One of the unique souvenirs in the shop is a canned "fog" on the lake. You can mail it to your friends!! How do you like it?

After learning the history of the lake on the big screen,

 we enjoyed local sweets and fruits!!

They serve three kinds of ice cream, and I chose..............................

"Mashu Blue （摩周ブルー）", which is milk soft ice cream colored with blue liqueur! Yummy x 2!!!!

How about Hokkaido melons? It is only 100 yen!!

I took a picture of the melon with Lake Mashu! How silly I am! Hahaha!

■Where is "Lake Mashu （摩周湖）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Mt. Iou （硫黄山）| Akan National Park

Mt. Iou (510m) is in Akan National Park, located in the eastern part of Hokkaido.

How huge the area is! My guests from Singapore were really impressed with our island!!

Mt. Iou means a naked mountain in Ainu language. Yes, it is very naked. Hahaha!

There are more than 1,500 fumaroles or vents on the active volcano and 

the temperature is between 100 to 110℃! Look at the water! It is boiling! 

One of the famous things in this sulfur-filled mountain is steamed eggs heated by the fumes! They are very delicious!!

Sulfur had been produced in this mountain in the 19th century.

Look at the yellow parts. They are all sulfur!! Wow!!

The foot of the mountain is filled with creeping pines. There are a walking path from Kawayu Hot Spring area （川湯温泉地区）, and I recommend you to take a walk there in the morning!

Next to the parking lot, there is a souvenir shop.

We can enjoy local souvenirs and hot spring goods, but as it was very hot...................

we rushed over the food corner, and ate the most popular ice cream, which is ...............

Hokkaido melon soft ice cream. Hahaha! Yummy x 2!!!

Just for reference, when you come here during the winter time, the scenery is like this↓

The mountain has different characters in each season! How wonderful it is!!

■Where is "Mt. Iou （硫黄山）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

GREEN LEAF Niseko Village （ザ・グリーンリーフ・ホテル）| Ski Resort Hotel | Niseko

If you want to ski and snowboard a lot in Niseko, how about "GREEN LEAF Niseko Village （ザ・グリーンリーフ・ホテル）"?

It takes 0 minutes from the hotel to slopes. How convenient it is!

I always use the Early Gondola service, starting at 7:30! I really love perfect  powdery snow in Niseko!

Let's enter the hotel! How neat the lobby is!

They have a bar, and we sometimes use it at night (and daytime!!!).

We feel as if we were in the forest!

This is a twin room, where we can use WiFi, although it is very slow and sometimes disconnected.....

When I got up early in the morning, I was so surprised at the snow outside of my room. We have a lot of snow this year!!!

Are you hungry? Let's go to "goshiki", a breakfast venue!

We can enjoy local fresh vegetables grown in Niseko here. Except the vegetables, don't expect too much! This is a ski resort hotel! Hahaha!

Among the dishes, I love..............

freshly-baked French toast! Yummy x 2!!!

Voila!!
Niseko reminds me of its wonderful onsen or hot spring!!!

They have both inner and outdoor onsen.

The water has a lot of minerals such as sodium, which makes our skin very smooth!!

After keeping our body warm in the indoor onsen, let's go to the outdoor one! How comfortable it is!!

The hot spring is not diluted with any water, and very dense.

They have shiatsu, or acupressure service although it is a little bit expensive.

Niseko makes me stress-free!!!

If you don't mind staying casual hotels not luxuary hotels with super service, you must like this hotel next to ski slopes.

■Where is "GREEN LEAF Niseko Village （ザ・グリーンリーフ・ホテル）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!