Snow is Cold

I woke up at 5.45 full of anticipation about the journey ahead.

The journey South was again very picturesque passing by mountains and rivers. Unfortunately it is not possible to travel directly along the North-East coast, as it is too remote. After passing through Asahikawa again, the train headed East on the North side of Daisetsuzan national park. Here, the scenery is marshy and open, with wide plains covering the lowland stretches to the coast. I had to change at Abishiro – a nothing looking town which is famous for housing the “Alcatraz of Japan” – a bleak, harsh place which I had little interest in visiting. The lakes just outside of Abishiro were nice to look at from the train window though.

Turning South into Akan national park I could see the snowy peaks of Shiretoko stretching off to the East. The area was recently designated a world heritage site, but again is closed until May, and the far reaches are very remote and only accessible by apparently hardcore hiking/climbing routes.

Twelve hours and around 300 miles later I finally arrived. I stayed in a farmhouse near Mashuu, and was their only guest. It was a large place with creaky floorboards, but somehow staved off any images of horror movie sets. One of the staff offered to take me to the lake in the morning, but laid down so many restrictions I almost felt bad about taking him up on it. But I did.

I ate a microwaved dinner in my room (and managed to explode a sesame dressing sachet over my face, shirt and trousers), and attempted to watch a Japanese game show whilst plotting my next move.