Halloween was really fun because we hosted a party at our house. Everyone that came dressed up and we were pretty impressed with the costumes. Don and I were Mickey and Minnie Mouse, with the genders switched (to make it interesting), and I made the costumes. We also went a little nuts decorating the house to give our Japanese friends an authentic Halloween experience. To end the party with a bang, we got our first snow of the season.
Fall Driving was a product of our antsy-ness and was made plausible by our little Honda's excellent gas mileage. Pictures are from a viewpoint in Obira, a road through Mashike, and a strange park/rest-stop near Takikawa. By the time we got the rest stop it was getting dark but we absolutely had to investigate the sprawling playground that would never exist in the lawsuit-happy U.S. of A. It was a little creepy, but really fun, until Don discovered that he could go down the giant hill-slide really fast if he crouched on his feet. Don did go really really fast until he reached the bottom where a not-slippery patch of ground sent him flying face-first onto the concrete. Luckily he put his arm out in front of his face, but this move ended up warranting a shoulder x-ray in the Rumoi ER a few hours later.
Lake Shikotsu is a caldera, a giant hole left after a huge volcanic eruption. The lake is 360 meters deep, crystal clear, and surrounded by mountains and 2 active volcanoes. The volcanic activity also allows for some amazing hot springs and bath houses (onsen). We visited one that had rotemburo or outside baths and it was pretty awesome. You really haven't lived until you try this. We hiked to waterfall in the area, experienced a few amazing rainbows, and climbed one of the volcanoes. Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful, even though it rained most of the time. We ended this last-ditch effort for pre-snow adventure by exploring another wonderful place called Costco. You may have heard of it?
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