Thursday, August 28, 2008

day 241 - climb ev'ry mountain (1)



We only saw one bear.





Asahidake.
Some fit people hike to the top. We took the ropeway.





It's a bit daunting when most of the maps, tourist guides and warning signs aren't in your language...




A lake mirrors the sky.



Asahidake and fumaroles reflected in a pond.







Diverse alpine plants.




A pair of very friendly grasshoppers. (suggest you click on this one for an enlargement.)



Asahidake is the highest point in Hokkaido (2290 m). We took the ropeway and hiked up to the fumaroles (volcanic vents), but chickened out on the summit. The alpine vegetation up here is amazing. We'd been warned about bears and finally succumbed and bought a "bear-bell" - a great souvenir, but the only kuma we saw was the stuffed one in the communal lounge of the Yumoto Yukomanso Resort. We took so many photos that we'll have to split them over two days!

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