Bali Hai

The cotton wool clouds, the fine grains of black volcanic sands, the clean sea waters - one can just lie on the beach and while the time away with a tan beneath the balmy tropical sun...

The Volcanic Islets Of Onuma

Ōnuma Park is known for its picturesque, island dotted lakes and majestic dormant volcano, Mount Komagatake. Surrounded by birch and maple forests, a total of 128 small islands can be found in its lakes...

A Journey Over Mountains & Waters

A land of rocky mountains, snaking rivers, steep slopes, deep valleys, and harsh barren terrain. Yet in some places, lush greenery and crystal-clear azure waters abound...

The Bluest Pacific Seas

In the middle of the Pacific Oceans lies an archipelago of islands formed from the fiercest violent volcanoes and made of the browns and greys of cooled lava rocks. The resulting landscape is breathtaking in its purest greens and blues...

Sounkyo's Silver Streams

Bordered by 100-metre cliffs formed by the erosion of tuff, Sounkyo Gorge is situated at the foot of Mount Daisetsuzan - the "roof of Hokkaido", and stretches for 24 kilometres along the Ishikari River...

Showing posts with label Toya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toya. Show all posts

Lake Tōya's Spellbinding Sunrises & Summer Fireworks

Shikotsu-Tōya National Park (支笏洞爺国立公園), Abuta (虻田)
Iburi, Hokkaido, Japan
Summer 2011

Located in the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park, in Abuta District, Lake Tōya (洞爺湖 Tōyako) is a volcanic caldera lake. It is one of Hokkaido's three most impressive landscapes.

In 1910, as a result of the volcanic activity of Mount Yosomi - one of Mount Usu's parasitic cones, hot springs started to well out of the earth and onsen (hot springs) started to open up for business as far back as 1917.

The stratovolcano of Mount Usu lies on the southern rim of the caldera. The lake is nearly circular, being 10 kilometers in diameter from east-west and 9 kilometers from North-South. The lake's biggest town, Tōyako Onsen (洞爺湖温泉) is located on its western shore. The town Tōyako is located on the other side of the lake.

Every year 3 million visitors come to the area to see and the active volcanoes and visit the activity centres which are set against the backdrop of Mount Yotei - Hokkaido's very own Mount Fuji.
   
The majestic view from the viewing platform...


   
Charming little outhouses with a wigwam... 
  
A fisherman whiles his time away in a soothing sunset...
  
Dazzling fireworks - Such is the charm of watching fireworks after dinner dressed in a yukata by the lakeside...
  
The sun rises at 4am here. The amazing view from our window and the spellbinding colours of the Tōya sunrise...

 


Sources

  • "Toyako Onsen" (16 April 2012). Toyako Onsen Tourist Association. Retrieved from http://www.laketoya.com/en/sight.html (Expired as of 2014).
  • "Lake Tōya" (16 April 2012). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_T%C5%8Dya.