Monday, February 07, 2005

The Northern Island

The days are flying by here in Hokkaido. Two days ago we stopped by our friend's apartment in Tomakomai. There wasn't much to do in his little town, but we amused ourselves by testing the limits of his apartment-there were seven of us sleeping over.
Yesterday we went to the best onsen I have ever been to. It was out in Noboribetsu, the site of sulfer springs and "hells". There were 15 kinds of baths: hot, really hot, waterfall, walking, lying down, cold, outdoor, milky, and the list goes on. It was wonderfully relaxing. Afterwards we walked around the hells where sulferic gases spouted from the barren ground and wafted around the mountains. It smelled horrible. My hair still reeks of it.
We returned to Sapporo and went to the the Sapporo beer factory for dinner. They serve all you can eat Gengis Khan there. This is mutton that you cook on a grill on your table. It was delicious. The Sapporo beer went well with the dinner. We'll actually take the factory tour tomorrow.
Today we're heading out to the opening ceremony for the Snow Festival. I'm excited about huge sculptures made of snow.

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