Hokkaido 4: THE Wild! Kumanoyu Hot Spring by the River and Lakes Mashu & Akan

Click here for the first half of day 2 ⇩
Hokkaido 3: Shiretoko and Kimun Kamuy | Tamahiro (Loko) | note

Well, since it was freezing with strong winds, we left Mount Rausu early and headed to
Mineya to finally eat our first seafood in Hokkaido. We finally found a place that didn't serve the typical tourist-style massive seafood bowls, but rather seemed like a place where we could enjoy a smaller, delicious meal.

On the way, while driving along a beautiful river, the [Kumanoyu Hot Spring] that I had seen online suddenly appeared by the side of the road! Although I've always longed for a wild hot spring, I've never had the courage to try one due to fears of strong sulfur smells or too many bugs, but I was so thrilled that I parked the car, thinking I'd never get another chance like this. The only other customer was a local light truck.

Crossing the bridge over the river and going inside, I found milky white water.
I was surprised at how beautiful it was.
It's a hot spring managed by the goodwill of the locals, and the style is to pay a donation in a wooden box to show your appreciation.

For now, I rolled up my pants and dipped just my feet in; the free-flowing source water felt like it was about 60°C.
Cold, clean mountain water is piped in so you can adjust the temperature with a hose.
Even after adding water, it was too hot for us hot spring beginners, so we ended up not getting in and just dipped our feet in and out, but it was worth it even if we got slightly burned, and my feet felt surprisingly refreshed!

It was 12:00 PM.
We hurried to Mineya.
But alas! We made the painful mistake of arriving on a day they were closed!

Since there was nowhere to take a bathroom break, we decided to head to the town of Shibetsu.
We couldn't find a good lunch spot there either, but I highly recommend Hasegawa Confectionery. I have a knack for spotting delicious shops, so I couldn't help but stop here.
It was a great choice!
It seems to be a long-standing shop loved by the townspeople, selling both Japanese and Western sweets.
They had a large variety, and everything looked delicious. They told me about their popular chocolate butter cake, but I didn't listen and chose the baked cheesecake instead.
Apparently, foreign customers always buy it (lol).
I had it with coffee the next morning, and it was a simple, home-baked style that I really liked.
The chocolate chip cookies I bought to go with it were also very delicious.

Departed Shibetsu at 13:00 -> Arrived at Kaminoko Pond at 14:30.
It is a pond filled with blue spring water, said to have been created by the groundwater of Lake Mashu.
It is called "Kaminoko" (Child of God) Pond because of the legend that it is formed from the underflow of Lake Mashu (Kamuito = Lake of the Gods).
Among the blue ponds I've visited so far, it didn't have the captivating cosmic feel of the Aoike (Blue Pond) of the Shirakami Mountains, but was more like Maruike-sama in Yamagata, feeling very earthy.

15:00 Departed for our inn at Lake Akan.
Since it was already starting to get dark, we decided not to go to Lake Mashu, but for some reason, our car navigation system glitched, and we ended up at Lake Mashu, having an experience that felt like we were being drawn in.

With gale-force winds that made my body sway and cold air, I felt like my feet were being swept away and I was going to fall from the observation deck, making me tremble, but there was a beauty there that drew me in.
A beauty so intense it was scary. I felt a sense of awe for the great outdoors.
*Note: Kaminoko Pond is next to Lake Mashu, so it might look like it doesn't take much time on a map, but be careful as it takes about an hour on mountain roads.

On the way, I encountered an Ezo deer that looked like the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke.
It had a strange face staring at us from deep in the forest (lol).
I saw other deer with normal faces, so maybe this one was special.

After this, large deer were by the side of the road again and again, giving us a start.

17:00
After driving for an hour through pitch-black mountain roads, we arrived at tonight's inn, Kamui no Yu La Vista Akangawa.
It was already pitch black outside, so I had no idea what was what.
The fire in the lobby fireplace was very warm, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

When we entered the room, there was a subtle Ainu-patterned tapestry,
and from the bench where you could look outside from the hallway and bedroom,
everything was so tasteful, the best one yet!
I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast.

For dinner, we had reserved a yakiniku place in Teshikaga called Ishige-mokin.
It's a rare choice for us since we aren't very interested in meat, but we decided on it after reading reviews saying it was a delicious yakiniku restaurant where the owner's passion really comes through, and since we had missed lunch, we were really looking forward to dinner.
But, thinking about driving two hours round-trip through that darkness again, it was impossible...
I finally understood the meaning of the confused "We'll be waiting..." from the other end of the phone when I had lightly told them, "I'm near Lake Mashu now, but I'm checking into a hotel at Lake Akan, so could we make it around 19:00?"
When I called to cancel, they said, "Well, of course! The road to Akan is dark and dangerous even for locals!"
I wanted to go!
And, I'm sorry!

18:00
Starving like hungry caterpillars, we headed out into the town of Akan and popped into Ajigokoro. To start, we ordered grilled scallops with butter, shiitake mushrooms, and roast venison.
The scallops were delicious, as expected! The roast venison was a bit different from what I had imagined, but it had the savory taste of meat you really have to chew.
Since it passed our taste test, we ordered another round of scallops, grilled chicken skirt steak with salt, and dried stingray fin.
The first scallops were lukewarm, but the ones that came out after our repeat order were piping hot and delicious!!
It was my first time trying dried stingray fin, and it was thicker than anything I could have imagined. Dipped in mayonnaise with homemade chili pepper, it was incredibly tasty.
This homemade chili seasoning was so good that I wanted to ask them to share some with me.

Finally, wanting something warm, I asked the staff whether they recommended the chicken soba or the udon. They suggested a rice bowl with Ezo venison and wild garlic. Although I declined at first, I decided to order it since we were there.
What came out was Ezo venison (I prefer my venison on the rare side) cooked thoroughly and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce and butter, with the sauce soaking into the rice...

This was
not good! Just like Akan! (lol)
*Since this is a standard menu item that even appears in tourist magazines, I assume it just wasn't to my taste.

It's important to have the courage to say no even when something is recommended.
This confirmed that it's better to trust your own intuition when ordering.

19:00
Akan is considered the largest Ainu settlement in all of Hokkaido, and there is a place called
Ainu Kotan where you can experience Ainu culture, even though it's geared toward tourists. It was the perfect time, so we went for a post-dinner stroll before heading back to our inn.

20:00
Instead of using the open-air bath in our room, we soaked in the private bath. Back in the room, we sat on the bench, watched deer crossing the river on the opposite bank under the lights, and had a soul-searching conversation while enjoying local sake and snacks.

It was the best night!

To be continued on Day 3.