Day 4 (18 Oct): Noboribetsu (登别) - Furano (富良野) - Sounkyo (昙云峡)

Our first stop of the day was the Sounkyo-Gorge (昙云峡) situated at the foot of Mount Daisetsu-zan, which is called the roof of Hokkaido. As extracted from a website: "The Gorge is a giant gorge consisting of 100-meter cliffs formed by the erosion of tuff, and forms the center of the Daisetsu-zan National Park. The hot spring boasts magnificent scenery and plentiful hot water, and attracts three million visitors a year. Natural hot water emanates from numerous hot springs. The giant gorge, bordered by cliffs, stretches for 24 kilometers".

"The gorge contains lots of waterfalls, of which the Ryusei-no-taki Fall ("shooting star" fall) and Ginga-no-taki Fall ("Milky Way" fall) are especially worth seeing. At both waterfalls, water falls directly over the cliff, giving them a sense of power. Obako and Kobako are said to be the most beautiful places in the gorge. Obako features wide rock faces that resemble byobu (folding screens), while Kobako has many fantastic crags".

"If you change from the Daisetsu-zan Soun-kyo Ropeway to the Kuro-dake Lift, you can climb to 1,700 meters and enjoy a magnificent view of Mount Daisetsu-zan. Soun-kyo-onsen Hot Spring is in the middle of the gorge, and is full of modern hotels. In summer, the gorge fire festival takes place, while in mid-winter there is Hyobaku-matsuri (an icefall festival)".

The Ryusei-no-taki Fall and the Ginga-no-taki Fall are what you see here:

The next place, Kami-Furano Floral Farm was the key highlight of this trip. I was completely awed by the beautiful (so beautiful) scenary. The scenes unfolded along this line: last of the lavender bloom, crisp and refreshing air, splendid display/constrast of colours, overlapping fields and the imposing presence of the mountains in the background (capped with snow heralding the arrival of winter). Here is a round-up view of the horizon:



The soundtrack, The Sound of Music (from the musical "Sound of Music") came to mind:

The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
My heart wants to beat like the wings of a bird
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls
Over stones on its way
To sing through the night
Like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I heard before
My heart will be blessed
With the sound of music
And I'll sing once more

Look at this slideshow and so appreciate The Creator at Work (Hallelujah!). I used one of the photos for the blog masthead.

I was in for another visual treat at the next destination, Farm Tomita (http://www.farm-tomita.co.jp/). It was a shame I didn't visit in Sept. I believe the scenary would have been so gorgeous with all the fields dyed a striking purple.

A brochure on Farm Tomita:

Hotel: Alpha Resort Tomamu