Day 18 - last night in Hokkaido

Ainu Culture, Hell Valley and a Surprise Onsen

Our schedule changed when we discovered an Ainu festival at the excellent Upopoy museum. We watched traditional dancing, explored the museum and tried bear, venison and salmon soup for lunch—followed by a gigantic parfait for Phil’s patience!

We then walked through Noboribetsu’s Jigokudani, or “Hell Valley,” an eerie volcanic landscape of steaming vents, sulfurous water and brilliantly colored rock.

Tonight’s lodging is a wonderfully Japanese change for us: a low dining table, futon beds on the floor and separate onsens for men, women and couples. We somehow ended up together in the couples’ onsen—and someone handed us a glass of sake. A perfect and slightly unexpected ending to the day!

More info if you are interested:

Jigokudani—Noboribetsu’s “Hell Valley”—an active geothermal valley within Shikotsu–Tōya National Park.

It is essentially an explosion crater created by eruptions of nearby Mount Hiyori. The crater is about 450 meters across and covers roughly 11 hectares. Rain and groundwater seep underground, encounter rocks heated by the volcanic system, and return through fractures as hot water, steam and volcanic gases. What looks like smoke in your photograph is mostly condensed steam, made especially visible by today’s cool, damp air.

The colors tell the geological story:

* White and pale gray: rock chemically altered and bleached by hot, acidic water and sulfurous gases.
* Yellow-green patches: sulfur and other mineral deposits.
* Orange and reddish-brown cliffs: iron-bearing minerals that have oxidized—essentially volcanic “rust.”
* Black rock: relatively unaltered volcanic material.

The barren ground is not simply fresh volcanic ash. The combination of heat, acidity and sulfur makes it extremely difficult for plants to survive near the vents, while forest grows immediately beyond the geothermal zone.

Water originating here supplies Noboribetsu Onsen, which is famous for having several chemically different kinds of spring water in one relatively small area. The differences arise because underground water follows different paths and picks up varying mixtures of sulfur, iron, salt and other minerals.

The name Jigokudani means “Hell Valley.” To earlier visitors, the steam, sulfur smell, bubbling water and bare, strangely colored earth resembled the Buddhist underworld. That is why Noboribetsu adopted all those cheerful red oni demons—turning a terrifying landscape into something between geology lesson, hot-spring plumbing system and amusement-park entrance to hell!Read more