Timeless Jozankei... Flying Carps Splash Over Our Heads, Homeward Bound They Dance

15th April, 2009 - It was a somewhat lazy start to the day after our night of... well... eating orgy. Needless to say, T-chan and I managed to have a relaxing morning ... but not much of a sleep-in as it was off to the onsen for an early bath followed by a quick tour of the immediate area. The hotel shuttle bus would be arriving (too) early to allow for a real sight-seeing adventure. For those that are interested in visiting, the Jozankei site can be found here.

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Whilst the hot-springs are why people come to Jozankei, there's plenty of stuff to do... in Autumn you can pop down to Houhaikyou Dam to see some brilliant scenery, and in winter you can ski. Autumn alas is another 6 months away, so we'd just have to make do with the small things, like the koinobori suspended over the river.

Now if you are wondering what all the koinobori streamers are for... well, they're more like pennants than anything. The name koinobori comes from koi (鯉) being carp, and nobori (幟) meaning banner. These are the traditional decoration that is put up for Children's Day (kodomo no hi) which occurs on the 5th May each year... and which is one of the public holidays that makes up Golden Week. Actually the festival originated in ancient times (from before the Heian Period) as the lunar festival Tango no Sekku. This was one of five seasonal festivals, and the one associated with the start of the summer rainy season... though the seasons are quite different here in Hokkaido it was still quite wet (but for different reasons).

The festival became associated with the celebration of boys, and indeed is often still referred to as the Boy's Festival... One of the aspects of the Boys Festival is that koinobori would be hung outside of the family house. The number and size of koinobori was dependent on the number of sons in the house (the biggest koinobori belonging to the eldest son). The significance of the Carp comes from an old Chinese legend that tells that if carp can make it to the top of a certain river (in China) they can become a dragon. The koinobori is therefore a symbol of the parents wish that the sons will endure and persist hardships to go on to great things.

Somehow in post-war Japan the Boys Festival was modified to be gender-non-specific. Was this an attempt to soften the Japanese culture, or to rebalance the gender bias? Strangely girls still have their Girl's Festival on 3rd March... And the name doesn't much matter anyhow as the trappings of the boys festival (koinobori and the samurai helmet displays known as kabuto) are still going strong in Japan.

Now for those that have read my other blog, you might recognise the chap below... it's a Kappa, the mischevious spirit that are said to inhabit just such areas as this. And like many parts of Japan, there are statues and art memorializing the little fella. Jozankei is said to be one of the places were you can find Kappa... or be found by them... so they have even more statues than normal.

In fact, they REALLY like Kappa statues here...they are all over Jozankei. As you can see by the nonchalantly held umbrella.... it was a slightly damp morning... whilst it may not have been the best weather for carp-flying, it was however perfect weather for an industrious Kappa-folk to come visiting. And still I have yet to see my first live kappa! ?;-)

 

Now we didn't have much of a chance to have a deeper look around, but there was one place I was curious to see... Iwanto Kannondo (otherwise known incorrectly as Jozankei Jinja, or shrine). Now this unimposing shrine hides a great little secret.

Care of Google StreetView

Inside the small building you'll find a doorway (on the right) that leads you through to an underground tunnel that cuts 120 metres into the mountainside before ending up opening up on the other side. It actually it looks more like a service tunnel than a cave (as it's often described). Entrance to the tunnel is by donation... so be honest and drop a coin or two in the collection tray.

Along the tunnel you will find a number of alcoves, and inside each of the alcoves you'll find a statue of the Kannon; ranging from the slightly gaudy to the more honest and rustic rough cut stone statues. Actually there's 33 statues of the Kannon to be exact. Kannon is the Japanese form of Guānyīn, who is also known as the Goddess of Mercy. Now... that means that this is not a "shinto shrine" at all, but rather a place of Buddhist veneration. I have read somewhere that this site was built for the many workers that were killed making tunnels in the local area. I would have thought it somewhat tempting fate then to build another tunnel to house these statues... 

It makes for an interesting, if slightly unnerving 5-10 min diversion whilst you're waiting for the bus. Just a word of advice however - being inside a tunnel 100 metres under a mountain is not a great place to hear a bus approaching. Make sure you leave plenty of time, just in case. Also - don't be surprised to get a little bit wet as there's often water running down from the ceiling of the tunnel (that's the unnerving part).

And speaking of water, if you've got the time and inclination, you can always try out the inumerous hand and feet baths that can be found around the area. They're free to use, and might ease some aching bones from walking through the mountains (especially if you up to see autumn colours).

With that we say farewell to Jozankei for now. I'm sure we'll be back!

Jozankei... A Night of Abandon...

14th April. 2009 - Today we were in for a treat. A parents retreat. Two days of fun... with or without the sun. Indeed, the sun had beat a quick retreat behind thick grey clouds. That, however, would not deter us. T-chan and I were on our romantic 2 day mini-break. Just the two of us. At last! It might, or might not, surprise you to know that this was our first night away from L-kun. Full stop. Of course - as all good parents did we worried about him horribly... for about 5 mins, and then we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

And how did we do that? Well, we jumped on a bus... a bus bound for Jozankei. Sapporo's other "romantic" getaway. Jozankei is the main onsen area, about 28 km from Sapporo Station by bus... actually, T-chan will most probably berate me here, as in her view Jozankei is still part of Sapporo. For a mere visitor however, it's on the other side of the mountains, and an eternity (and a 2 yo child) away. Autumn is the best season to visit Jozankei... and if you're interested, check out this older post when we were there during the golden leaves season.

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We stayed at the Hana Momiji onsen that sits alongside the river Toyohira-gawa, in the heart of the town of Jozankei. This particular onsen has two parts, the Hana-momiji portion is the taller Hotel to the left, whilst the lower (older?) Hotel wing by the riverside is known as Shika no Yu. There are a number of onsen, in the building itself,  but within the Hana-momiji section the main onsen is actually on the roof-top. Now... I'm most probably more a "natural" onsen person, but it's quite a bizarre feeling sitting (naked as you do) in a hot bath on top of an 12 storey building overlooking the town and across from the mountains.

Hana Momiji Onsen From Google StreetView

Actually, there are two onsen at the top floor - one for men and one for women, that alternate in the morning and evening. The onsen in the other wing are located on the 2nd floor, alongside the river itself. In terms of the onsen itself, I'd rate it 3 out of 5... it was a good onsen, but I'm a sucker for lakeside onsen or distant views of the mountain peaks... also, if I'm staying in an onsen hotel I prefer to stay where there's a good variety of different styles of bath.  As you can't take cameras into onsen (I certainly would feel uncomfortable if someone else did), you can check them out here to see a sample of the onsen baths themselves.

Of course - on the important issue of the onsen water... I have very little opinion. I'm sure most (though not all) Japanese enjoy onsen - and I'm sure there's just as many opinions about which water is best. Japanese certainly have a  greater appreciation for the water: whether it's temperature, smell, texture of skin following a bath, (supposed) curative powers - or just the particular array of minerals that are contained within the waters. For me, it's all about the degree of relaxation...

Our view was a slightly mixed bag. Like many onsen towns, Jozankei had evolved a fairly ugly concrete skeleton amidst the rugged beauty of the mountains. But as May was rapidly approaching, the town also like many parts of Japan, was already decked out in the koinobori (or carp pennants)... we'll see more about them later.

Another hint that the boys festival was approaching was the traditional kabuto, i.e. samurai helmet and armour (the armour part is optional), that was displayed down in the lobby. 

Returning to our room, to which we had been initially been guided to by one of the very helpful kimono-clad staff, we were able to relax even further. We had booked a "couples plan" (about 12,000 yen per person from memory...so not cheap), which meant a nice dinner in the room, and a little extra special attention. The room was Japanese style, so that meant that we'd be sleeping on futons... which had to be prepared once the dinner was completed (often done whilst your off enjoying the onsen...). Personally, for me, if you can I'd always recommend a Japanese-style room. It adds that extra special dimension to your stay... after all, you can experience a western-style hotel room anywhere. 

After a very relaxing afternoon and evening of onsen fun, we were ready for dinner in our room. It wasn't a huge feast, but we were quite happy with the variety, quantity and quality of the food. First off - there was the wine... a unique (seasonal) cherry-blossom flavoured sparkling wine.... actually this came on top of a bottle of white. Given that T-chan doesn't drink much more than fumes, this presented a different sort of challenge to myself. I mean, we couldn't let it go to waste.

Then came the main meal which consisted of a range of sashimi, tempura, grilled fish (forgotten what sort), salads, beautifully cooked rice (gohan), a type of Cherry-flavoured soft fish cake (kamaboko), and the main attraction, our own personalised shabu shabu dishes (see the white "cloth" dishes sitting over the tea-candle burners... something I've not had before. We also had some savoury jelly, desert (and we hadn't even hit the cake as yet).

We each had our own rice cooker/warmers...though I don't know where they thought we'd fit all of that rice?

Oh - and I forgot the  crab miso soup (misoshiru). Yummy.

And I have to tell you... I do have a separate dessert stomach. It doesn't matter how much I eat/drink, I can always find room for desserts... especially mini cheese-cakes and strawberries.

And whilst it's perhaps not advisable to rush down to the onsen immediately after a big meal, we had another special treat to occupy ourselves. We had booked our own private onsen bath for an hour... it's not that easy to enjoy onsen together as a couple as most onsen these days are sex-segregated. But... this is all you're going to see on this blog about the private onsen.

After a huge day of just plain relaxing, in the wee hours of the morning we decided to crack open the cake... ah raburabu keiki (a term of childish doe-eyed love for one-another in Japanglish for love-love). And the evening was yet young (unfortunately, both T-chan and I were not.... alas).

So whilst it was a night of "abandon".... at least in terms of leaving L-kun home with his grand parents, I can honestly say that it was not without some stress (and I'm sure there were moments of stress for T-chan's parents as well). It was a reminder also of our carefree lives, and of those days when we could just go running around the countryside without any commitments... and in those moments there's always a twinge of sadness at something lost. Yet honestly, those moments are quickly filled to over-flowing with the joy of having children. At least until the next time they start crying. ?;-p

I like to believe that whilst L-kun was snug in bed back at obaachan and ojiichan's house, that he benefited almost as much as we did by having re-charged parents coming home the next day. And as for the onsen itself, I'd give the overall experience a 4 out of 5... coz it's nice and close to Sapporo and yet still has the feel of being in the mountains.

Pt 2 Autumn Colours in Jozankei (Sapporo)

15th October, 2003 - The place we were going to was Houhaikyou Dam in Jozankei... whilst we had a taste of the colours on the way here, walking through the tunnel was like walking into another revalation. The skies may be cloudy, and the pictures may not do the scenery justice...but it was breath-taking for me and T-chan.

Once again, I will try to let the pictures do the talking...

Houhaikyou Dam

This is a working dam... and you can walk across the dam... just don't look down. ?:-)

There's a touristy lodge here where you can get a hot lunch. Nothing to write home about... but it also feels like it's designed to fit 100's of visitors. There's a few people around, but not that many... perhaps because it's a Friday?

Walking up the mountain you get a better perspective...

I have to say we felt very lucky that the colours were so spectacular this year... in subsequent trips to Sapporo in Autumn we've been disappointed. It all depends on timing and the weather... but this was one of those magical moments for us. Definitely recommend coming here if you're in Sapporo in mid October.

I wish we had better cameras... but unfortunately just our point and clicks! Hope you enjoyed.

Pt 1 Autumn Colours (Kouyou) at Jozankei (Sapporo)

15th October, 2003 - After having rested up sufficiently post-pre-post-wedding party... we decided to go for a day trip to Jozankei...about 28km west, up in the mountains to see Kouyou (Autumn Colours). To be honest, I hadn't really had much expectation from the trip. I mean... we have autumn here in Australia to, you know. Little did I realise what I was in for. Of course in Australia, most of our wilderness is evergreen Eucalyptus trees. Big difference.

On the way to Jozankei, we stopped Moanan Kouen... about halfway there. I'll let the pictures do the talking for the rest of this post.

As we left Monan Kouen we headed further up into the mountains. Jozankei is the Onsen (hot springs) place of choice for Sapporo people (and more widely across Japan). Even though it feels like a long way out of town, it's still considered part of the city of Sapporo. But as we drove further and further, my mouth started opening wider and wider at the cacophony of colours that were starting to appear before my eyes.

And then we arrived at Jozankei area proper...

Our last part of the journey we'd have to make on foot. The tunnel that takes us from this world to the next?...

It's a long, long tunnel when you walk it... thoughts turn to the fact that Japan is a very geologically active island chain... and earthquakes are not an uncommon thing... hmmm...