lake – Norms & Weirdos

‘Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫)’, a masterpiece that Miyazaki Hayao spent 16 years developing the concept and 3 entire years making it. Miyazaki urged Ghibli studio to create this piece before he’s too old, as there are lots of action scenes and the theme is very serious comparing to others.

Shirakami Sanchi (白神山地)

Located across Aomori and Akita Prefecture in the Northeast of Japan, this is the reference for the village that Ashitaka, the main role lives. The forest is around 170 sq. km big with natural habitats, no wonder it becomes UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Twelve Lakes ‘Jyuni-ko’ (十二湖)

As the forest is not easily accessible and tbh it is quite a normal forest… Jyuni-ko, meaning ’12 lakes’, is the most worthy place to visit. The area has got more than 12 lakes, and is close to a train station.

Aoi Pond (青池) is very famous for its beautiful sapphire blue color. The clear water shimmering under sunlight, the space, the voice of nature (birds, waterfalls, waves…) and the weather of Aomori summer (around 16-20 degrees) provide a revitalizing experience.

Good thing of not many tourists is, there are free stuff. At the tearoom next to Ochiguchino Pond (落口の池), you can receive a free cup of green tea with Japanese traditional snacks.

A few steps from the tea room, you can collect water from Wakitsubo Pond (沸壷の池), being nominated as one of the ‘Heisei era best 100 water’ (平成の名水百選). The water was sweet (in a natural way) and cold. All good coz I didn’t have tummy trouble.

Unlike Tokyo or Osaka, it’s a rare choice of traveling, but also a good choice to enjoy interactions with the locals. People in Aomori are really nice and helpful. Just make sure don’t go there in winter, freezing cold and all paths to the mountains are closed.

Special Express ‘Resort Shirakami’

Take a break from car rental, coz the special train ‘Resort Shirakami’ can’t be missed! It travels between Aomori and Akita. It is not only for commute, it’s a tour itself!

Remember to grab a free postcard and stamp the train model pattern on it. Also don’t forget to buy apple ice-cream from the bar (Aomori is famous for apple)! And yes, this train has a bar, with alcohol and snacks 🙂

The whole journey makes a few stops, each has ~15mins for you to get off and take pictures. Like tour couch, there are announcements explaining all the spots outside the window, and sometimes there is performance of the traditional music instrument ‘Tsugaru-jamisen’ on 1 of the cabins.

Access & station info

Just get off at Jyuniko station and interchange for the bus to Aoi Pond. But you may have to wait for around an hour.

To kill time, go have lunch ‘Omakase set’ at Seikanso Tsunamoto Restaurant (静観荘網元), right across the station. The seafood are super fresh and delicious! And surprisingly, the set above only cost me 1000 yen!!!

If you don’t have enough time, try the Aoi Pond ice-cream at station shop. It said yoghurt flavor, which is weird but not bad.

Do not take the last bus/train.
There are basically nothing around the area.

In New Zealand, where every view can blow your mind, maybe we should focus on accessibility.

There are trains but mainly for cargoes, not reaching those tourist spots. So basically you gotta rent a car, take tours or pick wise.

Wanaka

about 1 hour drive from Queenstown, is a cozy little town by Lake Wanaka. Here, you can stay at YHA right in the town center at a reasonable price (comparing to Queenstown), getting a little cabin as for twin room and having a lobby facing the lake.

*– Windy shore with gulls flying backwards*

From there, you can reach a famous ‘instagram spot’ in 20 min walk or 5 min drive.

So it’s a tree. And a lot of tourists. Doesn’t seem to be special with my #nofilter version though.

Roy’s Peak

5 min drive from the tree, you can see “Roy’s Peak Track Parking”. Remember to grab the last toilet chance near parking!

*– Town center from the track (top right of the lake)*

The whole track is an easy gentle slope, 2-3 hours to the lookout, plus 20 min to the peak. I gave up the peak as the sun is getting down, and pics taken on the summit is not that appealing without the drone. Bring a jacket or maybe raincoat in case.

Sheep keeps staring at me for the first 3 sec then runs away. There are fences and ladders (just a few steps) to cross over gates, as the whole mountain is a huge breeding ground for the sheep.

There are mainly 2 concerns for this walk – weather and tracking. It’s a huge zig-zag across the range, sometimes there are showers, sometimes it’s freezing in the shadow, sometimes I’m dried out by the wind.

There are no signs on the whole walk. I’ve been asked for nearly 10 times whether this is the right way, and there are people giving up coz they have no idea where they are heading. The zig-zag is blocking the goal, you can’t really see the summit from the bottom, and there are fences that you’re not sure if you can cross.

Follow the footsteps, and try to stay on the main route.

You can’t see the lookout until you reach it, I was thinking of give up and head down a few sec before. There is a narrow path to get out and take the instagram pic, but you may have to wait for a few minutes. There are people taking wedding pics, people who climb out coz of the height and wind (me)… people tend to wait at the wider middle as only 1-2 can stand at the edge on the same time.

– what I see on the edge

It’s not that safe, to be honest. It was so windy that I (>50 kg) can merely stand. Take care of your children and avoid stupid camera postures. Spare some time coz you have to get down from the same route.

It’s not an OMG! view, but totally worth it as for an easy 2-hour-walk 5 min drive from town.

Tag: lake

[Japan] where Ghibli becomes real – ‘Princess Mononoke’ pt 1