ROAD TRIP (1/6) : Unkai Terrace and Lake Toro

I wanted to do a road-trip across Hokkaido so I rented a car for a week. At least, that’s what I thought. But let’s start with the beginning.

I organized differents visits, city stops and I would save money sleeping in my car. Nothing went as planned. Without being a fiasco, this trip wasn’t a total success. I removed some destinations and added some others, cancelled some activities and sleeping in a car wasn’t the brightest idea I had but most of all I was very unlucky because of the weather. The forecast said it’d be cloudy but with some bright intervals… well it was cloudy BUT with some downpour intervals. They were right about the clouds though, I’ll give them that.

It’s actually in the clouds that I started my trip.

UNKAI TERRACE

This is THE place I couldn’t miss. I wanted to go when I went to Furano but as I said back then, I had to be there very early in the morning. I was pretty surprised to see so many poeple well awake at 4:3Oam!

To reach the Unkai Terrace you need to take a ropeway to the top (it takes 13min). It was supposed to open at 5am but it was so crowded that it opened earlier. Going up the ropeway, it’s like going from one world to another with the clouds as the border.

I stepped on the terrace and got blinded. Literally. I couldn’t see anything because of the sun. I had it straight in my eyes and the reflection on the clouds was increasing the luminosity even more. I started to walk the path to the different obersavation decks as a blind woman. Once out of the clouds, my sight restore, I could see the beautiful view in front of me.

« Unkai » means « sea of clouds ». It is exactly what it is. An endless sea of clouds. I could even spot a « cascade », what I wanted more than anything else. The Unkai phenomenon is due to the sea water temperature, to the hot wind coming from the south and the atmospheric pressure of the Pacific Ocean. The result is incredible. Plus it was sunny (why was I surprised that it was sunny above the clouds?!), it was hot and the landscape was magnificient.

Along the way you can experience different attractions. The first one is the « cloud bar ». You can enjoy the view sitting on (very) high chairs. Next comes the « cloud walk » which I really liked because there’s absolutely nothing between you and the sea of clouds. You can then take a break and lean on the « cloud beds », some kind of cushions made in the image of cloud droplets. A bit up the hill you can sit on benches and appreciate the beautiful view. The most popular attraction, loved by children and adults is the « cloud pool », a giant hammock above the clouds, limited to 10 people at a time.

It must have been very nice BUT the queue was huge so pass! After a few seconds of hesitation I decided to climb to the top of Mount Tomamu instead. It was 6 in the morning, I only slept one hour and I was very hungry… But god I did well! The view from the top was even more beautiful and impressive. With a 360° view, the sea became an ocean of clouds. Only the tops of the mountains around were emerging as if they were little islands. It was simplu stunning.

Getting to the top of the mount was also a way to avoid being swallowed by the clouds. Indeed, little by little they were spreading up the mountain and the several attraction were disappearing in the mist.
When I came back down, I wasn’t blinded by the sun anymore. Yet I couldn’t see 50metres away because I was literally in the clouds.

I absolutely loved it. It was wonderful. Only my legs had some difficulty to overcome the little 6am hike. I gave them a little rest before to take the road again towards Kushiro.

KUSHIRO ET LE LAC TORO

I arrived in Kushiro in the early afternoon. I was looking for a restaurant since I hadn’t eaten since the night before. This city looked like a ghost city to me. All the restaurants and shops were closed, no one was in the street, and only a couple of cars were driving around. This city itself isn’t very interesting so I decided to drive closer to the wetlands I planned to visit the next day. I spent my first night by lake Toro.
Well, sleeping in a car: not the dream night everybody thinks it is!

This first day was tiring but soothing as well. The head in the clouds in the morning and an evening on the banks of a lake or how to start my trip the best way possible.