During our tour of Japan, we took the Express Train that travels through an undersea tunnel for 33.5 miles between Hakodate to Southern Hokkaido. I had never been on a train that goes underwater before, so it was an exciting adventure for me.
Hokkaido is the second largest of the four main islands of Japan and is the northern most one. Of all the four islands, Hokkaido is the least developed. The weather during winter is harsh with major snowfall and temperatures dropping to below zero. Hokkaido is also home to a lot of unspoiled nature and tends to attract many people who love the outdoors.
We stayed at the Kussharo Prince Hotel, which is right by the shore of Hokkaido's beautiful Lake Kussharo. Every window in the hotel looks out to this beautiful lake, thus making our stay a very peaceful and relaxing one.
Lake Kussharo is a caldera lake located on the eastern part of Hokkaido. It is the largest caldera lake in terms of surface size in Japan. What is a caldera? When a large amount of magma erupts out of the ground, the main support for the crust above is lost, resulting in the ground surface collapsing downward. Subsequently this leaves a massive depression at the surface. In time water fills this depression, creating a lake.
Lake Kussharo is such a quiet and serene lake with beautiful color water. During sun rises, it has a surreal reflective beauty on its surface. My daughter and I had taken a walk around parts of the lake before breakfast and found two fishermen quietly fishing alone on the large lake. It is amazing for such a beautiful lake to be void of people, except for the two fishermen. It was so quiet that you could hear a leaf drop. Such stillness gave the lake an ethereal quality.
If you ever travel to Japan, a stop at this Lake Kussharo would be an enjoyable and relaxing place to rest and enjoy a quiet moment. It will push all your stress away. Nature is such a beautiful experience and healing. I loved my stay in Hokkaido!
May your days ahead be stress free and happy! And may your travels be fun and adventurous. Thank-you for visiting my post! If you would like to see other posts that I made while on tour in Japan, please click HERE.
All pictures were self-taken while on a Japan tour.