Yoroushii/Teshikaga: 27th Feb 2015

It was a morning filled with worries and anxiety. We were told there was a snowstorm out there and we did not manage to get out of this place before 11am, the road might be blocked! Cant imagine what's going to happen. This meant we gotta stay at this posh hotel for more days. Kinda an irony haha.. because I really love this hotel but dont really wanna delay my trip!

The scary snowstorm!

So we woke up and had the most sumptious buffet breakfast that morning. The spread was enormous and the food was very very oishii beyond words.. There were many other photography enthusiasts groups aside from us.

 My very sumptuous breakfast!

This place is very famous for its milk and is used to make Haagen Daaz ice-cream!

And unfortunately, we didnt see any martens.. so I took a picture of the marten photo which I saw at the lobby :)

Takashi-san came by punctually. It was really crazy mad snow outside the hotel. The wind was strong too. There was a tinge of shiver going through my spine actually. I hoped we would not be stuck somewhere in the middle of the road under this weather condition.

Having some fun in the snowstorm!

Takashi-san drove carefully to move through the winding snow road. There was absolutely nothing to see outside the vehicle. Everywhere was snowy and miserable! We just prayed the snowstorm could stop soon and we could reach our next destination safely.

We reached Meitonomori Hotel Kitafukuro safely. From the time we left the vehicle, we were struggling to unload the luggage and get into the hotel due to the heavy snow pelting on us everywhere. As it was still early before check-in, we wandered around the lobby. Similarly, it has large window panels facing the forest outside. But no wildlife was seen, possibly due to the heavy snowstorm. And then, we did the most crazy thing in this trip!

A snow fight! haha..what better ways to enjoy in the midst of a snowstorm? :D

So we scooped snow, dumped it on each other, quite painful I must say haha..and started making snowman and snow angels.. And we had a snowman-making competition. My snowman looks like little Buddha, as one of them mentioned haha.. I wasnt placing much focus in making it, more like a just-for-fun attitude haha..

My KNS snowman

Having fun in the snow

And after this, we checked in, placed our luggage in our rooms and set off for our lunch to have the famous Teshikaga Ramen, which was highly raved. I had this ramen before at one of the outlets in Sapporo Ramen Yokocho. It tasted really good! And this time, I tasted another flavor of this ramen at the place of origin, which adds even more flavor. It didnt disappoint me and we had gyoza too..

Me with Takashi-san :)

After lunch, we made our way to Lake Kussharo. Although the snow did not reduce, we went ahead to Lake Kussharo to spot the swans. Boy, the crowd was quite overwhelming. Have never seen so many swans coming together. I must say they are very graceful. If only the weather is less harsh, I think sunset time will be a great timing to shoot.

The young on the left, the adult on the right.

Up to some mischief!

The frozen Lake Kussharo

We went into the nearby souvenir shop to thaw..it's really cold out there..and we chanced upon a recording toy..which was able to record sound and speak it out in its own funny voice. we were really having fun as we spoke different languages to the toy..and it resonated out the same exact words. it was simply hilarious!

Enough shooting, and shivering in the cold, we headed back to hotel.. guess what I did? went straight for onsen hahaha... they had the rotenburo. The view was not bad but I felt the one at the previous accomodation was better. And usually after onsen, I really felt a strong urge to fall asleep while skipping dinner.. But dinner was at a fixed timing. .. this was my last night..time just flew so quickly when you are on a vacation. The cuisine was yummy as expected and we enjoyed laughing aloud and enjoying the cuisine, with the heavy snowstorm outside. 

All of us were hoping the snowstorm would be less severe the following day...so that we could reach Kushiro Airport... but..little did we know there would be more adventures coming by... ;)