Noboribetsu

(no wi-fi in the next two destinations, waited till I got back to Singapore to post what I have written on my Iphone. Will be attaching some photos tomorrow or so)

After 5 days at Niseko, we hired a vehicle to bring 6 of us, south to Noboribetsu, an onsen (hot spring) town. On the way, we toured Lake Toya, a third the size of Singapore. It is a crater lake surrounded by beautiful mountains, some peaks still smoking i.e. recent eruptions.  As we surveyed the beauty of God's creation, our thoughts of Psalm 121. "I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help comes from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. " We praise the Lord for His goodness as we look at the grandeur around us. ( Indeed it is amazing, when we read the ODB in the evening, the day's reading was on Psalm 121! We are astounded by the Rhema word coming alive to us )

Kaiseki breakfast

Kaiseki dinner - a work of art

At Noboribetsu, we stayed in a ryokan and went to their onsen several times. Their kaiseki meals are renown for its exquisite-ness. The little portions are "mountain-dew" fresh and delightful in presentation. Paul and Russ went out to the Marine Park in town.

It is quite an experience to visit the open onsen in winter. After the pre-requisite cleaning,  I warmed up in the indoor hot pool for 5 min before venturing out to the outdoor hot spring surrounded by snow covered rocks and shrubs and falling snow. Soaking in the hot spring water of 41degree C and atmosphere of below 0, is very therapeutic and good for health, I am sure. One must not stay in the hot spring for too long.

I am very glad and thankful to be able experience all this and appreciate the beauty and wonder of Japan.