Mammoths, Old trains, Coastal Drives and exiting Hokkaido to Honshu. Nebula Festival,

Life in 2500BC, 69 Corners to the top, 100Sulphur fumaroles, and relaxing at our wild and free Camp No90

Never thought of Mammoths in Japan, but when it was joined to Siberia 650,000 year ago they migrated south.

This is a replica of a full grown male skeleton unearthed in 1969.

Not quite as old, an American built Loco of 1880.

Complete with snow plough.

A Japanese built snow plough of 1944

And another but more like a tunnel worm.

The Otaru Canal built in 1914 and associated old warehouses.

Now the town is a thriving tourist centre.

This shop sells only music boxes- 3 floors of them!

Another tight road up to an old lighthouse.

15.5% gradient

The old lighthouse.

We followed the western coastline of Hokkaido south.

The road is right on the edge.

A Great drive.

Now back in Honshu at Aomori and the preparations are will on the way for the Nebuta Festival.

Huge floats weighing 4 tons and 8m wide

All made with wire, and paper.

The festival is held in August and is 300 years old

I like this stuff. Ancient civilisation dating back 3000 to 2800BC.

Inside the large community pit building.

The reconstructed individual pit houses, built over the original sites.

Numerous flint arrow heads that were found on site.

Hirosaki Castle

69 full left full right corners to the top of Mt Iwaki

From here on-

it’s walking.

Camp 89.

Warning BEARS and Warning Vipers

And Japanese tourists think Australia is dangerous!

Between 2000 and 3000 people get bitten by the deadly Viper each year.

In The timber troughs they are harvesting the sulphur.

Lake Tazawa.

An ancient caldera now water filled and over 400m deep.

The blue is from high acidity of 5.14

There are thoughts it could also be from a meteorite impact.

Our camp No 90 on the lake