Orofure Pass to Toya

From Noboribetsu to Toya park one can choose the expressway or the scenery road that runs through Orofure Pass to Toya .It seems in google that the scenery road takes much longer than the express but our experience was different.  We took the twisty scenery road and couldn’t be happier. There were series of tunnels that passed through Mt Orofure and led us to a lovely observation point.  From the observation one should be able to see the Pacific Ocean, Lake Kuttara, Lake Toya, and Mount Yotei but the weather became nasty and clouds started to descend.Nonetheless we decided to climb mount Orofure and hoped that the clouds will clear away.

Mount Orofure

Many flower are blooming aside the trail in July. We entered the hiking trail that leads up to Mount Orofure from the parking. A round-trip of about 2.5 hours was leading the hikers to the summit and back. The trail went up in narrow curves and wooden stairs. Blanket of clouds blocked any chance to see the scenery or to enjoy the wind. It was humid and our clothes stuck to the body. We enjoyed the flowers aside the trail but at half way , seeing that the mountain disappearing in the mist we turned back and climbed down to the car.

Arriving to Lake Toya

Lake Toya (Toyako) is the third largest caldera lake in Japan. There are four islands near the center of the lake and together they are called Nakajima. We drove around the lake and then took the road that leads to Windsor Toya hotel. The hotel looks like a gigantic ship with sails and overlooks the lake and the ocean. We stood in the lobby and watched the beautiful view through the enormous windows .