MURORAN

I opened our glass slider to go to the deck at 5:00 a.m. The fog hung over the water and there was little I could see. My first thought was: “Mysterious Muroran”. We docked at 7:00.
Our tour this day was organized by a new friend, Chris. She and her hubby, Tom, are at our dinner table. Chris worked with a bus company, hired them for about $80 per person and then picked up a guide, just someone who was learning the trade and acted as an interpreter. We paid Chris for our pocket expenses, about another $80 p.p. All in all, we had an ambitious day plan due to everything being far apart.
Our friend, Jim, said Muroran was similar to Pittsburgh – a steel mill town. He was so correct. I was struck by the starkness, a lot of black and white.
Our first stop was the Ainu village where the indigenous people live. They put on a show for us and what a show it was. The leader was a ham and quite able to engage the crowd. Then there were 5 women and 1 man who entertained us with song and dance. Even though we thought it “hokey”, we did enjoy it thanks in part to the MC.




M.C. at Ainu Village



Kathleen shopping for souvenirs at Ainu Village

On to Hell Valley crater with volcanic pits and geysers. This is in the town of Noboribetsu, where we would later have lunch. The bubbling hot springs are a major draw for locals and tourists alike. We did not see the geysers, but I would imagine it is similar to Yellowstone.




At Hells Valley

 Our lunch this tour was in the hotel in town. It was a buffet and they laid out a very nice spread. The noodles in this part of Japan are famous. I ended up having a bowl of broth with noodles – very yummy.

Gretchen, please share your beer with Joe

Our last stop was the Mt. Usu Ropeway (another word for gondola) and Lake Toya. The ride to the top took all of 8 minutes to the top. But the views were spectacular. Off to one side was Lake Toya, then after about a 10 minute climb, you could see the crater. We could see the snow-capped mountains In the distance behind Lake Toya. We all had some free time to shop in the local souvenir stores at the base of the ropeway.
After a 30 minute drive, we returned to the port early. We all voted to cut the tour short since the captain said there would be a dockside show presented by the grammar school children. Also, the mayor of the town was coming out to meet and greet our Captain, Dino Sagani. It was one of the best farewell shows of the cruise. The Japanese children were just precious with their songs and dance. My last memory of Muroran will be all the children lined up on the dock as the ship’s side thrusters pushed us out to sea. They were all waving at us and shouting. What a marvelous way to end our last day in an Asian port.



Girls dancing at sail-a-way



Our young Captain Dino with a very young Mayor of Muroran



Farewell Muroran