Filipino Funeral . . . then Volcanic Lakes and Hot Springs in Japan

Just as people we love come, they also go.  Yesterday we said goodbye to former Temple President Ciriaco Alfornon.  But he wasn't moving away . . . he was going to his Heavenly Home.  So sad for those left behind but what a better place he is in now.

President Alfornon was only three years older than me.  Makes me appreciate each day God gives me.  I spoke with him (Brother Alfornon, not God, although that would have been nice) not too long ago in the temple, and he asked me, "Sister Torrie, how young are you?"  Nice way to put it.  That was the last conversation I had with him.

I learned a lot about Filipino funerals.  Traditionally they hold wakes for several days before the actual funeral and burial.  Each day is for different groups of people to be with the bereaved. 

This day, Saturday, September 5, was temple workers day to pay respects.  We put on a program with current Temple President, Pres. Ong, conducting, and with workers giving short talks and special music.  Elder Torrie brought his keyboard and he played and I conducted several hymns.  And can these people sing!

L-R: Brother Olayao (temple recorder), President & Sister Ong, Sister Alfornon (in yellow), Sister Olayao.

The very small room was full, with 90-100 people crammed in and many more spilling out into the hall.  At these wakes, the families also provide food, and not just refreshments.  They provide meals.  This evening, the food was late coming and many temple workers, including us, left before it came. 
Here we are with Sister & President Gison (1st counselor), President & Sister Ong, and us.  Love these good people.

I have learned that the funeral home provides (for a cost of course) a bedroom for the bereaved, as well as a small pantry to store food, and a small CR (comfort room).  That way, the deceased's spouse can stay with him for several days before the burial.  Interesting.  On Monday, the funeral will be held in the local LDS church with the burial afterward.

As I led the singing and listened to the melodic Filipino voices, I got pretty choked up.  We will miss these wonderful people when we go home in the very near future.

L-R: President & Sister Preciosa (2nd counselor), Sister & Elder Torrie, Brother & Sister Daclan and their son, the younger Brother Daclan.

As I have time, I have been going through our Japan pictures so I can finish up the trip.  So hard to decide which pictures to post and which to skip.  It's kind of like going to the eye doctor.  Is this better?  Or this one?  So hard. 

From Tokyo, we took the Shinkansen (the bullet train) for 4.5 hours to arrive in Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido.  Driving takes 11-12 hours, including a ferry ride across the Tsugaru Strait.  Glad we took the train. 
The train, which travels up to 300 kph (200 mph) goes through the world's longest undersea tunnel -- 53.85 kms (33.46 mi) total, with 23.3 kms (14.5 mi) of it under the seabed.  Total tunnel is longer than the Channel Tunnel.  Kind of freaky to be under the ocean for so long.

The map shows our route from the Shinkansen station in Hakodate to Lake Toya to Jigokudani's Hell Valley north to Shikisai-no-Oka Flower Farm, then through Sapporo (of Ichiban fame) to Otaru and back to Hakodate.  LeRon has done excellent trip planning.  (Usually it's me; I should have known he would be great because he loves to research).

Here we are near Hakodate (pronounced hock-oh-dah-tay).  Saw more sculpted Japanese black pines.  We were so happy to be in a cooler and more rural area, with lots of farmland.  You can take the boy (or girl) off the farm but you can never take the farm from the boy (or girl).

Picked up our rental car.  Looks like the front bumper is smashed but that's just an illusion through the dealership window. 
The steering wheel is on the right because, yes, they drive on the left in Japan.  But LeRon has been here before (albeit on a bicycle) and we've also driven on the left in the UK many times, and also for 19 months on our mission in Kenya.
To this day, we sometimes get mixed up about which door the passenger should open and which door the driver should open.  We have to really think.

A muddy rice field by the train station.  Too muddy to walk in.  Rice has to be kept very moist.

Love the wildflowers.  Tokyo and south is too hot right now for wildflowers to bloom.  And of course Cebu is also too hot.  The blooming plants we see in Cebu are watered either by hand or with sprinklers.

We kept seeing these yellow road signs with some kind of critter on it.  We have seen deer crossing signs in Alberta, camel crossing signs in Israel and Jordan, baboon crossing signs in Nairobi, and kangaroo crossing signs in Australia.  But what is this sign?  I asked google.  See below. 

It is a Japanese red fox.  No, they are not endangered.  But I guess when they run across the highway, they are "in danger"!
Here's a close-up of the fox sign.  And guess what?  After seeing so many signs warning of the fox, I actually saw one on the side of the road!  Too fast to snap a picture and no, we didn't hit it.  It wasn't quite as cute as the sign, but prettier than a small coyote.

First look at Lake Toya.  It was formed thousands of years ago from a major volcanic eruption.  The volcano then collapsed on itself and formed a caldera that is about 10 kms in diameter.  More volcanos erupted over time to form islands within the caldera lake.

We took a short ferry ride to the islands in the middle of the lake. 

People spend a few hours here regularly but no one lives here.  Children love to swim in the lake.

"Did you ever take a walk through the forest?  Stop and dream a while among the trees?  You can look up through the leaves right straight to heaven.  And you can almost hear the voice of God in each and every breeze."  Country singer Mac Davis.  1974.  Stop and Smell the Roses.  Does anyone remember it?  So apropos to our lovely walk in the forest.
https://genius.com/Mac-davis-stop-and-smell-the-roses-lyrics

I love trees.  But I also love sky.  If there are too many trees (as in a forest), you can't see the sky.  And that is so sad.

The grounds on one of the islands in the middle of the lake.  Love those sculpted trees.  But what a lot of work to keep them looking like that.

I hardly remembered I was in Japan until I saw this little shrine with its fortune-telling papers tied on the ropes.  Just put your coin in and take your pick.

Two white swans grooming themselves.  (They never stopped).  But what I really want you to see is that new volcano in the very back.  It looks like a small brown mountain.  Mt Usu erupted on March 31, 2000.  It destroyed roads, homes, and fields.  Even after 26 years, nothing is growing on the top.

Hokkaido is known for its swans.  But here at Lake Toya, only a few live here year-round.  Swans mate for life so these two are apparently a forever couple.

You can even rent swan boats if you want to.  No, we will just look at the boats and the beautiful flowers.

Yes, we are both here at beautiful Lake Toya.  You can see the islands in the middle of the lake.

Don't you love those clouds?  And blue sky and green foliage and purple flowers.  God's beautiful world!

LeRon wanted us to take this Disneyland-type castle ferry but we ended up with a regular ferry.  The castle boat looks pretty cool.  I wonder what it looked like inside.  Another time maybe we'll find out.

The mountain in the back is a look-alike Mt. Fuji.  No, it's not Mt. Fuji.  It's Mt. Yotei.

Here's a zoomed-in picture of Not Mt. Fuji.  Mt. Yotei is much smaller but definitely cone-shaped like Mt. Fuji; they are both volcanos.

LeRon with Mt. Yotei.  It's older than Mt. Fuji and not as well-known.

Me with Mt. Yotei.  Not Mt. Fuji.  Not so big.  Not so famous.  Not so young.  (The girl too is not so young!  Where does the time go?)

This unremarkable-looking restaurant -- Boyotei -- had great reviews online.  You can't reserve ahead of time, so it was recommended that you line up before the 6 p.m. opening time.  So we were there at 5:30 and there was already a line.  Will it be as good as they say?  We'll see.

Very cool interior.  Now, what to choose?

The salmon was very delicious.  Not fishy at all.  Yes, I would say that this restaurant should be highly rated.

Cool map of Lake Toya, overlooking the lake and Mt. Yotei.  Tonight (and every night), there are fireworks over the lake.  You can pay to take a boat or even the castle boat out into the lake to watch the fireworks.  But . . . we have a perfect view right from our hotel window.

We stayed in an "almost traditional" hotel room.  We could have slept on mats on the floor, but we chose the beds.  Two twin beds.  The hotel also provides yukatas to wear.

This easy-to-take-off "futon" cover seems like a great idea to me.

LeRon is trip planning.  The short little table is a little hard to use with the chair.  You are supposed to sit on the rice mats on the floor.  LeRon spent a lot of time, as a young missionary, cross-legged on the floor and also sleeping on tatami mats on the floor.

Important to know how to properly use a Japanese toilet.  No standing.  Please sit.  And please flush the toilet paper.  No throwing in the bin (as we do in restaurants and stores in Cebu).

Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise makes all the difference when it comes to egg salad sandwiches.  So delicious.  And the white, crustless bread is tasty too.  Buying egg sandwiches in a convenience store is the way to go.  Or you can buy the Kewpie and make your own.

Now we're in Hell Valley (aka Jigokudani Hot Springs).  Pretty cool (or rather hot) unless you have seen Yellowstone Park in Montana/Idaho/Wyoming.  Honestly, that is such an amazing place.  Largest in the world for geothermal activity.  You could spend a few days there.  We have also seen Rotorua in New Zealand and it's pretty cool (or again, rather hot), but nothing like Yellowstone.  Please go there.  If not there, then go here in Japan!

Hell Valley is a 24-acre crater formed 10,000 to 20,000 years ago by the eruption of Mount Hiyoriyama.  It is thermally active with bubbling steam and very hot pools.

A hot hike through the forest.

Lovely Katsura tree with bright green heart-shaped leaves.

 

The Oyunuma River Natural Footbath is warmed by volcanic hot springs.  We didn't try it because we didn't bring a towel and I don't like wet feet in runners.  But people were enjoying it today.

The Oyunuma River feeds the footbath.  It looks white because it flows from the Oyunuma Pond which is rich in minerals.  The water is between 40 and 45 C (104-114 F).  Just nicely hot.  We could feel the heat rising from the river.

And here's the Oyunuma Pond.

I remember seeing a pond like this in Rotorua in New Zealand.  But that pond was bright green.  Interesting that volcanos produce such differing landscapes.

We're in Hell Valley so I guess we should expect a few devils.

The little guy is almost cute.  And the man on the right is also cute, if I do say so myself.

Glad I'm not planning to go to the fiery place this devil belongs in.

Supper of gyoza, rice, and miso soup.  What better way to the end the day.

Yes, we love Japanese food.  But we can't say that we love the Japanese breakfasts we've had in our hotels.  They claim to be a combination of Japanese and Western, but . . . they are definitely Japanese and not what we would eat for breakfast normally.  But thankfully in this hotel, we had chairs and didn't have to sit on the floor.

At this hotel, LeRon saw the lantern of his dreams.  So gorgeous!

Stay tuned for my (hopefully) last post from our Japan Adventure