Part 3
A few weeks later, Eliza came out of of the city again to spend the weekend exploring more of rural Eastern Hokkaido. The first place we went after picking her up from Asahikawa was Sounkyo gorge, an onsen town nestled deep in the mountains, to catch the tail end of the Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival. In the middle of winter, on a frozen lake an ice castle magically springs to life (actually, after months of preparation and “growing” the castle with water hoses) complete with turrets, winding passageways, precariously sharp icicles, ice slides, ice stairs (I think unintentionally icey), and a 15m tall ice tower. Walking inside of a living ice sculpture is like building a Lego castle when you were a kid and wanting to shrink down and walk through it. Awash in multi-colored lights and joyous laughter from all the tourists, it was like a freezing version of budget Disneyland. If you get the chance, the Sounkyo Ice Festival is a definite must-see. Check out Crystal's great blog for her experience of the festival.