🇯🇵 Japan – Hokkaido Trip : Lake Tōya

#cherryblossom25 🗻Destination: Lake Tōya (洞爷湖) On the second day of my Hokkaido journey, I traveled from Sapporo to Lake Tōya in the morning. Since I was relying entirely on public transportation, the schedule was a bit tight — but thankfully, the weather was perfect! ☀️ Under the blue skies and fluffy white clouds, the lake glistened in vibrant shades of blue, gentle ripples lapping the shore. Seagulls swooped above, and cherry blossoms were in full bloom along the lake’s edge. It was all incredibly soothing. All the tiredness from the journey melted away in the face of such beauty. It was a place that made me want to sit in silence, linger longer, and forget about the world — just to listen to the wind blowing across the lake, and the clouds drifting through the mountains. Later, I took the local bus all the way to its final stop — and there it was, right before my eyes: Mount Shōwa-shinzan (昭和新山). This unusual, almost surreal mountain erupted unexpectedly from farmland in 1943 after a massive earthquake. It’s still considered a "young" mountain and even now emits heat from underground. With its reddish slopes glowing under the sunlight, it looked like the Earth’s very heart was exposed. #thingstodo