Hokkaido, pt. 2

*small disclaimer: I obviously still haven't figured out how to format this blog because the template is weird, so the picures may not line up with the captions. Sorry.
I only have 2 1/2 weeks left here in Japan and I am going crazy. I never thought there would be this much to do! But I will take a little time out to post more about Hokkaido.
So after getting to Daisetsu-zan Natl. Park, we had time to relax, so I went to my first onsen (hot spring bath). It was on the 7th floor of a fancy hotel, and it had an outdoor bath that overlooked the surrounding mountains. It was a little awkward at first, because I had no idea what to do, but after some other women came in, I could just follow them. And was it worth it. No pictures, though.
The next day, we went hiking up a peak named Kuro-dake. It was a nice hike, albeit a little steep, with flowers and greenery the whole way up.
These pictures are from the hike.












This is the sign at the peak with the elevation in kanji (1984m). I realized I need to stop doing the peace sign for pictures. It's become habit in Japan.











This was (disappointingly) the view from the top, but only when the extremely cold wind picked up enough to move some of the clouds away.






The hike was really nice, even if my knees were about to give out at the end. It was a really pretty area, and I want to go back to do some more hiking in the future.
The next day, we rode bikes around to see some waterfalls before we had to catch our next train.

And then it was off to Sapporo.