Camping At Shokotan

We headed to the peninsula of Shakotan for some camping and another HAJET welcome party this past weekend on the one and only bus out of Sapporo that makes the 3-hour trip.  Shakotan is a rugged package of beaches, mountains, dense forrests, onsens, sunsets, and drool-worthy clear blue ocean waters.  Despite being accused of being dirty Russians, and having to pay $3.50 for a can of beer, the area was a gorgeous getaway from the city!

One of my panoramas, stitched from 4 photographs of the coastline:

Sam and I being mermaids...or water buffalo...or something...

Our awesome and FREE campsite right on the beach!

Yes, we were very happy to be there:

I LOOOOVE wearing flannel in Japan...while camping...on the BEACH!

For some reason, this shot reminds me of one of those t.v. "reality" shows about the rich kids who live near the beach in California and lead dramatic lives and have scandalous love circles but still manage to all come together for some beach bonfire action.  Is this the first sign of homesickness?

Oh, and I promised a more creative sparkler shot...I call this "Burning Man."  Deep, isn't it?

As you may have gathered from my various excursion posts so far, Hokkaido is definitely NOT Japan.  We're hoping to visit that country next month if all goes well.