Muroran, Hokkaido

We took an excursion to Lake Toya and Mt Usu.

Around the lake are statues made from local lava rock.

The inscription at the base of the statue below said: "The Revelation for Noah's Ark".

I've always been paranoid about handing my camera to a stranger to take our photo, in case they run off and I can't catch them, so Photoshop to the rescue.

Took a cable car up Mt Usu.

View of Mt Yotei from Mt Usu

The crater at the top of Mt Usu

View of nearby Mt Showashin, with all its smoking vents.

At the foot of Mt Usu is the statue of Masao Mimatsu  the local postmaster who recorded the eruption and growth of the Mt Showashin in 1944–1945. 

  

Woodcarvings in some of the local shops.

We spent the afternoon in the port city of Muroran itself, first going to the Internet Cafe to catch up on emails.  This internet cafe had semi-private cubicles with the chairs about 30 cm from the ground.

Found a Pachinko Parlour - it was really noisy inside.

Got around on the complimentary shuttle bus.

  

Some street scenes

We followed some signs up a hill to a Shinto Shrine, which was a pleasant experience.

 Finally, we dropped in at the local Tourist Office, where they had ikebana, origami activities for the visiting passengers from the ship.

Crossed the Hakucho Suspension Bridge back to the ship where there was a school children performance to farewell us.