Beauty in Destruction: Toyako's Volcanos

Wednesday's big adventure was to The small resort town of Toyako Onsen. Located at the foot of an active volcano it is a great spot to go to a natural hot spring spa, and the surrounding view is gorgeous. But I'm not here to relax. I want to explore. 
I timed things right to get to Showa Shinzan, and take the cable car up to the top. From there I could see the entire surrounding area as I walked along the crater's rim. 
The main crater is impressive to look at and since it is still active you can see some steam escaping in a few places. The dark spot on the left side of the picture below the small mountain is a series of small sub-craters. 
Mudslides still happen from time to time. About three hundred steps lead you down into the crater before returning to continue halfway around the rim. Of course for every step down I had to go back up and my legs are still sore. 

From there I returned back to town and started my second hike of the day. This one took me past ruins from a mudslide as a result of the 2000 eruption, over the mountain and to the other side. 
While this part of my trip was the best, I didn't take any pictures with my cell phone of the ruins. But near the top is a famous crater with a beautiful blue pond seen above. 

I had some real good food Wednesday but you'll have to wait for that until I post all my food experiences together. 

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