I visited Futami Park in the hot-spring village of Jozankei, about a 60-minute drive from Sapporo.
Jozankei lies 26 km south of central Sapporo, inside Shikotsu-Toya National Park. It is a hot-spring resort in a valley surrounded by nature.
The original account described an annual visitor total of 2.4 million.
Jozankei's history dates to 1866. According to the story told here, a monk named Miizumi Jozan discovered the hot springs with guidance from Ainu people, Hokkaido's Indigenous inhabitants.
The area was named Jozankei in recognition of his work overcoming difficulties to establish the foundations of the hot-spring resort.
Its scenery and plentiful spring water later earned recognition, and in 1996, the 130th anniversary of the hot springs' development, it became a health and recreation resort.
Jozankei's spring water is clear and colorless, with a slightly salty taste. It is a sodium chloride hot spring, described in the original account as one of Japan's widely loved spring-water types.
The account describes the water's salt content as helping bathers warm up and retain that warmth after bathing.
It lists 56 spring sources, a flow of 8,600 liters per minute and temperatures of 60–80°C, praising both the abundance and quality of the water.
Futami Suspension Bridge is another sight, especially admired for its autumn scenery.
In winter, though, the mountains were so completely white that it was difficult to tell where the bridge was—or even where to put my feet.
So much snow had piled up that I found myself wondering whether the bridge could hold it.
Even finding my way here had been difficult, with the path buried in snow.
Jozankei has a kappa legend. These imaginary creatures from Japanese folklore have become the village's mascots, and their designs appear throughout the area.
The kappa sculptures around the hot-spring streets were created from ideas contributed by Sapporo residents.
Looking for the kappa hidden around Jozankei adds another small pleasure to a walk.
Before a dam was built upstream in 1909, the Toyohira River running through Jozankei was said to have had a powerful flow and plentiful fish.
At that time, a road worker named Seyama fell into the river while fishing and disappeared.
A search began immediately, but he was never found. The legend says that a year later he appeared in his father's dream, saying, 'I met a kappa wife and am living happily,' before disappearing again. After that, drowning accidents in this spot were said to have stopped.
Futami Suspension Bridge may be lovelier in autumn, but this trip let me capture its winter appearance, when far fewer people seemed to visit.
Futami Suspension Bridge (二見吊橋)
Address: 北海道札幌市南区定山渓温泉西４丁目