Could someone freeze to death ? Most probably. Could I, at this particular moment, freeze on the spot and turn into an ice statue ? Definitely. I could not feel my hands anymore and my hair threatened to become quite similar to a stalactite with every passing second. On top of it all, the bus where I was sitting had a broken window letting in deadly cold air just above my head. Long story short, I couldn’t wait to get to my final destination.

Was I lost somewhere in Siberia ? Not at all. I was in Japan, on the southern tip of the Northern island of Hokkaido, otherwise known as the coldest place in the world right now. Canadians or Russians would certainly laugh at me for not bearing a mere -20° C but I wasn’t used to such harsh weather, and neither were my three French friends travelling on this crazy trip.

February could have been deemed the worst time of the year to travel to Hokkaido. Yet, that month meant a bunch of pretty cool events, such as the Sapporo Snow Festival, but also a good opportunity to indulge in the traditional Japanese hotsprings. Either way, it seemed like a great idea on paper although I had perhaps underestimated the cold factor.

When I finally caught sight of the small thermal town of Toyako Onsen, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Despite the slippery path leading to the ryokan, that sense of achievement lingered and escalated when the staff at the ryokan’s desk handed us all a yukata, showing us the way to the hotel’s private onsen. Settling in our room took us a couple minutes only, since what we were all waiting for was to bathe in the soothing waters of a boiling hot onsen.

As I got to the locker room, a faded memory got back to me and suddenly dampened the mood. All four of us had all read something about not bringing any bathing suit to an onsen but the reality of it came crashing down on us. I could see on my friends’ faces that they weren’t ready to take that leap. « On the count of three, let’s all get undressed ! » It did take several counts of three to finally make it.

Taking the compulsory shower before bathing, all completely naked, was tough but it all faded away when we set foot in the outside hotspring. This rotenburo, hidden by a wooden fence covered in snow, felt like heaven with water at the perfect temperature. After only minutes of bliss, we all forgot that we were actually showing our parts to one another and just gave in the moment.

Cold hadn’t disappeared after our bath though, meaning we had to go through the ordeal of facing yet another snow storm and slippery roads to get to the village, where all restaurants were located. Hunger was our main drive here so we found the strength to walk for a dozen minutes until we got to a tiny house, only identified by the traditional noren hanging above the entrance. We pushed the door and got in.

The cook, standing behind a counter, showed some surprise but greeted us nonetheless while an old lady, who happened to be his wife, came to us in a hurry with a worried face. She lightened up when we started speaking in Japanese and took us to a private room to introduce us to all the different shades of sushi heaven she and her husband had on store. As she started bringing what was to be the best sushi of my entire year in Japan, she stopped to stare at all of us and uttered the strangest compliment we had ever received : « Chichai kao da ne ! You have such a small face ! » Her tone and manners were so affectionate that we could only thank her with a large smile, hoping for all locals to be as friendly as this cute couple.

The beginning of the next day did not show us wrong. A shy sunshine had given us some respite from the cold, allowing us to explore the town further. On some parts, Toyako could be pretty grim with its abandoned buildings controlled by an army of crows but it also held secret gems like the perfect sledge spot. Young parents and their kid were busy sliding on tires all the way from the top of a small hill when they spotted our miserable slede-less selves. Out of pity, or simply out of kindness, they came to meet us and lended us one of their own tires. What ensued was a lot of falling down, laughter and overall fun that ended up with a hot cup of cocoa in a tiny downtown café.

However, we needed more to stay strong against the cold and therefore decided to warm up at a restaurant serving a local version of the traditional yakiniku, or Japanese BBQ. A huge plate of Gengis Khan came to our table and such a promising name truly delivered in lifting our spirits as much as quenching our hunger. We eventually got out, heading to the Toyako lake, where an eery atmosphere of fog and pristine snow won us over. The landscape was dazzling, so quiet that we felt like the whole place belonged to us. That feeling did shatter.

« Doke ! » The cold tone and look of the old lady passing by startled me. She said it again, even more angrily, literally demanding us to get out of the way : « Doke !» When her silhouette faded away, we didn’t know whether to burst into laughter or into tears. One thing was sure though : one ill-tempered lady versus a cute sushimen’s couple, one happy family, brilliant food and perfect hotsprings was no match to ruin the experience of Toyako Onsen.

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