Shepherd Dogs

We departed from Tsurui Village right after lunch and headed north to Lake Kussharo where we spent a night. Along the way, one of us spotted a farm where many cows were kept inside a fence with several dogs sitting nearby. It took us a while to realise that those were not dogs, but actually Red Foxes! We had to make a U-turn and headed back to that little roadside farm to see them. There were in total 3 of them sitting around the fence. They slowly walked away as we got out of the car and tried to approach them. It was my first experience taking photos of foxes and the completely white background of snow really made it special.

One of the 3 Red Foxes we found at the farm

Started to feel a little uncomfortable.

Then finally ran away.

Their footprints were all over the place.

My last view of the fox

Along the way to Lake Kussharo

Our first view of the Lake Kussharo

Our guesthouse, Gasthof Papilio

We arrived at our little guesthouse, Gasthof Papilio, almost late in the evening. The place was truly fairytale-like and I fell in love with it since the very first moment we entered the small road leading into the place. It stood there nestled among the wood under the warm evening light with lots of tiny birds flying around all over and even some deer. I almost felt like we were all entering into paradise. The welcoming owner was a kind elderly couple and the dinner was great. We celebrated one of the trip member's birthday with red wine as the snow began to fall at night. It would definitely be an ideal place to spend a Christmas holiday,  I believe.