Fall colours in Sounkyo

My parents are up in Asahikawa this weekend to see me. On Saturday we went out to Sounkyo to see Mount Kurodake.

At the station there was this forest fire prevention poster.

And this film festival flyer featuring happy nut dudes.

I took a lot of photos of trees.

We walked down the road to reach some waterfalls. Here's Shooting Star Falls.

And here is Milky Way Falls.

At the souvenir shop I got to see some of Hokkaido's beloved algae balls!

Alongside them were keychains featuring the somewhat infamous algae ball mascot, Marimokkori. You can read about him here: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/marimo/

At the visitor's centre we saw a stuffed bear,

 some papercuts,

 and the Kurodake Ropeway mascots, Nakki the pika and Shima the Siberian chipmunk. So cute!

Then we took the gondola up the mountain. The view was great!

 Nearer to the top, the trees became more skeletal.

 There's the peak! It was still pretty far off. 

That zig-zagging pathway was daunting, so this is as high as we went.

 The forest is the sweetheart of the ocean.

Pictures on the way down.

Here's my dad with Asappy, back in Asahikawa. He sure likes that guy.

Among a display of artistic chairs, this one shaped like an apple in a hat stood out the most.

 Looks comfy.

We went to a place called Ofune for dinner.

Here's our sashimi set.

On the way back to the hotel, dad wanted to check out a pachinko parlor.

 It was loud and full of flashing lights.

I don't really get it!