Seafloor Surveys sent Scott and I to Japan in 1999.  We spent the entire summer there, mostly off shore on a research vessle.  We were working on the Shakolin pipeline marine survey, which gave us a lot of time on land.  The main cities were Hakodate, and a small town called Ohata.  One weekend, we took a bus to a small mountain town called "Toya Ca" to see the Showashinzan active volcano.  Here are some photos I dug up when cleaning out an old hard drive.