My ryokan owner had offered to drive me to the train station the previous day. I’d declined but then eventually accepted the offer. I’m glad I did: it was raining. It was time to leave Hakodate on Hokkaido and return to the main island, Honshu. The two islands are linked by the Seikan railway tunnel … Continue reading / view photos Aomori
Category: Travel
Mount Hakodate
Yesterday, I had bought a three-museum ticket when I visited the Museum of Northern Peoples. Today, I went to the other two: the former British consulate and the old Public Hall. The British Consulate was established in Hakodate after an Anglo-Japanese Treaty was signed in 1858. Free trade between Britain and Japan then began. A … Continue reading / view photos Mount Hakodate
Hakodate
The ryokan owner in Furano gave the two Taiwanese sisters (who I met yesterday) and me a lift to the station for our trains to Sapporo (changing at Takikawa). The sisters were not used to lugging their huge suitcases around and there was no lift to help them at Furano station. Although the station staff … Continue reading / view photos Hakodate
Kaze-no Gardens and Ningle Terrace
My ryokan owner went shopping after she dropped me off at Farm Tomita and returned later to pick me up. We drove back to the ryokan. In the afternoon, I took the bus to the New Furano Prince Hotel, one of the gateways to winter skiing. The hotel has two further attractions. First, I visited … Continue reading / view photos Kaze-no Gardens and Ningle Terrace
Farm Tomita
Yesterday, the ryokan owner said that she would drive me to the Blue Lake near Biei, about 40 minutes by car. However, it turns out that the blue lake isn’t always blue. It’s temperamental and its colour depends on the weather. Since we had rain overnight, it wasn’t blue today. The ryokan owner asked if … Continue reading / view photos Farm Tomita
Sports day and a beautiful restaurant in Furano
I returned to Sapporo Station from Sapporo Art Park in good time. In my marathon session with the ticket staff at Sapporo, I ended up with a four-day Sapporo-Furano area pass. Furano is a small town east of Sapporo. It takes about two hours by train, and you must change trains in one of two … Continue reading / view photos Sports day and a beautiful restaurant in Furano
Sapporo Art Park
I had most of the day free before the late afternoon train to my next destination, Furano, east of Sapporo. Sapporo Art Park was on my list of places to visit, and I was glad I could squeeze it in before leaving Sapporo. First, I had to get the subway and change lines. The changeover … Continue reading / view photos Sapporo Art Park
Otaru
Sapporo, the fifth largest city in Japan, is on Hokkaido, one of the main Japanese islands. Sapporo, being the capital of Hokkaido, is a good base for visiting other places. One of the popular daytrips from Sapporo is to Otaru, northwest of Sapporo. It took me 30 minutes to get to Oraru on the rapid … Continue reading / view photos Otaru
Mount Moiwa and Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art
Mount Moiwas is 532m above sea level. My walk to the top started from the same location as the Maruyama walk a couple of days ago. This was twice the height. There were more people on the walk but it wasn’t that busy. Hikers are very friendly: everyone says hello to you (“konichiwa”). There were … Continue reading / view photos Mount Moiwa and Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art
Sapporo TV Tower and Moerenuma Park
My plan when I left the hostel was to go to Moerenuma Park. However, the sun was out today. As I passed Sapporo TV Tower, it looked good. So, I decided to go to the top of it for the panoramic views of Sapporo. I saw the length of Odori Park, which I walked along … Continue reading / view photos Sapporo TV Tower and Moerenuma Park