The annual Aomori Nebuta Festival is famous in Japan. The Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse lets you experience some aspects of the festival if you missed it. The centrepiece of the museum are the four full-sized floats from the most recent summer festival. They are replaced every year. The modern nebuta lantern floats are transported around … Continue reading / view photos Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse
Tag: Japan
Aomori
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
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
Two parks and a panoramic view
Today, I was due to return to the vegan restaurant that was going to open for me. I decided to do a morning walk in Asahiguoka Park. The ryokan owner again offered to drive me there. I said I was fine to walk and after some back-and-forth, I set off on foot. A few minutes … Continue reading / view photos Two parks and a panoramic view
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