We said farewell to our western-style beds and tiled floors and made our way to Hakodate Station. A man selling either Spider Crab or Dried Cuttlefish (hey, what else is there in life?) at a stall lining the footpath decided to high-five each of the kids as we walked past to the Station - they thought they were pret-ty special. I would include Hakodate in any trip to Hokkaido - but I would probably hire a car to get to some of the more out-of-the-way places (and to be able to pop up and down Mt Hakodate at will).
The three hour train journey on the Super Hokudo to Sapporo was exceedingly uneventful (and decidedly lacking in fresh ventilation). We very narrow-mindedly had some Vegemite sandwiches, and they were awesome. The Japanese version of our Supermarket bread is so refined, it would make our white bread appear whole-grained. They have removed not only any trace of a husk, but even the family, friends and work colleagues of said husk - this stuff is smooth down to an atomic level.
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| Some of the scenery heading north from Hakodate |
We stepped out of Sapporo Station into a sunny (albeit frosty) day! The entire mood of the place was transformed. Even the bizarre cuckoo calls for East/West pedestrian signals, and the brooding ravens hanging about everywhere seemed more welcoming.
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| The Intrepid Explorers |
The man we had exchanged gifts with at the Ryokan almost hugged us upon our return. He picked up and carried Joshie (who fortunately was in a 'people' type of mood), chatted about his daughter and walked us to our door. He also explained the reason behind all the emergency folk we had noted upon our return from one of our outings previously. There had been a gas explosion in the cafe below the hotel. How... comforting. We set down our bags and were given a welcoming fruity-bean-paste covered in a jelly-of-some-kind confection. It was lovely, tasting somewhere between a grape and lychee. The kids gagged (fortunately after the nice folk had left).
Making the most of the nice afternoon, we set out for Odori Park (which is actually a series of narrow parks stretching East/West across central Sapporo).
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| Yes, that is our 2 year old going head-first down a marble chute. He managed to avoid landing on his face - fortunately. |
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| Playground + major city roads + no safety fencing = anxious Martin parents. |
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| This is the same place that was slate-grey and verging on sleeting a few days ago. |
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| Sapporo Radio Tower in the background (think Orange Eiffel Tower with a digital clock on it) |
Tomorrow, we catch the train from Sapporo Station to the airport, flying into Tokyo (Haneda Airport), catching a train from there to a mountain township of Nikko -- methinks it shall be a long day. We had been looking forward to returning to the relatively higher temperatures of Honshu, but a guide to Nikko describes its weather as mirroring Hokkaido's (due to its altitude) - awesome.
