On the road again...(and rail, tarmac, and monorail)

We woke early and made our way back to Sapporo Station for the final time after breakfast (goo-free). It was going to be a long day, but the sun was out and our spirits high.

Sapporo Station

We reserved some seats on the JR line, and trained it to New Chitose Airport where we gratefully booked our larger packs in. The flight to Haneda was reasonably uneventful - surprising, with Lily and Hamish seated next to each other. They were in hysterics over a camera mounted on the front of the plane (showing ground crew going about their business) - which they called 'the spy camera'. 

From Haneda Airport (Domestic Terminal), we took the Shuttle Bus over to the International Terminal - as this was the only spot we could pick up a new JR Pass (East) - which we cannot do without. After reserving some seats with a JR lady (who was convinced we'd get lost) we jumped on the Monorail (truly, the future is now!) to Hamamatsucho Station. From here, we weaved/stumbled our way to the JR Line taking us to Tokyo station. We almost lost Lily at this point, as she jumped on an outbound train just as the doors were closing. Not all of us were going to make it (2 year olds make pretty good anchors) - so I managed to yank her back out by her backpack, just as the doors closed. Precious minutes ticked by as we waited for the next train. 

We rushed on as it arrived, trained it to Tokyo Station, and then fought against the surges of humanity (as well as a couple of guys scrubbing the station floor by hand during peak-hour) and made it to our Shinkansen with approximately 4 minutes to spare. 

Staring at each other incredulously that we'd actually made it, the bullet train absolutely blasted along the tracks, but slowed down sufficiently to allow us off at Utsunomiya Station, where we boarded the very laid back Nikko Line. It was growing dark as we pulled into Nikko - so we avoided a 45-60 minute walk, and taxied it to the Turtle Inn (the guy seemed to understand 'turtle' and 'inn', but that was about it). 

Nikko Station - apparently designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

We pulled up at the Turtle Inn - thanked the Taxi driver, and dragged ourselves inside. After speaking with the confused/polite lady running the place - it turns out that we wanted the Turtle Inn Annex (rookie mistake), so we walked the last few hundred metres in the dark until finally arriving.

Turtle Inn Annex (not to be confused with the Turtle Inn)