To Hokkaido and Back

Hokkaido and back

My journey began after a decent amount of stress…deadlines do that to me so I left earlier than I needed to in order to get to the ferry on time.  I got off at the stop at Nakanosae and walked for about half an hour to the ferry with all my stuff.  I was really worried they would have lost my reservation, but…it was all fine.  I paid, I had to write my name and my address in Japanese(really getting tired of that considering how bad my handwriting is) and I had to wait.  I wish I’d brought two books.  I started reading some Making Money by Sir Terry Pratchett and within 2 days it was done.  Feet of Clay would have been a good backup to bring.

Anyway, the ship itself looked a bit shabby on the outside, but had some charms on the inside, with an arcade, bath house, theater, and restaurant.  I…feel pretty old because I looked at the arcade and didn’t play anything.  It just didn’t seem pragmatic…I could just buy what I wanted to play online instead of throwing away coins if I wanted to play.  The bath was nice, but with the ship rocking and rolling, it was hard to get any feeling of zen peace, so I didn’t stay too long.  Dinner was an unimpressive, but adequate buffet and I delved deeply into my reading and to snacky foods from the ship’s souvenir shop, including buying a model ship and tons of soda.  The beds themselves were like capsule beds and…were kinda crap.  I was always worried about leaving my stuff alone, but nothing bad happened and I did sleep a little, but the boat tossing about made it hard.  I was…very exhausted by the end of my ride. There were a lot of old school anime on TV, which I liked, because the art style was very fun and livelier than the modern digital animation.  Also, Japan loves its samurai dramas and movies and they are way more fun as background noise than the crappy American teen dramas I left behind.  Finally, the commercials in Japan rock.  You want Dragon Quest? How about a villain in full makeup bathing in rubies telling you to buy the game?  You want a travel firm?  How about a full animated intro of college students in winter traveling to Okinawa?  You want house cleaners?  How about 4 guys dressed as Kappa rapping about how it’s helpful?  It’s way more imaginative and fun than in the US.

I want to say that while the ship itself was unremarkable, the romance of riding a ship really got to me.  I love the feel of the sea spray and the wind on deck and watching lights grow distant as we explore uncharted waters.  The black abyss all around us at night, as we are the only light to be seen.  It’s terrifying, but also invigorating.  This is what life is about.  The journey.  And it’s why I love Sunless Sea.  That feeling of daring to explore the unknown and sailing where dragons and beasts could be hiding…such a thrill!

When I arrived in Tomakomai, I admit to being a bit worried.  My phone was dying and it was an hour walk to the train station.  Fortunately, I was smart and looked around to find a taxi.  They took me to the train station and I headed out to Sapporo. The food for all of my trip from Sapporo onwards was fantastic.  I had an energy dish consisting of a rice bowl with special beef and butter and good lord, it was amazing.  The hotel I got was nice, though the A/C only allowed hot air, to my annoyance.  I did get to see Odori park, because the beer museum was closed on Monday, and Odori park is beautiful.  I did a lot of walking these days…more than I have for a long time.  I also got to see a clock tower because admittance was free due to an anniversary event.  I love the small things…history is a lot of fun, even if you don’t want to read about it, just seeing it and knowing what’s happened makes it awesome. The TV tower was beautiful, with lights that made it shine against the black landscape of night.  I went to the top and saw the city of Sapporo.  It was an elegant mass of life coming together to create a jewel more precious than any stone.  Also, I bought a ton of souvenirs, which would be a recurring theme here.  The candy of Hokkaido is unforgettable.  It’s so very good. After the tower, I headed to a restaurant and got some crab dip-like soup, a wonderful sashimi bowl, and a ton of edamame.  I then headed home and rested, content and full from the wonderful meal.

Next morning, before heading out to Hakodate, I visited the beer museum. Even without me caring about beer, the history and sights were really cool.  And yes, I did try some beer.  I didn’t like it.  The flavor does nothing for me.  I can taste the yeast and it tastes like rotting bread which…just is not for me.  I did get some proper king crab for lunch, which was nice, and then headed out to Hakodate.  I had to wait and tried a very stupid burger consisting of a paddy, a cheese croquette, and a hash brown with cheese and bacon on it.  Not only America can make stomach churning weirdness.  The train ride was okay, I admit to loving the romance of the train as much as the ship, as those are my two favorite ways to travel.  It was nice, but I did just delve into reading and the internet after a while. I arrived in Hakodate, bought more stuff, and headed to my hotel.  Then, it was time to explore.  I saw the stall village, a collection of shops barely big enough for five people each, but with an assortment of some of Hakodate’s best food.  I ate three meals there.  A wonderful sashimi dish with crab, scallops, shrimp, roe, and salmon was my first choice and it shows how much I’ve grown to like wasabi on my sushi, as I had some with each piece.  My second was a skewers shop where I had heart, gizzard, and tongue for all manner of pork, but my favorite was the wasabi pork, surprisingly.  Also, when I was younger, my family and I loved the Chinese restaurant called Charlies…they had a dumpling shop here which tasted just like Charlies and it was bloody amazing.  Alongside that, I had some black ink squid dumplings.  They get you with the drinks, as most of these are like Izakayas.  They are places to drink and get small foods, but I really pigged out and enjoyed the delicious flavors of the sea and the north.

The next day, I checked out the morning market.  While a bit unsettling, as you can see the crabs and fish staring at you before they are killed and made into food, it was cool to see all the seafood gathered together and ready for sale.  There was a huge indoor market with so many things and I bought a few choice goods.  After that, I headed to the fortress Goryokaku and it was a really beautiful place. Nature and human life intermingled here and reminded me of the summer palace in China.  I met a lovely tour guide who spoke both English and Japanese and we got to talk in-depth about the history of Goryokaku and it was very enjoyable.  I recommended to her some of my historical references and she took a picture of me where the magistrate was supposed to be.  I should mention, I gathered a lot of pamphlets in my trip…a nice token to remember where I have been.  Anyway, I got some ice cream that was so rich I almost couldn’t finish it, then headed to the Goryokaku tower to see everything from above.  It was really cool and seeing things from above put a lot of it into perspective.  Plus, they had great dioramas showing some history of the sight and you know how I love dioramas. I took a taxi back to the train station and got ready for the main event.

I should mention, the reason for all the taxis is I have been really tired all the time.  Really tired and walking for like 5 days straight, so…yeah.  Anyway, I stopped at a burger shop before I headed out to get lunch and some rest before the main trip.  I was going to see the sights from the top of Mt. Hakodate.  I headed over to the ropeway and OF COURSE it was out of service, being inspected, during my vacation.  Damn.  It.  So, I had to take the bus.  Nothing like being crammed in a metal cube with people you don’t know, don’t like, and who are too hot.  Anyway, the first sight of the top of the mountain is really breath taking.  Hakodate is, from the point of view of the mountain, like a big pick axe with two crescents extending out from where you stand.  It’s an amazing sight and all the lights flickering about make it hard to capture on film…but others tried.  Again, I was drawn to the ships in the crescent shaped bay…the green lights amidst the black stillness reminded me of the adventures and horrors of a Sunless Sea.  It’s all a bit ruined by the commercialism, though.  Everyone’s scrambling to take their photos and selfies, get professional photos taken, all that crap and I…just couldn’t deal with it.  The view was nice as it was, but if I had been alone, it would have been unforgettable. And that place is never empty…you never get that chance to see it alone.

The world is made up of things that pass on.  The world keeps turning, no matter what you say…so why waste the time trying to capture this one moment, where Hakodate is stretched out before you, on film?  Even if you look back on it in the future, that picture won’t hold a candle to that first moment, when you saw it.  Sigh…it just struck me as odd all the people trying to ‘preserve’ the moment.  Anyway, I saw a short film that showed many views of Hakodate and I really wish I could have been there in Winter or the fog to see the insanity and the beauty of all of those.  It took me so long to get home via bus and I was so tired, so I just headed to the Sheraton’s personal restaurant, said screw it to exploring, ate dinner, and crashed.

I headed to the morning market again, but I was so tired I just wanted to go home.  My train was at 5:21, though, so…I had time to kill.  I headed to Onuma park and decided to not walk around, but see if it would be worth visiting at another date.  Onuma park, like much of Hokkaido, is beautiful.  Hokkaido itself has tons of natural beauty, rolling farmlands…utterly boring suburbs…but Onuma wraps it all together in one package, with the autumn leaves falling, the pumpkins carved, the many bridges connecting islands to walk around or bike around…it was a breathtaking place.  I took a boat tour and was very happy to see it.  If I had more time, I’d have liked to climb Mt. Higurashi, which I could see a fair distance away.  I retired after that.  Got a burger, did you know that some burgers are made of pork here and that’s why the taste is off?  After that, I headed to my terminal and waited.  God…so much waiting.  I did my best to kill time, but…by the end of it, I just wanted to get on the train and rest. The Shinkansen was not worth the money, honestly.  We went through a lot of tunnels, knocking out my wifi and robbing me of any meaningful views, and the food they had was all snacks, nothing cool or exotic. I made it to Sendai, got dinner, and then headed home.  Funny thing is one man on the Shinkansen was slightly racist and moved to a seat that wasn’t assigned to him rather than sit next to me.  He got scolded for that.  Another man on the train to Natori gave up his seat after seeing all the ridiculous crap I was carrying.  Takes all kinds in this world, I guess.  Anyway, I wanted to take the taxi home, but couldn’t find one…so I had to walk.  I struggled hard to keep going, but I finally made it home and slept like a baby after all those hot, restless nights in the hotel.

I liked my journey.  It was…good…very good…not great, but very good.  I wanted someone to travel with.  A buddy to share these experiences.  As it stood, it was just me and my music.  However, I got a lot of amazing food, saw some history and some beautiful sights, and got to explore and get a large amount of exercise in before coming home for a rest.  I’d say it was worth…though I did spend a lot on this trip.  I think close to $1,500 all told. The candy alone made it worthwhile though…my god…I need to send some to people I love. And eat some myself, of course.  Thus ends my trip to Hokkaido and back.