Hokkaido: part one

A few weeks ago we spent the week in Hokkaido.  We hope you enjoy some of our favorite pictures from our adventure.

We began our trip by taking the Shinkansen to Aomori city.  Aomori city is in the distance in the picture on the right.  Then we boarded a ferry bound for Hakodate, Hokkaido!  As you can see, we were loaded with quite big backpacks.  We planned to camp so we needed sleeping gear and a tent along with clothing for varying temperatures.  The ferry was about four hours.  This ferry was like a no frills cruise ship.  There was space to sleep on the floor (it is Japan), eat, and walk outside.  When we started our ferry ride the weather was nice and we decided to sleep outside in an area sheltered from the wind. But when we woke up the rain had started!!! And it just keep on raining!

Despite the pouring rain, we spent our day/night exploring Hakodate.  We enjoyed a good fish and chips meal and micro brewery style beers at the local brew pub.  It was nice to taste a real dark beer as most beers in Japan are very light. Hakodate is a port city and was settled by westerners so many of the roads were cobble stone and there were lots of big brick buildings.  There were also several historical churches, including Russian Orthodox, Episcopal, Catholic and a Shinto shrine.  

One of the popular things to do in Hakodate is ride a rope way up to the top of a mountain to enjoy a view of the city and water below.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate making the view very foggy.  So we missed out on that experience.  

The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the ryokan (inn) and then picked up our rental car.  We were on our way to Sapporo!  Although we learned our lesson about driving on the toll highway in Japan, upon arriving in Sapporo our toll fee was 5700 yen (about $70!!).  From now on, we'd be taking the side roads if possible.  It continued to rain in Sapporo but we decided to venture from our hostel into the city.  We took the subway into downtown and discovered a huge central park with an outdoor Autumn Festival.  We decided against eating there that evening and instead opted for a warm, dry ramen restaurant nearby.  Although ramen can be found all over Japan, Sapporo has a special ramen that they add corn and butter to.  It was quite delicious and so WARM!!! (More details on Sapporo later, as we return there later in our trip.)

The next morning we made our way to the Sapporo Beer Museum.  We toured the museum learning about the history of the company and the process of making the beer. I especially enjoyed the vintage advertisement posters of Geisha's and stylish Japanese women with beer. We bought one of my favorite posters to hang in our apartment (not the one pictured).  At the end Todd enjoyed a tasting of three different beers.  Two of the beers were only available at the beer museum!  I also found it curious that the museum was located next door to a huge modern mall.  I insisted we quickly make a loop through the mall before hitting the road.  I found some much needed rain boots, which came in handy later in the trip when the typhoon came along!! Then we hit the road on our way to Daisetsuzan National Park. 

That evening we drove into the national park by way of Sounkyo, a resort town with hotels and onsens (hot spring baths).  Our plan was to camp.  But where was the campground!? It took us about an hour to locate the campsite and by then it was pitch dark but we found it!  The next morning we had an amazing breakfast at a natural cafe owned by an Australian/Japanese couple.  We had hot chai tea and egg sandwiches served on homemade whole grain bread.  This was a big deal because in Japan they only sell white bread with the exception of a rare specialty bakery.  With warmed and full bodies we were ready to climb Mt. Kurodake.  Well we really only climbed the last 2000 feet.  You take a rope way and then a chair lift up most of the way.  Although the remaining climb was quite steep and rocky so it tired us out.  It was nice to see beautiful views and the beginnings of fall colors.  Later that day we were back in the car headed to Shiretoko National Park.  To be continued...