Hotel Chocolat Hakodate

... positive spin on our detour; he says it will be one more day of Kobe steak. We are using internet cafes, but it is very difficult getting directions to one, because no one speaks English. They do try, however. We are in Otaru and it is raining off and on. We dont have pix yet. We will have to wait til next stop.

Just the deep blue SEA!<br><br><br><br>This is our fifth day on the high seas, and we are about 1704 nautical miles from Seattle. We should arrive in Hakodate, Japan next Sunday, Oct 4.<br><br>So far our Pacific voyage has been interesting. We were all so worried about Cub being well during our journey, but it turns out ...

Our train chugged in to Hakodate around noon. The sky was overcast and the weather was chilly. The only thing on our schedule was a castle where the samurai had their fabled last stand. After we went there and tramped all through the mud trying to find something interesting in the castle, we were stumped. And then it started raining. We retreated to the gift shop where we hid out waiting for the rain to stop before we tried to run to the bus stop. It did not ...

... You good. Australia? Brad (switches to Spanish suddenly): Si (yes). (switches to Japanese): I mean Hai. (then switches to Homer Simpson): Doh!!! Local man (also fluent in Homer Simpson): Doh!! Good job. Goryoukaku in spring is Cherry Blossom heaven! There were trees everywhere, with snow-capped hills and fabulous Japanese geometric touches everywhere. We were absolutely gobsmacked. And it was all free! We'll let the photos tell the story!

We've stayed about 1 week on Hokkaido and went to 4 different places. The first one was Toya-Ko, a volcanic area with some smoking mounts. The last eruption happened in 2000 from Mt. Usu, an active stratovolcano. This national parc has splendid sceneries and was very interesting, but we wouldn't really want to leave there knowing that a volcano could wake up anytime ! After that, we headed to Sapporo where we met the rain and even some ...

... 10 000 cerisiers en fleurs. Dommage pour nous, a cause du froid du mois d'avril, la floraison est en retard. Meme s'il y a a priori 250 especes differentes, 5% seulement des arbres etaient en fleur... Ca sera pour la prochaine fois ;-) Avant de partir pour Tokyo nous avons fait le tour du "Morning Market" ou etaient etales des centaines de crabes, mollusques divers, oursins, ormeaux, coquilles St Jacques... qu'on pouvait deguster sur place passes au BBQ.

... goes under the Tsurugu straits and then Hokkaido. Aomori-ken is basically hills and towns, and the tunnel is a 20 minute void. I love how the train company makes a big deal out of the tunnel--there's info sheets telling you how deep and long it is and there's announcements when we enter, reach maximum depth and exit. All this and you still really can't appreciate the architectural might of the thing because it's pitch black and you hurtle through the darkness without ...

... lanterns running along the decks to attract the squid. Fish is all the rage on this island. Think I might be facing my fears again sometime very soon! There was a serious blizzard going on here for most of my stay so I missed the usually beautiful view across the bay sadly. Oh well... on to Sapporo....

apres 4 heures de train, dont 30 min danss un tunel de 58km sous l'ocean! je suis arriver a haakodate en hiver. Aceuilli par des flocons de neiges intensement soufles par le vent, le contraste avec les plus 30 degre d'okinawa il y a 5 jours est tres grand! Hakodate est la premiere grosse ville sur l'ile de hokaido. mais les hotels cheap sont rare, je me suis rive le nez a deux hotel fermer pour l ...

... closet. As with every other concern I had about visiting Japan, we have been pleasantly surprised. Our room is small, but with efficient design it is not crowded for those traveling light. Instead of using an innerspring, the thin, firm but comfortable mattress is on a platform. This provides plenty of space to tuck our bags under the bed. The bathroom is a compact integrated unit that includes a small, but deep, tub with shower that ...