We made it onto the packed train. Standing room only though I was one of the last to bag a seat. M was not so lucky. At least we had divested ourselves of our weighty rucksacks. We pulled out of Sapporo station into sunshine so amplified by the snow that it hurt. Sheets of the white stuff hung off angled roofs, the edges trimmed by long pointy i...

Awe, this morning I awoke with the most sleep behind me since our first night in Tokyo. As we had planned the night before, we began the in search of the fish market. Though we eventually made it to the fish market, we took our time getting up and getting there. After an interlude of showering and checking e-mail, we all met down in the hotel l...