Sapporo and Hakodate

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Sapporo

Due to the long national holiday in Japan at this time, I was unable to find accommodation in Hakodate for that night, so I decided to spend a night in Sapporo instead. As it turned out this was a great plan as I had a fantastic day. I arrived in Sapporo at around midday, and as the hotels in Japan generally only allow check-in after 3pm, I stored my backpack in a locker at the station, acquired some maps and local knowledge from the tourist centre, and ventured out to discover Sapporo.

My first stop was the Sapporo JR tower, a 38 story building which offers amazing 360 degree views of the vast city.

After checking out the views I ventured out to the Sapporo Autumn festival after receiving a tip from a local. It was held in Odori Park, an inner city park that extends for 4 blocks through the middle of Sapporo city, ideal for events such as this festival. The festival contained the usual stalls selling local wares, food and produce, which was pretty much repeated for several blocks. I settled upon the block with the live music stage, and whilst waiting for the next act I successfully bought (through my now highly refined skill of pointing at pictures and charade like miming movements) a 30cm long cinnamon doughnut type thing. It was very oishii (Japanese for “really tasty!”)

At 2pm the band started, a Sapporo-based group called Sealion, featuring 2 guys singing and playing acoustic guitars, and a back-up singer playing tambourine and smiling joyously throughout the live set. They were fantastic, great music that transcended the lyrics in Japanese that I couldn't understand, and really energetic on stage. I would liken them to a Japanese version of the Scottish band Keane - they sang well, harmonised a lot, and were able to achieve a great live sound with just vocals, acoustic guitar and a tambourine. I was so impressed by their tunes and live performance that I bought one of their cd's, and after their set, stayed to say hi and to thank them for the music. The boys spoke a little English, and were so happy to have their music appreciated by a foreigner that we exchanged details and promised to keep in touch. They also offered to send me a copy of their latest music once recorded (some of which was played for the first time that day, and pretty good).

After saying our farewells, with the sun setting I walked back to the station to retrieve my pack before travelling to my hotel, which was situated near Sapporo airport. There I enjoyed a night of laundry and Facebook updating, in preparation for the early start to Hakodate in the morning. I'm really happy I decided to stop in Sapporo. Sure, it is another big city, but its got a good feel about it and I can definitely see myself going back there again.

Hakodate

Early the next morning I took the 3 hour fast train ride from Sapporo to Hokkaido’s third largest city, Hakodate. Hakodate is one of Japan’s first harbour cities, making it one of the main entry points to Hokkaido and a reputation for having some of the freshest seafood you can find in Japan.

Upon arrival I found a hotel near the station, dumped the backpack, and hit the streets armed with an English map and a few suggestions from the friends I've made over the last few weeks.

Hakodate is such a cute and pretty city, with the harbour on one side, and Mt Hakodate nearby overlooking the whole city, and small trams darting back and forth providing handy inner city transport. I commenced exploration on foot and found myself in the famous Hakodate Seafood market, where I encountered giant crabs, headless squid and lots of friendly vendors promoting their wares.

Later I jumped on the tram and headed up to the entry point for the ropeway to the top of Mt Hakodate (Hakodateyama). Hakodateyama is a 334 meter high mountain covered in forest, located in the centre of Hakodate. The night views from Hakodateyama are well known, so I made sure I timed my ropeway ride to reach the top while the sun was still up, to be able to catch the view while the sun set.

Once I reached the top and navigated through the expected hordes of tourists, I found a restaurant on the 2nd floor situated for its ideal views of the city. A place like this is normally the kind of touristy experience I would avoid, however the restaurant was quiet, and after spying empty tables facing the main window, I couldn’t resist. It was a great decision, because not only was I able to have dinner whilst checking out one of the best views in Japan, but because I was able to enjoy it quietly without throngs of people surrounding me.

This is view is, ultimately, what prompted me to visit Japan (after seeing it featured in an NHK documentary on Hakodate) and what better way to spend my second last night in the country than at the top of Hakodateyama. It was such a nice experience, and I stayed until nightfall and then caught the ropeway and tram back to the hotel.

The next day I headed down to the Hakodate Bay area, and the red warehouse district. This is a really nice, laid-back area of Hakodate which reminded me a lot of the market/bay area of Seattle. Even though it is populated predominantly by tourists, it’s still a nice place to walk around and soak in the atmosphere.

Now for a brief aside to discuss another fantastic Japanese invention….Catching a taxi in Japan is generally a great experience, (if you are able to overlook the ridiculously astronomical costs). All the seats are inexplicably covered in large plastic covered lace doilies, and the doors open and close automatically so you don’t even need to touch the door handles. But it was in Hakodate that I truly fell in love with Japanese taxis, when I laid eyes on a Moo-moo taxi.

A Moo-moo taxi is a regular sedan taxi painted to look “cow-like”, and whenever the doors open or close, the taxi emits a loud “MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”. Now, is that not the BEST thing ever? Seriously, if all taxis were Moo-moo taxis, I would possibly forget about motorbikes and make Moo-moo’s my preferred mode of transport.

Ok enough Moo-moo excitement, back to the blog. After exploring the Bay area, I spent some time cruising around on the trams before heading back to the hotel to pack for my trip to the airport the following day. My last night in Japan!

I was really, really, really sad to leave Japan. What an amazing place and an amazing holiday. A large part of why my trip was so enjoyable was the genuine and fantastically nice, warmhearted people I met along the way. They represent Japan as being the welcoming, interesting and friendly country that is, a place that I definitely hope to visit again soon, either for travel or even better, to work. Send any job offers to my contact email address please 

To everyone I met in Japan, Arigato Gozaimasu, and I hope to see you all again very soon.

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