Hakodate and Hachinohe February 24, 2009
Posted by Dru in Hokkaido, Japan, Tohoku, Travel.Tags: Aomori, Chitose, East Japan Ferry, Expressway, ferry, ferry terminal, fish market, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Hakodate station, Higashi Nihon Ferry, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Expressway, Muroran, Mutsu, Oma, Ooma, Seikan Tunnel, Shimokita, Shimokita Peninsula, summer festival, Tohoku, tokyo, windmill
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Author’s Note: Dru’s Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read “Hakodate and Hachinohe” complete with pictures. http://wp.me/p2liAm-7D
This is Part VI of a multi-part series chronicling my motorcycle adventure from Tokyo to Sapporo and back again.
Background: In 2007, I had finally gotten my Japanese driver’s license and a motorcycle. I had been an avid motorcycle rider in Canada before I came to Japan, so after 2 years of no riding, I finally bought a motorcycle and decided to go on a big adventure. I went from Tokyo to Sapporo by motorcycle and ferry. It was an adventure to say the least.
Leg 6 (Hakodate and Hachinohe)
The last day in Hokkaido and the poor weather had returned. I had a two day journey that would take me straight back into Tokyo. I had only one morning to get from Sapporo to Hakodate, about 270 km. While I normally wouldn’t consider this to be tough, I originally planned to take the low roads and enjoy the vast scenery that Hokkaido has to offer. Instead, with my bike troubles in the back of my mind, I ended up racing in the very early morning from Sapporo all the way to Hakodate along the Hokkaido Expressway. It was very cold in the morning, but at least it wasn’t raining. By the time I reached the 1/3 mark, it started to rain again. In Japan, they call me an ame-otoko, or rainman. Whenever an ame-otoko travels, it rains wherever he goes. I certainly felt like this was true for me. The expressway itself is much better than the Tohoku Expressway. There is a section just past Muroran where you start to enter a narrow section of the island. It is a very windy place and there are many windmills making the scenery very picturesque. On my way to Chitose, I mainly took the low roads. I felt the sea, and saw a little of it, but I never really saw everything. The highway is located a little ways up the mountain range and every so often, you can see the entire curve of the coast. It was very beautiful, but unfortunately, I would have preferred to have a car at that moment. I kept dreaming of a car with a rooftop and a strong heater.
Once I reached Hakodate, I had to find my way to the station and ferry terminal. Because of my horrible sense of direction, I almost got lost, but I figured things out. Hakodate really isn’t a bad place. There is a nice little hill near the city centre that has a nice lookout, and the fish market is one of the best in Japan. Do note that almost every major coastal city in Hokkaido has a “famous” fish market. In order to warm up from the cold rain, I decided to get a nice hot bowl of ramen. It did a great job of warming me up and I was ready for the ferry ride back to Honshu. If you do have the chance, Hakodate would be a great place to spend a night and enjoy a lot of sightseeing. I’m sure there are a lot of great places to see. While Hakodate isn’t the ideal location, there is an underground train station in the Seikan Tunnel on the Aomori side. The Seikan Tunnel is currently the longest undersea tunnel in the world and the deepest. There are two stations within the tunnel itself that provides emergency access. One of the stations doubles as a museum to the building of this tunnel. There are three tours available everyday. However, you can only choose one. One starts in Hakodate and ends in Aomori. One does the reverse, and one goes from Hakodate, to the station/museum, and back again. If you are a trainspotter, this might be a lot of fun for you. If you have a lot of free time, this might also be fun.
Crossing back to Oma was a little different this time. I knew the crossing, and the seas were rougher than last time. It was raining and I spent my time drying my clothes. I wish I was better prepared for all the rain. The next time I take a long trip, I’ll try to prepare a lot more. Once in Oma, the sun blocked by the clouds but it wasn’t really raining. I only had to deal with all the mist from the cars and such. I made a quick trip from Oma to Hachinohe, which was my final destination of the day. The trip was cold, wet, and dark. I had a bit of an adventure about 30km from Hachinohe. I missed a road sign, or it didn’t exist, and I went in the wrong direction for about 7 km. I had to turn around and find my way in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully there was no one around to help me, whatsoever. To say the least, I was a little scared, but I was happy that I turned around instead of getting completely lost. It wouldn’t be the last time I got lost either. By the time I entered the city limits of Hachinohe, I got lost again. I ended up wandering around the city for about 1 hour before I found the main station. I found the station and had to decide on where to sleep for the night. I found a place in the downtown area and headed for it. Unfortunately, the sign for the hotel was so small, I missed it three times. I ended up going to a convenience store and asking for help. After about 10 minutes a very nice man decided to drive ahead of me and show me the way. I was so happy for the help. After checking in, I had a few hours to dry my clothes and enjoy the city.
Hachinohe itself isn’t as bad as my personal experience. It has all the amenities that you could need and everything is centrally located within the city centre. They were also preparing for the summer festival. I could hear taiko drums beating for a good portion of the night. Aside from the festivals, I doubt that there is anything to really do in Hachinohe. I’d be better off going straight through Hachinohe, but unfortunately, I needed a place to sleep unless I rode all night to Tokyo.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
Sapporo February 17, 2009
Posted by Dru in Hokkaido, Japan, Travel.Tags: beer garden, Chitose, convenience store, festival, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Government Buildings, japan, JR Hokkaido, JR Pass, Kabukicho, matsuri, museum, Odori, Odori Park, Oodori, Oodori Park, park, Sapporo, Sapporo City Archive Museum, Sapporo Station, Shinkansen, Snow Festival, sulpture, susukino, vancouver, yuki, yuki-matsuri, yukimatsuri
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Author’s Note: Dru’s Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read “Sapporo” complete with pictures. http://wp.me/s2liAm-sapporo
This is Part V of a multi-part series chronicling my motorcycle adventure from Tokyo to Sapporo and back again.
Background: In 2007, I had finally gotten my Japanese driver’s license and a motorcycle. I had been an avid motorcycle rider in Canada before I came to Japan, so after 2 years of no riding, I finally bought a motorcycle and decided to go on a big adventure. I went from Tokyo to Sapporo by motorcycle and ferry. It was an adventure to say the least.
Leg 5 (Sapporo)
Sapporo is a beautiful city. It’s the biggest city in Hokkaido, but it doesn’t feel like such a big city. It’s quite similar to Vancouver. The streets tend to be wider than average Japanese cities, and the streets are all numbered. While the numbering is difficult to learn, it should get easier if you spend enough time in Sapporo. In Sapporo, addresses go by the block number and compass orientation, for example, 2N 3E and so on. It’s a little confusing at first, and since I only spent about a day in total in Sapporo, I didn’t get used to it at all. My initial impression would be that Sapporo would be very easy to navigate, but boy was I wrong. Going from Chitose to Sapporo wasn’t difficult. It was navigating Sapporo itself and finding my hotel that was a pain. I found Sapporo station relatively easily, but finding my bearings to get to my hotel itself was difficult. I ended up finding a convenience store to get directions. Convenience stores are my second choice for finding directions. They are everywhere in Japan. There was one problem. After getting directions, I got lost again, and asked a cop for directions again when I was close to the hotel. Once there, I parked my bike and wouldn’t touch it again for a couple days.
Getting to Sapporo is a lot easier if you are taking a train. The train station is not the centre of the town, but it is a major centre. Most of the city’s heart is located on the South side of the station. I took a look at the North, but it looked similar to any other business district of Japan, so I headed south. The first thing you will see is a nice open space with a few sculptures. The station itself is quite beautiful. It is very modern and suits the city’s spirit. It is a large brown and gray building with a large blue clock in the middle. There is shopping in every direction from the main entrance. If you go without enough clothes, there are many shops selling warm clothing. If you continue to look south, you will see many tree lined streets. It’s quite beautiful, and it might be even better in the snow. Heading south, you’ll run into the former Hokkaido Government buildings. It’s a wonderful park to visit with lots of green trees and a couple large ponds. I recommend taking a nice walk from Sapporo station and stopping at this site on your way to Odori Park.
By far, the most popular place to visit in Sapporo is Odori Park. It’s the most famous park in Sapporo. It is 1.5 km long and spans 13 blocks. It is also the centre of Sapporo. On one end is Sapporo TV Tower and on the other end is the Sapporo City Archive Museum. In the February, the Yuki-matsuri (Snow Festival) is held, and in the summer, several portables are built to create a large beer garden that spans a couple blocks. The Yuki-matsuri is the most famous event in Sapporo. I have seen pictures and it is quite beautiful. I will be heading there in February and will write about it in the future. I was a little early to attend the beer gardens, but I’m sure it would be a little overpriced, but wonderful. Each major Japanese beer label was in the process of building the gardens, so having your choice of beer wouldn’t be difficult. It looked much better than the Tokyo beer gardens because they are all in one place, and it’s easy to choose your favourite one. There is only one thing to know about Odori Park. It’s very boring if there is nothing happening, unless you are a kid. There are a few places where children can play all day and never get tired.
The final area of Sapporo that is of interest is Susukino. It’s regarded as the Kabukicho of Sapporo, a red light district. In this regard, it is considered a place to get sex, but in reality, it isn’t that bad. Like Kabukicho, it’s a reputation that is hard to shake. Being a “red light district”, it has the most restaurants in Sapporo. There is a famous ramen street where you can get Sapporo ramen. There are also many izakayas and countless bars. If you are looking for someplace to get a good cheap meal, this is the place. It is also one of the main locations for the Yuki-matsuri. I can’t really say too much about this place as I didn’t explore too much. If you do go, be a little more careful as things could be a little dangerous, in terms of Japanese danger.
Sapporo is a wonderful place to visit, and I definitely want to go again and again. If you can visit Sapporo directly, I do recommend it. If you are spending a couple weeks in Japan, and can afford the plane ticket, it’s worth it. If you have a JR Pass, I don’t recommend it because there are no Shinkansen trains that go to Sapporo. It takes too much time to get there by train at the moment. Hokkaido itself is quite easy to explore by train, so if you fly to Sapporo and have a JR Hokkaido pass, you can enjoy yourself for a full week or two and still have things to do.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
Hakodate and Chitose January 27, 2009
Posted by Dru in Hokkaido, Japan, Travel.Tags: Chitose, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hotel Nikko, japan, Motorcycle, night view, Nikko, Outlet mall, Peninsula, riding, Sapporo, tokyo
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Author’s Note: Dru’s Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read “Hakodate and Chitose” complete with pictures. http://wp.me/p2liAm-6C
This is Part III of a multi-part series chronicling my motorcycle adventure from Tokyo to Sapporo and back again.
Background: In 2007, I had finally gotten my Japanese driver’s license and a motorcycle. I had been an avid motorcycle rider in Canada before I came to Japan, so after 2 years of no riding, I finally bought a motorcycle and decided to go on a big adventure. I went from Tokyo to Sapporo by motorcycle and ferry. It was an adventure to say the least.
Leg 3 (Hakodate to Chitose)
Hakodate is a medium sized city that is well known in Japan. It know as having the best night view in Japan. There is a small mountain in the city, where at night, you can see the entire peninsula lit up by the city lights. I wish I spent a few days exploring the area, but my final destination of the night was Chitose. I quickly found my bearings and got out of the city. I took an unexpected detour to look at some of the countryside which was beautiful. I was prepared for a nice quick ride into Chitose where I would spend the night, but my luck had completely run out. About a few hours into the ride, I was starting to get miserable. It was cold and the rain kept was coming on and off. I was wet, cold, and trying to make it to my final destination. To make matters worse, I went 15 km in the wrong direction at one point and this is where things went for worse to horribly bad. I had some engine troubles. I had some bad oil in my engine and my oil light was turning on and off. I had oil, but something was seriously wrong. I flagged down a construction vehicle and got some help. He offered to go and get some oil for me. He was very nice, but I wished he took me with him to get some oil because I had to wait in a cold light rain until he returned. After waiting for 30 minutes, he returned. He brought some oil for me and pointed me in the right direction for the expressway. I didn’t have time to find my way on the low roads, and wanted to get to Chitose ASAP. The next 4 hours was HELL. I had to stop about 6 or 7 times as my oil light kept coming on. If I stopped, the light would eventually turn off. To make matters worse, the light rain turned into regular rain and I was cold and drenched. The temperature was close to 14C and on a bike, at around 80kph, it felt like 7C. I think I almost became hypothermic. I couldn’t stop shaking, and I wasn’t thinking straight. To say the least, it was very dangerous and not very smart, but when you are miserable and cold, you don’t really think.
I kept things very easy on the bike, but didn’t arrive into Chitose until after 9pm. I went to the very first hotel I could find, Hotel Nikko. It is a very expensive hotel in Japan but I didn’t know it at the time. The front desk guy gave me a very nice discount on a regular room rate, and I was lucky that they had a room. They only had 5 rooms left for that night. I spent the night researching for a bike shop so I could get my bike checked out while drying my clothes. It was here that I decided to cancel all of my ambitious plans to tour across Hokkaido and stay in Sapporo instead. I didn’t even want to ride at all.
The next morning, I was extremely emotionally stressed. It was still raining a little. I decided to try a bike shop that I found the night before right away so I could get things checked out. Unfortunately, it was closed. It said it opened at noon, and it was early, so I went to get coffee and return when they opened. At noon, the shop was still closed and there was no one around. I tried to call the number, but no answer. I ended up searching for another bike shop. The second shop was really nice. They were preparing for some kind of race, and they were really busy. The owner looked at my bike, started it up, and said it was probably bad oil. He said he could change the oil and take a quick look, but I should have it completely checked out, just in case. I thought it would be “okay” to wait until I returned home. It would take a while before he could really check on it, so I ended up going to an outlet mall for some shopping.
Chitose itself is a very nice suburban city. It’s located roughly an hour or so outside of Sapporo. There are all the basic amenities that one needs. It’s not a great place, and there is nothing special in the city. The only special thing is an outlet mall that caters to those living in Sapporo. Japanese people LOVE outlet malls, so there are dozens of them across Japan. While the city is nice, it’s definitely not a place to stay. You can visit the outlet mall if you’d like, but it’s no different than any other outlet mall in Japan.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
