The overview
The snow in Hokkaido was amazing as ever. Mother nature wanted to challenge me. I had frost burns on two thumbs in Chitose (-11 degrees). We got clobbered by winds strong enough to push people across the street for 3 days straight in Sounkyo Canyon (-15 degrees). I walked into a parked van in the misty snow rain near Kamikawa train station.
Trip to Japan 2019 - Part 1 (roughly written due to CFS)
Thursday 17th January 2019
The rumours of Scoot airline were all true. We were instantly hit with delay of an hour. Once aboard the airplane my sister was sharply told off for eating BYO food. Then they told a passenger a seat or two away that Scoot does not provide free water. You have to buy water. No one was drinking water from their own bottle either. This is by far the worst rumour to come true - no water and no consumption of BYO water. It is equivalent to a prison guarded by Stalin puppies.
Friday 18th January 2019
Time to transfer at Singapore Airport. Luckily there were many 24/7 hour cafe and restaurants. Still no Le Sport Sac merchandise. Just MCM and other brands. Lycee soda is a mix of lycee syrup, Sprite lemonade, mint leaves, lycee meat, and half a cup of ice. It was a refreshing drink alright. The leg massage chairs were still work like a charm. Ooh. So very relaxing. At transfer gate F60, security asked people to dump water from their travel bottles, after having passed the security inspection, I entered the lounge and proceed to top up my flask with tap water. Ha! Take that people.
Friday 18th January 2019
Spent most of the day in an airplane. The Scoot airline staff pushed their trolleys so fast that you cannot place an order or request anything. Fear of turbulence perhaps? My sister survived the flight without drinking a drop of water for 6 hours. Wow. Once landed, we pursued a rental voice SIM card and a separate data SIM card for the Motorola smartphone, JR Pass, and Kansai Thru Pass. Phew. Talk about exhausting. Then we had dinner at a sushi train at the airport. Delicious. A tasting of honey and yuzu drink. Followed up with a honey serve ice cream. Yummy. We took a local train to hotel and plonk onto the bed.
Saturday 19th January 2019
Still feeling somewhat tired. Yawns. Woke up late. We went to Kobe animal kingdom and instantly got the chance to pat a lemur. OMG! We took a group photo with an owl. Placed our feet in Dr Fish’s office. Apparently, my feet was very popular, most the little fishes came to suck on my feet. Hee hee. Tickle, tickle. We patted guinea pigs, cats, dogs, tortoise, capybara and rabbits. It feels so good to pat an animal. Warm furry friends.
Then came the pain of three train transfers to Mitsu Outlet Park Marine in Kobe. Faster if you take a JR line, but we had a purchase a Kansai Thru Pass, so we had to use subway, subway, and subway. Upon arrival Sis and I had Kobe beef on a stick. The outlet mall was grand, the pricing of materials were dear, pricing and quality of food was quite fair. We missed the view of the sunset. Instead we had the rainbow lit bridge. Not bad guess.
Sunday 20th January 2019
As I exit my hotel room, a housekeeping personnel asked if I wanted my room clean, I do, and advised them to clean it last, as my sister wants to sleep a little more. I arrived one hour too early. The limited research for Feebas doesn’t start until 12pm. The rain descends and the tourists scramble for shelter. There is no proper shelter at Osaka Castle. So people hid in shops. Some locals had mounts attached to their bike to hold up an umbrella. Amazing.
The number of pokestops here doesn’t compare to the Shrine garden back in Melbourne. Barely 30. To tech the dense pokestop areas, you have to enter the castle grounds and put up with the tourists. Many of players are discreet and invisible. The pokestops would be lured up but there are no physical players out here. Within the first few minutes of completing a quest I scored 1 shiny Feebas. After that I never encountered another. I did managed to score one for Sis account. When I reached Umeda, a T5 raid took place and 15 minutes after the egg had hatched there were still players standing around, I joined the public raid lobby and tried my hand at catch Kyorge. No shiny though.
We had squid ink pasta and lasagna gratin. Four cheese pizza with honey and chilli oil aside on the 8th floor of Yodabashi. Then we headed to Tennoji and Tsukaken tower to absorb the historic significance of the tower and the area around it. Pocky stick had a few fun things for us to play with on the 3rd floor. We took some happy snaps here. Sadly, the roof top and garden was off limits. We ordered dessert, but the staff were hesitant, as they wanted to go home badly that they forgot about the melon soda float. So, I approached them nicely and asked when will the drink be ready. The gift was closed by the time I finished my parfait and T5 raid. At the bottom of the tower was a lovely mural. Visiting the tower for the second time, I finally noticed the little things, which I missed the first time around 10 years ago. Around the corner were several 24 hours yakitori izakaya. Looks yummy but my belly has hit the ceiling.
Monday 21st January 2019
Slept in a little. Woke up and put on ski pants just in case it was snowing in Koyasan. We took the subway to Namba followed by a rapid express to Hashimoto. There a coach hired by Nankai railway awaits us. Free coach ride from Hashimoto to Koyasan! Yay! The journey approximately took 70 minutes. I couldn’t help but nod off a few times. Namba. Mos Burger for dinner. Completed a T5 raid and no shiny Kyorge. We spotted a Don Quixote store in Dontonburi and just had to check it out. They have skincare bundles and they were sold at cheaper prices than the tax free stores.
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
The guy at the Shin-Imamiya station told us the ropeway isn’t working and that we will need to hike up the mountain, before he would sell us the hiking ticket bundle (which includes tickets for Nankai railway train, Nankai bus, and supposedly ropeway return with a discount of 20% off). The bus to Mount Kongo took us a windy road. With very little pokestop in between. The temperature had dropped from 10°C to 5°C by the time the bus arrived at the feet of the mountain.
The locals had set aside walking some sticks and free to use. Very strong branches. Quite sturdy too. We both took one each and proceeded to go up the so called “easiest” path. As novice we had breathing problems, muscle ache, and Sis pulled a ham string. We stopped for a bit and rested for a while. We ate Singapore pork jerky and dried mango for lunch. Dipped some tap water from my thermal flask. No stairs to be found, complete smooth road. With it being wet, it was difficult to walk fast without sliding back. When we were about to hit the snowy path, I decided to add on the spike strap onto my shoe, and insisted my sister do the same. As people noticed were putting ours on, they too, put on the spikes too. The snow were mini squishy pebbles. Not powdery like Sapporo.
The restaurant on the hill was closed on Tuesday. It disappointment many day hikers and the Chinese tourists. We brought our own food and drink. Ha ha. We did purchase a hot chocolate from the vending machine and it tasted like egg-condense milk-Milo. After an hour we made it to the camp site. The camp site was closed off. No one could use it or cut through it. The restaurant and museum were also closed. Oddly, they three toilet buildings near the peak and camp site. Moreover, there are cabins up for hire and cut wood for sale. Most of the hikers were middle age people. Chinese tourist huddle in the waiting room in the ropeway station. I didn’t see any wildlife. The 100 Yen stores in Sun Plaza.
Sis purchased some noir flute sticks cookies. Yuck! While I purchased a Natachan pear and apple flavoured drink. Delicious. In between all the yen stores was a stationery store, they sold beautiful writing paper for ¥150, some of these were once sold in Isetan at one point. Wow. Talk about drop in price. They also had half price schedule books for 2019. I chose a blue velvet Alice in the wonderland schedule book for ¥500.
For dinner we had fusion skewered food and a set meal dish at Kushiyashi in Yodobashi Umeda. From the window we spotted another Don Quixote store. This one was behind Hankyu Men department and they had costumes! Pirate outfits, anime characters, and all sorts of head gear, one being Magickarp! Oh dear. I had to own it.
In between the shopping my guts hurt. Headed to the fourth floor for toilets. Oh. The floor was filled with interactive gaming machines. Fishing rods anybody? Spin the wheel? And so on. Whoa. I took a quick browse before heading back down. We finished the night with Mannenken green tea and maple waffle.
Wednesday 23rd January 2019
Retail therapy time.Saizeriya has new dishes. Sis couldn’t resist and order the pasta gratin, while I had chilli clam spaghetti. Yum. Sis had two serves of Fanta melon soda. To top it off, she ordered a white truffle ice cream with a coffee mousse centre. Rinku town once more. They have clearance sale on today. Le Sport Sac had 30% off bags. Oh. I couldn’t resist get a side bag with a dreamy pattern. Sis got a ship in a bottle LEGO set also 30% off. Nice. Anna Sui no longer appeals to me. It just doesn’t have that durability for a Pokémon player like me. Wrinkles and loses colour within 6 months of use.
We hopped on Haruko limited express to Kyoto. There we had green tea soba for dessert, green tea ice cream drinks, and green tea parfaits. Ah. Also, purchased take away desserts for myself. My sister’s favourite cafe opened a shop opposite Kyoto station, however, it doesn’t serve fresh food. Took a rapid train and taxi and just made to her favourite cafe before closing time. We wolf down the green tea soba noodles, vegetarian stir fried rice, green tea drinks and green tea parfaits. Quickly picked up a few desserts for on the go. Back to Kyoto station. Isetan was still open. We quickly browsed the ground floor before hitting up the stationery floor. They had scarf from ¥342 to ¥800 for upcoming spring. Nice. The station pulls another surprise. On the east side is a small garden, illuminated with soft fairy lights and heart shaped lights in preparation for Valentine’s day. Quite photogenic if you ask me.
Thursday 24th January 2019
Sis was upset about not being able to buy her fave accessories in Karasuma/Gion area. Shortly, after we had checked out, we left our luggage with the hotel and went to Kyoto. There I got myself a soy milk ice cream ¥300 at Nishi market. It just doesn’t melt. Wow. At the end of Nishi market is Nishiki-Tenmangu Shrine, and along Shinkyogoku shopping dori is filled with little temples (some closed). Some forbids photographing, whereas some offer wooden board for tourist to pose with and snap a pic. I purchase some stickers from マルシン. Plus I managed to sneak in a T5 raid, but no shiny Groudon. There was a cat cafe, owl forest, and hedge hog cafe in the same area. Wow.
京極井和井 store had a variety of nice smelling incense. I tried to smell all of them. In Kyoto, it is fashionable to own shirt pocket incense pouches. I don’t know if I would enjoy smelling like burnt incense.
25th January 2019
Bound for Tokyo. Character Street. Just as we found the location of the Pokemon cafe, a T5 raid was about to start. Several blocks away though. boy, did I have to dash like to and from. Pokémon Cafe was fabulous. We were treated to games upon entry. Prizes were placemat, stickers, and coasters. Then chef Pikachu greeted us table to table. I got the chance to shake Pikachu’s paw. Right next to the cafe is Pokémon Tokyo DX Centre. They had screens for you to touch and learn more about a Pokémon. Yokohama marina is HUGE! It took several goes to find Sky building to find the Yokohama Pokémon centre. We had pasta for dinner.
26th January 2019
Q-Pot Cafe has moved its location. A lot further from the subway now. We got the biscuit table. Apparently, the valentine campaign special has been released. Sis got the chance to order her heart cake special. Too bad it was hard as a rock. Nakano. Completed a T5 raid circuit with locals. Ran around the train station and two parks. I managed to do 5 raids. Yakitori - the traditional bar style. Where you sat by the counter close to the grill master. The meat are served on a metal counter above your counter. We had sirloin, tender chicken, slices of pig heart, slices cow tongue, and chips. We were given 3 sauces: mustard, soy sauce, and light sweet soy sauce with shallots.
27th January 2019
Tokyo skytree. Moomin Cafe. They gave us a blanket while we waiting in line. First served soup. One of the set meal comes with a porcelain toy. Kirby has its own cafe too, but online reservation only. Theme cafe is common in Skytree. However, none of them last more a year or two. The turnover is quick in Tokyo. My sister decided to stay and hang around Skytree and not go to the Shidome Oi racecourse illumination (¥1,800 pp from 17:00 to 22:00 via subway). Well, with that being the case ,I dashed off to a T5 raid outside of Skytree salamachi. The locals and I defeated Groudon. No shiny though.
Back to Skytree, we walked through the Japan experience floor, where shops would sell made to order fake food, emboss leather straps, Godzilla T-shirts, Sakura decorated gifts, lolly jewellery, and cartoon facial masks. The mask shop had tablets which offers mask sampling via facial recognition. Pretty awesome. Sis got the fake macron toy, fake heart lolly necklace, owl perched on a branch clear lolly pop, and Godzilla t-shirt. We stopped by every cardboard cut out and pose for snaps. By late afternoon, we had snack at Gion Tsujiri, there Sis has the valentine soft serve special and I had matcha zenzai (red bean, mochi, and slices of sweet potato).
We caught the subway back to Ueno and changed to JR for Tokyo. We had dinner with Eevee at Pokémon Cafe. Again Sis was disappointed by the dessert. I noticed all the desserts in Tokyo are filled with cream. Compared to Kyoto’s dessert which are filled with flavoured jelly, fruits, or bean. Um.
Monday 28th January 2019
Sis had pork cutlet with curry and rice, plus Mont Blanc for lunch. Another cream filled dessert, which Sis found to be very disappointed. Bound for Aomori. There is no lift in Aomori station. You have drag your wheelie suitcase down and upstairs by hand. Not ideal for tourist planning to stock up on goods. I can see why people refrain from buying goods in this city. The shops are more or less empty.
My sister and I dropped off our suitcase. Sis puts on her snow pants and boots. Off to a T5 raid behind a park and next to an elementary school. Then we went for a stroll on the main street to look for dinner. Sis stopped by Daiso and found nothing. Ootoya has a delicious winter set dish. I couldn’t resist but try it. Singular toilet. Hogged by someone. Used public toilet on the street instead. Sis didn’t feel well. Told her to hide in the train station shops while I did a few more T5 raids. Checked out the Lawson and 7eleven convenient stores. Not one had her cirtus drink. Except a vending machine far far down the main street.
Tuesday 29th January 2019
Sis got stomach bug. The cream dessert from yesterday made her gassy and constipated. She didn't feel like going out today. I left my sister some Nurofen tablets for the pain, charcoal tablets for digestion issues, and Japanese medicine for stomach aches. I went to the Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse on my own. There I got the chance feel parts of a float, play the cymbals and the taiko drums to song used in the August parade. What an opportunity it was. Each float tells a legendary tale. Very appealing and the most famous one is the brother fighting one, but Sis said she like like the snow one or water one from looking at my photographs.
A-factory was just next door. Lots of tasty apple snacks: apple sticks, apple cakes, apple crackers, dried and semi dried apples, and apple cider. I purchase one of each. Then I proceeded to the mall next to the train station to buy my sister and I some delicious bento box. They had hot ones too. Walked my way back to the hotel with all the goodies and had lunch with Sis, who was very weak and bed ridden.
While she stayed home, I went to suss out the Cultural centre. Only the first floor and second floor is free to roam. The 10th and 14th floor require a paid ticket to enter, even for dining. Interesting. I didn't stay long, as most of the activities had ended by 3pm. I went off to partake in a T5 raid. With icy footpath, you cannot dash fast, you have to tread carefully and try not to fall. I have seen numerous people fall on their backside already.
Wednesday 30th January 2019
It has been a while since we last caught a local train. With local trains in Japan, you enter from the back and exit from the front. lol. A nice old lady came up to us and kindly pointed it to us. Just as we got to the driver, Sis couldn’t find her local train ticket. Apparently, she binned it at some point. Eh?
There were no taxi at Nokai train station. The bus headed to the temple direction comes once every hour. We waited patiently.
We got off on the main road. To cross the road you had go underground and navigate between four possible exits. There was lifts too. But you can easily lose your bearings there. Everything looked the same. It took us two tries to find the right exit. There we walked passed people houses and onto an another main road. Google Map indicated we could walk along the river behind the fire station building. After having dipped most of left leg into the snow cover area, Sis and I freaked out, the snow was too deep to be walk through. We were concerned of walking on frosted water since we have never been here, there is every chance, we are not walking on land. Trees and plants can grow in the water. We decided to take the main road after all. The trucks and cars would drive pass us. 20 minutes later we found the car park to the Showa Daibutsu. Yay! So many bells and interesting sculptures. The path to Showa Daibutsu is up a hill. We hike up the hill behind it to get another view. Glorious. So peaceful out here. To get inside you have to remove your shoes. Walking on cold carpet, Sis rang every bell on the floor, and the second floor had no lights, we used our smartphone torch, there was plaques with people names and you can see the inside of Showa Daibutsu.
Upon returning to first main road were we got off the bus. We found a Lawson, one that serves hot matcha latte and baked goods, also it has a nice sitting area for us to warm our hands and face. Not far from is Aeon mall. We didn't want to miss our bus, so we didn't check out the mall. Back at the main train station, Sis found her citron drink in a vending machine south of the main street. Ha ha.
We got off on the main road. To cross the road you had go underground and navigate between four possible exits. There was lifts too. But you can easily lose your bearings there. Everything looked the same. It took us two tries to find the right exit. There we walked passed people houses and onto an another main road. Google Map indicated we could walk along the river behind the fire station building. After having dipped most of left leg into the snow cover area, Sis and I freaked out, the snow was too deep to be walk through. We were concerned of walking on frosted water since we have never been here, there is every chance, we are not walking on land. Trees and plants can grow in the water. We decided to take the main road after all. The trucks and cars would drive pass us. 20 minutes later we found the car park to the Showa Daibutsu. Yay! So many bells and interesting sculptures. The path to Showa Daibutsu is up a hill. We hike up the hill behind it to get another view. Glorious. So peaceful out here. To get inside you have to remove your shoes. Walking on cold carpet, Sis rang every bell on the floor, and the second floor had no lights, we used our smartphone torch, there was plaques with people names and you can see the inside of Showa Daibutsu.
Upon returning to first main road were we got off the bus. We found a Lawson, one that serves hot matcha latte and baked goods, also it has a nice sitting area for us to warm our hands and face. Not far from is Aeon mall. We didn't want to miss our bus, so we didn't check out the mall. Back at the main train station, Sis found her citron drink in a vending machine south of the main street. Ha ha.
Thursday 31st January 2019
Packing done. Face done. Polished off as many bottles of juice as I can. Left the suitcases with the hotel, while we went for breakfast at the cultural centre. I had scallop ramen (¥730). Sis has vending machine chips and chicken (¥300) with melon soda (¥100). Managed to watch the first half of Tsugaru-shamisen performance, as we had to leave and catch our train to the next destination. Snack on the way back to the hotel I had apple pie with sweet potato filling in a shape of a heart (¥380). Collected the suitcases and proceeded to drag them to the Aomori train station. Sis purchased 3 lapel pins, 1 dog mascot, and 1 key chain. At Minami Chitose, there is an elevator to the bridge, but no lift down to the platform. Drag. It takes a long time to travel from Aomori to Chitose (Hokkaido). Because the trains do not run hourly. Best to pack some sort of reading material. I had tweets and emails as reading materials.
A taxi driver refused to drive us to our hostel, because he has not heard of the name before. Also, he had poor eye sight. Even after swapping two glasses, he still couldn’t read the katakana. He reckons it should be a 3 minute walk, if the hotel is located in the main street. Sis got mad and stormed off. After 20 minutes of walking. We made it to the hotel. The staff at the hostel didn't wait till I a chance to catch my breath and asked if we were checking in, she didn’t let us rest for a few minutes. My hands had blisters from dragging our suitcases through snow. The carpet of the front lobby was wet. No one bothered to wipe it dry. We dumped our bags in our room and went to have dinner at Steak Victoria. There you can order the all you can eat soup/rice/curry set. Nice.
Then we went around the train station looking for atm. Just 7eleven available. All other banks had closed their atm machines. I did do one T1 raid. There was no T5 raid in sight. The air was very frosty. I had to quickly put back my gloves each time. We checked out the station plaza, but everything was closed. We proceed to harass every 7eleven and Lawson convenient store. Sis finds none of them compares to the Lawson on Nokai Usushirodori where it was a cafe, post office, and convenient store in one.
Trip to Japan 2019 - Part 2
1st February 2019
Packed to go to Ice Village. Squeezed in T5 raid at the 7eleven behind us. Dashed through icy and slippery main street with our wheelie bag to catch a local train to Minami-Chitose to catch the Limited Express Oorza to Obihiro. Both my thumbs ended up with frost burn. The flesh had turned purple. Ah, dang.
The train was delayed and we were hungry. Luckily we had purchased food from the night before. Rice balls for breakfast.
I mixed up the dates between the two ice villages. We ended up in Obihiro a few days too early. It is the splashy one we were meant to head towards. Waited for a long distance train to go back the other way. Sis and I had pasta at Keys cafe at Obihiro station. Made some purchases at Watts 100 yen store. We put dibs on several souvenirs that we would to purchase when we are meant to be here on the 6th of February 2019.
The train that heads back to Sapporo arrived on time, but departed late due to cleaning. Which resulted in Sis and I sprinting for the connecting train for Ashikawa (A-sucky-kawa). Sis has strong arms to carry the mini wheelie suitcase downstairs and run up the escalator. This train arrived late too. Giving us only 6 minutes to transfer to the local train. The local train was covered with ice, but still cosy and warm on the inside.
Once we arrived at Kamikawa. There are no buses left. No choice but to take a taxi. Fare cost ¥7,000. The road was dark and icy (slippery). Whenever a truck or another car overtook us they would hurls this icy mist wind at us. I doubt we can walk there in 36 mins as Google Map speculated. As we arrived the Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival (層雲峡氷瀑まつり was in full swing. After Sis changed clothes the fireworks have already begun. All the restaurants have closed. Sis and I went to Seico mart for dinner. They have a small eating space and the staff kindly re-heat food for you. Also, purchased a beanie for Sis, as she forgot to bring own (Japan winter, o'duh).
It took most of the day to get to Sounkyo Canyon.
2nd February 2019
The wind was relentless. The frost was forming on Sis’s face, especially around her eye lashes. She refused to use her hoodie. The wind literally blows people across the street. People clanged onto fences and poles. I couldn’t film it because I too was holding onto the fence. Luckily, I had my ski goggles on, so I can see the wind’s direction. When it rains snow, the wind goes in criss cross fashion. When the wind howls it blows snow and ice towards the sky.
We walked around the Sounkyo Canyon mall. Most of the shops and restaurants were snowed under and shut. Only two eatery were open. We walked to the north of the mall to find the visitor centre. Sis got bored real quick. So many sign boards and maps bolted against the walls upon entrance. On the notice board it states what cultural centre is open and closed. Sadly, all of them were listed as closed. Interestingly, they have magnet warning signs on listed roads which are closed for hikers. They have stuffed animals and an interactive mountain diorama.
Shrine. Small. It has a bell. Sis and I had to waddle our way towards the bell. We noticed no one cleans the footpath around here. Walked halfway to Momiji dani (waterfall). When we hit a vertical path with too much snow. Sis gave up and insist we go back to the visitor centre. Something smelt like boiled eggs. The ropeway was closed for maintenance until April 2019. It would have been a great view. But the cafe was open. We had pizza and steamed potato for lunch, with a view of the mountain. The Sounkyo Ice Water Festival built well, but it had lots of slippery surfaces, that could do with rocks and fresh snow. Sis was afraid of ice mountain climb and fear running out of cash. We didn't get to do the climb that day. We went around taking snap shots instead. Inside each man made cave was hidden gems and sculptures.
I did T1 raid in front of the temple.
3rd February 2019
Slept in. Sussed out 7 eleven (not relaxing as Lawson in Aomori). Asked another hotel about location of a local bus bound for Kamikawa. He advised there is a bus terminal in this Sounkyo canyon and it is situated next to the post office. I walked all the way there and checked the signage for our bus (no. 81/83) and yes, it stops by this canyon. Phew. Cost ¥870 to Kamikawa (¥2,100 to Asashikawa) one way. No change machine nearby. Sis and I had to break the big notes by buying a hot chocolate each at the festival.
Before the fireworks, the staff handed out cups of onion soup and raffle tickets. If get chosen from the raffle, you went on stage and grab as much coins with your two hands, which get weighed, and the heaviest bag of coins is the winner. The prize was gift card of some sort. No other prizes. This time around we got the chance to see the fireworks within the festival grounds. After the fireworks the staff would throw mochi into the crowd and packs of noodle chips to kids.
4th February 2019
Caught a local bus ¥870 headed to Kamikawa. Waited a hour and 30 mins for the local train. I attempted to catch a new Pokémon as it was raining snow. The smartphone froze. The game froze too. Oh well. At least I tried. 40cm of snow within 1 hour. Geez. My tracks got cover, the fog got thicker, I walked into a parked van. Found the train station and defrosted myself. The local train arrived late Ashikawa. We missed the 2pm train to Sapporo. Ended up waiting for the 2:30pm. There is no waiting room on the platform. We hid in the stair well.
We decided to stop at Sapporo for dinner. There we had MOS burger and green tea. Sampled some cakes. Check out Tokyu hand, Loft, and Big Camera. Tokyu department store had pop cat theme for the new year. I went around gathering stamps till closing time. Lol. Nutters I am.
5th February 2019
Slept in. Went to post office to mail off excess. Japan post won’t mail alcohol, candy with liquid centres, chocolate candy made with egg, sweets incorporating plants (sakura). A lesson learned. In addition, they only accept cash. Late lunch at ESTA basement. MOS burger with melon soda and green tea on ice.
Completed a circuit of Sapporo snow festival. Took heaps of snap shots. Saw Jack from Time travel cartoon show. Posed for pictures at Hokkaido ramen stall. Sampled powdered onion soup and purchased snow flake candle, ceramic piece hair tie, and Yubari jelly. I prefer the jelly drink version. As the sunsets, they light up the bigger snow sculptures. So much food stalls everywhere. Good and bad. Not much huts for eating though. Snow landed in people's food. Most of the kids were bored from the long walk. One direction only. Miku AR performance was short lived and the app requires you to download 194MB before you line up the 30 seconds performance. We went to Big camera and this time I dade my big purchase Panasonic leg massager and we went home to re-pack suitcases til 3am.
I completed a few T5 raids at Sapporo station.
6th February 2019
Felt tired. Slept in. Caught train to Obihiro. Completed T5 raid. Checked-in into our hotel. Then we went to Fujimaru to do some shopping. We found some lovely Anna Sui stuff. As we were about to leave several Miss Universe contestants arrived to go up to the event hall upstairs. Whoa.
The places that was open for dinner were all bars. There is no family restaurant here. Strange city. Compared to Aomori this city is filled with single business men. Not much tourists or families to be found walking on the streets. No high school kids either. The street was filled with sound from a local radio station, blasting away old songs and some chatter. Sad. Just elderly citizens walking around and going to the malls here.
The bus terminal had the most transactions, there was constant groups of people boarding a bus bound for Sapporo. The train had students hanging around the waiting room through out the day.
The pokemon players would do raid from their cars.
7th February 2019
We took the designated bus to Lake Shikaribetsu. There we hopped on some snow mobile and rode them for 2km. The fresh snow was fun to drive through. My fingers on my left did freeze. My gloves did not have enough padding. The ice made the path lumpy and challenging to balance. But hey, we rode snow mobile on top pf a lake. That is pretty amazing in its self. Ice craving - no. Only reserved for hotel guests and coach tourists.
We went back to Obhiro and waited for another bus that will take us to another snow illumination located at Tokachigaoka Park. Which lacks decent public transportation. The buses here ended at 5pm. Most of attendees were nearby hotel guests, coach bus tourists, and just a handful from personal cars. Not much families or couples attended the event, just elderly locals and Chinese tourists. We had to catch a taxi back to Obihiro train station.
8th February 2019
Taking it slow. I had my sweet potato soft serve at Cranberry Pastry Shop. Then we sampled local produce and chose a cafe on the 7th floor of Fujimaru. My favourite is fish cakes with shrimp shells. I had no allergic reaction from eating the sample. Amazing! The cafe on the 7th floor was furnished with American backyard chairs from 1989. Really low. While waiting for our pasta and gratin to be cooked I fell asleep in my chair. Cash only establishment.
Went to the bus terminal to catch bus 21 to Obihiro Art Museum. We learnt before the Meiji period Hokkaido was known as Ezochi. Real name with the help Takeshita (monk and surveyor). He travelled to Hokkaido 6 times before railway tracks were laid down. He was an antique collector with an eye for landscape.
Stopped by an Aeon mall. Pretty fun place to go to for families. Stopped by Nukisyaiaj mall. In Aeon mall, we brought electronic toothbrush under ¥1,000. Lots of prepared food on sale. We have matcha latte from a vending machine. There was an amusement corner, where Sis came second in a scooter game.
In Nukisyaiaj mall, I found iPhone adapter head for Sis. Her USB cable was acting up lately and this adapter head would help her save money and re-use micro USB cables we already have possessed. Sis didn’t find anything to her liking and the shops were in the process of closing. I went off to do a T5 raid.
Owl bar. The view is beautiful. 270 degrees of the city. We had pasta, pizza, club sandwich with our mocktails.
I had a tropical punch soda. Nice. The view was beautiful.
Trip to Japan - part 3
9th February 2019
No luck in finding a bus to the race course. Both bus number one and two only goes north and south. I couldn’t find bus number 17 on multi television screens at the bus terminal. Compared to other cities Obihiro doesn’t have a loop bus to all the cultural attractions. So not tourist friendly. Then again upon arrive we saw signs such as “no foreigners allowed, we do not have English speaking staff”. The city pretty much dislike tourists. Train was delayed for 27 mins according to the transit staff at the gate. Advised that we wait awhile.
Off to look at souvenir shops. I love my yubari jelly drink. So easy to consume on the fly. Taste good. I try to not buy more chips, crackers, cakes, and candy. They always display a plethora of food these souvenir shops. Once you sampled you have this taste lingering in your mouth. Just one more bite. Whereas my sister is in love with melon soda and matcha.
Train bound for Sapporo.
Susukino proves to be ever colourful. The ice sculptures were creative, funny, and interactive. This time round they include cardboard cut outs, illumination objects, and staff to help you take photographs. Much more friendly to independent travellers.
We had dinner in our fave pasta franchise. They gave us the window seat. You can see the autumn leaves still dangling from the trees. With snow sitting on the branch would gently shake off the tree and land on the street. The street car (trams) pass by. Sapporo has wider new models now. At major street car stops such as Susukino there is a giant map of all the cultural institutions painted on the wall. This district is filled with souvenir shops. Our favourite is Don Quixote Penguin san. 4 floors of goodies. We burned off calories.
Of course, the shop was filed with Chinese tourists and every time they would take up a great deal of time of the cashier’s time. Most over price and they disagree with the tax free policy, where the refund comes back in yen and in cash after you have paid up at the cashier. As a result, there would be baskets and baskets of goodies sitting at the back of cashier.
When it came to our turn. The staff asked if we accept the policy, I said of course we do, as I plan to spend that returned yen. They laugh. Some shops offer it, but many do not. I don’t ask unless I’m buying big ticket items and never for consumable foods or drinks. Tax free prices mainly exists in airports. Throughout my journey from Kansai to Hokkaido I saw several comic/toy shops and grocery stores stating they are not a tax free shop. It is quite understandable. The process is burdening and fussy. Besides taxes pay for road and healthcare.
10th February 2019
Ashikawa time! Whoa. 10 years and the city has changed. Starting with the train station it is more spacious and clean. The tourist information centre has food and photographic stations. There are several toilet spots throughout the train station. The bus terminal is located in front of the train station and not on the side streets with no cover. Of course, the main street still remains the same. The signs at the event has several different languages. They have a bigger eating space. More choices of food. More family friendly activities. Most of them were for free. Unfortunately, they do not accept international token payment system or take credit card besides AliPay or PayPay. Japan is antiquated in payment systems compared to Australia.
We went on the giant slide (free), zip liner (¥800), and crane (free). I went on zorb ball (¥500) and 9 holes mini golfs (free). There sculptures that includes a slide, and oh, the kids could not get enough of them. Because of that, we didn’t take a photograph of the sculptures. By the time I started a game of mini golf, it started to rain fresh snow, making the game more challenging, as the ball loses it speed and get stopped by clumps of snow. After the game we caught the free shuttle bus back to the train station to Sapporo. There we had dinner and a nice drink. Then at Loft they had a sticker bonanza. A table with green cloth surrounded by banners. We just had to check it out. Apparently, if you pick 3 stickers you get 1 free. These are very artsy stickers, and yes, made in Japan.
11th February 2019
Dragging my huge suitcase on icy snow was a pain. The Airport rapid train was chockers full. So many people on board surrounding the doors and refusing to move down the carriage. We couldn’t bust in the first train. On the second train a family busted out and we were able to push in. There was a pigtail lady that refused to let people get off and get on. Biatch. Domestic traveller and so rude.
At the airport we left our suitcases with the baggage service staff. Straight to Miku snow museum and no chibi figurine, so I settled for a fluffy toy. This one has snow flake sewn into her hair. Quite angelic like. Lunch, we had raette cheese pasta with potato, sausage, bacon, broccoli on the side. I purchased a kanabe backpack that was on sale (30% off). Sis snuck in a seal face ice cream from Baskin and Robbins. There was simply no time left to have a warm cup of matcha. I still had a rental SIM card to return and check-in for our international fight starts at 1:30pm.
Once inside the international terminal the food and drink was bland. The souvenir food store had samples on offer and they were delicious, but I couldn’t be bothered to carry anymore things. Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes. Which is cool. To the loo I go and check on my Pokémon Go app.
12th January 2019
Our connecting flight was delayed by 3 hours and there were no spare resting room for hire. Sis and I had no choice but to sleep in open areas with complete strangers. Sleep upwards is never good the body. But hey, that’s how the capitalist have being operating for centuries. By 8am I woke up less tired and more refreshed. I left Sis as she was so sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t bear the thought of waking her up abruptly. I went over to a corner of the transfer lounge to do T1 raid. Once completed I went to Starbucks to buy Sis a tall green tea latte for brekkie.
By the time I came back. Sis was awake and less pissed about the delay and lack of napping rooms for hire. She happily drank the latte. I asked if she was feeling hungry. Otherwise, I’m going to attempt to do another raid, this time a T5, a few players joined, however they cowardly hid in the lobby and didn’t help take down the legendary raid boss. Luckily I used a free raid pass and not a paid one. I knew T5 raids at airports would be a fruitless attempt.
We went upstairs and had a light brunch: prawn dumplings, Chinese carrot cake, and mince meat wrapped in bean curd skin. Then proceeded to browse around the shops with a trolley. Took photographs here and there. They had Chinese New Year pigs on display, lion dance per a shop, and special discount sales. We watched the lion dance but we didn’t participate in catching chocolate coins. Sis asked me to pick one up for her.
Food break time. We had macron at TWG. Watermelon juices upstairs. The staff in the 24 hour dining area speaks little English. The staff in the boutique shops speaks English. As time tredded along. We decided to look at some souvenirs. Then we decided to have an early hearty dinner at O’Learys. Buffalo wings, mozllera sticks with salsa, and chicken tender strips with honey mustard sauce. After all we are flying Scoot whom doesn’t allow BYO food. As we were charging our devices for the second time, I noticed E4 gate had Scoot plane parked in it. I suggested to Sis she best pee nearby E4 gate, then as we stroll to E terminal the TV stated “gate closing” in red for E4. I told my sister to run and push the trolley hard. We just made it by the skin of our teeth. There was no announcement made over the PA.
Home bound.
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