2006 Japan Trip (7th-27th December) + Uncle Ben's Family [PART II]
Note: As the whole of the Japan trip is too long to put in a single post, it will be split into parts. This is the 2nd part. To see Part 1, scroll down.
Note: To get a better picture, open it in a new window. Then you can see the high-resolution version.
PART II (14th December Only)
Okay the next part covers about the trip into Hokkaido.. and it is one of the main highlights of the trip. We visited Hakodate and our old friends at the Pension Yumekukan.
Part 2 covers only 1 day because it covers the island crossing, which is major.
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14th December, Thursday
Original Area: Towadako (in Honshu)
Destination: Hakodate (in Hokkaido)
Travel: Towadako to Aomori Harbour, Aomori to Hakodate via ferry
Driving Distance: 102km from Towadako to Aomori Harbour
Ferry Distance: 300 km approx. from Honshu (main island) to Hokkaido
Driving Time: 8am - 10:30am (2.5 hours)
Ferry Time: 12:30pm to 4:10pm (3 hours 40 minutes)
Lodging: Pension Yumekukan (http://ww6.et.tiki.ne.jp/~yumekukan/)
14th December, Thursday
We set off early on the 14th of December because of the bad road conditions. Fortunately, it did not snow. Yes, we were fortunate that it did not snow. This is because if it snowed, we would have trouble travelling the mountain roads. Only one of the cars, Uncle Ben's Honda Odyssey, had four wheel drive. Our Honda Odyssey did not have four wheel drive. (If you didn't know, four wheel drive is particularly important in snowy countries or if you want to travel through mud. Normal cars are typically two wheel drive, which means power is only sent to the back wheel. In four wheel drive, power is sent to all the wheels, enabling the car to travel up steep snowy/muddy slopes and over snowy/muddy ground easier as all the wheels receive power.) Anyway, we left Oriase Keiryu Grand Hotel at around 8am.
The picture above shows the condition of the roads at that time. It was not bad, even though it was icy. It could have been worse, especially if it snowed. Notice that there are no lamp posts so it would be dangerous travelling from 3:45pm onwards (the Sun sets really early here). However, look in front and you'll see a weird "post" you don't see in Singapore.. its an arrow pointing downwards. Its purpose: if the snow is too deep or its at night, you will know where the road is, also if the road curves you won't keep going straight and fall down the slope, which would be a disaster. (
Yes, the snow can be damn deep.)
On the way to the Aomori Harbour, we also stopped by the road to take some pictures. The scenery was overwhelming; God's creation is great.
Breathtaking scenery along the road - you should open it in a new window to see it big. However, the best would be to be there and see it and feel it, of course. The wind was really very strong.
Another picture of scenery along the road, at around 9am. It was rather misty and foggy at this particular stretch of road. We also stopped to take this picture. Actually the picture above and this picture were taken at the same place. The one before this was facing the left side of the road, and this one is facing the right.
Then after this stretch of road which was relatively flat, the road led to more mountainous areas again. We stopped at a viewing point. Sarah was having a headache around here, because of the turns and curves and ups and downs of the mountain road.
Me in knee deep snow at the viewing point on the way to Aomori Harbour.
After going through all of the roads and etc, we finally reached Aomori Harbour at around 10:30am. Since the ferry was leaving at 12:30pm and we had time to spare, we went for lunch in Aomori town. After that, we walked around Aomori. Then, at 12:00pm, we lined up in front of the ferry to board.
This type of ferry is a special ferry that can also carry cars and trucks. You drive the car in, park it and then go upstairs. The ferry would bring us to Hakodate in Hokkaido.
For those who don't know, Hokkaido is the northern island of Japan. Honshu (where Tokyo is located) is the main and middle island.
Just to show you the main islands of Japan. Notice Aomori at the north of the main Honshu island.. we are travelling to Hakodate by ferry. Hakodate is not shown on the map, but it is quite a big coastal city in Hokkaido.
Queuing up for the ferry. The black Honda Odyssey is Uncle Ben's rented car. The silver-grey Honda Odyssey is ours. You can compare the size of the ferry to the size of the car. Also, notice there is less snow here. Its because Aomori is a town and they cleared the snow... there's also less snowfall at this point in time.
Okay we then boarded the ferry. It was quite boring except for the scenery. We spent most of our time playing bridge and other card games.
The 4 musketeers without 1 musketeer. I was the photographer. This was on the ferry. It was extremely windy.
The spray of the ferry is damn long.. since the ferry is also very large. It was a long and uneventful ferry ride. But I did feel a bit queasy at times.
After the ferry ride, we went back downstairs and drove the car out of the ferry. By this time it was already dark as it was 4pm plus. After driving and parking, we bought them to Hakodate Hill. This was the 3rd time I returned there. To get to the top of Hakodate Hill quickly, you can take cable car. The ride is about 10 minutes.
By the way there was no snow in Hakodate - even though it is further up north, there was no snow. This is because of natural factors, such as mountains, being near the coast, etc.
The view from the top of Hakodate Hill at 5:08pm. Breathtaking scenery of Hakodate city. I encourage you to open it in a new window to see the details.
After visiting Hakodate Hill, we checked in with our old friends at Pension Yumekukan. We would be staying there for the night.
The Pension Yumekukan, where we lived. It may be a pension but inside is damn nice. Typical of Japanese. A pension in Japan is very nice inside compared to some other countries - clean and nice, cosy and warm. Even though its only a pension. And excellent service.
After checking into the pension and bringing our baggage into our nice, albeit tiny rooms, we went out for dinner. Hakodate is a port city with a long history. And sushi here is really cheap since its a port city, and its very fresh. The sushi is way better compared to Tokyo, of course. (Actually in the market you can get to eat sushi that is still moving but its already dead. I've tried it. It can be gross to some people.) So we went to a sushi restruant.
Tim and XP acting lame pointing to all the delicious menu items. For example, there are fresh sea urchins. xD And they are purposely making sure a lame pose.
Timothy trying to act shocked that the menu is damn nice and the food is damn delicious.. nice face there. xD
Tim acting happy at the cheap prices of the sushi and the variety that the restruant had.
After that, we went back to Pension Yumekukan and thus our day ended.
Oki, thats the end of Part II. It covers only 1 day because we did many things on that day. I'm already working on Part III so hopefully it'll come out by tommorrow.
