Hokkaido prefecture

Hokkaido was an unplanned pleasure. Originally, I wanted to go to Hokkaido, but I decided not to, since it is so far away. After Kyoto, I decided to make a break and do the Hokkaido trip afterall.

Hakodate is home to about 291,700 people, but it seems much smaller. It's right on the ocean, so there are beautiful sights to see everywhere.

Here are a couple random snapshots I took as I was walking around. This should give you an idea what kind of place this is.

My first stop was Hakodate, a town at the south end of Hokkaido. When I got there, I caught the trolley and headed for the Koryuji Temple. I had trouble finding it, so I asked for directions. The people I asked told me to get in the car and they drove me to the temple. People in Japan are great!

So, I ended up at the temple. As I was admiring it, I got into a conversation with Machiyo Noriyasu, a woman who goes to that temple. She invited me inside for a birthday celebration of Kobo Dashi, a Buddhist saint. Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of a Buddhist ritual with people all around me reading Buddhist scriptures. Then, to my surprise, Noriyasu-san handed me a book of scriptures so I could read along. Initially, I had some religious issues with this since I'm a Christian. However, I decided to go along with it since I didn't understand what I was reading and it was clear that I was only trying to learn about their customs. So, I read along (in Japanese, of course). Then, about half the people broke into a chorus of ringing bells and hitting metal gavels. All along, there was a monk at the front reading the scriptures along with some other men (also monks, maybe). All of this was taking place in a beautiful temple with Buddhist statues and gold-plated everything. This is the norm for temples in Japan. After some time, it stopped and the monk turned around and became informal. He started asking Buddhist trivia questions. People who answered correctly got a prize. After that was done, they served good ramen and gave us some other presents. Everyone, including myself, got a box of really good mochi sweets, a grapefruit, and two cans of iced coffee with cream. So, this was an intensely fascinating and welcoming start to my short stay in Hokkaido. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of that part. I think it's rude to take pictures of people praying.

From there, Noriyasu-san showed me around Hakodate. She is a sweet woman, maybe 60 years old. She and her husband own a small clothing shop in town. She took me to the shop, gave me coffee and sweets, and introduced me to her husband.

After that, we did some sightseeing. The first stop was Goryokaku Tower, a big tower that looks out over the town. The tower is part of Goryokaku Fort, one of Hakodate's most noteworthy attractions. It's a big military fort in the shape of a pentagon. It is shaped like that for military advantage against invaders. To me, it was a beautiful park. We had a nice time strolling around.

Here's a photo of me at the top of the tower. (She wouldn't let me take her picture.) Below that is a photo I took from the tower of Goryokaku Fort. The third photo is an aerial photo of the fort. I scanned it from a pamphlet.

Next, she took me to Takuboku Park, by the ocean. It is named after a famous poet, Takuboku Ishikawa. Here is a photograph of the statue of Mr. Ishikawa.

And here is the Russian Orthodox Church. I didn't actually go inside either of these. What's interesting about them to me is that they exist, especially in such a small place. I mean Christians are fairly rare in Japan. I heard from a priest in Japan that only 0.3% of Japanese people are Catholic Christian. Another 0.3% are Protestant Christian. So, it's amazing to me that a small place like Hakodate would have these beautiful churches. These are listed as sightseeing attractions on the Hakodate sightseeing maps.

I had dinner at a fairly nice seafood restaurant. It was disappointing. I had stuffed cuttlefish and seafood stew. The cuttlefish was dry and the stew was full of bones. I think they were punishing me for being alone (and thus not so valuable).

On my way back to the inn, I passed by a funky tavern. I peeked in the window for a couple minutes and watched people playing darts. They invited me in and insisted that I play with them. It was quite a nice time. I had an Orange Cassis, a popular cocktail in Japan. It is made of orange juice and creme de cassis, a delicious black currant liqueur. I met Tsukamoto Atsushi, a young man who works at the morning market selling fish.

Here are a couple pictures of my friends at the tavern.

Okay, I forgot to write about the inn. I stayed at the Oyado Aozara ryokan (inn). The woman there was particularly kind to me. When I arrived, I had some damp clothes to hang up. She immediately took down her own clothes and insisted on helping me hang my clothes (underwear and all). I was quite surprised at how much she wanted to help me with things. I should say that the inn was built very recently and it was immaculate. It's a great place to stay. So, I was quite pleased with the Aozara.

When I got back, around 12:30 AM, I found that Sasamoto-san, the owner, had taken down my clothes and folded them. I couldn't believe her kindness. Not only that, she had unfolded the futon and made my bed for me. Wow!

I took a photo of the folded clothes to remember the moment by.

At night, Yun helped me plan my last day in Hokkaido. I got to meet his friend Shiga and his wife Im. Shiga is Japanese. Im is Korean.

Yun said he was helping me because we were both foreigners. Yun is just a nice person.

I dedicated Tuesday to a brief visit to Shakotan. Shakotan is an area near Otaru known for stunning views. It took about 3 hours to get there by bus. That's not to say I had to sit and read the paper for three hours. The bus ride was breathtaking. The bus drove along the ocean coast and I saw lots of countryside along the way. It was great. When I got to Shakotan, I had less than an hour to gaze at the view before I had to turn back. I quickly bought a few souvenirs and an ice cream cone and then walked up to the top of a cliff to gaze at the view.

Here are the photos I took. As you see, Shakotan is a gorgeous place to sit and look out. This is one of the nice things about traveling alone. If I were with someone else, they probably wouldn't have wanted to spend six hours on a bus, just for an hour at a beautiful place. I'm so glad I made the trip. It was fabulous!

On the way back from Shakotan, due to some weird bus scheduling, I had an opportunity to get off the bus and hang out by the ocean for 45 minutes. It was nice.

In the train station, I ran into this guy with an afro. I thought it was neat, so I told him his hair was cool and asked to take his picture. He said (in Japanese), "Okay, but only one."

After that, I took a sleeper train back to Tokyo. I met some interesting people on the train and it was a smooth ride. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.