And finally.....Hakodate

Our last night in Hokkaido was the 24th August. We left Sapporo early in the morning and headed to the nearby town of Otaru, famous amongst the native Japanese for the glassware made there. Otaru is famous amongst the foreign expat community in Japan for an entirely different reason - a lawsuit aimed at lifting the ban on non-Japanese from using some of the local onsens. Fortunately, one of those banned from the onsens (Debito Arudou) for not having the right ethnicity, took umbrage and won his anti-discrimination case. Despite such a victory, it is still not yet illegal to exclude customers from any premises in Japan based on race.

After our stop off at Otaru, the bus journey down to Hakodate was actually very nice. Lovely views from the road which followed the coastline south. We stopped off at a couple of places en-route and arrived at our hotel in Hakodate at approximately 5.30pm. Our hotel, the Bourou Noguchi, was very impressive indeed! A great blend of traditional and modern Japan. After arrival, we had to quickly eat dinner and then rush to join the bus once again to experience the night views from the top of Mount Hakodate. This rush meant we didn't have time to eat desert.

And the views from Mount Hakodate were certainly impressive - supposed to be amongst the three best night views in Japan, for which I wouldn't necessarily disagree. However, there were thousands of other people pushing, shoving, and shouting to get a glimpse of Hakodate below. The night view was certainly impressive, the experience depressing. I much preferred the experience of Mount Inasa in Nagasaki when we visited almost 4 years ago. Similar night view, but much more restrained and civilised. I wasn't at all unhappy to get back on the bus and return to our hotel.The room at the Borou Noguchi Hotel was one of the best I have stayed in. As can be seen from the picture, we had our very own hinoki (cypress) wooden bath on our balcony. Soaking in the bath was the usual pleasure and the Western style bedroom and Japanese style lounge were very tastefully done with little expense spared. However, the same problem existed as I experienced in Sapporo the previous evening. By the time we had returned from the night view and had an onsen, it was too late to explore the city of Hakodate (even if I did have the energy from the marathon day we had just experienced). So, similar to the night before, I was in bed asleep by 10.30pm.It was a terrible shame we were all so rushed. I spent approximately 8 hours in the Borou Noguchi Hotel, 6 of those hours were spent sleeping. It seemed to have defeated the purpose of staying in such a lovely place as we never had a proper chance to enjoy all the hotel had to offer. Shame.

Before our flight back to Tokyo the following day (25th August), we still had the chance to spend half a day wandering round Hakodate. I skipped breakfast in exchange for an extra 30 minutes in bed and then split from the rest of the tour and found a quiet watering hole to sit and have lunch with a couple of beers.

In summary, Hokkaido is certainly a fantastic place to visit and I was lucky to have a brief glimpse of what the island has to offer. I would recommend it to anyone. On the other hand, if you want to really understand and have a deeper appreciation of Hokkaido, it would perhaps be best to hire a car and explore at your own pace.

To Sapporo

On the 23rd August, we had a full itinerary on our epic journey from northern Hokkaido towards the south. Amongst other things, we stopped off at some picturesque waterfalls and spent about 3 hours at Japan's most popular zoo (Asahiyama Zoo). Going to a zoo seemed a little inappropriate to me - there are plenty to visit in any country or city around the world. I also feel uncomfortable that the animals are cooped up for their lives in small spaces purely for the enjoyment of humans. Clara loved it though and I must admit that watching the polar bear diving into a pool to retrieve fish was fascinating.

After departing the zoo, our journey continued to Flower Land. Not overly exciting and for me, a little disappointing. The large field of sunflowers all had drooping heads and I think that the famous fields of lavender had also already reached their peak a week or two before. The light rain was also a slight irritant.

The real prize for me was our stay in the city of Sapporo. Sapporo is world famous for the Snow Festival held each February - another good reason to make a return journey to Hokkaido one day. However, I was also interested to see the city as it is supposed to be unique amongst other Japanese cities as it adopts a more American style town plan.

Soon after arriving at our hotel in the Susukino area of the city (within the entertainment and red light district), we walked about 15 minutes or so to see Odori Park. The park is one of the well publicised images of Sapporo, so I was keen to get a quick glimpse before our search for a suitable place for dinner and drinks.

The only downside during our stay in Sapporo was the hectic schedule we had to stick to. We had woken up early (again) that morning and had spent an extremely busy and tiring day travelling to the aforementioned attractions. We also knew that there would be another early start the next day. Before the holiday, I was really looking forward to a good night out in Sapporo. Reality meant that I was in bed and fast asleep by 10.30pm. By trying to do too much, I actually failed to do some of the things I most wanted. Just too tired to explore the city, made worse by fear of being stuck on the bus the next day with a thumping hangover.

So similar to Shiretoko, Sapporo was a nice place to visit. In order to really appreciate it though, I will have to return one day.

Shiretoko Peninsula

For as long as I can remember, I have always yearned to visit the Shiretoko Peninsula. I imagined raw and unspoilt scenery, an abundance of wildlife, and only a smattering of people. My expectations proved pretty accurate.The only problem was that we were on a bus tour - a simple and often stress free way to see a new place, but one that sticks to a rigid schedule (especially in Japan) where you cannot linger.

Perhaps the most memorable memory of my whole trip was simply sitting on the beach for 5 minutes next to Clara. The air was fresh, the waters in the Sea of Okhotsk were clear, and the amount of bird life around the coast was a reminder of the relatively untouched wilderness we were visiting. Shiretoko was fantastic - but our brief visit was nowhere near long enough. I regard our visit as a taster - I will return sometime in the future for at least a couple of days. The scenery in winter must be breathtaking.

On the short return walk from the beach to the car park, I noticed a large cluster of thistles (called azami in Japanese) - how could I not take a picture of the flower of Scotland? A few years ago, I remember being quite surprised to learn that thistles were commonly found in northern Japan. The parallels don't end there - Scotland and Hokkaido are almost exactly the same size with almost identical populations.

Shortly after lunch and our brief sojourn to the beach, we got back on the bus and went to see the fairly interesting Sea Ice Museum near the town Mombetsu. Every winter, the Sea of Okhotsk freezes over due to the continuous influx of fresh water from the Russian Amur River, thus lowering salinity. It must be quite a sight to see in winter!Shiretoko was everything I had hoped it would be - a real gem. Next time I visit, I won't be in such a rush to leave. Fantastic!

Sapporo Classic

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Sapporo Black Label (kuro label) is generally my beer of choice in Japan, but as I was in Hokkaido, I thought it more appropriate to drink Sapporo Classic. Classic is not sold anywhere else in Japan, only Hokkaido.

Hokkaido - Akan National Park

Our long anticipated holiday to Hokkaido finally arrived when we flew up on Sunday 21st August. After a short bus journey from Kushiro Airport, our first night was spent beside Lake Akan, famous for green balls of algae called marimo. The area of Akan is also the last bastion of the indigenous people of Japan, the Ainu.

I have actually been to Lake Akan once before, about 14 years ago accompanied by vacationing university friends (Grambo, Bash, and Hank). We travelled up to Hokkaido on board the MV Blue Zephyr under clear blue skies, accompanied most of the way from Tokyo by dolphins. Unfortunately, this ferry service from Tokyo ceased some years ago - not at all surprising as we were practically the only passengers on board. As my friends and I all had such a great time during our visit in June 1997, I was excited to retrace some of my steps and see whether or not anything had changed - nothing had.

Memories of my last trip to Lake Akan are:

• hiking to the top of Mount Oakan (and cutting my leg)
• sleeping in the tent with the fear of being attacked by black bears
• sitting relaxing and chatting by the campfire
• bathing in the local onsen (and scaring the other patrons away)
• a marathon pedalo trip on Lake Akan to a small island
• listening to the hand over of Hong Kong on my small radio

This time, we stayed in the slightly more salubrious surroundings of the New Akan Hotel. The room was very nice and the dinner and breakfast buffet were certainly good for a fussy eater such as myself. After dinner, we wandered around the village for an hour or so looking at the usual tourist traps and paraphernalia - below is a picture of the famous marimo.

Clara is adamant that the marimo on sale are actually fake. She said that there is a little old lady who makes the green balls from regular algae and then puts them into jars for gullible tourists - I am inclined to believe her.

The best memory of our most recent trip to Lake Akan has to be the late night onsen and jacuzzi on the roof of our hotel. Very relaxing and peaceful.

Trip to Hokkaido

A holiday to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido beckons. We all really cannot wait.

Hokkaido is the last unspoiled area of Japan, so it will be soothing on the eyes to see some wilderness as opposed to the Tokyo cityscape.

Our rough itinerary is:

Depart Haneda Airport tomorrow (21st August)

Stay at Lake Akan

Visit Shiretoko Peninsula

Various places through the center of the island

Sapporo

Otaru

Finishing off with a night in Hakodate (25th August)

I will obviously be taking the camera along so there will be some blog postings shortly....may even try and do a few updates whilst we are in Hokkaido.

I am most looking forward to Lake Akan, where my university friends and I stayed about 16 years ago. I have always wanted to visit Sapporo, so that should also be a highlight.

Clara is in very good form as she is looking forward to more travels. She has also just bought a new Pokemon game for her Nintendo 3DS so she is on cloud 9.