Intro to Hokkaido

While I won't have enough time now to log many details of my trip, I can start by explaining where we went and what we did. We took a short domestic flight from Tokyo to Chitose after leaving work early on Thursday (Friday was a national holiday).

Flying has never been such a pleasant experience! One everlasting quote I'm reminded of: "In the U.S., the customer is always right. In Japan, the customer is God." Even as foreigners, we were still treated as humans - I can't say the same of back home, as I recall being subjected to the annoyingly repetitious shouting from the airport security.

We each had some sort of contraband item on us that we forgot about, but instead of making us throw them away, we could simply sign our name on an envelope and keep one half of the carbon paper. They stowed our dangerous goods under the plane with the rest of the baggage, then we picked it up from the claim carousel just the same, showing the paper to someone as we exited the area. Oh, you can also take bottles of liquid on board and they can simply be scanned with a special machine - thus eliminating the need to pay $5 for a bottle of water in the secure terminal.

After arriving near Sapporo by plane, we took a night bus to the northernmost city, Wakkanai. We arrived at 5:30am and tired as usual, but conveniently already at the ferry port. The first ship of the day was only a bit later and we were thankful to be able to sleep for another two hours while heading for the island of Rebun. The waves were surprisingly choppy, but the bobbing of the boat put us to sleep only quicker.
Rebun is famous for its wildflowers, none of which were in bloom during our visit. This was anticipated, however, and hiking around the snowy trails with no sign of others was refreshing considering how densely populated the rest of Japan can be. We had originally intended to spend a few hours on the island to make it back to Wakkanai and explore the coast there, but we were so impressed with the abundant natural beauty of the island that we returned as the sun was setting (about 5:00pm here). Walking perhaps 10km in total, we saw only a handful of people - who lived in the town - and the majority of businesses were closed, since who in their right mind would visit in the winter? We ate at the one open restaurant: inside the ferry terminal.

The view from our hotel room in Wakkanai. As if being cheap and clean weren't enough, this one used the entire top floor as an onsen. Artificial, but a wonderful way to relax one's sore muscles after a day of hiking. Wakkanai was larger than I expected, but spread out. Walking around at night wasn't difficult and we stumbled upon a true treasure of an izakaya where we spent 4 or 5 hours talking over drinks with the owner. She is one of the nicest people a traveler could hope to meet, and one of the most fond memories I have of Hokkaido and its people.

Cape Soya, another summertime tourist spot, is the northernmost point in Japanese territory. It also happens to be the windiest! Even taking pictures was a difficult task - holding a camera steady while trying to avoid becoming a kite was a new experience for me. There are multiple unrelated monuments scattered about the area, and thanks to our timing, few people to interfere with our photography or exploring. The day was clear and so we could see the Russian island of Sakhalin a mere 43km away. Most tourists were content to get off the bus, snap a picture with their cell phone, buy omiyage and get in line for the next bus and out of the freezing weather. We endured until past sunset, when one of the last (infrequent) buses came by. Missing it would have meant sleeping in a lavatory or some similar fate because much like Rebun, hardly anyone was around.

By night bus again, we left Wakkanai for Sapporo instead of Asahikawa as originally envisioned. We wished to spend less time held hostage to the schedules of off-season transportation, and the ultimate destination, the southern resort of Noboribetsu, looked like a good change of scenery - and temperature. Sapporo is the largest city in Hokkaido and has a wealth of eye-candy, but can't be compared with the more remote areas.. they're simply two different worlds. We arrived the day after a parade celebrating the baseball team (the "Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters") for winning the Pacific league championship. Scraps of confetti were everywhere we walked.

Behold the colorful cauldron of Noboribetsu's jigokudani ("hell valley"). A picture may be worth words, but unfortunately cannot convey the sulfurous smell of the area. Bubbling and steaming, it is a natural source for the numerous onsen resorts that make up the majority of buildings nearby. The spa I was privy to blew me away with its assortment of baths - varying minerals, temperature, or style to make them all unique. It was another great spot to relax before heading back to the airport and home to resume our lives as office worker-ants.

What an amazing trip it was, though! Certainly one of the best I have ever taken in terms of variety and unexpectedly pleasant finds. I have a mound of pictures, and I'll share the best ones as time permits.

News from the Eastern front

The past week has been busy, dealing with the loss of my laptop hard drive and trying to plan out a visit to the northern island of Hokkaido for this weekend.

Thanks to a Linux liveCD, the computer is still usable, though in an even more limited capacity than before. I was lucky enough to have time to backup my data (after symptoms appeared... bad habit) and so as far as I know, nothing of importance is missing and I won't have to weep like a little girl about it later. The pictures I've been picking through and posting here were already stored off-site (read: at work), but all the code I'd been working on could have been lost. The moral is to back up early and often - get either an external hard drive or DVD burner. I prefer the DVDs since they are more portable and will last your lifetime. The external drive is just as prone to failure as the one inside your computer you are trying to back up. Don't be a penny-pincher on this, you'll come to regret it later.

The Hokkaido trip is taking place in late November, so it should prove numbingly cold and white. I'm not much into skiing, but I am excited at the opportunity to shoot pictures of the volcanic scenery. The island is (no surprise) famous for seafood, and I intend to try as much as possible. The plan is to arrive by plane near Sapporo and take a night bus to the northernmost city, Wakkanai. From there, a ferry to the island of Rebun (and back ;), then another nightbus to the heart of the wilderness - the enormous national park of Daisetsuzan near Asahikawa city. This may change, however, as I will be accompanied by one of the interns this time. I won't have the flexibility I normally enjoy, but the companionship while on the buses and trains is important... ever since I finished my book.

Speaking of food to try, here's a quick list of some "strange" food I've consumed so far:

• octopus - pretty standard fare in Japan, but I'm getting to appreciate the flavor more and more. Rubbery and chewy, buy not good if you get creeped out by the suckers. The best by far have been deep-fried baby octopus (iidako).
  
• whale - overpriced and not anything special besides the rarity. Tastes like a dark meat more than seafood.
  
• squid - raw, pickled, or a side dish full of "guts" in vinegar - the raw texture and flavor is bland for me, but the other two are good, especially served cold with some sake.
  
• horse - I've had two kinds of horse sashimi: dark and marbled. The darker one was at an Okinawa-style restaurant and far superior in flavor.
  
• dandelion - this was a bit of an accident after some mis-translation (French, not Japanese!). I suggest you avoid putting flowers into your mouth.
  

Some more of the architecture. It appears that the shutter-like wooden parts that jut out are used to hold the windowed panels. Whether they slide in or have to be manually moved, I can't say. The wood keeps its age well, unless it is constantly being re-paneled.

The stone path past the lantern had a nice effect and there weren't any other establishments that gave up so much space to the outside. The columns of side-lighting makes it enchanting to step into at the right time of day.

This was the house open to the public (for a fee, of course) and to this day still trains maiko. The Wikipedia article on geisha is quite comprehensive, though at times confusingly written. The main points are that maiko are geisha in training, and neither are prostitutes but entertainers skilled in the traditional arts. I encourage you to skim the article!

This one is unique among the others - its construction raises it off the ground. I wish I understood more about the design of the buildings, but the relevant information I found was limited to Japanese only; my vocabulary isn't that good.

Another shot of the aged lane on this wonderfully sunny day. My how the weather has changed since then. Rainy, windy, and cold seems to be the Japanese way for November. Mind you, all of the fair-weathered days happen to be workdays. Yes, it's statistically probable, but it still hurts.

Quick glance

A look at the more modern Kanazawa.

And the old-fashioned. This is the Higashi Geisha District, the exteriors adorned with simple wood and style. Read more about this area (and the others I'll be later describing) here.

Japan is quick to showcase the clash between these two distinct eras. Often anywhere you travel, you will find some surprise - such as a convenience store or dance club alongside a shrine. It's not something to shake your head at, there's really no extra room in larger cities! At least the preservation of these centuries-old buildings affords Japan that unique dichotomy.

Another round of photos

Here are some pictures from Kanazawa, the "other Tokyo." It can't really compare in size, but the mix of modern and medieval is something to enjoy. I found the city to be very welcoming, clean and densely packed with things to see and do. I'd highly recommend the trip to anyone, though the night bus can always prove cruel. On the other hand, waking up at 5:30AM gives one plenty of time to plan their travels for the day. Here are some images from around the station - I'll add some good stuff tomorrow.

Pretty standard interior as far as train stations go - one of the security guards was kind enough to help me spot some destinations on the map I picked up inside.

Reminds me of Kyoto station with the high mesh, but brighter. The wooden gate is composed of straight cuts of wood placed at angles to give a spiraling appearance.

Very cool place to chill and wait for people to show up. There is a U-shaped bus dropoff right in front of the entrance to the station, with a large parking lot off to the side. Very convenient.

How does one tour-guide company trump another? By bringing along companions such as these to entertain tourists. Wow.

This splendid little gadget is composed of a matrix of miniature bubbling water fountains. It cycled through both English and Japanese, including a clock - quite fun to admire.

Welcome to Kanazawa!

Boo!

It's significantly more chilly outside than when I first arrived here. Was it so long ago that I stepped out of the air-conditioned airport terminal and into the great outdoor sauna of August?

A lot has changed but not much has happened. I have been slowing down on travels (not to mention blog updates) probably because I'm no longer a simple tourist here - this has become my home. For someone who travels often, I'd like to think my home is the space my body currently occupies, but there's still an inescapable state-of-mind aspect. It doesn't mean I will stop touring, of course, but there's more to it than touring for the sake of touring, because you're in a place that you won't be again for some time. Hell, I've willingly visited more places in Japan than in the United States. Firstly because I was a "visitor", but now that logic has faded.

A group of us watched The Motorcycle Diaries tonight, and it did a great job of breathing life into the descriptions that make Che's original reflections so powerful. A hundred pages or so, it would take about as much time to read it as to watch it, and I highly recommend either. It makes me wonder if a cross-country trip would even be possible in the States. In attempting to parallel the two, I'm left with little more than stark differences. Would you offer a meal to a man who showed up on your porch on a motorcycle? A place to sleep? Maybe instead of just guessing I should be content to honestly answer "I don't know" what kind of hospitality one could expect. Perhaps I'm too doubtful of Americans for my own good, but I feel that for most people, the culture is far too different and this concept would fail. I'd imagine both parties involved to be equally afraid of one another.

Regarding the "parties", the Yamanote train party was a huge failure.. to the point where we never made it to the destination.. because we never started for it.. because of yet another typhoon. Nothing like wind, rain and darkness that forecast a 90% chance of death with guaranteed uncomfortable sensations from wearing a soaked costume all night. We stayed in, had some drinks, and watched Evil Dead 1 and 3 while dressed up. As lame as staying in seems, I'm growing all too fond of the cross-culture confessionals - which alcohol always aids.

I hope you all had some sort of fun this season. If not, you can always learn as much from your kids as they can learn from you.