Day 14 - Last Day in Tokyo

We find ourselves nearing the end of our journey. Two weeks have flown by. We've flown over 12,600 miles from the US to Japan, and back.  Inside Japan, we've traveled more than 1,130 miles, 518 miles by plane, more than 600 miles by long-distance train.  According to my Google Timeline, we've logged almost 170 subway/tram/bus miles while in Japan.  Later on, we'll figure out what we've spent on the trip, but I'm less interested in the money spent, versus the experiences we've shared.

For starters, I've learned it was an absolute delight traveling with Kylee.  She was always keen to try something new or different.  Mona and I remembered much from our previous trip, and Kylee was keen to ask great questions and offer helpful suggestions.

We started our morning early, repacking our bags, one last time.  Kylee and Mona each grabbed coffee or snacks from the 7-Eleven or the grocery across the street.  As we completed our checkout, we now had an hour or two to kill, before we needed to get Kylee to her 4PM JST departure at Haneda Airport (Mona and I wouldn't leave until 5:45PM JST).  While the hotel did offer a shuttle to Toyosu Station (a local bus station that offers a direct shuttle bus to Haneda Airport), it only ran at four intervals in the morning.  So, our plan became doing a little exploring, then finding a way to get ourselves to the airport.  In a pinch, we could always take a taxi for about 8000 yen....

We dropped our bags at the front desk, planning to pick them up later and head to the station.  A nearby mall, Urban Dock, was the perfect way to eat some time.  The bus stop was directly in front of the hotel, making it easy to catch the bus.  Hopping on, we found we only had to go three stops to get there.  In just a few minutes, we reached the mall, then split up to do our thing.

I wandered by myself to a coffee shop called Komeda.  You could get a booth or a semi-private counter space, complete with power outlets.  I ordered a large coffee and tiramisu!

The shop was busy, with customers coming and going, but it was never, ever loud.  Like much of Japan, it felt more like being in a library than being at Starbucks.  I used the time to charge my phone and battery, and try to figure out our last challenge: catching the Haneda-Airport Limousine Bus.  

It wasn't hard to find the website, but all of the links seemed to indicate you needed to reserve seating a day in advance.  This made me sweat, because a taxi would run 8000 yen, but the bus was only 800 yen per person, plus a little more for each extra bag...

Meeting back up with Mona, we headed back to the front of the mall, to meet Kylee and head back.  With the extra time, I walked over to Toyosu Station and found the bus stand for the airport.  Aha! To my relief, the sign had more information, indicating not only could board the bus without reserving tickets, the tickets could be purchased with Suica, the travel pass.  The buses were large motor coaches, with ample space for luggage underneath.  This was a nice change from the many city busses we'd squeezed onto.

Armed with new information, we made a plan to go back toward the hotel, charge our Suica cards with enough fare for the bus, continue to the hotel and get our bags, then return in time for the 1:15PM JST bus.  The listed arrival time for that bus was 1:50PM JST, good timing for Kylee's flight.

The walk was less than ten minutes, and we had no trouble getting our cards charged.  Grabbing our bags and heading back, Kylee got off to a great start, and saw first-hand how youthful vigor got her to the bus well ahead of us.

After a brief wait, the bus soon arrived.  The driver opened the luggage compartments, and began boarding all the passengers with reserved seats.  Even though there was a long line of reserved passengers, they filled less than half the bus.  We were at the head of the non-reserved line, and easily got seats!

In 30 minutes flat, the driver unloaded our bags at the appropriate terminal.  At the gate, we helped Kylee find her luggage drop off and said our goodbyes at the security line.  She made her flight was back home in just a few hours!

Mona and I used the last of our time in Japan to roam the exquisite shopping in the airport; not kiosks or little carts, but full-fledged stores, with shelves of Japanese goodness!

The security line was long and serpentine, stretching the length of Terminal 3.  Yet, we cleared security in 25 minutes or so - not too shabby!  Our return aircraft was a Boeing 787-10, much newer and cleaner than the 777-100 (an early model 777, much louder and narrower than the 787) we flew from Dulles to Tokyo.  Our flight was largely uneventful, passing the time with our tradition of watching a movie together (Empire of Light) and napping when possible.

After half a day on a plane, we landed in O'Hare, waded through customs and found our luggage.  Driving back to Kalamazoo, however, was a real chore.  Construction and accidents dotted the highways, stretching our drive home to over 3.5 hours.  Still, we were fortunate to have our own bed to sleep in once again.  I just miss having a bidet in the bathroom (and Mona misses the high water pressure in the showers!).

Thanks for following along on our adventure!

Day 13 - Sendai to Tokyo

Two weeks in a foreign country gives you space to reconsider your perspectives on many things.  Aside from global politics, the geopolitical machinations of the financial industry and immigration, it's nice to simply reflect on the kindness and generosity of people.  This trip has given me ample opportunity to reflect on this, and it feels good.  And yet, I still miss family and friends.  I miss the common things in my home I've gotten used to having.  I miss being able to read the controls on the remote without Google Translate..... 

Today marks our last day in Sendai.  After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and make our way back to Sendai Station.  Our mid-morning Shinkansen ride will put us back in Tokyo ahead of the afternoon rush, so we'll have time to lug our baggage to our hotel, then get around town a bit, before shutting down for the evening.

Breakfast was a nice occasion to reflect on what had transpired along the way.  We chatted and enjoyed each other's company, before returning to our rooms.  There was enough time for a quick trip to the onsen, followed by lots of repacking our luggage.  Back downstairs, we pressed onward to the street and headed for Sendai Station.  Being almost an hour early, Mona and Kylee headed off, while I stayed with our luggage.  When they returned, we entered the station and headed for the Shinkansen platforms.  We easily found our train and waited near the boarding area.  Once our train arrived, we boarded and quickly shoehorned our bags into the luggage rack.  Once in our seats, the train smoothly and quietly pulled away from the station.  So long, Sendai!

With only a few stops on the schedule, the train stayed at a high speed.  The countryside quickly blurred, and the one hour, 40-minute train ride was over before we knew it.

Now at Tokyo station, we were immediately exposed to more heat than we'd left in Sendai.  The temperature was already 82, on its way to 84 for the high.  Despite the mugginess, we pulled our luggage off the train and headed through the station.  We opted to take the bus, as there was a bus stop immediately in front of our hotel.  At the bus terminal, we struggled to find the right bus.  The attendants in the area were busy making announcements and directing traffic with batons.  I stopped to ask a bus driver, who ask another attendant who finally pointed us to the right bus stand.  As the pickup time for the bus neared, I was a little fearful of being able to get on with our luggage.  Once the bus arrived, however, we laid those fears to rest.  We found spaces for ourselves, and we were on our way!

Before long, the bus approached our stop and we successfully extricated ourselves and our belonging from the somewhat-crowded bus.  After checking in, we immediately headed back out to explore the area.  We purposefully booked lodgings in Odaiba, the waterfront area of Tokyo, to ensure we'd visit the last stops on our list.  First up, we were headed to DiverCity (a large shopping mall complex) to visit Hello Kity, the Gundam statue and store, and take a few pictures.  Back on the bus, we rode a few stops before Kylee noticed we had already passed our first stop.  Oops!  It was a semi-short walk back, and we soon found ourselves face-to-face - or rather, face-to-foot, with an 19.7m tall 1:1 scale replica of the RX-0 Gundam Unicorn from the Bandai TV show, "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn".  The last time we were here, the 18m replica of the RX-78-2 Gundam stood in it's place.

Moving inside, we explored the mall, with stops at Hello Kitty and the massive Gundam Base store.  This store featured all manner of model kits from the Gundam series, now celebrating it's 40th anniversary.  It was terribly nostalgic, seeing models and character cutouts from TV shows that were nearly as old as I am.  Even Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Desinty from the early 2000s were represented.

Moving on from DiverCity, we headed off to take a picture at the Tokyo TELEPORT station.  After eight years, they'd changed the signs, so I couldn't replicate the pictures I wanted exactly...

We headed back to meet up with Kylee at Flying Tiger, then continued onward toward the hotel.  The grocery store across the street beckoned, and we explored the food court for dining options.  Sated from a good meal, it was an easy trip back to our hotel.  The hotel featured a public bath, so I stopped in for a quick soak before bed.

Tomorrow morning would come early, and we'd find ourselves on our last day in Japan!

Day 12 - Paddleboarding in Sendai

Our days in Japan are soon coming to an end. What better way to enjoy your island nation, rhan with some paddleboarding! We found a paddle boarding experience avaliable about an 1.5hr away by train and taxi.

We joined Kylee in the breakfast room, and chatted a bit about the trip thus far. It was great to hear how much she'd enjoyed things so far. After breakfast, there was enough time for a quick dip in the bath: so relaxing! 

We headed for the Sendai train station, to take a JR rail train to the closest stop. Along the way, we spotted some cream cheese-filled tarts for the train. They didn't last long after boarding.... 

It never ceases to amaze me, how quiet people are on the trains. Other than the conductor and automated stop announcements, it was dead silent.  We shuffled past several stops along the way, each station getting a little smaller.  The day began just a little rain, but it had begun to intensify as we progressed.  In just a few minutes, we finally reached our destionation: Kuragane station. 

Getting off the train, I suddenly realized we were at a very small, rural stop.  Our intent was to call a taxi with a rideshare app to get to the meet-up point.  However, after 10 minutes, no drivers responded to the request.  Uh oh.  Precious time was ticking by, as our reservations were very clear about being on time.  We crossed the street to a 7-Eleven, hoping to be able to call a taxi.  Sadly, we could not place a call within Japan - Wi-Fi calling is great, until you need to call internationally (insert eyeroll here).

Not wishing to inconveneice the other guests who had reserved this paddleboarding excursion, I used the app we booked the excursion through to message them we would not make it.  To my surprise the reply came, "Where are you?"  When I mentioned the station name, the reply came, "Stay a moment - I will come pick you up."  Huzzah!  The tour operator drove over to the station and picked us up!  When he arrived, he made room for us in his van, pushing aside paddleboard pumps and equipment.  He cheerfully drove us back to the launch site and began to ask us questions about what brought us to Japan, and what did we like to do.

In a few minutes, we reached the launch site, changed clothes and pushed our boards into the water.  We paddled the Okura river, fenced on one side by the Okura Dam. The rain subsided as we pushed into the water, and in fact, the sun even peeked out for a bit. The emergence of the sun made the air even stickier and we quickly got hot and sweaty.  But no matter - the waters were calm and the lack of wind made an excellent experience.

As we pushed along, our guide, Kazunori-san, told us about his business: managing paddleboarding excursions in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter.  He was an avid sportsman, enjoying his hobbies with his wife and young son.  At one point, he showed a video on his phone of his skateboarding and dribbling a basketball!

Our private tour wound along the river, which had carved a wide swath through the valley.  On either side, small waterfalls poured in, and it was clear the river was claiming more and more of the surrouding landscape as time went on.  At the far end of the river, we could go no further, as the far end of the river was actually a higher elevation.  Kazunori-san said that in the early Spring, the waters are of equal height and you could paddle even further along.  We stopped for a quick break and snack, before reversing our course.  We'd paddled almost 3km upstream, and would now paddle that same distance back.  The sun had retreated behind the clouds again, giving us a short reprieve from the heat.

On the way back, Kazunori-san offered to drive us all the back to our hotel!  He lived in Sendai, just a few minutes from our hotel.  This gesture greatly simplified our return, and helped remind us what kind, generous people exist in the world.

As we pulled up to the hotel, we thanked our new friend and paused for a quick selfie!  The day could have ended poorly, but pausing and not giving up had blessed us with a great time and a new friend.

Hot and sweaty from our afternoon paddle, it was time to visit the onsen.  It was a perfect way to relax from our long day.

Mona wanted an opportunity to get out of the room, so we chose to make one, last trek out into Sendai.  Kazunori-san mentioned a good restaurant to get yakiniku, Korean-style barbeque, not far from our hotel.  We headed downstairs and met Kylee in the lobby.  The rain had picked up again, making the streets wet and unlucky pedestrians without umbrellas even wetter.

We found the restaurant and were ushered to a table.  We ordered a selection of meats and vegetables and waited.  Before long, the waiter placed a large, earthen cook stove, filled with large charcoals logs, covered in a wire mesh grill.  As the plates of thinly-sliced meats arrived, we placed them on the grill and watch them sizzle and cook!  We made short work of our food, so it was soon time to find dessert!  Wandering back to Sendai Station, we stopped by many counters, in search of soft serve ice cream.  Sadly, both of the shops we'd chosen were closed.  We continued our search, wandering over to other dessert counters, before selecting several small cakes.

Not to be thwarted by our lack of soft serve, we relied on that last bastion of hope: McDonald's.  Supposedly, McDonald's here would use different ingredients than in the US - or are the very least, the machine wouldn't be broken.  With no line, we quickly got our soft serve ice cream.  It certainly tasted good, but we couldn't tell if it was any different than back home.  Google was unhelpful, so we'll just go with, "McDonald's soft serve tastes good in Japan!"

The lounge at the hotel was quiet, and the perfect place to pull up a seat and eat the rest of our deserts.  We shared each other's dishes and were quite satisfied with our choices.  As the hour was fast approaching 11PM, we decided to call it a night and head off to bed.  We would need to check out in the morning, and make our way to Sendai Station, for the last leg of the trip: Back to Tokyo.

Day 10 - Out and About in Sendai

What a great night's sleep!  Thanks to the hot springs bath, it was easy to fall asleep.  Morning comes early, with the sun rising before 5AM.  By 7AM, the room was quite full of light, so we began to get underway.  Breakfast at the hotel was quite a production!  The staff lined up dish after dish, cafeteria style, and offered mostly Japanese fare, but some western staples, such as toast and yogurt.  Like our other accomodations, a nifty coffee machine was available for lots of different coffee drinks - including a green match latte.

After breakfast, we gathered our belongings and headed out for the day.  The Sendai Loople Bus was an easy way to get around and visit some of the sites of the city.  We wanted to visit the remains of Sendai Castle, the stronghold of the fuedal lord, Date Masamune.  We walked to the bus stop, just outside Sendai Station.  Even by midmorning, the heat of the day already made the air sticky and humid.  When we reached the Loople stop, a long line had already developed.  We had to wait for two full busses to clear out the crowd.  Once we hopped aboard, the Loople passed several sites before dropping us at the historic landmark.

Entering the park, we worked our way through the souvenir shop, collecting a few moments for the trip.  Working our way back outside, we passed through a grove of trees to reach the monument of Masamune.  The sight of Masamune riding majestically atop his horse is widely taught in Japanese history classes, just like the Battle of Bull Run or Teddy's Roughriders.  I snapped quite a few pictures.

Our next stop was the Sendai Mediateque, a contemporary public library with an art gallery.  It looked interesting, so we figured, "why not?"  As we walked along the city streets, the first drops of rain actually hit.  I couldn't believe we've been in Japan for over a week without a single use of our umbrellas.  Well, we'd need them today.  As we got closer, stopping for food sounded like a plan.  On our route, a small bakery appeared, Up! Baker.  Stopping in, we grabbed a mix of delightful pastries, including their signature cream-filled buns.  Apparently, it was a form of delicious French cream. Yum!

Continuing though the rain, we soon reached the Mediateque.  At the entrance, a receptionist greeted us in English and asked several questions.  He was very, very helpful and asked about what brought us to Sendai and if we'd like to take pictures.  He also mentioned an art exhibit upstairs that might be intersting.  Thanking him, we slowly worked our way upstairs and discovered the exhibit was a Japanese calligraphy exhibit.  As we looked at the gallery from a distance, a staff member called us over and asked us to write our names in the guest book.  Before long, she began to ask me many questions in English and it suddenly created a buzz.  The woman introduced herself and explained this was an exhibit from an artist who ran an art class for students.  The goal of this exhibition was to highlight the students' creative use of materials for calligraphy (a very modern tradition that bucked at the traditional style of brush-and-ink on rice paper).  As we walked, our host (who we'd later learn was Noriko Misawa) explained the many materials students made use of - cardboard, plastic, even tabacco filters - to write.  Noriko was also a student of this class and showed her work, using a piece of cardboard.  It's truly amazing how beautiful calligraphy can be.

As we walked around the exihbits, Noriko told us she had studied abroad and stayed with a host family in Dallas, Texas almost 50 years ago.  She hadn't had much opportunity to use her English over the years, but I think she did a masterful job.  As a special surprise, we had a chance to meet the artist who taught these students, Rashuko Kubuo.  He thanked us for coming and offered two pieces of calligraphy for us to take home!

With unexpected surprises in our bag, we headed back towards the hotel.  On the way, we stopped to pick up dinner, then made our way to the room.  The onsen bath called, so we relaxed in the bath for a bit.  We would need to get our tickets back to Tokyo for our last night, so I headed to Sendai Station and the JR Rail counter to get our tickets.  Just making it in the door before they closed up, a trainee helped me get three seats reserved on the train for Thursday afternoon.  Win!  

Heading back to the room, I worked on the blog and made plans to eat the sushi I'd picked up earlier.  The hotel offered a free soba noodle bar at from 9:30PM, so I'd have just enough time to eat - then eat again!

Day 9 - Hakodate to Sendai

And so ends our time in Hakodate.  The morning was filled with fog, as the mountain was shrouded from view.

For a Monday morning, all we could hear outside was the drone of cars on the roadways.  The air was a little sticky from the early morning dew, but the air temperature was pleasant.  Making use of the stereo and it's fancy tube amplifier, we put on some music as we quickly dressed for an early breakfast.   The Morning Market was first on the agenda. Near the station, the market spanned the block, with both inside and outside stalls. Known for its rich seafood, Hakodate's market stalls overflowed with fish. We saw enormous crabs, prickly sea urchin and Hakodate's famous squid. All manner of vegetables filled the space. 

We were so close to the station, it made sense to see if we could get on an earlier train to Sendai, so we went to the JR Rail counter. Sure enough, Mona got us tickets on an earlier train. We returned to the hotel to retrieve our luggage, and the helpful receptionist hailed a taxi. Our taxi driver quickly delivered us to the train station, and we worked our way to platform.  We rode a short, commuter train packed with people to the station where we would board a Shinkansen train for Sendai.

The Shinkansen sped along the line, turning the countryside into a blur.  The hours quickly passed, as we entertained ourselves and enjoyed our bountiful snacks.  There were occasional stops along the route, but none of them took more than a few minutes each.

The Shinkansen train finally pulled into Sendai station.  As we exited the train, we were assaulted by the strong humidity here - it was only a few degrees warmer than Hakodate, but certainly much, much more humid (80% at 4pm!)  We struggled through the heat, but finally reached our hotel.  In the midst of downtown Sendai, Mona has managed to find an oasis: a Japanese-style Inn with a natural hot spring!  After checking in and depositing our belongs in our room, I went down to the men's hot springs bath.  As is tradition with Japanese baths, you wash outside the tub - typically in short rows of stalls with benches and sinks - then soak and relax inside the tub.  The hot spring bath was about as warm as the hottub at our fitness center, but the peaceful music made it a relaxing experience.  There was an indoor and a smaller outdoor bath; the outdoor bath had very tall walls, but an overhead view of the sky, where you could just see a few stars.

Leaving the bath, an ice cream treat awaited in a freezer outside.  Mona returned, so we ventured out in search of dinner.  Heading back towards Sendai Station, we passed several shopping centers on our way.  We passed a few buildings where each floor was a different restaurant.  Stopping at one, we scanned the menu then headed upstairs.  Why not start at the top floor and work our way down, until we found something?  The top floor restaurant was closed, and the next floor down had a wait, but the next floor looked promising.  We were seated in a booth, then began ordering from an excellent picture menu.  Before long, we'd plowed through a variety of fish, chicken and other dishes.

Dinner was excellent, and we wandered back towards home.  We crossed through a shopping arcade, marveling at the number of people out-and-about on a Monday night.  Arriving back at the hotel, it was time for another dip in the hot springs bath.  After a warm bath, there's nothing like curling up in a warm bath and drifting off to sleep!

Day 8 - Sapporo to Hakodate

Today ends our stay in Sapporo. The cooler weather and more-relaxed atmosphere, certainly made us more comfortable these last few days. We woke in the morning, packed our suitcases and prepared for the walk to the station. We would have a three-hour ride on the train to our coastal destination, so we chose to get to the station early, and find provisions for our trip.  The walk was quiet and uneventful, as Sapporo was very quiet on a Sunday morning.  Reaching the subway station, we made good use of the elevators, as our bags now made going up and down flights of stairs a real chore.  The morning subway had few empty seats, but we were able to get on board without any issues.  

When we finally reached Sapporo station, the train station seemed so much busier than the subway.  We crisscrossed hallways and intersections, twisting along to the JR Rail lines.  When we finally reached the JR Rail lines, we scanned the board for our train, but didn't see it on the screen.  We were nearly an hour early, and the board showed nearly a dozen trains leaving in the next 25 minutes.  A helpful attendant indicated our train was on Platform 8, so we thanked him and continued through the terminal.  Since there was ample time before the train, we planned to go the food court.  Thanks to the nearby coin lockers, we stashed our luggage to move about more freely.  The basement of the Daimaru shopping mall boasted a large floor, with numerous stalls selling food.  We grabbed several meals, snacks and drinks, then returned to the coin lockers.

With luggage in hand, we headed to the platform and maneuvered ourselves into the line.  Once the boarding began, we quickly found space at the front of the car and stowed our luggage.  Settling into our seats, we soon left the station.  The Hokuto line is not as fast as the Shinkansen that operates further south, but still is well over 100mph in the longest stretches (though is averages much closer to 80mph for much of the 3.5hr trip).  This line also stops at more than a dozen stations on the way, allowing passengers to debark at a number of places in Hokkaido.

We pulled into Hakodate Station in the early afternoon.  Since this station was smaller than the others, it was only one floor: No Stairs!

As we exited the station, the air was clearly cooler here than it was in either Tokyo or Sapporo.  The grand plaza in front of the station held taxi stands and a bus loop.  We pressed onward and boarded a tram that looped the city.  The tram was busy and crowded.  

The Hakodate Marathon was apparently today, and we saw dozens of people in running attire.  Exiting the tram, we soon found our hotel, the Village Concordia Resort and Spa.  Highly rated online, the hotel was known for being cozy.

In the lobby, the front desk staff greeted us with a cold beverage and wine!  We were escorted to our room, and the concierge explained all the features of the room.

Today's first adventure: dropping by the ATM and topping up our Suica cards for the subways and trams.  The next adventure: onsen!  Hakodate is know for it's hot spring baths.  We headed downtown on tram, in search of one.  We came across a public bath to check out, but Mona discovered a public foot bath nearby.  As we reached it, several people were already dipping their feet.  The water was extremely hot!  A sign indicated the temperature could average 49 C or 120 F.  I could put my feet in only briefly, then take them out again almost immediately.  The bath was a good way for my feet to relax, and I felt invigorated by the attempt.

Moving on from the foot bath, we walked down to the seashore and enjoyed the quiet afternoon waves. 

Not too far away, Mona discovered a great ramen restaurant and we stopped for dinner.  The diner was small, and an older woman worked it, all by her lonesome.  With help from Google Translate, we placed our order and she whipped it up, all by herself.  We made short work of the tasty ramen, and continued onward.  Daiso was a short walk away, so we visited the location and picked up more souvenirs and gifts.

The sun had set nearly an hour ago, which would make for excellent nighttime views from the top of Mt. Hakodate.  We hailed a taxi and he whisked us away, right to the front door of the Mt. Hakodate ropeway.  The nighttime views, of course, did not dissapoint.  One side was the Pacific Ocean; the other side was the Sea of Japan.  The lights of city glittered in the darkness, making the city appear as the night sky upside down - it was truly a wonderful view.

The ropeway base station was only a few blocks from our hotel, and it took only a few minutes to get home.  The lobby of the hotel featured a small collection of Jazz and Classical CDs.  Mona and Kylee selected a few CDs, then we headed up to room.  Jazz music wafted through our suite as we wound down from the day.  The hotel furnished small jars of a strange jelly in our refrigerator.  It turned out to be a welcome desert that tasted much like peanut butter.  I devoured mine, but the ladies were less-than enthused.  

We would only spend one night in Hakodate, as tomorrow we would check out and continue to our next-to-last stop: Sendai.

Day 7 - Nature in Sapporo and Random Notes about Japan

Saturday is an interesting day in Japan.  For many, it is still a workday.  For others, a day of sport activities, clubs or other interests.  Fortunately, few things are closed, so it should have little impact on our excursions.

As we've experienced so much city life in the last week, today offers an opportunity to see more of the beauty of nature we saw in the botanical gardens yesterday.  Sapporo has been very temperate and cool thus far - getting into the outdoors a bit should be a comfortable experience.

On our last night in Tokyo, it appeared to rain overnight, but it was almost dry by daybreak.  Last night in Sapporo, it actually dripped a bit while walking back from the konbini.  Today's forecast called for cloudy skies that would clear later on.  One thing I've learned from Japan: clouds always mean a chance of rain, often a brief shower.  We'll be sure to take an umbrella, though we may only need it for a few minutes.

I've slowly become accustomed to both the neat, almost-European arrangement of things in the apartment.  Drawers and cabinets are not only logically spaced and placed, they offer clean lines and hidden catches to keep things organized and out-of-sight.  While the controls for most things are in Japanese and often tricky, the manual things are simple and - once you "get it" -  obvious.  In particular, the controls for the heating and cooling are very tricky (because of the dizzying array of options and settings), but cooking (teapots and coffee pots) are nice and simple.  Studying up on my Kanji next time might help, so I'll put that on the to-do list.  

As we sipped our morning coffee, Ramona reminded me that we needed to get our JR Rail reservations for our trains.  First, we'd need a reservation from Sapporo to Hakodate, then another from Hakodate to Sendai.  Reservations were necessary, because we were traveling with luggage.  JR books luggage passengers in the last row of seats in each car, so that you can tuck your luggage behind the seats.  There are only two trains leaving from Sapporo to Hakodate daily, so we'd have to arrange our departure time with them (also, the early morning train would almost certainly put in the morning rush - this worry was not lost on me).

We considered using takkyubin, often called ta-q-bin, or luggage forwarding.  This is a service that allows you to ship your bulky suitcases ahead to your destination, so that you are hands-free for travel.  It takes quite a bit of planning, however, as you need to be able to carry your toiletries and necessities in a smaller bag.  At this point, we'd need to pickup another bag for this purpose.  While Kylee had a second suitcase, it might take a little rearrangement to get an overnight bag situated.  Given the complexity, we opted to skip takkyubin this trip.  We prepared for the day and made ready to head to the station to get our tickets, then head onward. 

We took the subway back to Sapporo Station, then navigated the sprawling complex to the JR Rail ticket counter. The ticket agent's English was excellent and she quickly got our reserved tickets and seat assignments generated for tomorrow's journey to Hakodate. When getting our tickets from Hakodate to Sendai, however, the trains we wanted were all standing room only. Yikes. The agent shuffled through available trains to get us tickets on an evening train. That means more time in Hakodate.

With our tickets in hand, we headed back through the station for another subway line. We'd follow the subway all the way to the end, then switch to a bus. At the end station, we were all low on our stored fares, so we needed to top up our Suica cards. The machine inside the gate didn't work, but the one around the corner let me charge or cards. Win!

Mona asked the station attendants which bus to take, and a helpful clerk explained which line to stand at and which bus number to look for. The busses ran every 15 minutes, so we didn't have to wait long. The bus wandered along the road, with passengers boarding and exiting as we went. The bus eventually slowed near the entrance to the Art Park, and we worked our way onto the grounds.  We came across a signpost and made our way toward our first stop, the Art Musuem.  As we got closer, however, another sign indicated the museum was closed.  Huh?  There was nothing on the web page, but sure enough, the Art Museum was closed.  We followed a foot path toward another building and looked at a collection of small art pieces (mostly small pieces of pottery or woodwork) for sale.  Fortunately, the Sculpture Garden was open and would could tour it at our leisure.  Mona noticed the cafeteria was open, so paused for lunch.  The lunch was an actual buffet style lunch.  In the back of the kitchen, a collection of ladies were hand-making dishes in small batches, then bringing them to the serving trays in the buffet line.  I circled like a hungry shark, snapping up different vegetables and meats.  With lunch complete, we turned our attention to the sculpture garden.

The weather was so cooperative, it was easy to wander up and down the many paths.  It was late enough in the day that the sun was obscured by the heavy foilage, making the paths actually cool and comfortable.

After we'd seen nearly everything, it was time to venture onward.  The busses were running on 20-minute intervals by now, so we had to walk swiftly to the gates to make the next bus.  We easily arrived with several extra minutes before the bus came into view.  Minutes later, we were back at the subway station.  Mt. Miowa lies in the southwest corner of Sapporo.  We'd already planned to take the ropeway up to the lookout platform, so we set our next desination.  There was no direct path from the subway to the ropeway station at the base, so we added another mode of transportation: the Sapporo Streetcar!  Sapporo also features an old Streetcar network, with a circular path centered on the city's midpoint.  We rode the subway to a station that intersected the Streetcar lines, then stepped out onto the street.  The streetcars pull up to small, concrete islands, labeled with the direction of travel.  Once aboard, you can ride them to any stop for only 200 yen ($1.39).  The Streetcar slowly made the loop around the city, before coming to our stop for the ropeway.  As we headed toward the ropeway, I noticed a sign.  As I stepped closer, an attendant was guiding passers-by into a line - for a free shuttle bus to the ropeway!  An unexpected pleasure, I can assure you, as the ropeway station was about 600 meters from the Streetcar stop.

The bus dropped us off at the ropeway station, and we joined the line for tickets.  In just a few minutes, we loaded and the ropeway car began a slow ascent from street level.  The view of Sapporo from the car was a bit diffficult, as the car was completely packed with people, but was still quite nice.  When the ropeway car stopped, an attendant directed us to another line - the ropeway only goes to the middle station; a mini cable car went the rest of the way from the middle station to the observation platform.  

The view from the top was clearly awe-inspiring.  Sapporo sprawled out before us, and a ring of mountains framed the two sides.  A sign indicated we could commemorate our trip, by purchasing a 'padlock of love', locking it to the railing and ringing the 'Bell of Happiness' - lovers would then share happiness forever.  We dutifully purchased our lock, affixed it to the railing, rung the bell and shared a warm kiss atop the observation deck.  Ah, amor!

The evening granted us a spectacular view of the city, but we chose to move onward, instead of waiting another hour and a half for the sun to set (us old folks can't stay out that late!)  We took the ropeway back down to the parking lot, then hailed a taxi for our last stop: the Sapporo Fushimi Inari shrine.  Famous for its rows and rows of beautiful torii gates, we wanted to take Kylee to see a different kind of shrine - at least one that was different from the one we'd visited in Tokyo.  The taxi driver was fine with waiting for us, so Mona and Kylee headed in as the last of the light began to fade.  The taxi driver quickly sped us across town to our apartment.

With a quick stop at the konbini for dinner and provisions for the morning, we sauntered upstairs to unwind.  Tomorrow would see us heading to Sapporo station early, to catch our train for Hakodate.  While I'd grown accustomed to the quiet neighborhood and cleanliness of our apartment, I was eager to see our next area of Japan.