Japan

Hakodate… surrounded by the sea

The smell of the sea is always present in this peninsula-nested town where fishing and selling seafood products are the main activity, with squid, the crab and the seaweeds standing out in both restaurants and seafood shops.

But Hakodate, despite being the gateway to the Hokkaido prefecture (now less important since the Shinkansen train has now made the connection to this island by removing ferry money), lives in a monotonous calm where the boulevards wide, lattice-like designs never fill with cars, where the tram runs almost empty and where the broad sidewalks look almost deserted.

In the mornings, daily the highlight of Hakodate’s commercial life is the Asa-ich market, which extends into the adjacent streets, dedicated to selling fish and other marine products, but where the highlight is the giant crabs.

At the end of this peninsula rises abruptly a hill whose autumn vegetation is dotted with brown and yellow with dark reds here and there. At the foot of this elevation lies the most interesting part of the city, the Motomachi district; a concentration of houses and churches built in the ninth century, arranged in a perfect lattice that climbs the steep hill. Most of the houses, made of wood and painted in soft pastel colors, feature European architecture and the presence of British-style Christian churches creates a stark contrast to the rest of the city and does not even seem to belong to this country.

But for me, the best part of my stay in Hokadote is the proximity of Onuma National Park, from what is left of Koma-ga-take volcano, the highest in the region. From a 30,000-year-old eruption dammed up depressions at the base of the mountain thus creating Lake Onuma, where several small islands appear, most of them near the village of Onumakoen (where the train station is located). Connecting these small islands, full of dense trees, there are small bridges that allow you to enjoy a pleasant walk where in the quieter waters you can see ducks and where birds of prey quietly fly over the trees. Some of these trails offer very good views of the Koma-ga-take volcano.

How to reach Onuma Quasi National Park:

The park is located about 30 km north of Hakodate, about 30 minutes by train (Super-Hokuto) to Onumakoen, the nearby station. Outside the station you’ll find a board with the trail maps.

It’s possible to rent a bicycle to visit the park, but the trails near the village of Onumakoen are closed to bicycles, and these are only worth renting if you want to go around the lake.

There are accommodations also at Onumakoen, but found them more expensive and to visit the park, half day is more than enough.

How to visit Motomachi:

This neighbourhood is easily reached on foot from Hakodate downtown.

Where to sleep in Hakodate:

Motomachi Guest House Cocoa

Address: 040-0064 Hokkaido, Hakodate, Otemachi, 6-4; Phone: 0138-83-6605

It’s a new hostel only with dorms (male and female) with very good conditions, attractive price and about 10 minutes from Hakodate trains station. The breakfast in included but is very basic. Tea and coffee are for free. There are bicycles available.

Ainu People:

Hokkaido is also home to one of Japan’s small ethnic groups, the Ainu, descendants of Caucasian peoples from Russia. There are some cultural centers and museums with information about Ainu culture and people, but in Hakodate I found it as easily as possible at the Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples.

Noboribetsu… finally the onsen experience!

Noboribetsu was the first stop in Hokkaido prefecture and is famous for its sulphorous water springs, which in addition to its medicinal properties create fascinating landscapes of bare green slopes from where water vapor rises in dense clouds and lakes of murky whitish waters.

The small village is not very appealing, being no more than two parallel streets, dominated by massive concrete buildings associated with the hot springs and some shops and restaurants aimed at visitors, mainly Japanese.

But a little farther north is Jigokudani, known as Hell Valley, given its lush, green and mottled landscape and yellows and whites through the sweltering waters that emerge at various points of the ground, filling the air with sulphurous gauze and unpleasant smells.

Around Jigokudani there are several trails, which can be easily reached in less than 2 hours, which lead to viewpoints and Oyunuma Pond, a lake of murky, bubbling waters from which dense and sulphurous steam gives off.

In Japanese Buddhist temples is common people place small wood boards asking for wishes; the paper are a kind of fortune teller, that when don’t have a good luck text can be left hanging in proper places inside the temples… the good luck papers can be kept!

Onsen is an unavoidable word from a trip around Japan, and refers to hot springs, which are located all over the country, and are associated with communal bath houses. The visit to the onsen is part of the life of the japanese and it's a very relaxing experience. It worthwhile to try onsen in various regions with different types of waters, many for therapeutic purposes.

How to reach Noboribetsu Onsen from Noboribetsu:

The cheapest option is to stay in the village of Noboribetsu, close to the train station, and visit the Onsen area in a day trip.

There are buses leaving from the train station regularly during all the day. The round trip costs 340yen and you can buy the ticket in a machine, inside the train station. The trip takes about 30 minutes.

Where to experience the onsen in Noboribetsu:

The cheapest option in town is the public onsen (Yumoto Sagiriyu), but people with tattoos are not allowed.

So my choice was the small Kashoutei Hanaya that has 1 outdoor bath and 1 indoor bath; it cost 1000 yen, and you don’t need to bring anything (shampoo, shower soap, conditioner and towel are always free at onsen) and you can stay the time you want; tea and coffee are available for free. It’s located a bit away from the Noboribetsu Onsen but not more than 5 minutes walking south.

For more information about onsen in Noboribetsu check this link: https://good-hokkaido.info/en/noboribetsuonsen/

Outside poo Noboribetsu *onsen* with milky soulful waters… it’s a small pool but perfect as I was alone

From this experience was the wonderful feeling of being immersed in an outdoor pool surrounded by trees, feeling the steam of the water that is over 45 degrees while blowing an icy breeze. A mixture of indescribable sensations … and an experience to repeat!!!

Where to sleep in Noboribetsu:

In fact there’s not much to se or do in Noboribetsu village, but here you can get budget accommodation is Noboribetsu Guesthouse AKA &AO (https://aka-ao.jp/en/).

Where to eat in Noboribetsu:

Yakitori Izakaya (ask at AKA &AO Guesthouse)… the only restaurant open in town for dinner. Delicious food with many vegetarian options in a cosy countryside atmosphere. Yummy!!!

… otherwise you have the convenience stores and supermarkets with ready made food.

Noboribetsu village map… here is the location of the Guesthouse AKA &AO as also theYakitori Izakaya restaurant

Hokkaido… in search of the autumn colours

Time to leave the city behind and go on search of the autumn colour in the northeast province of Japan: Hokkaido.

It takes just over 4 hours to overcome the 860km (thanks to the Shinkansen, the famous bullet train) that separates the Japanese capital from Hokkaido province, which is the least densely populated region is Japan, being famous for the almost untouched natures and by the cold climate, influence by proximity with Russia, receiving from it the Siberian cold.

Here winter comes early, and even in the low areas the trees are already covered with fall foliage, with the landscape dominated by the brown colours of the beech, the yellows of the ginkos, the oranges from the cherry trees, and here and there the deep red of the maples tree leafs.

Despite the cold, where the temperature the mornings in October is around 10 degrees, the beauty of the landscape makes forget the cold hands and the drop on the nose!!

The Hokkaido region is famous for its many natural parks and onsen, the famous hot springs that are all over Japan. Noboribetsu was the region of choice for ease of access and Onuma Quasi National Park, which is very close to Hakodate, easily accessible by train.

For more details about the foliage for each area of Japan check this website: https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/japan-autumn-leaves-forecast

Where to get a SIM Card at the Narita Airport

Internet in Japan… this was a subject that took me some time and research to figure out how to get it.

There are several wells to have access to the Internet in Japan. Although pocket wi-fi is available it only worth it if you want to continue to use the SIM card from your country but have the inconvenience of being another device to carry.

The simplest thing is to buy a Japanese SIM card and you don’t have to book or buy anything in advance or use one of the many services available on-line. You can do it at your arrival, easily at the airport.

At Narita Airport, there are several options. Just outside the arrivals terminal is an information desk that tells you where to buy the SIM card as well as where to withdraw money from the ATMs.

Going downstairs, on the way to the Keisei Skyliner train that connects the airport with the city of Tokyo, you will find several counters selling both SIM cards as well as cell phones and Pocket wi-fi (the latter are for rent). Also here you’ll find an ATM from SevenBank (from SevenElevan).

Several options are depending on the number of days (one week, 15 days or one month) with only Internet data or also with the possibility of phone calls.

I bought my SIM card on SevenElevan (a supermarket located next to these counters) for 4950 yen, valid for 30 days with 10GB, mobile data only.

To activate the service you don’t need anything!!! Just change the SIM cards and you have the Internet active immediately. It couldn’t be easier!!!

It should be noted that in Japan there are many places with wi-fi, it is not uncommon to find free wi-fi in restaurants, cafes, temples, department stores, airport, subway, train stations and even on trains (Shinkansen and Keisei, for example); there are still some wi-fi spots on the streets of some of the cities … not very fast but it helps to navigate on maps and communicate by text.

Tokyo and the machines

After four days in the Japanese capital, I realized that I had not yet had what can be called a conversation with anyone. In fact it is easy to go unnoticed in this gigantic city. It seems that everyone moves with a very concrete and determined propose and that my presence is not even noticed. I found myself interacting more with machines than people … metro ticket vending machines, hostel washing machines, street vending machines, train itinerary information machines, ticket machines serve coffee…. and food ordering machines in restaurants!!! Yes, that’s what amazed me: you arrive, look at the panel with the various options, choose the dish, put the coins or notes, and voila, just wait and get the food from the counter.

At first glance, it seems like a very mechanized society where people’s lives obey strict rules … where there are instructions everywhere indicating what to do, what not to do, and how to do it. But all of this makes things easy, allowing a large concentration of people like Tokyo to work smoothly and without fuss.

Tokyo is indeed a gigantic city that may seem daunting at first impact but can become very attractive, offering a wide range of experiences and environments, from bustling crossroads like Shibuya, the sophisticated shops of Guiza, the hipster atmosphere of Omotesando, the traditional neighborhood of Yanaka that maybe is the closet vibe of what Tokyo was before, or the quiet neighborhoods like Shimokitazawa, where the traffic is almost absent and where time moves slowly making you forget that you are in a city with millions of inhabitants.

It is a city to be experienced with time to feel the rhythm of each neighborhood, at different times of the day.

My favorite places in Tokyo:

Shimokitazawa… the hippest area in the city with a large concentration of second-hand clothing stores along traffic-free streets where you can treat yourself to a good coffee in a cozy place.
Omotesando… with narrow hillside streets that flow into a commercial artery of sophisticated and alternative shops where you can walk without traffic.
Yanaka… where it seems that time goes by at a slower pace than in the rest of the city, and where you can find what’s left of an old Tokyo. During the day, there’s a small informal market along Yanaka Ginza. On the way enjoy the quietness of the Yanaka cemetery.
Yoyogi Park where the dense grove takes away the vibrant throb of the city and protects the beautiful Meiji Jingu Shrine, creating a special and magical atmosphere despite the sheer amount of visitors.
Akihabara… to immerse yourself in the world of anime, manga and video gaming, where the neons that line the building’s façades light up the streets like daytime, and are bombarded by the sound of computer games. The best time to experience this area
at its peak is at night.
Shibuya… to experience crossing a diagonal intersection along with hundreds of people
without colliding with anyone on the scramble crossing, the iconic image of this zone. Heavy at any time of the day.
Harajuku… where a greater concentration of cosplay and “gothic lolitas” can be found along the crowded Takeshita-dori pedestrian street.
Shinjuku… to dive into the dark side of the city with Golden Gai bars, and the Kabukicho district Tokyo’s discreet red-light district.

Where to sleep in Tokyo:

Of the many possible options for accommodation in Tokyo, the Asakusa neighborhood for the great offer in terms of hostels (I was looking for a dorm bed, not a room), the lowest prices and good accessibility for public transport, especially the subway. The Asakusa district is served by the Ginza subway line (Tawaramachi stations and Asakusa) and by the Tsukuba Express train line (which connects to the westernmost part of the city as Shimokitazawa, for example).

There are also many options in terms of food, from breakfast to dinner, for the most varied prices.

In the days spent in Tokyo, I stayed at Khaosan Tokyo Samurai. It is also relatively close to the Ueno subway station where you can take the Shinkansen train.