Japan Trip Dec 07 (recap) - Day 3
DAY 3 - Hakodate 函館
23rd Dec 07 (Sun)
Woke up late this morning. Was supposed to take the 7am train from Sapporo to Hakodate but ended up waking around 7.30am instead.
Thus, I caught the 8.34am train instead. To fuel up my trip, I had 2 Mister Donut’s donuts and caught up with some sleep during the 3hr train ride.
When I finally reached Hakodate, I dashed for the street car (akin to olden days’ street pram/ bus). For first-time travelers to Hakodate who wanted to take on the street car but don’t know how? Check out the notice boards at the various street car stops for English instructions on how to board, alight and pay for your trip. There’s a money exchange machine (which you could change notes to coins to pay for your trip) on the street car but I would strongly encourage that you bring along your own coins as the street car tends to be crowded most of the time and you would be blocking people’s way.
I headed straight down to one of the restaurants recommended in the book (which Adrian had lent me). I was starving and craving for Kani (crab). I have always wanted to get my hands on Hokkaido crabs… yum yum. After much searching, finally found it!
BUT noooooooooooo!!!! They didn’t serve crab for lunch. Though disappointed, I was close to fainting with an empty stomach and decided to ask the owner for his recommendation (yeah! Had asked in Japanese). In the end, this was what I had:
It’s a sushi set with a bowl of rice and free-flow of drinks for only 1,000yen (approx.S$13).
Those who knew me would surely have raised an eyebrow by now. The problem? I don’t take raw. But being alone in Japan and not wanting to appear rude, I decided to have a go at it. Well, it didn’t taste that as bad. In fact, it tasted pretty good and fresh. So I managed to finish all my food except the greenies.
Though I’d survived the raw, it was like an overdose for me and I felt a bit queasy after that. But that didn’t last for long :) Asked if I would have raw when I’m back in Singapore? I guess “NOPE”! It’s not that as fresh over here. Eeeks!
Next, I gradually made my way to Goryoukaku Park in the freezing cold. It was so cold until mucus dripped down from my nose unknowingly. Nevertheless, I decided to braze the cold (while cursing and swearing silently under my breath) and took some pictures:
Could you spot where’s the head and body of the snowman below? It wasn’t done by me! Some other kids (or adult) had abandoned the snowman in this sorry state. I was tempted to make a snowman on my own but gave up the idea as it was simply too cold for me to even want to touch the snow…
As the weather took a turn for the worse (getting colder and colder), I decided to seek some warmth within Goryoukaku Tower. Strangely, there wasn’t much of a crowd queuing for a ticket so I managed to get mine pretty fast. I started by saying “Hitotsu kudasai” (one please) and the lady at the counter started rattling on in Japanese. Although I caught some of it, most of it sounded alien to me. That’s when I decided to just ask in English and she looked rather surprised by it. Guess I ought to try harder since one of my aims in traveling to Japan is to brush up on my Japanese.
Got my ticket and went into the lift with many others. As the doors closed, the lights in the lift dimmed and revealed UV paintings on all 4 sides with poetic phrases (sorry, I’m still a beginner in the language so could only read but don’t understand what those meant). My ticket glowed in the dark as well! Cool…
On ground, Hakodate seemed like a small town to me. But when I was atop on the tower (at the observatory), the view was breath-taking and city looked massive. Boy… was I so wrong about it being a small town…
By the time I came down from the tower and boarded the street car, it was too late to catch sunset at Mount Hakodate. The sun had set at 4.30pm. But I decided to go ahead with it anyway. It turned out to be a wrong move. The queue for the ropeway (or what we called cable car in Singapore) was sooooo long that it’s like queuing from Takashimaya to Wheelock in Singapore! And not to mention it was winter and drizzling at the same time!
In the end, I chose to abandon the queue and made my way down to the Redbrick warehouse instead. It was there that I truly felt the X’mas spirit. The lights, the people, the setting – everything was just right!
Took a look at my watch and realized that there’s 2 hours more to go before I catch the last train back from Hakodate back to Sapporo. Thus, I stepped foot inside the redbrck warehouses (which had been converted to house mini shops within) and bought 2 big bags of local goodies. There you could find Hakodate specials that you couldn’t get elsewhere (i.e.: Royce chocolate special edition for kids). Too bad ‘Shiroi Koibito” was sold out though.
After paying for the local goodies, I was given two sets of coupon – one in pink and one in green. I was directed to a booth in another section to try my luck on the Japanese-style lucky draw. What I needed to do was to hold the handle and spin the wheel one round for a colour ball to drop out. The colour of the ball would determine what prize you’d won.
And I did win something… a pack of tissue paper. Oh well…
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 6.10pm
As time past me by, I got hungrier and decided to just enter a restaurant that had poster on kani dishes. Luck was by my side! They had the crabs (I ordered King crab as that’s the season for it)!!!!
While I was waiting for my dishes, the fireworks outside began in the drizzling weather. Oh man!!! I missed it by a mere 5 or 10mins… It must have been damn romantic for the couples out there (though most of them would be drenched in the rain and freezing outside).
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 6.50pm
After what seemed like an endless wait, the dishes I’ ordered were finally served – kani, kani soup, shishamo and rice. To put things in perspective, look at how big the shishamo were alongside the chopsticks!
But time wasn’t by my side. I had less than half hr to finish all the food. So as much as I tried, I simply couldn’t. so I decided to make a beeline for the kani soup (which tasted damn good) and shishamo. As for the kani? I was left with 2 or 3 legs… Had tried asking the waiter and even the store manager to let me take-away but they came up to decline politely (but very firmly) as they have a “NO TAKE-OUT” policy even though I explained to them that I’m in a real rush to catch my last train. Haiz. In the end, I let it be and ran off after paying. The whole meal costed 5010yen (approx. S$75) and about 3-quarters of it was for the kani alone.
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 7.25pm
Dashed across the street to flag a cab. Never mind those horror stories about the expensive cab fare in Japan. It was either that or get stranded in Hakodate with no where to stay for the night.
The driver spoke to me in Japanese and I could only make out some of it. But that was enough. I simply said something along the lines of “eki made kudasai. Hayaku onegaishimasu” (to the station please. Hurry up please). When he learnt that my train was going to depart at 7.42pm, he got worried for me as well, as I would have to reach the station within the next 10mins in order for me to find the train and board it in time. By the way, if you took public transport, it would have taken at least 20mins to get there.
He was very helpful and kept reassuring me that he would try and let me reach in time. So he cut through various back lanes and speeded a little. And you might have guessed it by now. I made it in time! In about 10mins, I was there at the station. Before I got off the cab, I said to him “Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu” (loosely translates to English as thank you sooooo much). The fare? 690yen (approx. S$8).
I had never been that fast in my hundred meter race before. Found the train that I’m bound for within minutes and boarded just in time.
Though tired and hungry, it was quite an “adventurous” day for me. Plus, there was quite a cute guy seated in front of me too. But I shall not elaborate too much here coz someone’s reading…Hahahahahaha…
Now you could have imagined how I sloughed my way back to the hotel in the middle of the night. When I’m back in the room, I just slumped over the chair for the longest time before dragging myself up for a bath and headed off to bed.
23rd Dec 07 (Sun)
Woke up late this morning. Was supposed to take the 7am train from Sapporo to Hakodate but ended up waking around 7.30am instead.
Thus, I caught the 8.34am train instead. To fuel up my trip, I had 2 Mister Donut’s donuts and caught up with some sleep during the 3hr train ride.
When I finally reached Hakodate, I dashed for the street car (akin to olden days’ street pram/ bus). For first-time travelers to Hakodate who wanted to take on the street car but don’t know how? Check out the notice boards at the various street car stops for English instructions on how to board, alight and pay for your trip. There’s a money exchange machine (which you could change notes to coins to pay for your trip) on the street car but I would strongly encourage that you bring along your own coins as the street car tends to be crowded most of the time and you would be blocking people’s way.
I headed straight down to one of the restaurants recommended in the book (which Adrian had lent me). I was starving and craving for Kani (crab). I have always wanted to get my hands on Hokkaido crabs… yum yum. After much searching, finally found it!
BUT noooooooooooo!!!! They didn’t serve crab for lunch. Though disappointed, I was close to fainting with an empty stomach and decided to ask the owner for his recommendation (yeah! Had asked in Japanese). In the end, this was what I had:
It’s a sushi set with a bowl of rice and free-flow of drinks for only 1,000yen (approx.S$13).
Those who knew me would surely have raised an eyebrow by now. The problem? I don’t take raw. But being alone in Japan and not wanting to appear rude, I decided to have a go at it. Well, it didn’t taste that as bad. In fact, it tasted pretty good and fresh. So I managed to finish all my food except the greenies.
Though I’d survived the raw, it was like an overdose for me and I felt a bit queasy after that. But that didn’t last for long :) Asked if I would have raw when I’m back in Singapore? I guess “NOPE”! It’s not that as fresh over here. Eeeks!
Next, I gradually made my way to Goryoukaku Park in the freezing cold. It was so cold until mucus dripped down from my nose unknowingly. Nevertheless, I decided to braze the cold (while cursing and swearing silently under my breath) and took some pictures:
Could you spot where’s the head and body of the snowman below? It wasn’t done by me! Some other kids (or adult) had abandoned the snowman in this sorry state. I was tempted to make a snowman on my own but gave up the idea as it was simply too cold for me to even want to touch the snow…
As the weather took a turn for the worse (getting colder and colder), I decided to seek some warmth within Goryoukaku Tower. Strangely, there wasn’t much of a crowd queuing for a ticket so I managed to get mine pretty fast. I started by saying “Hitotsu kudasai” (one please) and the lady at the counter started rattling on in Japanese. Although I caught some of it, most of it sounded alien to me. That’s when I decided to just ask in English and she looked rather surprised by it. Guess I ought to try harder since one of my aims in traveling to Japan is to brush up on my Japanese.
Got my ticket and went into the lift with many others. As the doors closed, the lights in the lift dimmed and revealed UV paintings on all 4 sides with poetic phrases (sorry, I’m still a beginner in the language so could only read but don’t understand what those meant). My ticket glowed in the dark as well! Cool…
On ground, Hakodate seemed like a small town to me. But when I was atop on the tower (at the observatory), the view was breath-taking and city looked massive. Boy… was I so wrong about it being a small town…
By the time I came down from the tower and boarded the street car, it was too late to catch sunset at Mount Hakodate. The sun had set at 4.30pm. But I decided to go ahead with it anyway. It turned out to be a wrong move. The queue for the ropeway (or what we called cable car in Singapore) was sooooo long that it’s like queuing from Takashimaya to Wheelock in Singapore! And not to mention it was winter and drizzling at the same time!
In the end, I chose to abandon the queue and made my way down to the Redbrick warehouse instead. It was there that I truly felt the X’mas spirit. The lights, the people, the setting – everything was just right!
Took a look at my watch and realized that there’s 2 hours more to go before I catch the last train back from Hakodate back to Sapporo. Thus, I stepped foot inside the redbrck warehouses (which had been converted to house mini shops within) and bought 2 big bags of local goodies. There you could find Hakodate specials that you couldn’t get elsewhere (i.e.: Royce chocolate special edition for kids). Too bad ‘Shiroi Koibito” was sold out though.
After paying for the local goodies, I was given two sets of coupon – one in pink and one in green. I was directed to a booth in another section to try my luck on the Japanese-style lucky draw. What I needed to do was to hold the handle and spin the wheel one round for a colour ball to drop out. The colour of the ball would determine what prize you’d won.
And I did win something… a pack of tissue paper. Oh well…
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 6.10pm
As time past me by, I got hungrier and decided to just enter a restaurant that had poster on kani dishes. Luck was by my side! They had the crabs (I ordered King crab as that’s the season for it)!!!!
While I was waiting for my dishes, the fireworks outside began in the drizzling weather. Oh man!!! I missed it by a mere 5 or 10mins… It must have been damn romantic for the couples out there (though most of them would be drenched in the rain and freezing outside).
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 6.50pm
After what seemed like an endless wait, the dishes I’ ordered were finally served – kani, kani soup, shishamo and rice. To put things in perspective, look at how big the shishamo were alongside the chopsticks!
But time wasn’t by my side. I had less than half hr to finish all the food. So as much as I tried, I simply couldn’t. so I decided to make a beeline for the kani soup (which tasted damn good) and shishamo. As for the kani? I was left with 2 or 3 legs… Had tried asking the waiter and even the store manager to let me take-away but they came up to decline politely (but very firmly) as they have a “NO TAKE-OUT” policy even though I explained to them that I’m in a real rush to catch my last train. Haiz. In the end, I let it be and ran off after paying. The whole meal costed 5010yen (approx. S$75) and about 3-quarters of it was for the kani alone.
23rd Dec 07 (Sun) – 7.25pm
Dashed across the street to flag a cab. Never mind those horror stories about the expensive cab fare in Japan. It was either that or get stranded in Hakodate with no where to stay for the night.
The driver spoke to me in Japanese and I could only make out some of it. But that was enough. I simply said something along the lines of “eki made kudasai. Hayaku onegaishimasu” (to the station please. Hurry up please). When he learnt that my train was going to depart at 7.42pm, he got worried for me as well, as I would have to reach the station within the next 10mins in order for me to find the train and board it in time. By the way, if you took public transport, it would have taken at least 20mins to get there.
He was very helpful and kept reassuring me that he would try and let me reach in time. So he cut through various back lanes and speeded a little. And you might have guessed it by now. I made it in time! In about 10mins, I was there at the station. Before I got off the cab, I said to him “Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu” (loosely translates to English as thank you sooooo much). The fare? 690yen (approx. S$8).
I had never been that fast in my hundred meter race before. Found the train that I’m bound for within minutes and boarded just in time.
Though tired and hungry, it was quite an “adventurous” day for me. Plus, there was quite a cute guy seated in front of me too. But I shall not elaborate too much here coz someone’s reading…Hahahahahaha…
Now you could have imagined how I sloughed my way back to the hotel in the middle of the night. When I’m back in the room, I just slumped over the chair for the longest time before dragging myself up for a bath and headed off to bed.
Labels: Japan 日本
posted by ikan bilis at 4:45 PM
Comment (0)
