I'm typing this on the train returning from Sapporo-Tim is letting me borrow his laptop, so that's a new experience for me, to be able to blog while I'm still on the train (I'll post this later and add more details, because there's no Internet access on the train, of course.) I will make a separate post later with some of the pictures I took.
On Wednesday, we continued our sightseeing in Hakodate. We visited the Goryokaku Koen. As always, check the link if you want more detailed information, but basically it's a star-shaped fort that was built in the middle of the 1800s during a period in history when that design was commonly used all over the world, especially in Europe. I believe it was the first western style fort built in Japan. It has been interesting for me to get to know the history of Japan more as I've lived here; I'm probably typical in that I received the usual history lessons of American students: some basic classical history, European history, American history, and just a sampling of Asian history, with very few details, and mostly just how older Asian history related to events in Europe and America. The reason that I'm mentioning this is that Hakodate has lots of significance in the history of Japan, and the fort we visited is one of those connections, specifically events related to the transition from the Edo period to the Meiji period.
Next to the fort, there is an observation tower that we went up. It gives you an overhead view of the remains of the fort, and it is one of the only ways to see the true size and shape of the
remains. However, searching on the Internet, I did find one other amazing way to see the shape of the fort; the picture in this post is a picture from space that was taken from the International Space Station. You can clearly see the star shape near the center of the city. Click on the picture for a larger view. So overall, the whole time in Hakodate was a very wonderful experience learning about culture, history, and just seeing a beautiful place.
Next to the fort, there is an observation tower that we went up. It gives you an overhead view of the remains of the fort, and it is one of the only ways to see the true size and shape of the
remains. However, searching on the Internet, I did find one other amazing way to see the shape of the fort; the picture in this post is a picture from space that was taken from the International Space Station. You can clearly see the star shape near the center of the city. Click on the picture for a larger view. So overall, the whole time in Hakodate was a very wonderful experience learning about culture, history, and just seeing a beautiful place.Next we headed north towards Sapporo. We had a plan to stop off at Onuma Quasi National Park which is on the line, and then continue on to Sapporo. When we arrived at the park in the afternoon we noticed that the next express train left only an hour later, and then after that there were only local trains. In many areas, the express trains aren't THAT much faster than the local trains, so I didn't think it would make too much of a difference. We decided to spend about three hours in the park.
We rented bicycles and rode around the larger of the two lakes there. I'm very glad we decided to stop in the park; it is an absolutely beautiful place! The temperature was perfect for biking and the humidity was very low. Parts of the ride reminded me of biking in Portland or Eugene, Oregon during the summer, but it also reminded me of several other places I've visited--I have a faint memory of a family trip to the Wallowa Mountains when I was quite young. I think that's one of the places that I was remembering as I rode around the lake. It was about a one-hour bike ride through lush, green forest with frequent stops along the way to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery. The area is a typical resort town; most of the village closes up right at 5:00 p.m. I was starting the get concerned that we could find anyplace to eat, but we finally found a little restaurant. When I communicated to the waitress that I couldn't read the menu in Japanese, she went back to the kitchen and got what I assume was the cook. He spoke English very well (so well that I think maybe he had lived abroad) and Tim and I both ordered the local yakisoba that he recommended. It came in three sizes and we both ordered medium. When the bowls arrived we were both surprised; it was more the American definition of medium than what you usually see in Japan--very large! I couldn't finish all of mine.
After dinner, we headed back to the train station and waited for the next train to Sapporo. When I showed my ticket to the station attendant, he looked confused and asked me (in Japanese, so my understanding was very limited) if we were returning to Hakodate to transfer to the express train. I said that the local train was fine. He then gave an explanation of which I understood almost nothing. I said that I didn't understand well, and that the local train was fine. That turned out to be a big mistake. The train arrived a few minutes later. I'm using the word "train", but streetcar would describe what it looked like better. It was truly a VERY local train. We didn't really know what else to do at that point, so we got on the train/trolley and hoped for the best. It was traveling VERY slow, but I thought it would speed up after we got further along the tracks away from the closely spaced stations. No. That didn't happen. It was something like traveling on a San Francisco cable car for several miles between little towns out in the middle of the countryside. The one very fun thing that we were able to do on the slow local train was try out my new "Ticket To Ride" card game that Tim & Elaine gave me as a gift when he arrived. It's a great game! (So anybody that likes to play card games... let's play!) I thought it would be funny to play a train-themed game while riding on a train, so I got my chance.
When I realized that we weren't going to be getting to Sapporo anytime soon, I finally asked the conductor when the train would arrive in Sapporo. He looked a little bit surprised, and then explained that the train (street car, trolley, cable car, hamster and rubber band powered wagon, ...) didn't even go all the way there. He was EXTREMELY kind and helpful; he checked in the train table book, and then explained that the next station was his last stop, and at that station we could transfer back to an express train. By this time it was about 8:00 p.m. and the express train wouldn't arrive for another 45 minutes after we got there. And it was still a two-hour ride from there to Sapporo. I alternated between laughing out loud at how silly the situation was, and feeling a little concerned that the hotel might not hold our reservation if we arrived too late. I called Eriya on my cell phone, and he called the hotel for me and explained that we would be late. (Thanks, Eriya!)
We finally arrived in Sapporo around 11:00 p.m. I showed the hotel address to a station employee and he gave us a map and directions. Unfortunately, we realized later that the website had printed the wrong address on our reservation form. You can probably guess what happened next... After asking a taxi driver and a convenience store employee where the hotel was, we finally got there over 45 minutes later. If we had walked there directly, it would actually have been about a five-minute walk. The next day the train experience and the hotel mistake were very funny, but that night, after finally finding the hotel we were wiped out and quickly went to sleep.
Tomorrow is Tim's last full day here, and we're going to spend most of it in Tokyo, so I'll be taking another break from blog entries, but I'll try to continue after I return on Wednesday.
More later...
We rented bicycles and rode around the larger of the two lakes there. I'm very glad we decided to stop in the park; it is an absolutely beautiful place! The temperature was perfect for biking and the humidity was very low. Parts of the ride reminded me of biking in Portland or Eugene, Oregon during the summer, but it also reminded me of several other places I've visited--I have a faint memory of a family trip to the Wallowa Mountains when I was quite young. I think that's one of the places that I was remembering as I rode around the lake. It was about a one-hour bike ride through lush, green forest with frequent stops along the way to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery. The area is a typical resort town; most of the village closes up right at 5:00 p.m. I was starting the get concerned that we could find anyplace to eat, but we finally found a little restaurant. When I communicated to the waitress that I couldn't read the menu in Japanese, she went back to the kitchen and got what I assume was the cook. He spoke English very well (so well that I think maybe he had lived abroad) and Tim and I both ordered the local yakisoba that he recommended. It came in three sizes and we both ordered medium. When the bowls arrived we were both surprised; it was more the American definition of medium than what you usually see in Japan--very large! I couldn't finish all of mine.
After dinner, we headed back to the train station and waited for the next train to Sapporo. When I showed my ticket to the station attendant, he looked confused and asked me (in Japanese, so my understanding was very limited) if we were returning to Hakodate to transfer to the express train. I said that the local train was fine. He then gave an explanation of which I understood almost nothing. I said that I didn't understand well, and that the local train was fine. That turned out to be a big mistake. The train arrived a few minutes later. I'm using the word "train", but streetcar would describe what it looked like better. It was truly a VERY local train. We didn't really know what else to do at that point, so we got on the train/trolley and hoped for the best. It was traveling VERY slow, but I thought it would speed up after we got further along the tracks away from the closely spaced stations. No. That didn't happen. It was something like traveling on a San Francisco cable car for several miles between little towns out in the middle of the countryside. The one very fun thing that we were able to do on the slow local train was try out my new "Ticket To Ride" card game that Tim & Elaine gave me as a gift when he arrived. It's a great game! (So anybody that likes to play card games... let's play!) I thought it would be funny to play a train-themed game while riding on a train, so I got my chance.
When I realized that we weren't going to be getting to Sapporo anytime soon, I finally asked the conductor when the train would arrive in Sapporo. He looked a little bit surprised, and then explained that the train (street car, trolley, cable car, hamster and rubber band powered wagon, ...) didn't even go all the way there. He was EXTREMELY kind and helpful; he checked in the train table book, and then explained that the next station was his last stop, and at that station we could transfer back to an express train. By this time it was about 8:00 p.m. and the express train wouldn't arrive for another 45 minutes after we got there. And it was still a two-hour ride from there to Sapporo. I alternated between laughing out loud at how silly the situation was, and feeling a little concerned that the hotel might not hold our reservation if we arrived too late. I called Eriya on my cell phone, and he called the hotel for me and explained that we would be late. (Thanks, Eriya!)
We finally arrived in Sapporo around 11:00 p.m. I showed the hotel address to a station employee and he gave us a map and directions. Unfortunately, we realized later that the website had printed the wrong address on our reservation form. You can probably guess what happened next... After asking a taxi driver and a convenience store employee where the hotel was, we finally got there over 45 minutes later. If we had walked there directly, it would actually have been about a five-minute walk. The next day the train experience and the hotel mistake were very funny, but that night, after finally finding the hotel we were wiped out and quickly went to sleep.
Tomorrow is Tim's last full day here, and we're going to spend most of it in Tokyo, so I'll be taking another break from blog entries, but I'll try to continue after I return on Wednesday.
More later...
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