Hello again folks, I am still on the move. I think the last time I was writing I stopped because I had to get some packing done. Well, it is done and I have since unpacked and repacked a few times. On Saturday morning we set off for Hokkaido. Mind you Friday night we got about 1.5 hours sleep before we had to head to the train station and on to the airport. Yasu was working until the very weeee hours of the morning and I felt compelled to stay up and make sure that he was packed and ready when we neded to be out the door.
At about 6:30 am we were off the the trainstaion to catch a 6:45 train, we made it witha whole minute to spare...you gotta love the punctuality of the train system. After making two connections we were at Haneda airport, where most of the domestic flights leave from, if I am not mistaken. SO, we get to the airport one hour before the flight is suppoesed to depart. We had t
o get in line for our tickets, get in line or security and get in line to board the flight. Youmay ask yourself, are they crazy to think that it can all happen in less than an hour, Oh YES IT CAN!!!!
What surprised me the most was th security portion of the waitin process. We were in what I consiered to be a long line. It kept moving at a very rapid pace. When I reached the front of the line I saw why. No one was asked to strip down and spread your cheks for the security check. All we had to do was take the medal objects off our person and walk through the thing -a-ma-jig. I was impressed, I was also stopped and asked what I was doing with a long menacing looking flat piece of metal in my carry-on. It turns out I forgot to take out my nail file when I was identifying all of my weapons.. Even with tha snaffu, we made it through security with ease and may I also add, I made it without showing anyone a piece of identification that said I was the person on the reservastion paper I printed out the night before. That was a bit scary.
Well,the flight left on time and was for themost part uneventful. The last ten minutes of the flight were a little more tense. As y
ou all know I fly often. I am not usually shaken up by a few bumps and noises. However, I have never heard the moans and groans the palne seemed to be making towards the end of that flight. It is hard to describ but it sounded like the back of the plane was goingto break off any second, with me crammed into that tiny seat. It turns out that there were extremely sever winds, causi9n some lights tot he island to actually turn around as a safety precaution. We made it fine in the end. The dasys traveling you might think would be at an end...no such luck!
We had to take another three hour train ride to Hatodate, before we could call
it quits and relax. The two and a half hour wait was bring. We got hungry and decided to eat some ramen. It was fabulous. I had what they called the Hokkaido spcial, it was loaded with sliced roasted pork, seafood, and some veggies with a miso base, Yasu had something similar minus the seafood with a salk taste. No complaints at all. Well, we both started to get abit drowsy after eatin so to be sure we did not miss our train, we opted to go the another train station that was actually the departing stop for our train. We both expected a large station with shops and things to see....wrong. It was a very small station with a kiosk to snacks. I got a beer, yasu some tea. Waiting one more hou
rs and boarded to train. By this time we had ben traveling for about nine hours. With one and a half hours of sleep under our belts, we were tired. I was expecting a train similar to the shinkansen I have riden in the past, a fast comfortable train...wrong again!!!
We were riding on a glorified subway train feeling every bump, track shift and movement of the wind. I was so exhasted though I think I slep one of the three hours we were on the train. Almost there. On
ce we made it to Hakodate we coul either hop on a bus to the hotel ot take a cab. I did not even have to ask Yasu which we would do. We cabbed it and fifteen minutes later we were at the onsen. It only took approximately eleen and ahalf hours door to door. What we walked into was well worth the travel time.
The place was what you would think of as a traditional japanese style hot spring hotel. Wood was every place. The floors, the walls, even the bath tub in our room. We were shown to our room, which was by far much larger than Yasu's space in Tokyo, by a women who would be our assigned attendant for the entire stay. The hot springs were at our disposal the minute we were ready, diner was to be served in our room, as was breakfast the next morning. The was calming, tranquil and relaxing. It took one time a
t all to get in the groove and be pampered. As soon as al of this was explained to us we changed into our yukata and were off to be boiled up before dinner.
On our way to the baths we did not see a person. I though we were the only ones in the onsen. We got the the bath
s, scrubbed our selves clean in the washing area and then proceeded to the first of two hot tubs. The first one we decided to try was the oue outside. Oh, did I mention that it was freezing the day we arrived. Being naked, save a tiny modesty towel, I could not stay out in
the open air for long. We slid into the very steamy mineral water and instantly felt like a wet rag It was soothing, relaxing, and invigorating all at once. After about ten minutes or so standing up out in the cold air actually felt good. We only had about 45 minutes to spend there so we checked out the indoor tub, stayed a while there and headed back to our rom. Just as we got settled, as if we were being watched by BIG BROTHER, our attendant came and wanted to come and set up for dinner. The food was fabulous, six course keiseki meal. We took pictures but they do not do it justice. Stuffed to the gills, we relaxed but did not sleep because we wanted to take a night time dip in the pools.Once again, we went through the cleanin rituals before geting into the tubs. We soaked, chatted, soaked and soaked. When our fingers resembled prunes, we knew it was time to head back to our rom for bed. Again, soon after we returned our attendant came to prepare the rom for sleeping. The dining table was moved to th antroom and the futons were set up for us. It took just seconds for us to both to doze off and sleep a peaceful night. Bright and early we were up. We set the clock for 6 AM.
We had planned to have breakfast at seven, but we did want a morning bath first. Fo the third time, in less than twelve hours we went through the cleaning rituals and soaked before breakfast. When we returned th futons hadbeen removed and he table set for breakfast. Th spread was amaing, I dont know if keiseki is the right word for this style of meal but it was equally as crumptous as diner. Lots of choice, all very tasty, except the cold semi poached egg, that did not work for me. But believe me I did not go hungry. After eating and relaxing with a few more cups of tea guess what we did.......no smart ases, we did not go back to the mineral bats...we took one in our room!!!
Again, for the fourth and final time, cleaning rituals. I had turned on the tub water a few minutes before because I knew I wanted to get in that beautiful wooded deep soaking tub. It did not take much to coak Yasu in as well. Both of of could fit in it it was that large. We did not spend too much time in the water because we did hae to check out soon. It was well worth the experience though. We dried off, got dressed, packed up and had another cup of tea before checking out and gettin on to a day of sightseeing. What a fabulous first day in Hokkaido.
It is time dor dinner now, you will hear about the rest of the day soon. Until then...happy trails.
Craig
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