Traveling is always fun and traveling in Japan is no exception. This time I headed a bit more north than my summer travels and went up to Hokkaido.

I love silly hats.

Since you can't take the train to Hokkaido directly--you'll need to go to Aomori and then take the ferry--we decided to fly, which was cool because it was my first domestic flight here. For the most part domestic travel in Japan is the same as everywhere else I've been with a few minor differences. For starters, the captain of the plane won't usually talk on the intercom. He can, of course, but I guess they opt not to. Apparently they just don't. For two, this is JAPAN we're talking about! There are even TVs in the toilets at the airport!

I felt weird taking a photo in a toilet.

Upon arrival I noticed something strange. Apparently the plane went through a space/time warp and landed us in Michigan! The weather was the same, the plants were the same, even the--oh wait, nope. The Japanese text everywhere was a dead giveaway. But it was surprisingly similar and I couldn't stop saying it, much to the chagrin of my companion, Sushi.

Sapporo Brewery. Huge shopping mall next door.

But never fear, Hokkaido is a bit more interesting than Michigan. Or at least I think it is. Anyway, after getting a rental car we headed to Sapporo, home of a happy place known as the Sapporo Brewery. You can buy Sapporo beer in the US but now it's bottled in Canada (check the "Today" part of the history here to find out, or here) so it doesn't really count. We went there for dinner the first night because the one thing I wanted to do in Hokkaido was go to the beer garden, er, Bier Garten. At the restaurant you can have famous Jingisu Kan, a type of Hokkaido-style Mongolian Barbecue named after the historic fearless leader (Jingisu Kan is the Japanese pronunciation of Chingis Khan. Chingis Khan and Genghis Khan are both acceptable names for him, but the dish is called Jingisu Kan). Hokkaido is so well-known for this dish that even the pans were shaped like Hokkaido.

So kitschy. I wanted one like it was my job.

We ended up having mutton and lamb and sausage, obviously washed down with beer. It was cool. For souvenirs there's a large gift shop where you can buy the official beer mugs in many varieties; I got the Classic one and a Sapporo Bier Garten edition. And of course a strap for my phone too. Being female I'm practically obligated to have more charms hanging from my phone than actual phone.

Souvenirs for myself.

These keychains have a story. The Bier Garten one is because I of course I've loved Sapporo since before I came to Japan. The bunny is something my faithful readers will recognize. The green thing is Marimokkori. He's a personified version of a ball algae famously from Hokkaido (marimo), and yes he always has that bulge no matter what he's dressed as. Sushi and I were looking for this at every shop because I wanted to show it to him. Finally after looking at every shop we passed in Sapporo and Otaru we happened upon them at the airport just as we were leaving. We were both so happy we each bought one. I'm amused because Sushi's a [drunk] businessman and so is this Marimokkori.

Yay Sapporo!

Another thing Hokkaido is known for is soup curry. Soup curry is pretty much exactly what it sounds like--a soup that tastes like curry. It's really quite delicious and incidentally it's also a trendy food in Tokyo right now. If you tell people you had soup curry you automatically go up a notch on the Cool Scale. Off, right? Anyway, since Sushi went to school there he knew most of the restaurants and chose an old haunt. The place looked exactly like any college town restaurant should so it furthered my "I'm in Michigan!" feeling. The food was tasty and reasonable so I was happy. Here's a snip from the lunch menu...I had the first soup (ぐゎらチキ天).

Soup Curry. He's so hot right now. (Wait...what?)

While most of what I focus on is food, there's more than just that to Hokkaido. They also have their very own tower, much akin to Tokyo Tower, including the red and white paint job. This one's a bit smaller and had a clock on it though. And admittedly, the fountain programmed to frame it was cooler than Tokyo Tower. But since I have an oil painting of Tokyo Tower in my apartment I thought it a good idea to snap some photos.

Sapporo's TV Tower. Was skeptical of its coolness but it grew on me after dark.

Sapporo is also home to Hokkaido University, a strangely Western university started by a guy from Massachusetts for some obscure reason though he claimed it was for the advancement of Japan. Sushi and I compared notes about going to Agricultural universities while looking around. Walking around felt a lot like my time at MSU except there were notably fewer squirrels. And fewer students. It was nice too see and have a moment to reminisce a little. It even smelled like Michigan, which is a bit strange...

Hokkaido University, Michigan State but not really.

But you don't care about my silly-girl nostalgia, so let's get back to the hospitality! Two major natural-type things that Hokkaido boasts are great seafood and dairy. Both are shipped all over Japan, particularly dairy products. Before leaving we had milk floats, which were essentially unmixed milkshakes. If you don't like full-fat milk you'd have a hard time but they were amazing!

For the second day we went to Otaru, which isn't particularly special but has a canal that's kind of ｃharming and several music box and glass companies. More interestingly, there are hot springs as well. We stayed at a ryokan (Japanese-style hotel) for our night there. And the grounds were beautiful--to see some more images click here, here and here. I have tattoos so I'm not allowed into public hot springs so we got a room with a private hot spring bath (click the first link "momiji" to see the room). It was way awesome! And our dinner was served in the room.

So much food! Almost couldn't finish. Almost.

I can't begin to explain everything there but the sea urchin was fabulous! What isn't shown here is the corn ice cream for dessert and the extra sides that came a little after we started eating. Apparently if you want you can also catch sea urchin along the coasts and the quality definitely reflected that. I've never had seafood melt in my mouth before.

Bath, anyone?

If you've never experienced a hot spring bath I'd highly recommend it. This was my first time and I intend to seize every opportunity I have to go to one from now on. Something I said after the bath was things like this are enough to keep me in Japan forever. And I guess it's true. Hot springs and unworldly food could keep me almost anywhere.

And let's face it, the silly Pokémon jets (my ride back to Tokyo) don't hurt either.

Yes, I rode a PokéJet.

The trains in Tokyo are busy. Here are what the wickets look like around 8:30am on a Monday. And this isn't even one of the busier stations on the Yamanote line (it's Tamachi station). I couldn't get a video of Shinjuku if I wanted to because it's the busiest station in the world volume-wise. And it has something like 200 exits, all-told. So you can live with this version.

Trains in Japan are used much more than most places because of crowding. Also, the trains are exceptionally punctual. And reparations if you hit someone while driving or riding a bike is extremely expensive, as I found out when I was hit by a car back in May. Anyway, this little video explains it better than I could...



I haven't managed to get photos of the station employees pushing people to fit into the trains with their white gloves. Working on it. You'll get to see once I do.

A little while ago I went to a fireworks show in Tokyo. Mind you I missed all the big ones for various reasons (mostly work) so I went to a rather small one to get my fix. It only lasted about 30 minutes which was a slight let-down, since most Japanese fireworks shows span over an hour or often two. These were in southern Saitama, near west Tokyo and were done every weekend in August. No wonder they were small.


Most Japanese fireworks festivals are during the summer, so fireworks are synonymous with summer. You'll see lots of people in yukata (cotton summer kimono) and happi coats (cotton jackets) wandering around long before scoping out seats, buying kaki goori (flavored shaved ice), takoyaki, yakisoba or ringo ame (candy apples) and fanning themselves with uchiwa (flat Japanese fans) while grumbling about the hear.


The fireworks themselves are quite lovely and unique at times. Sometimes you'll spot a well-known character like Hello Kitty or Doraemon among the typical round fireworks. It's a good reminder that they're much better at fireworks than we are in the US.

Anyway, this spryte approves of Japanese fireworks, no matter how long or short the show.

EDIT: And a photographer emailed these to me... I wasn't posing so much as just standing around.

Holy crap the cicadas are loud in Japan!

Moved in. And now to continue unpacking and reorganizing...

Just a little walk to the station one day.

Holy crap that's a lot of rain.



Yep, really glad I'm at home...

A little discussion of the sauces I have in my apartment. For some reason I find this a fascinating subject.

Day 1: The Botanical Gardens and Shopping District

**note: all images (as well as additional ones) are also at flickr, with additional commentary, click on any photo to go to its flickr page if you want to make comments**

After leaving the Imperial Palace we headed towards the botanical gardens. We decided to cover the general central Kyoto area on the first day.It's a little bit north so we hiked up until we found some bridges crossing the river. But before we got there, I couldn't help but notice some nice plants people had on their doorsteps.



And we had to cross another bridge...


More obligatory cuteness. Weee!


The botanical gardens. Entry fee: 200 yen
The tickets at the botanical garden rotate monthly, meaning they have a different photo on them every month. Very cool.



And as we went in, they handed us a map also. Pretty nice maps, I must say.


Some shots from the trellis right by the entrance. I think Moo Cow took these while I was in the bathroom. They're so pretty!!!


As we continued, we noticed a bamboo garden. Hooray for bamboo! Moo Cow wanted to find the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, but he loves bamboo so we stopped here for a while to have lunch.


I think Moo Cow may have been a panda in a past life. He is Buddhist, after all, so I guess he's had past lives. And he's Chinese. Hey Chinese panda!


Bamboo shoots. Bamboo can grow up to 36" or so in a day in its natural habitat. We didn't stay long enough to watch this grow.


Enjoying the wildlife. Hooray for nature! After I made him do this he really wanted to sit and play for a while. We didn't...but maybe we should have with as tired as we got later.


And my stepmom likes irises, so we took some photos in the iris garden. Should send those to her...


Japanese maples were all over the place. Love the color. ^_^ Although some of them had different colors too.


Moo Cow loved taking pictures of me with my nose in flowers. I loved taking photos without any people in them.


The tulip garden was fantastic. I loved the patchwork layout of it.


This fountain reminds me of a photo I took at MSU.


We took a goofy photo break. I don't usually do these kinds of photos but I enjoy seeing them when people post them.


After taking a nap in the grass under some shady trees we continued. Then we found these. Are there supposed to be palm trees here? I realized Okinawa is tropical, but Kyoto isn't. But then, maybe it has something to do with the fact that Okinawa *is* tropical. People don't usually realize that part of Japan is indeed tropical. Hmmm... We didn't see the tropical climate, although it was indeed pretty hot.


I saw some roses near the tulips and such. Very few were open because it's early in the season, but I love roses.


There was a lovely little area with a hut and a pond. There was a sign that said no photos so I had to snap them quickly. Unfortunately the water was a little dark. And then I tried again when we went around the way, but didn't have much more success. But you can see the white koi if you look hard.


The neat footbridges were scattered throughout. They remind me of Monet's Japanese footbridges. And well they should, I suppose.


There was a cool watermill near one of the footbridges. A photographer was on the other side of it, but I'm pretty sure my photo of the watermill turned out better. ^_~


And one more shot of the pavilion overlooking the koi pond. I really liked that place but there were too many people crowding in for my taste...and for my photo-taking rule-breaking...


I truly don't understand why anyone would sacrifice so many trees to support another one. This one in particular had a lot of trees sacrificed for it. There are others with very large, long trees that couldn't have been salvaged from deadwood. Makes me wonder.


Huh?


And some cool red clay tiles at the bottom of a stream. It's really quite interesting to observe the different solutions to "problems" that the Japanese as a whole come up with as opposed to "Western" solutions. It seems the Japanese solutions are usually more concerned with aesthetic, while American ones are based on costs, beauty be damned. Granted, this was a national garden so it might have made a difference...I've seen some pretty ugly solutions here too. And...*gasp* a tree stump. Looks like things do die in Japan. Don't be too shocked, heh.


As we left we saw a mountain with the kanji for big on it. We didn't know at the time that it was significant. We also saw it up close later but forgot to take photos. Oops.


While wandering towards our next destination, we found Moo Cow's shrine. Or at least it was a shrine to his brethren. Bwahaha. I made him pose with it.


Afterwards we went to dinner at a nice tofu restaurant, but that'll be covered in the restaurant review I'll be posting next. Once our bellies were full we meandered around town in hopes of finding something interesting before crashing. We then stumbled upon a (the?) shopping district.


There were shrines there too though. So many all over the place, but it's part of the charm in Kyoto.


And some more interesting English. This one's just an odd name for a shop.


The buildings aren't as tall as Tokyo, but that's to be expected.


And of course I found the arcades. They sold cute little fugu (blowfish) there, but oh man, I didn't wanna have to carry one around for the trip. Was so tired! Here's how one of them showed some of the walking prizes off...


And then we found what may have been the red light district. Lots of clubs and shady places. We later found out it was near Gion, but we didn't know that at the time. Not exactly, anyway.


Moo Cow was more interested in the waterways everywhere. We think they may have been a waste removal system a long time ago.


And then Kani Doraku. Not something special to Kyoto, but the signs don't usually move like this in Tokyo.


And here's a video of it!

Day 1: Arrival and Imperial Palace

**note: all images (as well as additional ones) are also at flickr, with additional commentary, click on any photo to go to its flickr page if you want to make comments**
To get to Kyoto we decided to take the cheapest method possible; the night bus. The tickets were ¥4300 plus additional fees (anywhere from ¥500 to ¥2000) depending on peak times. Inside this flier there was a chart detailing the dates and fees, as well as departure times and locations, etc. Very useful, but only in Japanese, so not useful if you don't speak the language. Same thing for the people you call to make reservations; no English support.


Sorry the ticket back is a bit blurry...


Starting out was fun, although the bus could've been more comfortable, honestly we arrived in good shape. It was a bit chilly so we tried to keep moving in the wee hours. The McDonald's at the station wasn't open yet because we arrived before 6am.

Our first point of business was to make a game plan for the day and eat some food. Moo Cow had the good foresight to bring his LonelyPlanet guidebook for Japan. It came in pretty handy.


Once we figured out a basic outline of our day we headed north. For the first day we decided we wanted to see the Imperial Palace. In all it was rather disappointing, but that's to be expected of something that isn't in use anymore, heh. On our way there we saw the first of many temples.

Higashi Honganjii is a temple of a branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Here's the blurb from the plaque that was in a bunch of languages...

The is the mother temple of the Shinshu Otani-ha, a branch of Pure Land Buddhism, called Shinshu Hombyo, generally known as Higashi (East) Hoganji to distinguish it from Nishi (West) Honganji. Honganji originates from the time when Kakushin-ni, the youngest daughter of founder Shinran (1173-1262) built a mausoleum at Higashiyama Otani to enshrine her father's portrait in 1272. In 1591, Kennyo, the 11th abbot of Honganji, received land from Toyotomi Hideyoshi and built a temple (now Nishi Honganji)in Shichijo Horikawa. However, in 1602, Tokugawa Ieyasu donated this site in Karasuma Rokujo, where Kyonyo, the 12th abbot, constructed another temple complex. Thus, Honganji was divided into two major branches. The present temple halls were rebuilt in 1895, during the Meiji period. The Goei-do (Founder's Hall), in which the image of Shinran is kept, is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.


It was early so it wasn't actually all that interesting/busy, plus there was construction inside...but there was a cool fountain across the street.


And a small nifty shrine on the way too. I don't know what my obsession is with these little shrines, but they're all over Japan.


Some of the Engrish here is amazing. Would you like some morning scorn?


We then went to the Imperial Palace, like I said. It was quite a trek to get there. Since this was supposed to be a very cheap trip we decided to walk everywhere. Yep. Tiring though, jeez.

Obligatory cute pictures. ^_^;


We saw some grass. It was super exciting...since Tokyo seems to lack this stuff...


So I hopped around.


...and Moo Cow meditated.


I saw a tree I really wanted to climb. Didn't do it though...didn't need to get arrested.




Moo Cow took photos of me as I napped on a bench (and his lap, oops).


Trees can't support themselves, obviously.


Short doorways. Not sure why this door is so short, but it's my height perfectly. Moo Cow suggested I'm about as tall as the Japanese people who built it. I think it has more to do with having to bow to get into the gate.


And that's it's for the first installment of day 1. Next up is the botanical gardens. ^_^;

First video, one of few taken on my puter on the trip. No internet to be found in Kyoto, really... not that I was surprised.

*geeked*

Tried monjayaki, which looks a bit like vomit but tastes like yum.



It's cheezy sloppy goodness. That was Wednesday.

And I just went on a sweets run. I'm such a hog.