Wawa's Ramblings

Set off for another 3 hour drive to Lake Onuma in Onuma Quasi National Park, with Mount Komogatake as the backdrop. We rented a tandem bicycle for 1,000 yen per person, but did not manage to explore much of the park due to the uneven terrain and limited time.

We then had a teppanyaki lunch at one of the restaurants in the park. The teppanyaki consisted of thin slices of pork, lots of hotate, prawns and yubari melon on a bed of mixed vegetables. Co was not feeling well and could not really enjoy the food.

After lunch we proceeded to the Red Stones Warehouse Shopping Centre in Hakodate. Hakodate is Hokkaido's third largest city and is located at the island's southern tip.

We spent time browsing through some charming shops and bought a couple of pretty musical boxes.

Just before leaving the town, we discovered that YZ had lost our Canon Powershot camera. That really dampened our mood as the camera was only a year old and Co has just finished paying for it last month.

Our next stop was the Hakodate Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1859 and is Japan's oldest Russian Orthodox church.

The final highlight was Mount Hakodate (Hakodateyama), a 334 m high wooded mountain. The view from Mount Hakodate on a clear night is reputed to be one of the most spectacular in the world. Since the Hakodateyama Ropeway was closed for maintenance, we went up the summit by coach. We gave our coach driver a round of applause when we reached the top of the mountain in just 25 minutes, as opposed to peak periods when the drive up could take more than an hour. Since we were there early, we had plenty of time to take photos and enjoy the view, from twilight to sunset. The view at night was spectacular, with all the twinkling lights but it was extremely windy and cold.

There were hordes of locals and tourists at the viewing gallery when we left the summit and we were glad that we were there early before the crowds descended.

We checked into the Yunohama Hotel, another onsen with tatami rooms and a view of the sea.

The Japanese dinner that night had squid appetizers and sashimi, as Hakodate is renowned for its fresh seafood, especially squid.

I also ventured out to enjoy the public hot spring (Co was still not feeling well), which was filled with elderly Japanese women. Well, after this experience, my modesty has gone south and I can now appreciate why Japanese love their hot springs. It is truly very relaxing and I would encourage anyone who visit Japan to try the hot spring. You will get hooked!

Labels: hokkaido, japan, travel