Day 7 - 25 Mar

Rise & Shine at 6am!!! we r leaving Hakodate to Osaka this morning..and v prepared for a 13 hr journey train ride back to the main island..


0700 Hakodate (LTD.EXP SUPER HAKUCHO 10) - 0955 Hachinohe
1006 Hachinohe (SHINKANSEN HAYATE 10) - 1308 Tokyo
1333 Tokyo (SHINKANSEN HIKARI 415 - 1630 Shin Osaka

got this fr the vending machine...but i din quite like it..shd hav bot milk instead...



the rising sun..

we sat until almost our butt ache b4 reaching Tokyo at ard 1+pm...i tink by the time the Shinkansen fr main island is linked up to hokkaido..the travelling time will b much shorter! hopefully its done when i go there again...still alot of places in Hokkaido i still wan to go!

quickly grab 2 bento set and some cakes b4 rushing for our Shinkansen to Osaka...

this is mine..some fried fish and teriyaki chicken

this is darling's..fried fish wif rice and spagatti and sausage..


camwhoring to pass some time..

my fav strawberry cake fr the Ginza again!!! and darling's choc truffle cake...the cakes fr Japan r really yummy and i always cant help but stop to admire at the counters sellings these pretty cakes!



finally reach Osaka!! still stayin at the Toyoko-Inn chain...it was 5 min walk fr the Subway station..in Osaka, most of the places r more accessible by Subway den JR..

Shinosaka (OsakaCity Midousuji Line) - Honmachi
Honmachi (OsakaCity Chuo Line) - Sakaisuji-Honmachi

sun is almost setting and we r on our way to my Okaasan's place...its amazing how long we have been in contact...i noe her since my Uni Yr 2 when I went to Osaka for homestay and exchange programme..and even thou i only stayed in her hse for 3 nites..we kept in contact all these yrs and i've visited her when i've the chance to go to Japan for work 2 times..

at her hse..she has her own tea ceremony rm where she conducts lessons...its real tatami set-up! i've already had a chance to go thru tea ceremony wif her when i stayed at her hse during my uni days..she was giving darling the experience of tea ceremony...

the sweet tat's always served b4 the start to the tea ceremony...its a sakura mochi..diff sweets r served during diff seasons..even the tea cups and tools used will change wif each season..

i din quite like this sweet..it was like eating coloured sugar cubes..


Okaasan preparing the tea..the tea served during tea ceremony is usu v thick..and is of v v gd quality..


b4 u drink the tea..u will hav to turn the cups 3 rounds..tink its clock-wise direction..

after the tea ceremony..we adjourned to the living rm to wait for dinner...

okaasan served us some pepper cheese wif crackers..and i muz rave abt the cheese!! its really gd..but unfortunately..i dun c anything similar in SG..

Ume-shu

i'm so happy to hav this again! its baby taro balls...and i loved it when okaasan 1st cooked it when i stayed at her hse...this is the 3rd time i'm visiting her and she still cook this specially for me..v touched!


Gomae..i tried to prepare something like this back home..but juz cant get the taste..


baked prawns wif cheese..darling loved this!

Sashimi-don

Garden Salad


Wan Tan Soup...the soup was v v gd!! its was light in flavour yet still can taste the sweetness...darling was v amazed by how gd the soup taste and even asked for 2nd helping!


dessert was vanilla ice cream wif strawberries!


i really had my fill tat nite..we did alot of catching up and eating until we forgot to take group photos! initially we had another dinner date 2 nites later...but okaasan was feeling sick so we din wan to disturb her rest..so we din hav the chance to take photos wif them...hopefully there will b a next time!!

Day 6 - 24 Mar

Our last day in Sapporo

We went in search of the Sapporo Fish Market...the sky looked overcast...and it was expected to rain later in the day.. (again!!!!)

The Odori Clock Tower

Its actually a small compound which is the gathering area when they had fire drills in the past..it was a v cold day again..even darling felt cold...





the TV Tower
When we reached the Fish Market, we were surprised how come the place looked so deserted..not many locals there..and not many ppl doing their morning shopping which I thot was wierd...den the shopkeepers started talking to us in English, asking us if we were fr HK or TW...den we realised tat this market cld b targetting at tourists!! muz b v ex tat's y no locals ard!

den we saw Sea Urchins...i rem JX say its v nice...so i thot we shd try it too...

The shopkeeper opening the sea urchin live!

Cleaning it...such a big shell..only a little flesh..tsk tsk..

Putting back into the shell for us to eat..


Verdict: it was v v v fresh!! Can taste the sweetness and freshness in our mouth even after 30 mins...but its not cheap...ard $14 for tat little bit of urchin sashimi...but its money well spent...

There were many snow crabs ard too...


we den adjourn to our next location...Hakodate..

1037 Sapporo (LTD.EXP HOKUTO 8) - 1249 Hakodate

Sapporo Milk Ice Cream...i tink i muz hav put on alot of weight in Hokkaido itself cos i've been indulging in ALOT of dairy products! icecream, milk, cheesecake..but hav to eat it while there!!! its v v nice!

Along our way to Hakodate...nice scenery..

Big waves

Our Hotel - Toyoko Inn Hakodate Asaichi

The Lobby

Cafe where they served breakfast and dinner

Washing Machine

Free water

Our Lunch at some ramen restaurant...alot of restaurants were already closed..seemed like they only operate in the morning..which is probably why the area is called Asa-ichi (morning market)..

Darling's Wan Tan Miso Ramen..Japanese Wan Tan taste quite diff fr Chinese ones..give me Chinese Wan Tan anytime..haha..

My Butter Corn Miso Ramen..after this trip..i learnt tat I only like ramen in Shio soup base...Miso is way too salty for my liking..

We den walked ard at the asa-ichi area...Hakodate is basically a v v small fishing town...just by the Japan sea...and the area we were at was juz beside the sea where alot of fishing ships docked to bring in the fresh catch...it was raining and was freezing cold again..imagine standing by the sea wif the wind blowing..i tink the temp is below zero degrees already..too bad only rain..no snow...

a shop selling Hello Kitty items..

Darling saw this Kani (crab) t-shirt wif the Nike look-alike logo and the Kuma which is Puma..wanted to buy but he thot of coming back later...who noes tat when we came back to the shop which is near our hotel at nite..its already closed..so this taught me if i c anything i like..juz buy 1st..dun delay...else wun b able to get it..

We den went to Motomachi District by streetcar (electric trams, which was main transportation in Hakodate) so tat we can take the cable car up to Mt Hakodate for the well known beautiful nite scenery...



There were alot of beautiful churches in this Motomachi District cos alot of missionaries came to set up churches in Hakodate.. unfortunately..it was really too cold for me to admire the architecture and most of the churches did not permit entrance..

We decided to seek refugee in a little shop selling some snacks cos its simply too cold for me to walk ard anymore...i cld feel the wind penetrating my jacket into my bones... >.<

but Darling still cld eat ice cream...really had to take my hat off to him..

I had my warm milk..v satisfying in the cooooooold weather..

a quick photo in the cold rain..

darling is pointing to the sea and jetty

yeah! we going to take the cable car up to the top of Mt Hakodate..unfortunately..there was v thick fog cos of the rain and we were cautioned tat the scenery might not be as gd or we may not b able to see anything..but we thot since we were already here..might as well go up to hav a look..

THICK fog...
Nite is getting nearer..

suddenly the wind blew the fog away and we had clear sky for a moment! imagine how it wld look if the sky was crystal clear! fascinating!

we went to the outdoor area and 5 min was the longest i cld stay there..i tink i look like Eskimo..

darling trying to show the condensation after he blow into the atmosphere...it was so cold..even when we breathe..we can c condensation...bbbrrrrr...........on our way back down the mountain to take the streetcar..i'm so cold i wan to cry..tat's how bad it was..

we grabbed a quick dinner at the hotel cafe...and den went back to our rm for an early nite rest as we hav to get onto the 7am train to go to Osaka...

some snapshots of our hotel rm...basically, the interior design is the same for all Toyoko Inn hotels...

The toilet/bathroom

Writing/Dressing table with TV

Bed
The door way

we going to say BYE BYE to Hokkaido!! But i definitely wan to go back again..there's still northern Hokkaido which we did not venture too cos of the time constraint...