Sumo, Sake and Sapporo Beer

[bPeteb]

We've now been back for a couple of weeks since a way too short two weeks in Japan. I've been tossing up whether to copy my posts from TravelArk here and add a couple of photos or just provide the link to the blog.

In summary - this was our first 'paid' J holiday. We've been enjoying the benefits of QF SG and decided that paying for J would get me over the line again when combined with the work flights that were supposed to peter out towards the end of last year. Little did we know they would ramp up substantially, enough for me to hit WP the week before we flew to Narita. One paid and one points J will be our plan for travel going ahead. We've got two weeks in China in September using the same plan. First ever personal use of DSC (booked three BNE-MEL for work previously) so SG with a single booking next year already.

Back to Japan. We have (now had) friends working at the Oz Embassy in Tokyo where we had a standing offer of room to stay.

We booked last July. Three weeks before we left our friend received a promotion and was back in Canberra a week after we returned home. Her partner left behind to get packing done and school term finished. Some family due to stay with them later in the year are making some hasty changes to their plans...

We've headed south from Tokyo before. This time we wanted to go to Hokkaido and drive around - Sapporo - pick up car Asahikawa - Abashiri - Kushiro (for cranes via Lake Akan) - Lake Toya - Hakodate.

Cherry blossom would be just about over so we'd take what we got. There'd be plenty of other flowers in bloom including the fields of 'pink moss' we'd marked down to visit on Hokkaido.

By chance sumo was on in Tokyo, as was Tokyo v Yokohama baseball. Our friends got in on ticket release day for both.

One of Japan's largest Matsuri was on on Tokyo so we pencilled that in. Then back to Hakone where we wanted to stay at The Prince on Lake Ashinoko again but this time visit some of the many museums and galleries the area is famous for.

So, here's the link to the first blog entry Away we go

Posts and pics here or link enough? I have a feeling I've reached my limit with being able to post photos after our trip to Brasil last year.

 

[bPeteb]

It seems I can post pictures so here's a few from the flight up. We really enjoyed the business suites. I sat in an even A and Al an odd. Al loved the headroom in the aisle seat. He came home in an even and admitted it was nicer for sleep/privacy but he preferred the aisle seat for daytime as it gave him much more workable space.

My first flight as WP and crew were great. Saying that we are yet to have a bad international QF crew. This team was excellent. Pre-ordered meals had failed to be passed through but they had everything so it wasn't an issue. Didn't take any notice of what the bubbles was. Sorry. My barramundi was pretty darn good. Al's tamale thing not so much. Tuna poke salad for both of us was also very nice. Crew was aware we were travelling with a friend in Y. They moved her up into the vacant J seat behind us so that we could all leave the plane together. I thought that was really nice.

All in all a great intro to us paying for J

 

[Denali]

.....By chance sumo was on in Tokyo, .... Our friends got in on ticket release day for both......

For those that dont have friends on the ground to take care of tickets, we used this mob and was very happy with prompt response and service. BuySumoTickets.com – Since 2008

We actually got a box and really enjoyed ourselves, surrounded by helpful locals who were enjoying their whiskey and saki a bit too much but lots of fun. Helps if your seats are facing the match arena and not the backside of it

 

[boomy]

Looking forward to your TR, Japan is a favourite destination.
Interesting choice to rent a car, never thought about it with all their excellent public transport options. Was it easy to navigate, considering most road signs must have been in Japanese?

 

[bPeteb]

Looking forward to your TR, Japan is a favourite destination.
Interesting choice to rent a car, never thought about it with all their excellent public transport options. Was it easy to navigate, considering most road signs must have been in Japanese?

We rented a car with an 'English' GPS Boomy. This was kind of a misnomer as it we had to be shown where the English button was and it was only used to enter either the phone number or code of the destination. It worked well actually. One of us three had internet the whole time (Virgin Mobile) and google maps GPS also worked fine so we always knew where we were even if we sometimes disagreed with the route and went against where the different GPS tried to send us.

We chose driving because we wanted to get to some places that trains couldn't get us to. We didn't end up getting to those specific places for reasons to be explained so it could have nearly all been managed by train.

Driving was super easy. Everyone courteous. Hokkaido far less populated than Honshu. A bit like driving around NZ. No-one took any notice of the speed limits except tourists and eventually I gave up as well. If only we hadn't left our passports and Int Drivers Licences in Tokyo it would have been entirely smooth sailing...

 

[LadyC]

Eek! My worst nightmare is losing my passport whilst traveling. Although if I lost it, Japan would be one of the better (?) places. I assume you got it back considering you are posting your trip report after the event.

 

[Hvr]

Helps if your seats are facing the match arena and not the backside of it

Yet even if facing the match arena you're still seeing a lot of the backside.

 

[bPeteb]

Eek! My worst nightmare is losing my passport whilst traveling. Although if I lost it, Japan would be one of the better (?) places. I assume you got it back considering you are posting your trip report after the event.

Luckily not lost, just left behind at the apartment at the Embassy.

 

[bPeteb]

We actually got a box and really enjoyed ourselves, surrounded by helpful locals who were enjoying their whiskey and saki a bit too much but lots of fun. Helps if your seats are facing the match arena and not the backside of it

We initially thought box but then saw the size and with my knees not a chance I'd last long squashed in with the four of us. No amount of sake or beer would have helped.

 

[Denali]

We initially thought box but then saw the size and with my knees not a chance I'd last long squashed in with the four of us. No amount of sake or beer would have helped.

There was the 2 of us for the 4 person box so we could stretch out. Couldnt figure out how to get in on the action of having someone bring food/drinks to our box though, despite there being lots of 'runners' doing the task.

I think our box neighbours were more amused by us than the bouts.

 

[VPS]

I enjoy your TR so following along

 

[bPeteb]

Ok, I'll do the usual and copy over my blog with a few changes...

Pretty soon we left the coast of New Guinea behind and the northern hemisphere was just over the horizon.

Such a quick flight to Tokyo from Brisbane. Nine and a quarter hours. Perfect. A snack of fried rice about an hour out.

Al had been back to talk to our travelling companion a couple of times. As it was announced we were about to descend one of the crew came and asked where our friend was sitting in economy. There was an empty seat behind Al and the crew had decided it would be good to bring our friend up with us for landing so that we could all get off the plane together. How nice. She was apparently very confused when they first approached her but eventually understood.

Fantastic view of the coastal plain as we approached Narita. Rice paddies as far as the eye could see with roads running between them. Acres of small solar farms. As the ground became more solid emerald green golf courses. The Japanese love their golf.

With my new Qantas/One World emerald status our bags were tagged first and they were amongst the first half dozen bags out. Yay! Our third's bag wasn't out that much later. Through immigration in minutes. What a breeze.

First stop was the Japan Rail office to activate our rail passes. We had bought JR East and South Hokkaido six day rail passes JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass. These gave us any six days in 14 on JR East Shinkansen in northern Honshu and on to Hokkaido and all other JR trains as far south as Odawara and in southern Hokkaido. It suited our plans just about perfectly. The N'EX (Narita Exress) into Tokyo was day one. We also needed to pick-up our tickets for the trains to and from Hokkaido that I'd pre-booked but that we needed to pick up before 9pm the night before travel. Lucky we arrived on time!

We caught the N'EX to Shinagawa where our friends picked us up. How nice!

It was about a 15 minute drive to the embassy. Beautiful apartment befitting our friend's post. We're so lucky to have somewhere so amazing to base ourselves.

Went to a local yakitori restaurant for a late dinner and welcome beers. I love yakitori. Nothing better than salted chicken bbqd on a stick. Yum!! It was a fantastic end to a great first day of our Japanese adventure.

 

[bPeteb]

Pulled back the curtains to reveal a glorious Tokyo spring day and a view of the beautiful gardens of the embassy.

Al and I planned to take just one case and one carry-on on our Hokkaido road trip but Clare offered a backpack instead of the carry-on. We transferred what we needed out of the carry-on into the backpack and amalgamated seven days of our clothes into one.

Taxi to Tokyo Station took maybe 20 minutes. It's amazing how little traffic there is in Tokyo when you consider the size of the city. And it moves fast!

One of the best parts about train travel in Japan is the fantastic bento boxes you buy to eat onboard. We maybe bought a bit much but it would be a long day - over four hours on Japan's fastest Shinkansen the Hayabusa (service speed 320kmh/200mph) to Shin-Hakodate in southern Hokkaido then another four hours on a limited express up to Sapporo.

I love trains, and I love fast trains. The Hayabusa was amazing.

We snacked on our bento boxes, giant shrimps and beers as the train sped across the north of Honshu. J, our travelling companion suffers from motion sickness, even on something as smooth as a shinkansen. I can't imagine what it must be like. She sucked on lollies and stared straight ahead.

Until 2016 you had to fly or catch a ferry to Hokkaido but in that year they opened the 53km Seikan tunnel that allowed the shinkansen to travel through to Shin-Hakodate station. The transfer to the limited express was easy and soon we headed north to Sapporo. I got out the Hokkaido tarts that I'd bought back at Tokyo Station and bought some sake from the cafe trolley. Jacqs was not feeling great which was sad as the scenery was quite beautiful.

About an hour out of Sapporo I suddenly had a realisation that we hadn't brought our passports, or our international driver's licenses, with us. We'd left them back at the embassy when we transferred our stuff over to the backpack. We needed both to pick up the hire car in three days time. We messaged our fiends back Tokyo who found them where I knew they were. They sent us pictures of our passports in case we needed them to check into our hotel and said not to worry, we'd have them in the next couple of days.

However angry I was with myself there was nothing that I could do about it. If I could get to Sapporo by train in eight hours getting the passports to us would be easy.

We picked the Hotel Keihan Sapporo Hotel Keihan Sapporo in Sapporo - Official website - Book a hotel near JR Sapporo station because it was walkable to the station and it had its own onsen. It was a good choice. Japanese hotel rooms are small but we had just enough room for the three of us and our bags. For some reason I took no photos of our first few hotel rooms so you'll just have to check out the website if you want to see what they look like.

I went to sleep stressed and angry. I'd done as much searching as I could and had no luck finding same day or overnight couriers. Japan Post looked like they offered something but only between specific cities. Surely someone at the embassy would know the quickest way to get the passports and licenses to us?

 

[bPeteb]

and a few of the view out of the train window

 

[bPeteb]

The hotel's onsen was hot (surprise!) and a little weird because it was just a pool in a room but it was surprisingly relaxing. Breakfast was similarly a little odd, but there was a great spread of food available at the buffet.

Our plan for today was chocolate cookies then beer.

The cookie that we went in search of is apparently world renowned across the whole of Japan, maybe. It is made at a factory at Shiroi Koibito Park Shiroi Koibito Park and the place was a hoot.

We bought ourselves a day pass for the subway. From the station it was a short, wet, and very cool walk to the 'Park'. Along the way we saw our first cherry blossom tree, something that made us all very happy. It was the first of many we'd see in our travels.

The park was a very odd recreation of a whole lot of different places in Europe. Lots of amazing tulips. Animatronic people who sang and played instruments and dogs and pigs that barked and oinked. And a bubble machine that some people loved just a bit too much. Bizarre, but even in the persistent light rain the crowds loved it!

We then went into what was the old chocolate factory. It's been turned into a museum and restaurant/cafe.

The hot chocolate was delicious, as were the way too early in the day desserts that we forced ourselves to eat

We then got back on the subway and headed in the direction of the Sapporo Beer Museum Sapporo Beer Museum/Sapporo Biergarten | Sapporo Holdings

The rain cleared but gee it was cold. The museum itself was quite interesting. The history of beer making in Japan and Hokkaido, the forced amalgamation of companies after the war and the push from the people of Sapporo to get their beer back. We had a quick flight of three quite delicious beers then it was time for bbqd lamb.

You book in the same building as the museum and the beer tasting. There's a choice of I think three restaurants. We chose the Biergarten for the Ghengis Khan lamb.

We had a great time. The beers were huge and plentiful. The lamb was delicious (Al was to be honest a little underwhelmed by the food). To top it off we started talking to three great young American guys sat at the table beside us who we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and the early evening with.

Our embassy pal kept in contact with us during the day keeping us posted on the passport dilemma. No luck on getting anything sent on a Sunday so early Monday for overnight delivery it would have to be.

We walked from the Sapporo Biergarten back into the centre of the city where we had more, but very different beers at the Yebisu Beer Hall in the bottom of the Sapporo Station complex YEBISU BAR (Sapporo Station/Beer Halls) - GURUNAVI Restaurant Guide

The boys headed back to their airB&B and we had dinner at a very cool little restaurant just round the corner from the 'beer hall'.

 

[bPeteb]

and some more of Sapporo day one

 

[bPeteb]

The pall of the forgotten passports darkened my mood. We'd been to the local JR Eki Car Rental office the day before and it was clear photos of the driver's licences would not be enough. The documents we'd been sent about driving in Japan left no doubt we'd be arrested if we didn't have them with us in the event we were pulled over. K messaged us just after 9 to tell us that the parcel was on its way and should be delivered next morning to the hotel.

I'd contemplated on Saturday night flying back to Tokyo to get them. It would be an expensive mistake but at least our plans would be on track. Now everything was in the hands of Japan Post.

It was another grey morning but we continued with our plans to go up Mt Moiwa on the ropeway. First we walked out through the other side of the station and by chance came across a park with a beautiful avenue of cherry trees in blossom plus some more amazing tulips. We then walked down the long park where the ice sculptures are created during the ice festival before getting on one of the antique trams that run a loop around the city.

They are brutally honest in Japan, sometimes to their own detriment. In Australia you'd get on a chairlift and just disappear into the mist without any warning but at Mt Moiwa they were very clear we'd see nothing when we got to the top. To us that was half the fun.

Disappear we did. The fog was pea soup. I took pictures at each panorama point with what we should see and the sea of white behind it. Hilarious. Even funnier was Morris the mascot. None of us had any idea what the strange stuffed thing with two long ears and what looked like a prolapsed bowel was. It was only when we got back to the hotel that evening that I looked it up and it was a squirrel, called Morris, and the 'bowel' was actually its tail.

J was still having trouble shaking the motion sickness so chose not to come out to Otaru with us as it involved more train travel. Maybe if she'd known it was only 25 minutes and not the hour plus that we'd first thought it would take she might have.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun came out. The snow on the mountains behind Otaru looked amazing. The Otaru canal was very picturesque. We took lots of great pictures. I got in some more train travel even if I did get confused on the train and thought someone was sitting in our seats by trying to use the tickets we'd bought to go to Otaru, not leave it.

It was a really great day. Another soak on the onsen. The parcel was on its way. We'd be on our way in the morning.

 

[bPeteb]

Sapporo day two

 

[bPeteb]

On the way to breakfast I'd stopped by hotel reception to let them know we were expecting a parcel before we could check out. We were due to pick up our rental car at Asahikawa station, an hour away by train, at 9. The plan was then to drive across Hokkaido to Abashiri by way of one of two pink moss farms. We'd contacted them to let them know we would be late.

9am came and went and no sign. We decided to check out in anticipation of it arriving and J and Al went ahead to the station. No idea how much later it was but one of the receptionists came over to me and explained in way better English than my Japanese that it hadn't arrived and that I should go to the post office a few blocks up the road. They had asked the PO to change the delivery so that it would be kept there, and not sent to the hotel. Such amazing and caring customer service.

I thanked them for their help and went and found Al and J at the station. We put the luggage in a couple of lockers and so began a long day of going backwards and forwards to the post office where some super lovely people kept telling me "Not this delivery. Come back in two hours".

Japan has a very 'underground' culture in cities where endless arcades filled with shops and restaurants link to each other. Particularly around stations. Sapporo is no different. Between my visits to the PO we headed down near to the Yebisu Beer Hall and had the biggest chicken curries and of us have ever had.

It became clear we weren't going to get to Abashiri that night so we contacted the rental car company and got the pick-up moved to Sapporo for the next morning. It was too late to cancel the hotel but we also cancelled the hotel in Kushiro, the next night's destination, as we weren't sure we'd even get there. We booked the nearest hotel to the station we could find and it was really nice - Hotel MyStays Sapporo Station https://www.mystays.com/en-us/hotel-mystays-sapporo-station-hokkaido/

We had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant off the lobby of the hotel. J has another friend in Japan who works as a translator. J got in contact with her and somehow or other she was able to get confirmation from Japan Post that the parcel had finally arrived in Sapporo and would be ready for pick up in the morning. I checked the tracking website and it had arrived at 8:30pm. Hooray!

 

[bPeteb]

It appears as though I could have gone to the post office at any time during the night to pick the parcel up from the parcel window but we had no car. I was there at 8:45 and it was in my hand and I was finally smiling again.

The car pick-up process was painless. Suggested that we get a three day ETC (toll) pass for JPY5100 and after some umming and ahing I agreed to get it. Money very well spent. Explanation of how the kind of English GPS worked and we hit the road. Once we knew the passports and licences had arrived I decided (as driver) that we would head for Kushiro even though it would be a long drive. So we re-booked the hotel that we'd cancelled the day before. It wouldn't allow us to book a triple but for $30 more we could get two rooms. Al would only have to put up with my snoring instead of having to listen to me and J

Destination one - the lavender farms near Furano.

Driving in Japan is confusing. Everything you read says stick to the speed limit. Speed cameras are everywhere. The police will haul you off if you do anything wrong. We drove out of Sapporo and out onto the expressway and everyone was going past us like we weren't moving. Al had said the speed limit was 70kmh unless otherwise sign posted. J googled it and if the speed signs weren’t lit the speed was actually 100. Even at that speed I was the slowest car on the road!

Despite a heated disagreement between Al, me and three different GPS, we eventually made it to Farm Tomita not far outside of Furano. The whole area was shrouded in a weird haze but through it you could see the mountains all around us. The scenery on a clear day would be spectacular. An excuse to some back in winter.

It was a tad ironic after the long drive to find that lavender was out of season (hahahaha!). The pink moss, one of two ‘must sees’ for J, was also a tad pathetic but we had a great time strolling through the different fields of flowers. Poppies and grape hyacinth were in full bloom. The lavender ice cream was also ok but the lavender cheesecake was amazing. Good enough to get seconds when we walked passed another shop selling it.

Second destination Lake Akan so we locked it into the GPS. I love driving, especially on roads with not much traffic and great scenery. This drive had both. I eventually realised I was seeing double and Al took over for last hour of the drive to Lake Akan.

The original plan was to have come at the lake from the opposite direction and to try out some of the public onsens on the edge before visiting the Ainu village. But time was against us so we drove straight to Akan Ainu Kotan Akan Ainu Kotan (Ainu Village) | Things to do | Hokkaido, Kushiro - LakeAkan Travel Guide[Official]

It wasn't quite what I was expecting and I found it a bit sad. A street of souvenir shops that all looked roughly the same that led down to a lake where the highlight was the skeleton of a dog, or a fox. There's a theatre where they put on a cultural show but I was worried if I went into somewhere dark I'd fall asleep.

As we'd driven across Hokkaido I was amazed at the amount of army vehicles on the road. I was getting increasingly concerned that something was about to happen with Japan's very close neighbour North Korea. It didn't, but the volume of army convoys on the road didn't decrease.

It wasn't much further to Kushiro. Once we got there we side-tracked to drive past a park that Al had thought might be full of cherry trees in blossom and it was. We should have stopped but it had been a long day and I think we all just wanted to get to the hotel and relax.

On check-in at the Kushiro Century Castle Hotel Kushiro Century Castle Hotel, Official Page we were upgraded to two king rooms and they were HUGE. The hotel was really, really nice. It was $120 per room I think, including what would turn out to be a crazy good breakfast.

There were apparently heaps of good restaurants not far from the hotel but we ate in the hotel restaurant and it was meal we'll remember for a long time. I can't remember exactly how much it was but I know it was nine courses, including a humungous delicious perfectly cooked t-bone steak that would have cost at least $100 at home. Maybe $150. I'm sure it was under JPY5000 pp and then another 1800 each for a two hour drink package - beer, wine, basic spirits, whiskey highballs (at 700 each, three drinks and we were in front). Neither of us touched course eight. Wisely J chose the three course version.

We went out into the cold to walk some of the excess off then decided to check out the lounge bar. Free wine, pour yourself, a very nice Spanish red. Free venison curry after 8pm. We passed on the curry.

What a cracker of a hotel and it made the drive worth it.