Day 15 - Shibuya (Tokyo)

14th February, 2003 - Starting out from Shibuya we went in search of the greatest celebrity of this part of the city.... but it wouldn't be easy, as just about any time of the day (or night) Shibuya is full of people. Sometimes looking very busy - other times looking like they really don't have much to do at all.

So who is this great celebrity? His name is Hachiko - and he's an Akita dog. Actually - what we're really looking for is his statue. Hachiko has gained somewhat of a legend - he came to Tokyo in 1924 and always travelled to the Shibuya train station with his master... where he'd wait for his return of an evening. When one day the owner (a professor at the University of Tokyo) died unexpectedly, Hachiko still waited loyally (in the evening) for his master to return. Indeed he would escape from his new home, to wait for him - though he would never see his master again. For nine years this happened - Hachiko always returning to the station of an evening. Waiting. The statue was erected in 1934 (with Hachiko in attendance), one year before Hachiko finally died. It is perhaps this single-minded loyalty and love that so captured the natural sentimentality of the Japanese psyche - and made Hachiko a Japanese legend.

Taking our own adventure on the Tokyo  train system is easy - though the transit map may look anything but easy. There's a lot of lines - but thankfully there still plenty of signs that are in English. Also the ticket machines are pretty straight forward. Just select if you want 1 or more tickets and the price (as shown in the map) for the destination you want to get to.

If you don't get it right, there's no problem... you can always adjust the fare on the ticket once you go to leave the station at the destination. Just don't lose your ticket! And be careful... as there's some shady looking characters around....

Now... we're off to Yokohama!

Day 14 - Shibuya (Tokyo)

13th February, 2003 - After an afternoon of the beauty and bounty of nature, T-chan and I felt the need to immerse ourselves in the beauty and bounty of the urban forest. What better place to do that than Shibuya. After Shinjuku, this is is perhaps the busies place in Tokyo... and a great night-time experience.

For a cup of coffee... actually when we took this photo (back in 2003) we thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. When we get closer to the current day, you'll be able to see how far advanced the  Japanese skill in Cappuccino decorating has come.












Of course you couldn't come here and not go to Karaoke... except in Japan Karaoke is more likely to be conducted in the privacy (and relative sound-proofness) of your own small room. Hey - it's a good thing I have a day job.

Of course there's plenty of food to be had in Shibuya.... hmmm when I see that hot inviting steam... yum-o! Oishi-so!

There are other distractions not too far away as well... and if you've a spare moment or two (or a whole night), you can stroll up the road to Dogenzaka... and explore the interesting sights of Love Hotel Hill. Of course, we were far too tired to think about climbing any hills that night..... *sigh*

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Day 14 Yoyogi Koen (Tokyo)

13th February, 2003 - Arriving back in Tokyo we quickly returned from Haneda airport back to the city where we deposited our bags back at the hotel. Feeling the march of time, and sensing the last chapter of our trip was well and truly starting we hit the streets.

First thing... we went straight to Yoyogi Kouen (park) with the plan to visit Meiji-jingu. You don't realise it, except perhaps from atop the Metropolitan Government Building, just how big Yoyogi Kouen is. And how fertile and green. It is perhaps hard to get a sense of perspective... and at times like these, I find it best to hug a tree and get back to nature (even if it's part of a giant Torii gate). This is best approached from JR Harajuku station... where you might see some interesting characters on your way.


The Japanese have another theory.... and that is - drink a lot of Sake. For some reason, Sake and shrines go hand-in-hand... indeed, you will often see Sake casks lined up, as if to say... join in, we have REALLY GOOD PARTIES! The barrels are for decoration only (no free samples sorry), and as such are known as kazaridaru. The relevenance - well apparently the word for sake used to sound a whole lot like the word for god... o'miki. Anyway, a long story and most probably just a good excuse for a booze up.
 ? ; )

Meiji-jingu (as you may have gathered) is a relatively new shrine... it was developed following the Emperor Meiji's death in 1912, and was completed in 1920. The Shrine itself has two areas : an outer garden (gaien) and inner or naien). The shrine is entered through a mon (gate), where you will find a wide open paved area leading to the mian hall.

Below is the main hall, where the souls of the Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken are enshrined. You will also find a museum that houses a large number of personal artifacts, but I suspect that this is more interesting to the Japanese themselves, or else people with a bit more time on their hands.

The gardens however are worth spending some time wandering around - and as twilight approaches the lights passing through the trees can be breath-taking. At least if you're there.

The gardens are both wild and yet at the same time tamed. The paths can lead to many secret areas where you can just catch your breath, and relax in the relative silence of Yoyogi park. This is the sort of place where you might be able to re-charge your batteries - and well located to hit the streets of Shibuya afterwards!

Day 14 - Returning to Tokyo

13th February, 2003 - We left home around midday - and drove on the highway back to New Chitose Airport (CTS). Of course the highway is a little different to what we find in Australia... as it's far from free. Indeed, the cost of the drive from Sapporo to the airport would cost around 1,000 yen - but it takes a good 30-60 mins off the trip. T-chan's parents were very sad to see their daughter leaving again... and T-chan was very sad to go. She loves her family and loves living in Japan - coming back here for a holiday made her realise just how much. Our batteries, both physical and emotional were at a low.

We'd experienced a lot already...

Day 13 - Rest Day (Sapporo)

12th February, 2003 - After the last few days, we had a rest day (on our last full day in Sapporo). It was also the perfect opportunity to do something typically Aussie stoopid. Like eat icecream in your t-shirt outside. Don't ask - Just STOOPID! Anyway, it was a much needed chance for T-chan to catch up with her mum, after being away for 6 months. I sometimes forgot that for me it was an adventure of a lifetime (or to that point at least) - but to her, it was coming home.


The last day we had a family get together - a last meal - at Sapporo Beer Factory. No - it's not a beer diet, but rather a Jingisukan restaurant (i.e. a Mongolian Mutton BBQ that is one of the highlights of coming to Sappporo food-wise...named after Genghis Khan). I LOVE IT!. The funny thing is that they give you these little plastic bags to put your coats in - and a nifty little plastic apron to wear... coz the atmosphere is absolutely full with the smell of cooking meat, and you end up absorbing it in your clothes, hair, and possibly even your soul (it's that good).

We had a long evening that night... lots of drinking (otousan), and lots of eating. It was also the time when the questions started getting more difficult, "so what are your plans with our daughter?" Gulp. The moment of truth. Let's just say that things turned out well, although the other guests may have been a bit bemused as to why there was so much crying going on at the table with funny looking gaijin.

It was a good night, as befitted the last in Sapporo. Little did I know then that I would be back before too long, for an even more painful moment of truth. This is the last day in Sapporo. Next stop - a return to Tokyo... but the holiday had changed completely now, and in a way it had already climaxed. Thus ended the second chapter of our great first trip to Japan.... Stay tuned!

Day 12 - Hakodate

11th February, 2003 - Returning to the port area, we had lunch in the "red brick warehouse" where there are some nice restaurants and cafes. There a few nice shops to spend your time in - but nothing too exciting. There's a really nice beer hall in here - and that should keep the cold at bay for an hour or two at least.

After lunch we headed across town to the Foreigners Graveyard... hmmm we seem to be spending a large amount of our time running around cemetaries! Actually - it's not high on the list of places to see in Hakodate, but it's a stark reminder of how isolated this town must have been way back then.

The graveyard itself is fairly small, and only really approached on foot. The scenery isn't that remarkable as it is desolate. The author of the words on this memorial may be un-attributed, but the feeling remains powerful today. (The poem is from Epitaph for Wolfe Tomb, and is authored only by "a shipmate"... The memorial remembers one of the crewman from one of Perry's ships in 1854). Now their spirits gaze forever westward; a long way from home.



Leaving the sad and last lookout over the seas off Hakodate, we then walked to Koryuu-ji...being built in 1633, it is the oldest temple in Hakodate - however, in that time it's moved to three different locations, the final one since Meiji times.

On the way to and from Koryuu-ji, it's worthwhile just walking around as you will find many interesting examples of "cross-cultural architecture"... and in some cases, you can't even tell where one architecture finishes, and the other begins.

 One of the things that is common in the architecture here are the window covers... they look like something that should be on an Egyptian tomb, rather than a window awning - but of course, here they need something to keep out the cold, COLD winds. Overall - the town towards the Onsen left a lot to be desired, but once you hit the older areas, you see a charm that is often missing from Japanese cities these days.

And on that note we made our way back to the hotel, and said good bye to Hakodate. It was two days of extreme cold, lots of walking and lots of different views of Japan - some dating back to the time that Perry shattered the wary peace of feudal Japan. After grabbing a take-away dinner we jumped aboard the train back to Sapporo (left around 5pm) and prepared ourselves for the 4 hour journey back home. What a trip!

Day 12 - Motomachi (Hakodate)

11th February, 2003 - Looking for inspiration, and a little more interesting things (compared to Goryoukaku fort) we headed out early in the morning by bus to the Motomachi district. Here is perhaps the heart of historic "european" Hakodate. Good ol' Perry - he'll look after us. Though I'm not sure if it's the cold, or the feeling someone's looking overy my shoulder, but I don't feel too comfortable here.

In fact there was something about the whole experience that left me thinking that people were watching me. The four kings of Hakodate (who amongst other things published the first newspaper in Hokkaido... hmmm - I hope their ghosts aren't haunting these pages) collectively stand - and sit - in silent reproach at all us undesirables looking over their old town.

And they have good cause to be boastfully proud of their community - it's a beautifully maintained neighbourhood with a strong mix of the traditional Japanese and the colonial western influenced buildings. Perhaps one of the most recognisable is the Old Public Hall of Hakodate which was constructed around 1910 - once again, whilst of european appearance, this was designed by a Japanese architect. Apparently it's about 300 yen to enter.

At this time however, we were starting to get a hankering for a mid-morning pick-me-up-coffee. One problem with having a historic district is that they didn't often have cappucino's back then. Not a Starbucks in sight. Having said that we did find a quaint cafe tucked not that far away.

Perhaps the MOST distinctive building in Hakodate is the Russian Orthodox church - seen here with the Hakodateyama lookout as a backdrop. This church is apparently known by locals as the ding-dong church.

 This church was first constructed around 1859 - at that time there was very much a thriving trading partnership between Japan and Russia... in only 40 or so years that relationship would come to a bitter end. This church itself was burnt down in a fire, and re-built in 1916... one year before the Russian revolution that would start to tear down the fabric of the Russian Orthodox Church.

There are other famous religious sites here - including the Roman Catholic Church. Strangely enough it's not a cross that adorns the hexagonal church steeple, but rather a weather-cock... I wonder which way this chill wind is blowing today? The church here was completed in 1924, however the original Roman Catholic Chapel was constructed around 1859. The West wasted no time in battling over the souls of the heathens!

Not too far away you find reminders that you are in Japan... and that the Buddhist religion has existed here for about 1,500 years before.

Day 11 - Mt Hakodate / Hotel (Hakodate)

10th February, 2003 - After arriving at our hotel (Yunokawa Prince Hotel) from an afternoon tour of Goryokaku, we prepared ourselves for a quick spot of onsen time - always a good idea after a tough day. The onsen here are pretty good - but more of the modern type. There's lots of variety, but it lacks a lot of the traditional beauty that often is the attraction of smaller onsen. As with any large hotel in Japan - there was plenty of touristy shops to buy knick-knacks. Food is one of the favourite Japanese gift items - based on local specialty foods.




The room we had included a room-served dinner which was really quite nice. Having said that, we had snuck some beer in from the local convenience store to have for dinner... and in between the waitress bringing in our dinner - I accidentally knocked over the beer. That's most likely from tiredness rather than drunkeness. Or as T-chan would say, I'm just very clumsy.

After dinner we took the tour to the top of Hakodate-yama - purportedly one of the three best night views in the world. There are tour buses that pick guests up from the various hotels, and the price includes the cost of the ropeway. Though where this is decided - who knows. The Japanese like to categorise things. Was it such a good view? Well, it is a nice view no doubt - but in the middle of winter, I have to say you need to be prepared for the cold, cold weather. Ha-koDATE! You get to the top via a ropeway car, that takes you the 334 m to the summit where you can brave the cold night air to get the best views.

On retiring from Hakodate-yama, we returned to the hotel (as there's not much else to do in Hakodate), and enjoyed the small private onsen in the room... a strange thought given that we were perhaps 15 floors up! It might not look much, but it's heavenly to just sit back there in the comfort of your own room with the windows open to let the cold brisk air into to cool off your head, whilst your body soaks up the onsen-goodness. Hmmm onsen smell. I have to say that night was a late one, and a bit exhausting!.... Be warned - onsen can be a little dangerous if you over-do it. T2-chan (T-chan's best friend) has fainted at onsen through over doing it!


Speaking of onsen - here's a quick lesson if you're new to Onsen. Onsen are not a bath in the Western-sense, in that they are not for cleaning (i.e. with soap)... but are really about absorbing the salts and removing "toxins" from your body. As such, you should always clean your body before entering into the onsen baths themselves. They will have a wet area near the onsen bath where you wash yourself... normally seated... Make sure you get all the suds off! Very embarrassing! Of course, there are some older people that have long since given up on the niceties - and will forego this and just plunge in. Still considered rude.


Like many good nights of drinking and shinanigans, the morning after can be somewhat of a let-down. It's the view from the hotel room that reveals that Hakodate maintains a strange truce between development as a tourist attraction, and a more rustic rural city. It may have one of the three best night-views in the world, but the down and dirty reality is somewhat less attractive. Don't get me wrong... the panorama may not be great (ok we skimped by getting a city-view rather than a sea-view) but the stay was very nice.