A short trip to Japan - Hokkaido

[RooFlyer]

There is the main onsens, male & female and also three private onsens.

I did the main one first and was a bit surprised at the variety of baths - a large rock-lined pool maybe 10m long and three individual baths, all outside, and inside a large and a small bath. Also a sauna.

Ice-cream afterwards!

Then the private onsen. As others have done, I took a couple of pics of those.

Outside



Inside



Very nice, but not as mineral-y as I thought they might be. Not a whiff of sulphur!

 

[rbjhan]

Onsen water is all different, not necessarily sulphurous!
If that is your thing though, I recommend Kusatsu
I have just been, please wait for my TR...

 

[RooFlyer]

If it's sulphurous, I know I’m getting my monies worth!

 

[rbjhan]

Okay, first of all there are many types of onsen water, on top of my head:
Alkaline, chloride, sulphur, acidic, iron, etc.

Secondly, even if the whole town is smelly af like someone had broken 10000 rotten eggs (eg. Kusatsu), you actually don't notice much when soaking - I don't know why.

 

[Daver6]

If it's sulphurous, I know I’m getting my monies worth!

Hmmm....your affinity for sulphur and regular attendance at Dark mof_ leads me to conclude that you're the devil

 

[kookaburra75]

Hmmm....your affinity for sulphur and regular attendance at Dark mof_ leads me to conclude that you're the devil

No, he's just a geologist

 

[RooFlyer]

No, he's just a geologist

Exactly, which is why this sign interested me today ( English under the main heading)

 

[Justinf]

The flight to Sapporo was delayed by 30 minutes, which was no big deal except it would shorten my time driving up to my hotel tonight.

boarding was efficient, as one would expect.

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Seat on the E190 was good. Not many in business where I was on a QF CR , sort of thank goodness, as I was soon to learn a lesson the hard way.

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The hard lesson was that JAL do not serve anything in business except for a cup of juice. I got the juice soon after lights off and then waited patiently for lunch which never came.

That's ITM below

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One of the large lakes

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Coming into CTS

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Flighty shows the route and flight timings.

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You have to go first class if you want the trimmings, but that isn’t available on all aircraft.
J class is just the seat and the seat only.
enjoying the TR. Hokkaido is one of my fav places in the world.
make sure you have a Sapporo Classic, only available in Hokkaido.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hokkaido is one of my fav places in the world.
make sure you have a Sapporo Classic, only available in Hokkaido.

Yes, in just a few days I can see why people like it here and I’m already planning to come back. Will be a much better next trip now I know how the place works etc.

And would you believe I’m having a Sapporo classic right now.

 

[rbjhan]

Yes, in just a few days I can see why people like it here and I’m already planning to come back. Will be a much better next trip now I know how the place works etc.

And would you believe I’m having a Sapporo classic right now.

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The sashimi looked fantastic!

 

[Drakecula]

Looks like you're on an amazing trip. We're off to Japan later this year for autumn leaves, but we're likely to do Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and not venture too much further beyond there. Hokkaido is likely on the list for future trips, so I'm following with interest

 

[drron]

No, he's just a geologist

Is there a difference.

 

[RooFlyer]

This morning was a glorious day, sunny and virtually no wind. After brekkie at the hotel, I drove a few km to the Asahi-dake 'ropeway' (gondola cable car) and took the 10 minute or so ride up to the geothermal area at about 1,600m.



There is a loop track which will take about an hour. Realising that was still some snow around, importantly, on the steep-ish first part of the track, I swallowed my pride and hired (donation) a walking pole. All issues forgotten when I looked out from the first observation point. That's the gondola station





this continues across to the right:



And keep going, 180 from the first vista

I love the smell of sulphur in the morning!

 

[cosi]

The sashimi looked fantastic!

Very hard to eat sashimi or sushi back in Australia after visiting Japan.

 

[rbjhan]

Very hard to eat sashimi or sushi back in Australia after visiting Japan.

There are a few good restaurants in Melbourne but they are EXPENSIVE...

Plus it's almost always salmon, tuna, king fish....boring...

 

[Daver6]

Is there a difference.

Also taking note of this

 

[RooFlyer]

Heading back down. Wonderful place.



I headed off, bound for Abashiri on the coast.



but going via the 'Patchwork Way' at Biei.



In summer, the fields around Biei are a riot of colour and beauty, but I'm too early for that. Even this time of year, there was a fair bit of traffic on the narrow road, and most of the observation parking areas were busy.







And this turned out to be the end of the Asahikawa airport runway! Asahikawa is the second largest city in Hokkaido.



Not much to describe for the rest of the three hours to Abashiri. Good roads, low speed limits, variations in people obeying the limit (mostly single lane roads, with passing zones).

Staying at the Dormy Inn; @rbjhan put me onto them. Much like an Ibis, except with onsens . That's them on the top floor. Bath with a view.



I hit the onsen straight away - just magic to relax the body after hours of driving (my car isn't large!!)

Then a walk around town. Almost deserted at 4:30, in this commercial area. The place looks ill-kept and a bit sleazy in parts (mens clubs etc). Look one way:



then the other

 

[cosi]

There are a few good restaurants in Melbourne but they are EXPENSIVE...

Plus it's almost always salmon, tuna, king fish....boring...

And some much cheaper in Japan with lots more varieties.

 

[JohnM]

Also taking note of this View attachment 388729

No sulfur there, though... (Even though Rooy was hyper-excited as we gazed upon it...)

Just the warm, fuzzy feeling of CH4 turning into CO2 - as it's done for about the last 40-50 years.

 

[RooFlyer]

For dinner, I selected what looked like a pretty good seafood place. I arrived 30 mins early, so hung around, but 10 minutes after google said it would open (6pm) there was no sign of life, so I looked around and there was another place that a few business type people were just going into.

Sawa - street view



I thought what the heck and just went in. An izakawa type place, just a couple of private rooms (fully occupied) and 7 or so places at a bar bench around the food preparation area.



No English on the food menus and the guys serving had little English as well, so Google translate was our friend. I chose the 5 sashimi plate, five items from the below.





I chose occy, scallops (they cut the roe off, the heathens), yellowtail, trout and the mink. Yep, that would be minke whale. I end up trying everything, just like I had a horse steak in Kazakhstan 9with @JohnM . Its the dark red stuff on the right.



A really nice meal and very enjoyable atmosphere. A$40 for the food and two beers.