Chasing Cherry Blossoms, Old Friends & Uncle Jack

[drron]

When we planned our trip we thought we would be a little early for Kyoto,Akita and Hirosaki but spot on for Niigata.Well Niigata was well past peak but got peak viewing in Kyoto,Akita and Hirosaki.Cant predict nature.

 

[Gem56]

Magnificent views of Hakodate

Komagatake-zan in the distance

 

[Gem56]

After our second stay at the Hilton in Niseko (always good to include a mini mattress run or two in a holiday), we drove to Noboribetsu on the east coast to meet up with some old friends. On the way we passed by a beautiful crater lake and decided to come back the same way the following day when we would have more time to take photos, etc.










View attachment 69769

 

[drron]

Magnificent views of Hakodate

Komagatake-zan in the distance
View attachment 69762

Looks different at the end of summer-

 

[Gem56]

Our friends Masae and Hiroshi are both English teachers at one of the high schools in Noborobetsu. Their school sent a group of students to study English at the University campus in Coffs Harbour last year. Masae and Hiroshi accompanied them and stayed at our home. So while in Hokkaido we took the opportunity to visit their city.

We arrived at our hotel to discover that hardly a word of English was spoken but thanks to their patience over the next 40 minutes we managed to check in, arrange for the car to be pariked and our bags to be stored until our room was ready. A couple of minutes later Masae arrived and greeted us in English to much laughter from all the staff.

Masae took us on a guided tour of the city and surrounds including a lookout from where we could see the two volcanoes in this part of Hokkaido: Yotei-zan and Komagatake-zan. Apparently it is not often that you get such a clear day, so we were feeling a bit privileged.

 

[Gem56]

Following lunch in a small local restaurant where Masae's translation skills were put to good use and a visit to their school where we caught up with Hiroshi and his wife, our little group visited one of the local onsens and Hell Valley, then a Samurai show.

 

[Gem56]

 

[Gem56]

After bidding farewell to Hiroshi and his +1, Masae accompanied us to a local yakitori restaurant. Great to have a native Japanese speaker to do the ordering!
So after lots of farewells it was back to the hotel for a good night sleep.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next day we headed back to Niseko to add to the mattress run. On the way we had lunch at Lake Toya (Toyako). Quite a beautiful spot with a number of up-market hotels; worth a visit if you are in this area. The caldera has one large and a couple of smaller islands in the middle with a ferry that plies back & forth. +1 took some photos:

 

[Gem56]

Local Water Police!



There's Yotie-zan again:



Viewing Yotie-zan through the buildings

 

[Jacques Vert]

Arriving back in Niseko we felt like we were arriving home. The staff at this hotel were as good as any I’ve stayed at, especially Katia and John who made us feel very welcome. +1 visited the onsen before we headed off to dinner at a local lamb restaurant where we had to cook our own meal:shock:

 

[Gem56]

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next morning after a dip in the onsen and breakfast, we drove back to Sapporo for a little shopping (wow the Suntory is cheap here).

Later we checked into the Crowne Plaza at Chitose before dropping the car back to the hire car depot which was about 15 minutes from the airport, but only 10 minutes from our hotel. We had planned to get the rental depot’s “courto” back to the airport then the hotel shuttle to the CP.

When we realised that our hotel was only one stop away on the train we asked if the courto could drop us at the station on their way. “NO, I will drive you to the station”; so into the car and off to the station we went with lots of arigatou’s and mata ne’s. We are finding the Japanese to be very friendly and helpful.

We had a good inexpensive meal at the Royal Host across the road from the CP.

 

[Gem56]

Six days since we were first in Sapporo and a few more trees starting to bloom. Could still be awhile before they are in full bloom throughout this area. These were taken along the route from Niseko to Sapporo.












Some other interesting shots along our drive from Niseko to Chitose via Otaru and Sapporo

 

[Jacques Vert]

Off to the airport early next morning on the CP courto for JL3100 to NGO.

Very helpful staff at this airport; as soon as we approached the check-in area a staff member came out to assist us and point us to the correct desk. Security was very easy and we were soon on board a JAL Express B778.

On the descent into Nagoya, we were treated to some nice views of Fuji-zan. As I was next to the window, +1 trusted me with the camera (well, before taking over when I found myself not up to the task):

 

[Gem56]

It is apparently fairly rare to see Fuji-zan so clearly, it's normally surrounded in cloud so we felt very privileged.

 

[RB]

Just catching up on this trip report-I love reading them. Looks like you have had a fantastic time-in quite a few spots we have also found having a friend as a local very handy

 

[Gem56]

Nagoya - our next adventure with another Japanese English teacher that has stayed with us, Rie. We were thrilled to be invited to join Rie and her young teacher friends to dinner at a traditional Japanese restaurant - Ichiou. They had been at a festival of some sort for the day and this was the finish of the day for them.

This was such an experience for us which could not have been organised by any travel agent. Thankfully Rie did all the ordering and we just enjoyed the food. No English on the menu or pictures, which would have made it extremely difficult for us to order. It would have been a “point and hope for the best” without Rie.

During the meal, which took some time, with many kanpais, Rie, who was the organiser and the oldest teacher there, asked each teacher to get up and talk about their day (I think). Then it came to us and we were asked to make a comment so we talked about our wonderful experiences in Japan to date and how nice the Japanese people had been to us etc. Rie graciously translated.

What a wonderful night that was.

 

[Gem56]

A display of Japanese music and dancing through the shopping centre in Kanayama. This was mainly for Golden Week.

 

[Gem56]

The next morning we took a short train ride from Kanayama to Agui to spend the next two nights with Rie and her lovely husband Yoshi. That in itself was a wonderful experience. After we arrived at their house and took our luggage to our room it was then time to head out again for lunch. We usually have a very small snack for lunch and then a normal dinner, however lunch today was quite filling, lovely though. Then it was off to Nagoya Castle. What an amazing place that is.