Day 26 Japan
In the daylight the log cabin place actually looks pretty nice. Just don't go inside the buildings :)
I was up pretty early and couldn't get back to sleep so just jumped in the car and headed to the airport. I suppose I could have used that time to try and see one of the things I missed but didn't really want to push it given how long it took to get everywhere over the last couple of days.
The drive was actually really pleasant this morning. It was early enough that there was hardly anyone on the road so I got to go as fast as I wanted and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.
I will really miss driving around Hokkaido. I don't think it is the unspoilt wilderness that many Japanese seem to think it is but it is a beautiful place. I seem to be a mountains person. The things that really drew me here were the mountains. Driving between them, towards them, looking at the cloud formations above them and the way the sunlight hits them. Just really peaceful. A few random shots don't really do it justice but hopefully convey the message.
There was no speeding ticket waiting at the rental car place which is great and really makes the Japanese police look incompetent given how fast I was going.
The Sapporo airport is really nice! Keep in mind this is my first Japanese airport. I'm not sure why I'm surprised ... everything is Japan is really nice. The food court is great ... they have a fresh fish deli in the airport! Check in was pretty easy though I did try to check in 1 minute before check-in opened so it rejected me. Waited a minute then tried again and it worked fine. I really liked the central room in the airport. It had a nice ceiling and a pretty cool looking staircase. Lots of light and space. A very nice building.
I'm in Japan and flying Jetstar between Sapporo and Tokyo. A little taste of home. The plane was much nicer than the Australian Jetstar planes though. This was actually a new plane rather than the 30 year old Qantas cast offs they get back home. Leg room was definitely less though (I know ... I didn't think it was possible either!). I guess they can squeeze in more seats catering for the shorter and skinnier Asian market.
Travelling with carry on luggage pays off! Did not have to stuff around with the baggage carousel and nobody even looked twice at my bag. I might consider a hybrid bag that can be either wheeled or carried in the future because I would have preferred one or the other at times but for now I'm quite happy with mine. I can't really see myself doing this sort of big trip too often so it's not going to be a problem.
It's about 45 minutes by train from the airport to my first night's accommodation. I'm staying in a hostel in a place I randomly chose that wasn't one of the suburbs I've heard of because it was on the airport train line. The hostel is OK. Another capsule type place which seem to be all the rage in Japan. The capsule was OK, they had a decent common area and were close to a subway station so it was all good.
It was raining when I arrived in Tokyo and I didn't feel like doing very much so I mostly sat around in the common room for the afternoon nursing a beer, writing my blog and booking accommodation for a couple of nights' time. It was a nice lazy afternoon and I quite enjoyed it.
Very different clientele to the places I've been staying the last week or so. Almost everyone here was western. Spaniards, Americans, Canadians, Belgians, Kiwis. Big tourist city!
Because it had been raining when I arrived it masked how warm it was in Tokyo. So when I went out later for a walk I put jeans on thinking it was going to be cool. It was not. It was warm and humid. Damn. I miss Hokkaido already.
The neighbourhood the hostel is in is really nice. It's not very busy, there are plenty of restaurants scattered around the place and there are a lot of nice apartment buildings and greenery. It kind of reminds me of what I think a nice gentrified area of New York City might look like with fancy red brick buildings and small tree lined streets.
I ended up at a curry place for dinner which looked a bit like a fast food place but the food was really nice. Even though I've only been in this area I can see that Tokyo is going to have a lot more choice than other cities. I picked up a local craft beer from the convenience store next door (!!) which was pretty good and read for a little bit before bed. I'm really not much of a night owl when I'm on my own. I'm going to have to try to make an effort and check out some Tokyo nightlife before I go.
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