I really slept in. 9.30am! First night I could actuelly sleep undisturbed. In Tokyo it was just too hot and I had to turn on the AC several times per night. After all morning business was resolved I hit the outside at around 11.00h. A tender wind from the sea, not too hot, not too humid, a PERFECT summer day. Land of dreams!
This is the view from my hotel window.
Directly opposite the hotel entrance is the first eligible breakfast restaurant. They have donburi and I want to try them. It was a good decision. Today is Sunday and the girl serving me looks like the granddaughter of the matron who is obviously in charge of the venue. I guess she is still in High School and the benefit for me is, that she actually speaks a bit of English.
They don't have kohi (coffee), so I obviously order a beer. Come on, it is almost noon.... I decide on Donburi Number 2 and get this beautiful tray:
From top right: Fried fish (good), Miso soup (excellent), the rice bowl hat Salmon roe, 2 kinds of Tuna Sashimi, Scallop Sashimi, 2 large raw shrimps (so GOOOD). and sea urchin. I love sea urchin. It is so buttery, sweet and savoury all at once when fresh. The wasabi was not freshly grated, otherwise this breakfast would have made the top three of things I ate. The pickles and seaweed were good and aromatic, but they are essentially always in Japan.
They are still cleaning up the morning market. Most restaurants (the one I used today, too) double as fish vendors. Or the other way round. I have really no idea about how their income streams are distributed. Since it is summer and it's hot the wares on display are either paper board (nicely printed) or silicone:
Silicone fish and shellfish gives you a feeling of security in this weather. The real stuff is kept on ice and really cold and fresh inside. Silicone food is so nice.
Now up to Mount Hakodate. While I am still researching how to get to the base station, a taxi comes along. This is surely a sign of the gods and he actually stops. The ride is much longer than I thought from the map and yes, I checked the way with maps. But in difference to other countries I never had a Japanese taxi driver take the "scenic" tour.. Wouldn't have been a good idea to walk. The surrounding of the base station is a normal suburb. Very serene, quiet feeling. Relaxing.
After buying the roundtrip ticked I sat down because the next cable car would go in 15 minutes. I had a coffee from the vending machine. It was bad, and still leagues better than the rubbish at Starbucks.
The omnipresent vending machines.
Japanese kind of garbage separation: The middle isfor the plastic bottles, cans, metal bottles and glass bottles. The left is for anything that burns beside plastic bottles. The right is for anything else.
This is a posh garbage can. Normally the have only "burns" and "anything else".
I'm a bit peeved. Today would have been the perfect day to carry the big camera with the zoom. Ya, forgot it, so mobile has to suffice. But the zoom is really not good.
The mountain station has 3 floors and a roof. When you land you are on the first floor and the also have a panorama deck there which I found the most beautiful. So now some uncommented pics from there:
The top platform was a bit more crowded, but not that bad. I had expected more on a Sunday.
I had bought that snack in the morning. Weirdly one of the things I was most looking forward to for Japan. They have these at Lawson's (one of the 3 big combini chains, 7eleven, Lawson's and Family Mart). Well seasoned, well smoked, very tender and tasty.
One snowcapped mountain in the distance.
The orthodox church in Hakodate. Russia is not far away. I tought about going to the northern end of Hokkaido and look at Russia, but the train there tales ages. I will probably skip it.
On my way down I stopped at the restaurant in the second floor. They had a Hakodate cheesecake special and I had to try it.
Japanese cheesecake is like a mousse. Buttery, fluffy, airy and soft. Went very well with the tea and the strawberry jam.
Back to the city after going downhill with the cable car again.
Those wind chimes are typical for rural Japan. You can write your wishes on the piece of paper and let the chime alert the deities to your needs,
A beautiful Buddhist temple.
Unfortunately the premises were closed.
I took a ride with the... uhm.... errr....completely garbage tram in Hakodate. No way to make this look better. Old tracks, old cabs, an unpleasant experience. But I reached the station in a few minutes and spontaneously decided to take a ride. Now Japan is a country for Railway enthusiasts. Beside the modern Shinkansen and luxurious Limited Express trains they also operate single wagon diesel local trains, some steam locomotives, panorama trains, luxury trains with 5 * service and so on and so forth.
This was the local train I was about to boards. I had mixed up the station names in my head and I wanted to go downtown. Well... that didn't work out.
I landed on the other side of the Hakodate Bay. The mountain on the right is the one i was on in the morning. I got suspicious inbetweet, but had no internet. When it came back I checked my location and I was half the way down to the south coast of Hokkaido. I left the train in the next station and watched the train going back to Hakodate leave at exactly the same second on the other platform. Great.
That was 15.30h and the next train on schedule back to Hakodate was slated for 17.00h So 1.5hrs free time! At the fucking end of the world. Where it was so silent that even the cicadas didn't make a sound and no human soul could be seen
This was of course all deliberate and meant to relax and for "Entschleunigung". I said it and I will stick to this story under torture, just you see!
The end of the world has a name: Moheji.
This is the complete inside of the station hall. About as big as my living room at home.
Meet Sybil the Mantis with the iridescent green belly..
She was a nice person to hang around with.
We talked a lot. She was really an expert in insect catching. So we exchanged hunting strategies. She was not THAT interested in how to hunt boars, but she was very polite and listened anyways.
Bye Sybil and Waidmannsheil!
On the other door there was one giant Japanese hornet. Those things are dangerous. They kill quite some people every year. They are not yellow/black like ours but orange/black, about double the size and pretty territorial and aggressive. I ignored her and eventually she left. Wildlife adventures in a godforsaken station in a godforsaken village in Hokkaido - who would have thought?
This is how rural Japan looks. The only thing that could be heard was a chainsaw in the distance.
Japanese technology: A rain pipe that is also a flower sprinkler at the same time. I am awe.
When I finally returned to Hakodate it was already after sunset and half dark. So I went straight for dinner. (Lunch was the little package of pork tongue).
Today I decided to do one of the Tohoku staples which is BBQ at your table on a cast iron dome and with lamb. This is about the only way lamb is eaten by normal Japanese people. Of course you also get i in posh restaurants.
The grill and a Suntory SUI gin on the rocks. Nice taste, not too medicinal.
Lamb tongue, 3 condiments in the foreground (lemon, pink salt and garlic) and three kinds of kimchi which were all three awesome.
Beef hanging tender.
Marinated lamb.
Fat to season the griddle.
Lamb tongue raw.
And sizzling on the plate. Came out extremely tender.
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