Rich and Strange Aeons

Catching up on daily entries seems increasingly quixotic. But a quick summary

Sapporo events

• Went to Maruyama park a few times. Enjoyed a lot of cherry blossoms, and climbed to the summit, which wasn't the greatest experience.

• Took ropeway and cable car up to Moint Moiya. That was cool

• Botanic garden

• Train to Otaru. Views from the train might have been the best part, for a good stretch it runs right between the ocean and hills.

Hakodate

• Train to Hakodate was less pleasant in both experience and views. JR seems to like running the Green cars hot. But the seats in ordinary cabin would have been very narrow.

• Ropeway to Mount Hakodate

• Visited Goryokaku star fort

• Coast east of me, park, and little zoo. Album

• Coast west of me, shopping area, and bikeshare ride. Album

Hakodate (or my part of it) continues the Sapporo feeling of "where are all the people?" With more justification: Hakodate's population is down by like a third from peak. Though I suspect there's also a thing of businesses being more concentrated than in Tokyo or Osaka, with residential places being quieter. Or the fact that all the streets are wider leads me to expect more.

Ironically, I write that as I wait in Hakodate Park, in between Airbnbs, right next to a small amusement park which is decently busy even at 11 AM on a Monday morning in mid-May. Some of these kids look older than six...

Skipping forward yet again in my travels... yesterday I flew from Osaka to Sapporo. Goal: to catch sakura (cherry blossom) season, since I missed most of Honshu's due to being in Taiwan for visa-waiting (though I did catch some blossoms in the past week of Osaka.) Impressions... eh. ( Read more... )