Goodbye Hokkaido

I had about 3 hours in the morning before I had to catch the train to New Chitose Airport so I decided to go back to the tourist district to buy some small glassware gifts. After that I decided to have another taste of Northern Haskop.

Otaru has a couple of unusual covered outdoor malls.

I think this huge pot and kettle are to attract attention; I don't think giants come shopping here.

And then it was time to go. I ate my bento lunch in the train. 72 minutes later, I was at the airport. I decided to use up the coins buying something from the last-minute shops. I picked a box of 18 chocolate nut praline bars to see what the fuss about these upmarket manufacturers is about. They were good, but probably they rely on their reputation amongst gift-givers. Sorry, I'm not bringing any back; I'll be eating them at the rate of 3 or 4 a day before returning; I don't want to have to declare to AQIS that I have food.

Also I bought what looked like rice crackers. There were rice crackers in the bag, but the feature was tiny candied crabs sprinkled throught. Delicious if a bit unusual. Reminded me of the Monty Python Crunchy Frog skit.

The domestic terminal was a flurry of activity, probably people headed home for the mid-autumn festival, but the international terminal was relatively quiet, only HK holiday-makers returning, or Hokkaido tourists setting out.

About 4-½ hours later, I was in Hong Kong for the next chapter of my trip.

Otaru

After filling myself up at the buffet breakfast, I boarded the express to Sapporo. I realised as I was leaving the hotel that I had left my cyclist's water bottle in the car the day before. Oh well, never mind, it was a conference freebie, I have another one, and to be honest, because it was aluminium it was heavier and not any better than a plastic bottle of water refilled multiple times during a trip.

The train sped through the industrial outskirts of Kushiro, then through unremarkable farmland. Almost 4 hours later, we were in Sapporo in time for lunch. I had a bit of cash to burn so I went to the food court and bought a couple of boxes, sashimi and salmon roe. Also a bitter chocolate doughnut and a cola. I took my purchases to the plaza outside the train station. The temperatures were ideal, about 24C. The plaza was also pigeon central and many hopefuls strutted close by, hoping for a freebie. Obviously the residents are tolerant of them if they are this bold.

A short train journey found me in Otaru, the closest port to Sapporo, on the west coast. It has had its glory days, when herring was abundant. Nowadays it's a tourist day trip. This canal is what remains of the docks and warehouses. I had decided to do Otaru last because I could catch the airport express directly from Otaru.

It also styles itself as a Japanese Venice because of glassblowing artisans. And I must say some of the pieces I saw were truly lovely. I just don't have the house to do justice to them.

Lots of good eateries in Otaru too.

The hostel comes with a bonus kitten, although it advertises on the website that there are cute dogs.