Twilight on top of a mountain

Date: Tuesday 4^th August 2015

Weather: Pretty good. Today was certainly the less cloudy of the previous three; plus there was a breeze.

MP3 track of the day: Importance of being idol - Oasis

I hadn't set an alarm and so I found myself waking up at 10am! Now, on any other day I would have been annoyed with myself however, as I had very few plans for today, I was indeed glad that I had slept for eleven hours as I obviously needed it. Even though I'd slept in until 10am, I didn't rush. I checked my emails and today's weather forecast before heading for a nice long shower. As I looked in the mirror I did indeed look a lot better; my eyes were not blood-shot and the bags had decreased. After having my usual morning chat with the receptionist, I found myself heading out at the respectable time of midday.

Having missed breakfast I went straight into town where I killed an hour walking towards the old Russian Consulate before heading for lunch. I, of course, went to the 'Lucky Perriot' for another burger however, this time I went to their more famous branch right on the harbour front. There were two problems with this; firstly, this was the more famous outlet and secondly, I found myself having lunch at the same time as everyone else (instead of my usual 3pm lunch time). This resulted in a huge queue which I would have normally walked away from ... if I wasn't trying to kill time. I therefore stayed in the queue and ordered the teryaki burger (delicious). Due to the place being swamped, I had little choice but to take a table located within the smoking second. This 'stand alone' room was actually not as bad as you would think. Firstly it was located at the rear of the restaurant over-looking the waterfront. Secondly, due to the volume of people, it would appear that 60% of the smoking section were not actually smoking and finally, due to the smoke, the ventilation system was better than anywhere else in the building making it the coolest room. Sadly all of these benefits didn't speed up my order which took about an hour - from when I first joined the queue - to when it arrived on my table. Still it was delicious and it was a little sad that it was probably my last.

With lunch consumed I went back into the 'warehouse craft stores' I'd visited two days ago to look for a photo book, and to kill two more hours. I was successful in neither of these aspects; after an hour and a half of shopping the time was 3:30pm and so I decided to climb the mountain an hour earlier than I had scheduled.

In all bar one aspect, the climb up the mountain was so easy that I couldn't believe more people weren't doing it. It only took thirty minutes or so, the path was well looked after and there were loads of signs so it was hard to get lost. The only downside was that due to the mountainsides vegetation closing in, it was very, very humid. Not to put a too finer point on it but, the back of my shirt was saturated with sweat that, even six hours later, the 'sweat ring' can still be seen. Sweat was dripping off my face and every-so-often I stopped to drink water wondering why I just didn't 'skip out the middle-man' and pour it on my back. Luckily when I finally arrived at the observation platform - on top of the mountain - I was greeted by a strong breeze, a cloud-covered sun and an amazing view. I stopped and looked over the railings;'this was going to be good' I thought to myself.

Slightly ashamed of my present appearance, I stayed within this area and allowed the breeze to try and dry out my t-shirt. I waited for at least twenty minutes, taking an occasional shot of the view below. The whole of Hakodate could be seen. Hakodate is a long thin city which is at a kind of peninsular. As it stretches out into the sea, it looks as though someone has pinched it in the middle as, at one point, the sea almost cuts Hakodate off from the mainland. I stared at this view until my t-shirt had gone from 'drenched' to 'moist'. I then headed to where other 'rope-way users therefore, not sweaty' people were congregated. I made my way onto the observation deck which gave a more impressive view than the other place. Finally I went inside to checkout the shop (dull), the restaurant and the café … which didn't open until 5:30pm (why Japanese people!). On my way up the mountain I'd promised my 'sweat-stained' body that I would take it to the café for a nice drink and a slice of cake; as the time was only 4:30pm this would have to wait therefore, I bought a bottle of water, from a can machine, and consumed it quickly.

The time rolled on to 5:15pm and I decided to move from my position over-looking the sea, to a position over-looking the city. Though nightfall wasn't due for another two hours, people were starting to erect tri-pods in the best spots meaning that, I decided to follow suit. At first there was plenty of room for people who just wanted to take a photo and leave however, as we moved closer to dusk space started to fill up.

For the first hour life was pretty dull. It was only at around 6:30pm when the sun started to set that things got interesting. Between 6pm and 6:30pm bus loads of Chinese tourists had swarmed the area and my elbows had never been so busy. It was a constant battle trying to keep the space I had stood at, for over an hour, 'Chinese free'. It was at this point that I learnt another benefit of being able to speak two languages. Instead of using language to connect and bring people together, I managed to successfully do the opposite by switching the language I spoke, to the one the current Chinese person - who was using to ask me to move – couldn't speak. This was great and it allowed me to remain in my position until 8pm when I decided that it was time to depart.

The constant fighting had been worth it. It would appear that, for every inch the sun fell, another set of street lights came on. I've never seen a city go from light to dark in such a commanding position before and, I made sure that I photographed throughout this period.

When darkness fully descended, is when I took most of my photos. Once I was content I decided to hog the space no more, and retreat inside to head towards the restaurant. You see; I'd checked the café menu and the restaurant lunch menu and, from what I could see, if I paid an extra £5 I could have a full meal instead of a drink and a small cake. The restaurant also had tables next to the windows however, all of these seats had been taken and there was a queue of people waiting. I decided that it wasn't worth queuing therefore, I headed back up to the café.

Once inside the café I noticed that the place looked as though it was closing. I inquired and soon discovered that the café would be closed in forty minutes. I also noticed that they were serving the same food as downstairs and that, if I was out in forty minutes, I could have whatever I liked and I could practically sit at whichever window seat I wanted. I ordered the lamb, and a drink, and two small cakes for dessert. Due to being famished I had to try and slow myself down; I had plenty of time and I wanted to make the most of the view out of my window. Outside Hakodate was all lit up and looked incredible; I couldn't believe how lucky I'd been.

By the time I had eaten my meal, the staff had put a 'closed' sign outside of the café door. The queue for the rope-way was huge; it went up two floors and did a loop on the forecourt behind the observation building. With little else to do I bought a 'one-way' ticket (using a discount coupon) and joined the queue realising that it would probably had been quicker to walk down the mountain … if the path was lit.

Given it's size the queue moved incredibly quickly, probably due to the two gondolas working overtime. In twenty minutes I found myself in a gondola and in another five, I was back on the streets of Hakodate walking towards my hotel.

I got back around 9:30pm and told the receptionist all about my day. I then inquired as to what time I had to vacate my room which, as it happens, gives me plenty of time to grab breakfast before checking-out and going to the train station to get my train to Tomakomai.

So this ends my first stop on my Hokkaido tour; Hakodate. It has been a great four days however, any longer than four days and I think that I would have been seriously bored. Hakodate has almost killed me with it's fireworks, parades, mountains and national parks. This has certainly been the busiest start to one of my trips however, it has also been one of the best. Tomorrow I move onto Tomakomai; a place famed for nothing. This is just a small town with excellent rail, road and ferry connections. It will be my base for the next four nights as I travel around the southern-central part of Hokkaido … well it will be if I get up on time!

Toodle Pip!

1950's transport

Date: Monday 3^rd August 2015

Weather: Extremely cloudy in Hakodate however, due to the fact that Onuma Quasi National park was in a basin, the mountains stopped most of the clouds from getting in allowing for a patchwork sky of blue and white.

MP3 track of the day: Anyone who has a heart – Cilla Black

Looking in the mirror at 6am in the morning, I couldn't believe what two full days of travelling had done to me. Staring back was a partially burnt white guy with blood-shot eyes surrounded by dark bags. In short, if I kept going like this I wasn't sure if I would survive the trip. Before leaving the hotel, I spent a few minutes reading my emails and the news. It was sad to hear that Cilla Black had died. Though her music was before my time, having parents who grew up in that era made certain that during my younger life, I would hear a few of her hits. Not only that but 'Blind Date' and 'Surprise Surprise' were two of my parents favourite programmes. No matter how bad I looked I was healthy, reasonably happy and on holiday … I therefore felt that I was very lucky indeed.

The reason for the ridiculously early start was due to the fact that at, 8:13am, my train to Onuma Quasi-National Park – today's destination – left Hakodate station. With the station being only a five minute walk away, this in itself didn't explain the need for being up at 6am. Due to the fact that I had to be up early anyway, I decided to get up an hour earlier than I needed to and spend that hour within Hakodate's fish market. My guidebook had given a positive review of the place ... if you go early. It stated that you would be able to see the latest catch being sold. I was therefore ready to leave my hotel by 6:40am.

The fish market consisted of two ramshackle streets which formed a 'T-junction'. Dotted all around this junction were many kinds of shops which all had a connection to fish. There were large quantity sales areas, smaller shops, stalls and restaurants. Looking at today's catch it would appear that crab was certainly on the menu (as a family approached one sales lady, she rammed her knife into one crab to give them 'tasters' … umm, I think that I would prefer the cheesecake 'taster' that I ate yesterday). Most of the restaurants had a woman outside who didn't stop language, or cultural barriers, from her trying to entice anyone and everyone into her restaurant. These northern 'fishermen's women' were hard; I could imagine a couple of them pulling at the rigging in storm conditions while giving birth. Though the fish was certainly fresh (one dish for sale was shown on TV. The baby octopus was so fresh that it was actually still alive and kept climbing out of the customers bowl) it was just too early for me therefore, I headed to a convenience store where I ate some rice, melon bread and some biscuits.

Once breakfast had been consumed I made my way to the train station. I purchased a rail ticket (for £2.70) and went to the platform indicated by the lady I had spoken to yesterday. On the way to 'platform 6' I past 'platform 1' where I saw an old disused train engine that had probably last seen action in the 1950's. After giving it a glance I thought nothing more of it as I made my way onto 'platform 6'. Once there I showed a ticket inspector the ticket I'd purchased. He confirmed that the ticket would indeed get me to Onuma Quasi-National Park however, not on the train which was waiting at the platform. He went on to say that the train I could see was a 'rapid express' and it would cost an extra £3.20 (more than my original ticket) to board it. The ticket I had was for the local train.

I thanked the fella and raced back to the ticket barriers seeking information in regards to which platform the local train departed from and, more importantly, what time it departed. Luckily for me, the local train departed two minutes after the 'super-express'. What's more, I was told by a lady that I could find the local train 'ready and waiting' on 'platform one'. Thinking that there must either have been some problem with my Japanese or her English, I told her that a derelict and abandoned train lay uncared for across the tracks closest to 'platform one'. She had a quick look and told me that, 'that WAS the local train'.

As I entered the 'one carriage' train I felt as though I had gone back in time. Thick sheets of beige iron greeted me with windows which could only be opened half way and seats bolted to an iron floor. The weight must have been immense and I wondered if this thing could move at all. I checked the timetable to see that the 'super-express' got to the national park in twenty-five minutes whereas, this beauty would need an hour. 'How slow would be be travelling?' I thought to myself. Suddenly memories of Romania came flooding back and I wondered if this train too was battery powdered.

You could see the speed as we pulled out of the station. At one point I managed to count how many bricks had been used to build a house which lay close to the train tracks (I had time to re-count the bricks so that I hadn't made a mistake). I tried to see the bright side; in the UK people spend a lot of money to travel on old trains and here, I got a discount. Just then an announcement came over the speaker. I had no idea what it said however, I felt as though it was asking for 'able bodied volunteers' to help push-start the train after we had alighted passengers, at the next station, due to a slight climb.

The rest of the journey, though slow, passed without incident and I found myself in the charming little train station of Onuma Quasi-National Park. Once I'd helped push the train off, I headed out of the train station and towards a big map which showed the park in detail. Onuma Quasi-National Park was created by a volcanic eruption and consisted of three lakes with many islands. With one of the lakes quite far away - and another with only a Japanese highway running by it - this left only the biggest lake (Onuma lake) possible of being circled (though realistically only by car or bicycle). All was not lost though; within Onuma Lake were hundreds of tiny islands, most of which had been joined together by small bridges and a labyrinth of footpaths which roamed throughout these islands. The islands were cut in two by a road; I therefore decided to concentrate on the small set of islands to the left of the road, before moving onto the larger, more tourist-focused part.

It would appear that these islands to the left of the road were not visited as often as the ones to the right. Most of the paths around the islands were over-grown which made forming any sort of route across them difficult. My favourite bit was meeting a sign which had lines and lines of text in Japanese, and only the word 'danger' written in English. Having no idea what the danger was, I proceeded onwards over a bridge and, in all honestly, hoped that I would eventually make it back to the road. This part of the park had been less than enjoyable due to the fact that islands were covered in vegetation making the atmosphere very humid indeed. There were the odd breaks within the vegetation but few good scenes could be viewed and little relief came from the wind.

I eventually made it out of the islands. I quickly crossed-over the road and immediately found a well kept path which was the start of a trail which made its way across most of the islands using inter-connecting bridges. The islands to the right of the road were looking more promising however, the time was now 10am and the bus tours had started to arrive.

I am not the worlds biggest fan of the Chinese. When in China, I found all-bar the university age person rude, selfish and disgusting. This opinion has changed little as I witnessed them pushing there way through this beautiful area talking loudly however, I do believe that travel builds bridges and that through travel, people are able to form their own unbiased views of other races and begin to mend old wounds. I would therefore tolerate the Chinese, as long as by the time they returned home, they would dismiss any false impressions gained through a communist regime hell-bent on increasing it's own power within the Pacific region.

I made my way around these island taking photos of the beautiful scene which was before me. At points the lake opened up to show small islands of vegetation in the foreground, with a huge mountain in the back. The top of this mountain was still hard to see due to the cloudy skies. Halfway around the 'island circuit' I realised that I'd lost my umbrella. Now, I wasn't really that fussed about loosing it; I was more concerned with the fact that I had dropped something within a national park. Once I had completed the 'island walk' I did it again finally finding my umbrella propped up against a tree near some fungi I had photographed earlier. Instead of hanging it from my satchel, I put it within my tri-pod bag. It had taken me about thirty minutes the first time I'd completed the 'island circuit'. Due to not taking any photos, the second time only took around fifteen minutes.

With the island walk over I had completed all that was on offer for walkers. I was a little annoyed; my impression of a national park was a beautiful landscape where you could forge your own paths and get lost in nature. Though this fresh water volcano-made lake was indeed beautiful, I would say that the park failed on the other two points. With plenty of time I decided to walk around part of the lake (it was too big to walk around the whole thing; it took a hour and ten minutes by bike) to see if I could find any new sight-seeing spots. I walked along the bicycle route seeing lots of rented bikes whizzing past me.

At first, the path was miles away from the lakes coastline resulting in less-than pleasant views. I persevered and walked for about fifteen minutes along a designated bicycle lane before I found a break in the trees with an 'okay view' of the lake. After this I noticed that the footpath left the lakeside again and went inland. I therefore opted to return to the train station where I had seen a very detailed plan of the park.

As I walked back to the train station, I checked my watch and noticed that I would arrive back just in time for the midday train. With trains only every two hours this was tempting however, I did feel that I was giving up on Onuma Quasi-National Park without a fight. As more and more rental bikes flew past me, I did think about hiring a bike however, as soon as the thought entered my head a reminder in regards to my hatred towards bikes popped up.

Once back at the train station I had only four minutes before the train, taking me back to Hakodate, arrived. I looked at the cycle lane - which I had walked partway down – on the map judging that the time it spend running next to the lake didn't really seem worth the time or energy required however, in Hakodate, I remembered that I had very little to do (plus I still have another day here). I went across to the bike hire place and discovered that it would cost £5 to hire a bike. I also went into the local tourist office to get as much information to aid my choice in the three minutes I had before the train to Hakodate departed. Finally, I made my choice.

I watched the train slowly make it's way into the station … and then I saw it slowly make it's way out again. I had decided to hire a bike partly due to the fact that the tourist information office had given me a 20% off discount coupon (which also gave me 50 Yen off an ice cream from the same store) and the fact that I had nothing left to do in Hakodate (plus this would probably be my only visit). I went across to the bike hire place and paid £4 to hire a bike. Once the seat had been adjusted I headed off in the direction of the cycle lane I had walked down less than an hour before.

Comfortable, stylish and safe and all words which I would not use to describe the bike I had been 'conned' into renting. I have no idea what the thing was made out of but it was heavy. Every time I went from 'stationary' to 'barely moving' a series of wobbles occurred until I had gained enough speed to render the weight unimportant. Most of you will know that I like to walk, or I like to travel via car, bus, train or plane. What I don't like is to travel on skateboards, roller-skates or bicycles … basically anything where you have the potential of falling off. After every stop, my facial expression resembled a old man chewing a wasp as I tried to go on my way without falling off the damn thing. Not only that; the path which hadn't been a problem to walk down suddenly had a whole series of potential life threading obstacles from uneven slabs to wet mud. To say I wasn't partially happy was potentially an understatement. I'm sure my feelings are best expressed in the name I had quickly chosen to give my bike; PROBABLE DEATH.

I cycled on, with my facial expression never faltering as I stopped on a few occasions to take photos when the lake came into view. The ride took almost an hour and a half to complete and, though I never fell, I was glad to hand the bike back in. I was also still really hot, due to the fact that the bike didn't have any gears which made any slight rise a monumental task. Once I had rid myself of PROBABLE DEATH, I took up my coupons offer of a cheap ice cream. I opted for the melon ice cream which happened to be the best decision of the day. Afterwards I headed back to the station. A car stopped and allowed me to cross the only road between I and the train station. Though I must have looked like the typical British tourist with an ice cream in hand, white skinny legs, a slightly burnt face and a walking swagger which resembled John Wayne in one of his Western films (due to the cycling) I was in my element. As I took my last look at Onuma Quasi-National Park I decided that, though being pulled out of my comfort zone, I had thoroughly enjoyed my trip here though, I felt that calling this lake a national park gave the wrong impression. I would say that it is a beautiful lakeside area with a few nature walks.

I had made it to the train station with less than ten minutes to spare. Though the train was slightly bigger it was still old and, looking at the amount of people wishing to board, I did wonder if we would all fit. As it turned out I need not have worried. Not only did we all fit but we all got a seat. The train then rolled slowly out of the station and picked up momentum as we dropped out of the mountains and towards Hakodate. These same mountains had provided protection for the lake and it was only now that I could see that the rest of Hokkaido was still covered in heavy cloud.

As we approached Hakodate more and more people boarded, some of which were dressed in traditional Japanese clothes sparking fears of another parade or festival. Once back in Hakodate I was starving. I visiting the lucky Perriot – for a cheeseburger; they were out of the lamb burger – before returning to my hotel to rest. The time was 4pm and, due to the cloud, I was still uncertain whether to head up the mountain or not tonight.

At 6pm I forced myself out of my hotel. I staggered in the direction of the cable car. Looking up, the platform on top of Hakodate mountain was still visible however, the clouds did look as though they were closing in. I continued, dragging my dead body up Hakodate's steep roads to the cable car, where I met hundreds of newly arrived bus tour groups. I believed that they were here to see Hakodate at night. From my position at the foot of the mountain I turned around and surveyed my surroundings. Though the foreground was clear, the mountains in the distance were covered in cloud. Really the writing was on the wall though, it still took me a couple of minutes to signal a withdrawal back to my hotel.

On the way back to my hotel I discovered why people were in Kimonos. There were indeed small festivals going on throughout the city however, nothing really to get excited about. I did stop and watch a youth orchestra perform two pieces before heading for home. On my trip back to my hotel I thought about what I was going to do tomorrow. On my schedule, I had written 'free day to use at either the national park or in the city of Hakodate' however, a part from the mountain, both areas were finished. The only thing I had decided upon - by the time I reached my hotel - was that, at 4pm tomorrow, I would head back to Mount Hakodate and, instead of taking the cable car up, I would save a couple of quid and hike up. I checked with the lady on reception and she said 'go for it' as the mountain is less than 400m tall. This still left me the issue of the rest of the day but for now, I didn't care. I wrote my blog with all intention of finishing it as quickly as possible. Now that it is done I will head out and grab some snacks for dinner (that burger I ate earlier is still filling me up). I shall then return and head to my room to put my feet up and maybe, watch one of the films I copied to a memory stick before leaving home.

So until 4pm tomorrow I have no idea what I want to do. I want to keep it light because I plan to climb a mountain. If you have any ideas, write in the comments below however, I do plan to get up late.

Toodle Pip!

'Busy', is the new 'relaxing'

Date: Sunday 2^nd August 2015

Weather: The day started with intermittent rain showers however, buy 1pm (or to put it another way; just after I'd bought an umbrella), the rain subsided to allow the sun to shine periodically through the dense sheet of cloud, which was in the sky all day, creating quite a bit of humidity.

MP3 track of the day: Busy doing nothing -Ace Wilder

I woke up a little earlier than I had anticipated and decided that, instead of trying to get back to sleep again, I'd just start my day earlier than planned. As I left my room to take a shower and brush my teeth (communal bathroom … it's Japanese!) I peered out of one of the hotel's many windows and gazed upon Hakodate's main street. Alarmingly cars had their windscreen wipers moving back and forth and pedestrians had their umbrella's up. Flashbacks to the start of my summer holiday last year (where it rained continually for the first week due to a typhoon coming … therefore you have to listen to the 'Donovan') came rolling back. I therefore took my time and, before leaving for the day, I checked the BBC's weather forecast which stated heavy rain. With a sigh I left my hotel in the direction of McDonald’s; I had mentally prepared myself for being bombarded with rain drops however, for the moment at least, the clouds were only threatening.

I made it to McDonald's dry and proceeded to eat breakfast. Once consumed I read my guidebook in regards to this city and formed a 'plan of action'. Looking out of the window the rain was still light, if it was raining at all. Thankful that yesterday I had spent a couple of hours or so looking around Hakodate's main attractions, I decided to walk half an hour to the only main attraction I had missed; Goryokaku fort. Once this had been visited, I would return to town and, if it was still gloomy, I would look around some shops housed within a few old European style red-brick storehouses before moving onto a museum about 'the people of the north'. I had intended to climb Mount Hakodate today however, as I couldn't actually see the summit due to the rain clouds, there seemed very little point.

The walk towards Goryokaku fort was partaken at a time when the weather couldn't make up it's mind. It would 'spit with rain' from time-to-time however, after about ten minutes or so it would get bored and stop …. only to start up again ten minutes later.

Before arriving at the fort itself, I had to walk past a ninety meter high viewing tower which, though my guidebook said that it was the best way of seeing the fort, I declined to pay the hefty entrance fee due to the weather. I went into the shop though as, by now, the rain was falling quite heavily therefore I bought the cheapest umbrella possible. This turned out to be a mistake; though it cost less than two pounds, it was only big enough to protect my head and shoulders. My arms continued to get wet and because of the small size, it was quite difficult to hold. This is one of the things I love about going away for my holidays; though at this point it looked as though a giant was trying to sort protection, from the rain, from a child's umbrella, it mattered not if anyone saw me. When travelling you can look like a 'chump' and it really doesn't matter.

Of course, after one final downpour the rains receded and rendered my umbrella useless. Due to the 'child-like' size I was able to hang the umbrella off my satchel allowing both hands to be free to take photos of the star-shaped fort in front of me. This late nineteenth Century fort was built because of fears of Russian aggression towards Japan's northern territory. In fact, the only action this fort saw was when it was captured by Tokugawa's naval forces in a last-ditch effort to uphold the Shogun's power against the Emperor. With no real support, this rebellion was short-lived and was crushed less than a year after it had started.

As I mentioned before. The fortress was a 'star-shaped design' with five points ('Go' in Goryokaku means five) projecting over a moat which encircled the whole fort. There were therefore three possible paths I could take around this fort; one was around the outside of the fort. The second was along it's walls and the shortest was in the compound itself. I of course did all three starting with the longest and, as it turned out, the most disappointing. The walk along the walls was pretty boring too, apart from the last third which gave great views of the city of Hakodate and, after you had turned around, a commanding view of the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard was covered in trees; there were many signs placed next to marked areas on the ground. These signs told you what type of building stood within the marked displays. Finally the 'centre of administration' building had been rebuild in accordance to the original design. It cost money to enter so I declined, favouring taking photos of the building from the outside.

After removing the sand from my shoes I decided that it was time to leave this area and, as the sun had come out, I decided to walk back into the main part of town. As you will have noticed, I didn't really say much about the walk from McDonald's to the fort because, there really isn't much to say. Just like in Los Angeles, it would appear that, in-between the towns main tourist attractions lies urban wasteland which holds little interest.

I found myself within McDonald's again, four hours after I had left it. This time I ordered an ice cream and milkshake which I consumed quickly. After brining my body temperature back to its usual level, I decided to keep with the plan for today even though the weather had improved. As I looked out of the window I noticed that I could now see the top of Mount Hakodate, putting that attraction back on the table.

Once back within the centre of town I headed towards the red-bricked store houses which first saw life as warehouses for traders. They now have been renovated into small shopping arcades with the most adorable shops inside. Now, I am not one for shopping however, there wasn't a clothe shop insight. All of these shops had a connection with craft. One shop sold traditional Japanese things, all of which were made in Japan (I really want a Samurai sword). Another half of these warehouses were made up of hundreds of music boxes with an area where you could buy individual parts to make your own. Within one of these shopping arcades I spotted a bakery called Snaffles. Victor – my friend from Miyako – used to live here in Hakodate and he had recommend that I enjoy at least one of their cakes. My fate was sealed when a woman from the bakery handed me a free 'taster' of their cheesecake. The cheesecake on sale, was the size of two jaffa cakes on top of each other therefore, I ordered two (what; never ate four jaffa cakes in quick succession before) with a coke. The cheesecake was delightful though difficult to explain; it didn't really have a particular strong taste and yet, it tasted just right.

Once consumed I made my way back around Hakodate's harbour to the only museum my guidebook recommended. The 'Hakodate Museum of Northern Peoples' was it's name and, at £1.50 entrance fee, it was a steal just to be able to be indoors for a little while. Though the 'seal skinned canoe' and clothes from extinct tribes - which occupied an area consisting of Horkkaido, north-eastern China, eastern-Russia and a chain of islands almost reaching to Alaska - was interesting, the museum held little else of interest. I wasn't mad though. When I had chosen the museum this morning, it was more due to the weather conditions than my desire to look around a museum. It took me half an hour to see all of the exhibits and read the few English signs there were. I learnt quite a lot in that half an hour too, as the rooms were split into the different aspects which make up the 'northern tribes' daily lives. Like I said, I enjoyed the clothes and reading about what the patterns meant but, the 'room about gods' was quite funny. To me it would appear that all of the exhibits in this room could have been placed in other rooms within the museum ... if it wasn't for the fact that all of the descriptions had the word 'ceremonial' before what the item was. It felt as though the curator had way too many pots and pans for the 'home life room' and decided to randomly select some to have the word 'ceremonial' put in front of them, which then allowed them to have a higher status within the museum.

After thirty minutes I left the museum satisfied, but starving. The time was 3pm and I was going to head for lunch ... if I hadn't seen a bridge which led to a small island located in the middle of Hakodate's harbour first. This island consisted of a park and was 'out of bounds' yesterday as the fireworks – I guess – were lit from this island. I walked around it – getting in a few fishermen's way – quickly before finally heading for lunch. The time was now 3:30pm and the rain was falling once more.

Yesterday I had visited Hakodate's famous hamburger chain. Today I would visit another famous fast-food restaurant. This one served 'yakitori bento's' … one of the only places in Japan to do so. 'Yakirtori' is barbecued meat and vegetables on a stick. 'Bento' means boxed lunch therefore, a 'yakitori bento' consisted of a bed of rice with sheets of seaweed separating the rice from the sticks of meat which had been drizzled in a sauce (I went for a spicy sauce). The bento was lovely though, due to the nature of 'yakitori', I found myself eating all of the sticks of meat leaving me with a box full of rice.

Once I had consumed my 4pm lunch I realised that I had been on 'the go' for seven hours. Realising that a break was needed, I headed back to my hotel where I met the lovely receptionist. I once again told her that my intention was to head up the mountain tonight to which she frowned. Apparently tonight there will be a parade (Fireworks last night and a parade tonight … this really is too much) and, guess what, I wouldn't be able to see it from the mountain top. Once again I postponed my trip to Hakodate-yama in favour of this parade. As today is Sunday, this is the last day of Hakodate's festival. I have therefore been assured that there will not be any special events tomorrow night and I will therefore be free to wander up the mountain whenever I feel like it. I thanked the lady for her help before going to my room. I had an hour and a half before the parade started.

Like most Japanese parades, I heard it before I even saw a glimpse of it. Following the noise (and the huge amount of people) I found a street barricaded off to traffic by the police. I found a spot (which, unbeknown to me, was right at the end of the parade) and waited to see what was in store.

The parade turned out to be like any other 'local city' summer parade in Japan. For those of you who don't know, a typical Japanese summer parade consists of many different groups. Each 'group' consists of a float (usually pouring out music) and a large group of dancers whose chosen dance routine keeps them moving forwards at a leisurely pace. Due to being almost at the end of the parade, some acts finished dancing before they passed me. I did think of moving however, these 'early finishers' were few and far between.

Most groups were aligned to a local company. Members of the post office were out in full swing, and so too were the railway station staff. At one point a large proportion of the crowd – all young women – came hurling towards me, camera in hand, and smiling. I have been proclaiming that I attract women for many years but now, I thought that I had proof. My smile lowered as I noticed that the next float coming was the local fire brigade. This dance routine was made all the more 'manly' with half of the fire fights being shirtless. As soon as the group of fire fighters went past me the women followed suit.

The parade kept going and I occasionally took the odd photo. A float from Aomori's Nebuta festival (see my Aomori blog for more detail) seemed to have been loaned and that did draw in the crowds.

A large portion of the groups were all doing the same dance to the same music. I thought that this was just laziness however, after reading my guidebook, I discovered that a large portion of the festival was dedicate to squids (a very important food source here).

After two hours the flashing lights of a police car could be seen, which is the tell-tale sign of a festivals end. Due to being stood towards the end of the parade, crowds were light as I walked back to my hotel. It was only 9pm and so after surfing the web for a short while I had an early night.

Tomorrow I am off to my first national park within Horkkaido. Though my guidebook states that train are 'frequent', I'd disagree. I went to the train station to find out the times and discovered that only one train ran every two hours. I shall therefore try to get up at 6am and head to the local fish market (an attraction if you are up early). I shall stay for an hour or so before grabbing breakfast to eat on the train to the national park.

The last train back is at 5:30pm so it looks as though I'll be back in time for tea and possibly, a hike up Hakodate's mountain …. but that has been said before.

Toodle Pip!

P.S. Even though it has been a cloudy day, I appear to have got a little sunburnt.

Trains, Hakodate and fireworks

Date: Saturday 1^st August 2015

Weather: Really hot in Sendai but, thankfully, getting cooler as I headed north. (I was actually cold in Hakodate!)

MP3 track of the day: Thomas the Tank Engine

Throughout the night I tossed and turned waking up periodically due to the heat, but also due to worry and excitement. The excitement is, of course, easy to explain; today I was starting my 'sixteen day tour' of Hokkaido. Due to moving cities in March, and going home over the 2014 Christmas break, it has been a year since I can honestly say that I have been travelling. This time last year I was off to Central Honshu and memories of that initial car journey came flooding back. Due to moving jobs in March, I had to surrender my car as my new schools are within walking distance and, it is this lack of private transport which was the cause of my worry. What if I over-slept? What is I missed a train? Really there was no need to worry; I was such a bag of mixed emotions that I finally decided to give up on trying to sleep way before my alarm went off. Due to being completely prepared for 'the off', my morning jobs were limited to eating what was left in my cupboard (a small cake) and drinking what was left in my fridge before unplugging it and every other electrical appliance.

Due to waking up early I found myself walking to my local train station earlier than expected. This was the first time I had put my back-pack on since my trip to Okinawa in the winter of 2013. It was heavy, but not too heavy. The rucksack – which I had put on my front through my 'year of travel' and beyond - has sadly ripped meaning that a new bag has taken it's place. It did the job well, but it wasn't the same.

Now, I could explain what happened next however, it would take pages and pages to explain and would be rather boring. All you need to know is that my ticket to Hokkaido started at 'Tagajo Station' however, my local train station was 'Geba'; a stop before Tagajo. This meant that my first train journey of the day was only one stop. I got off the train at Tagajo, went through the ticket gates – using my 'local commuter card' – did a U-turn and used my 'train ticket to Hokkaido' to get back through the ticket gates. Trains ran every 6 or 7 minutes so I didn't have to wait long before I was on my way again.

I arrived in Sendai with enough time to grab breakfast. Though not particularly healthy, the three doughnuts I'd purchased did do the job. Once eaten I still had plenty of time until my train was due to depart Sendai however, with nothing left for me to do, I decided to head to the platform and wait there. I managed to read the first chapter of my new book (Girl with the Dragon Tatoo) before my Shinkansen train arrived. All was going swimmingly; my train had arrived on time and life was good. For this journey I had a window seat therefore, before being able to sit down, I had to squeeze myself past a girl who seemed incapable of sitting still without either applying make-up or playing on her phone.

The train left the station and I relaxed. I kept the blind open and watched Japan go by. Though the Shinkansen is designed for speed (hence lots of tunnels to make the tracks as straight as possible) I did manage to see Japan's rice crop in full bloom. It was beautiful; the green was so bright and luckily there was a light breeze which made continual waves in the fields. It was certainly more beautiful than the stuff the girl next to me was plastering on her face.

As the train approached Aomori I got ready. You see, the under-water tunnel connecting the main island of Honshu to the island of Hokkaido was not wide enough for Shinkansen trains. This meant that I would have to change trains and, from previous experience, it also meant changing train stations. With twenty-two minutes until my train to Hakodate left I shot out of the Shinkansen, through the ticket-barrier and asked the first member of staff I could find, where I needed to go. As it turned out, the train I needed for Hakodate departed from the station I found myself at. I therefore slowed down, found the correct platform and waited for my train.

Due to booking early, I found myself at the front of the train in a tiny carriage with only 15 other seats however, that didn't stop me from travelling with a few idiots. The first were a pair of women talking loud enough so that everyone could, if they wanted to, join in. The second was an old man who, sadly, was sat next to me. Due to this part of my journey mainly being in an under-water tunnel, I knew that 'views out of the window' would be limited. I therefore got out my PC and worked on this blog. Even though I kept the noise of my typing to an impressively low level he was still annoyed though, it was perfectly okay for me to listen to him clearing his throat every ten minutes. Once I had written as much as I could I sat back and read my book … much to my companions relief.

It didn't take as long as I thought it would to travel through the 'under-water tunnel'. Soon day light filled the carriage and once my eyes had adjusted, I peered out of the window. The main reason I had travelled to Hokkaido was for the terrain and, although the majority of my journey went through dense forest pressed right up to the track, here and there the trees gave way to reveal tantalising glimpses of forested mountains with beautiful rivers flowing at their feet. This continued until the train made it to Hokkaido's south-western shoreline. We hugged the coastline all the way into Hakodate.

I was pleased to find that, though Hakodate was hot, it was not as hot – and no way near as humid – as further south. Luckily for me 'Soul Garden' – my traditional Japanese hotel with a Korean restaurant … go figure – was located within a five minute walk of the train station. Once a lovely lady had checked me in I went up to my room which consists of a normal bed placed on top of a tatami floor. The tatami had a very strong smell which, as long as you stayed in the room and didn't keep going out, began to fade into the distance after 10 minutes or so. I was starving and so after sorting my stuff out I left my hotel in search of my first attraction.

'Lucky Pierrot' is a hamburger restaurant which is only located within Hakodate. There are only three restaurants scattered within the city centre and luckily one was near my hotel. Two of my friends had told me to visit this eatery because, in their opinion, it was one of the best hamburger restaurants in Japan (which isn't saying a lot). Unfortunately, it would also appear that the same message had been passed onto the whole of Japan's population, given the size of the queue. I ordered the standard 'set menu' and took a seat within the small 'sit down area' gazing at all of the 1950's copied art randomly stuck to the walls and celling. I had ordered a hamburger, some chips and an olong iced-tea (came with the set menu). I was really hungry and, looking at the photo, I knew that the burger wouldn't fill me up but it mattered not; the time was 3:00pm and I just needed something to keep me going for four hours or so.

You know normally when you see a photo of a food product – either on a restaurant menu or on a packet – the item usually looks a lot larger than it is in real life. This was the opposite. My huge burger arrived with fresh vegetables within a decent sized bun. My chips were served in a mug, with melted cheese and meat sauce poured all over them. At first I ate my meal quickly due to how hungry I felt however, it wasn't long before the pace was slowing.

Eventually I finished my meal. Sitting back I would have to agree that this hamburger was the best I'd eaten in Japan. I would go on to say that it is actually the second best hamburger I've eaten in the world (doesn't beat the 'Furgburger' from New Zealand, Queenstown). It was delicious and so filling. As I waddled out of the store I decided that I would head back tomorrow to try the lamb burger.

The time was 3:30pm and it was starting to get really cool. Though my body still felt as though it was on a train (and therefore I wasn't feeling 100%) I was in a 'sightseeing' mood so I therefore headed into town and, due to being sick of trains, I forgo the tram and opted to walk.

Like Kanazawa, Hakodate seems to have a bit of life around it's train station; and then there is a desolate wasteland until you get to another area of life (in Hakodate's case; the harbour). My first impression of Hakodate had been fantastic but now, it was starting to waver. I pushed onwards hoping to find some salvation.

As I approached the harbour the buildings started to become very European indeed. Hakodate was the first port open to foreign traders after Commodore Perry had blasted his way into Tokyo. As a result there are a mixture of different buildings from many different cultures and countries. American, British and Russian buildings were easily identified. Amongst the Catholic and Shinto places of worship there was a Greek Orthodox church which looked very fine indeed. These buildings were located in a commanding position over-looking the harbour-front perched on the slops of mount Hakodate. This area has been dubbed the 'San Francisco' of Japan, due to the steep cobbled roads leading from the harbour up this mountainside to these European buildings. I decided to proceed, as far as possible, along a road which circled part of the mountain until it hit the water. I then headed down the mountain and back-tracked along the harbour front. Again it would appear that, if you slip just a little bit out of the main tourist areas, the town of Hakodate got very shabby indeed.

I made my way along the waters edge back towards my hotel. As I got further and further into the main tourist area the number of people – a large majority were Chinese – started to increase. Most people had paced ground sheets on the footpath along the main road. Having lived in Japan for well over 3 years, this could only mean one thing; festival time. I asked a policeman when the festival started and it turned out that it wasn't for another couple of hours. This gave me enough time to walk back to my hotel, via the harbour front, take in some more old 19^th Century stone buildings and have a drink. I also followed the crowds to where it looked as though some events were taking place however, once I discovered that these 'events' were a long row of over-priced festival food I left and went back to my hotel.

Once back at my hotel I was met by the lovely receptionist who I'd met earlier today. She explained to me that a fireworks festival was happening tonight and that you could get a great view from just behind the hotel. Now, Hakodate has a mountain which over-looks the city; it has a cable-car too and it is open until 10pm. I told her my plan of heading up the mountain to get a commanding view of the fireworks however, she advised against it. She said that, from where the fireworks were being lit, it was just too far away. I thanked her for her advice and decided that I would hit the mountain tomorrow. I went up to my room to relax for an hour or so.

At 7pm it was time to leave my hotel and hit the streets once more. Due to all of today's travelling, I was starting to get tired. Tired or not, after stopping for a quick 'pick-me-up' drink, I headed down to the harbour-front to await the night and the firework festival. I arrived at least 45 minutes before the festival was due to start and yet, most of the decent places had been taken by people who looked as though they had brought enough equipment for a team of 10 to attempt a climb to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately for them, the weather turned nasty just before the festival was due to start; the wind picked up and a slight bit of rain started to fall. This created a moment of 'rapid redeployment' where hundreds of people – including I – sort any cover we could find which, in my case, was to stand under a fly-over which was only a few 100 yards away from my original position. Most people did the same as I with only the hard core 'battling against the elements'.

The rain stopped, which allowed everyone to take their original positions ... before it started up again with more ferocity. The strange thing is that, when the firework festival finally started, it would appear that the weather was also keen to watch it due to the fact that the wind died away and so too did the rain. I can't tell you exactly when the festival started as, unbeknown to me, the site where I thought the fireworks were going to go off from was incorrect. The actual site was 500 yards to my left which, inconveniently, was right behind a ferry. This was fine for the rockets as they exploded high in the sky however, anything closer to the ground was obscured from view. After the first salvo had finished I redeployed myself to get an unhindered view.

The fireworks were fantastic. Usually firework displays end with a huge barrage of light leaving the crowds staggered. The problem was that, this display had so many huge barrages that there were many occasions when I thought that the festival was over … only for it to start again. At some points, images were created using the fireworks. The crowds 'arrrred' in wonder as cats, hearts and flowers filled the nights sky. I was amazed too, and I often found myself clapping with the other people (still not sure why we were clapping at a firework). When the end finally came it was an incredible barrage of light. Fireworks do highlight just how much faster light travels compared to sound; upon seeing the firework, I was able to assess how loud the bang would be before hearing it.

With the firework display over it was time to head back to the hotel. I stopped for some snacks and made my way into my hotel's entrance to sit and write this blog.

So today has been a crazy start; pretty action-packed. I am hoping that tomorrow is a little quieter.

Toodle Pip!

P.S. I know that my 'one otter around the world blog' has been read by people from all over the world (therefore world famous) however, the council of Hakodate didn't have to put on a firework display for my arrival … touching though.