life in the old lane

The day started according to plan. I made it to the train station on time. But what I didn’t realize was that my train was a one car train. Not an engine and a car but a combination engine car. One car. Apparently these things used to be quite common in Japan, but now they’re quite rare. So people ride on them just to remember the good old days.

As I was walking into the train station a tour bus showed up. Little did I know that everybody on that bus was going to be on my one-car train. If I was smart I would beat them onto the train. As it was I ended up with the last seat on the train. I had a view of the bathroom. Not the ocean which was my “plan”.

Next on my “plan” was to stash my bag and bus it to Shiretoko National Park. Not a problem. Bus was leaving directly. But there wasn’t a returning bus. Because it’s Sunday.

Okay. Four hours until check in at the hotel. According to Google, there is a Town Museum 2 km away. Google says that the way is flat. So off I go. (I dropped my bag off at my hotel hoping maybe they’ll let me check in early. No such luck)

Well the town museum was open and it was a great little museum. The museum must not have a very tight statement of collections, which makes it kind of fun for the visitors. But kind of a nightmare for the curators.

They have train stuff, a good collection of artifacts from the original people of this area dating back 2-3 thousand years, they have old appliances, more pinned butterflies than I have ever seen, parade floats and stuffed animals (taxidermied) and skeletons.

I was the only person in the whole museum well except for person at the desk. While I’m walking back towards my hotel, I realize that I’ve seen maybe two or three cars the whole time.  I’ve gone 2 km. I also noticed that the restaurants are all closed. There are no people in this town. Well I did see a guy working on some rose bushes. All right, there are people.

Check into the hotel.

Looking out my hotel room window.

Or maybe this is actually a computer simulation and parts of it got stuck in the Cloud Strike software snafu. 

It wasn’t the day I planned but it was a good day .

An old woman complaint: I haven’t been sleeping all the well. And I no longer have vast reserves of energy. So, lack of sleep is problematic. When I was young sleep seemed like a waste of time.

Today’s adventure was a visit to the Abashiri Prison Museum.

Fishing was Abashiri’s business until the early 1900s when 1200 prisoners came to build a 135mile road in 8 months. Prisoners were sent to Hokkaido much Like the British sent prisoners to Australia.

The prison was all wood. There were no stone walls or iron bars. SuperMax it wasn’t.

There wasn’t a lot of material in English. So, I spent a lot of time translating. 

This prison was used until the 1980s. There was also a cell block from the new improved modern prison. And, you can have a modern prison meal in the old prison dining hall

After 3 or 4 hours, I come back to the hotel. And had a sandwich and a nap. Then a walk

Tomorrow, for no apparent reason, I am going to Shari. It’s 45 minutes away from here. 

About 4 hours on the train this morning.

When I found my hotel at about 12:45, they let me check in. How sweet was that?

The hotel onsen is very nice. The water seems to be rather alkaline. Truth in advertising seems to be important. The hotel says that their water is only 26 degrees and they heat it to 42. 

Walked around town. It is on the ocean. In winter, visitors come to look at sea ice. Not icebergs. But ocean covered in a layer of ice. Don’t think there’s any reason to come in the summer. But here I am.
I came to see a prison. Tomorrow. If I can figure out how to get to jail.

Yesterday I made a snarky comment about Japanese sandwiches. 

That’s Salted Vanilla Whipped Cream and Chocolate Mint Whipped Cream and Chocolate.

Those are seriously weird sandwiches. I didn’t buy a sandwich today

And, that red sign is my bus stop.  I took the 1140 bus back to Asahikawa. Arrived a little after one. Dropped my bag at the hotel and retired to a friendly coffee shop. I decided that I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to see anything. I didn’t want to experience anything.  I am sure there are some wonderful attractions in Asahikawa. It’s the second largest city in Hokkaido. And, it gets more snow than any other city in Japan. I stayed in the coffee shop until check in time. I picked up a strange Japanese sandwich for dinner. Aside: all Japanese sandwiches are strange. They most likely think our sandwiches are strange.

Got my train ticket for tomorrow morning. Got money from the 7 Eleven Bank. Checked into the hotel. Enjoyed the onsen. The last hotel’s onsen was definitely volcanic. This one seems to be slightly carbonated. 

Tomorrow I am heading to Abashiri on the 8:30 train.

 

Today’s plan was to walk up to the nearby ropeway and take the ropeway up to a so called loop stroll. It looks like a stroll.

But, I had to get down that pile of rocks that I just got up. And I have always been a little skittish about down. Up might be hard but down is just plain scary.

I don’t want to turn back because there’s a whole lot of rocky downhill. But I have no idea what’s ahead. So, when you’re on a loop trail keep looping. It’s a stroll.

Yesterday I met a woman who was here with an international hiking tour group. I asked her if they’d done any hiking yet and she said yes. They just got here but they had hiked up to the fumaroles. Then comes to a sign announcing that the fumaroles are .2 kilometer away. I am too tired to get any closer.

I could have been on a hike if I were in the US but here it was just a stroll.

When I got back to the hotel I was hot, dirty and sweaty all the way through all my clothes. So I did something very brave. I put half of the clothes that I have with me here in Japan into this washing machine. And then in the dryer.

That’s risky business. 

About the stroll. It was really hard. And I knew that with every step I was in danger of a life-changing and perhaps life ending slip or fall. If I had known how hard it was going to be I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have gone. But I went and I’m glad. But, am I going to do it again tomorrow? Hell no!

In about 2 hours, the bus pulls up just outside The Bearmonte Hotel on the slope of Mt. Asahidake.

 They lead to my bed. You can by guess where the bathroom is. I could have complained and asked to be downgraded to a smaller room. Not my style.

There’s no place to eat up here. So everyone eats at the hotel.

I wore my green and beige jammies to dinner as well. Suddenly taken very weary
Night night.

Last night I woke up having a minor panic attack. How was I going to wash my hair when the tub/shower was well over knee high with no grab bars in sight? What if I miss the only bus? What if I can not figure out where the bus was and how to pay for it? What if my debit card stopped working? What if Trump is reelected?

Honestly only the last one is a problem. I got my hair washed. I have a train ticket to the town the bus leaves from with almost 2 hours to get the bus sorted. I have another debit card and enough cash to hold me until Tokyo.

So, why not go to the zoo. They are supposed to have polar bears and wolves. 2 subways. 1 bus. I can do this. Well.

But, I made it to the zoo. After missing my subway stop.

Actually, it seems like a cool idea to me. 

I was hot, tired and rather disappointed with the entire zoo. I think the problem with the zoo is they have to spend an awful lot of money keeping the animals warm in Winter. So there’s summer outdoor enclosures are rather small and uninteresting.

On my way out I stopped to look at the elephant enclosure. Surprise surprise. They have an 11-month-old baby elephant. Adorable. She decides she’s had enough of this outdoors and starts charging off indoors. I understand it’s hot outside.

Travel day tomorrow. The train part is no problem. But the 90 minute bus ride is shall I say interesting.

Ps The zoo had squatty potties. I took one look at it and decided nope don’t need to go. I was feeling a bit guilty about being so wimpy when I noticed that the Japanese lady who’d followed me in decided she didn’t need to go either.

I slept much better last night. About time. After a strange breakfast of fried chicken and bread and butter I headed off to Otaru on the train. It’s another old seaport town. Turned into tourist attraction.

The highlight of Otaru for me was the very strange Otaru Stained Glass Museum. 

More about its weirdness at a later date. I just stepped in the door because I was hot and wanted a place to cool off. It turned out that they actually accepted Google Pay. I am not going to count on using Google Pay. 

When I got back to the Sapporo train station, the afternoon protest was going on. This group seemed to have some problem with the world health organization.

After a little rest I headed out again.  I was mildly interested in the Hokkaido Horticultural Park. It was delightful.  And. Dangerous.

The question is: Will I be able to stay awake long enough to finish this blog posting. Last night wasn’t made for sleeping. 

The train trip took about 4 hours. Most of it was along the coastline. 

After 6 miles, I was exhausted. Did I mention that the have beer. Lots of beer. 

My friend Sally reminded me that I was still jet lagged what with 13 time zones and yesterday was very stressful. So why should I be surprised by my poor sleep? 

I resolved to have a great day in Hakodate. The weather was great. I had no ideas for things to do. Except they couldn’t cost money. Until I get enough yen together to pay of all of my hotels I am operating in budget traveler mode.

Before breakfast, I take in the morning fish market. Not much to photograph. But lots to see and smell. 

There was this strange squid thing. You wait in a long line. You pay about $30. You get a fishing pole kind of thing. You catch a squid. (Out of that blue tank ). Then you eat it. Well the lady in the little booth behind the blue tank. She does something to it but it’s still pretty squiggly when it lands on your plate. I did not play. 

Off to breakfast. I wasn’t feeling much like sushi for breakfast this morning. But, that’s what they have for breakfast here so I had sushi again. And what turns out to have been squid stuffed with rice. I didn’t know what it was when I picked it up. I ate it. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good. It just was and I had no clue what it was. Until this afternoon when I saw something that looked like what I had eaten for breakfast at 7-Eleven. I used my phone to translate the label and that’s when I found out I’d had squid stuffed with rice for breakfast. 

Remember, I am operating in strict economy mode. Breakfast came with the room so I ate breakfast. 

I head out on foot to see what there is to see in Hakodate. It is a tourist town. But all the tourists are Japanese. 

Hakodate, like many towns has converted it’s old wharf and Warehouse area into a tourist destination. For shopping of course. I certainly wasn’t up for shopping. But I did see a tour boat going out into the harbor at a price that I felt I could afford. So I hopped on board and spent a very fine 30 minutes.

That was today’s entertainment budget. Money well spent. There were 3 groups of 6 year old kids and some other grown ups. Of course the narrative was in Japanese but no one seemed to be listening so I doubt that I missed anything. 

So. What did I find interesting.

Totally enjoyed Hakodate. At least on this. Fine cool Sunny summer day. I am sorry that I have to leave tomorrow morning. But my next hotel is in Sapporo. It’s prepaid. And Hakodate is stuffed. There’s a squid festival this weekend. 

So Far So Good.

This is excellent.  

At 8:19 a text arrived announcing that my credit card was not present but it ran up a $63 charge at Texas Roadhouse. Before I made it back to my room a $92 charge happened. At another Texas Roadhouse. Before I got some one to answer, my card got $46 worth of pizza at Pizza hut. 

Don’t worry ma’am, I have cancelled your account and we will send you a new card in 4 business days. 

Okay. I am a silly old woman. I only have one credit card. No, I don’t have a spare. My bad. I own it. But I am in a shit load of trouble. The biggest problem is that my cellphone bill is paid by the closed card in 2 days. 

Okay. So I will be in Japan with no credit card and no cell service. You’re dead without a cellphone. 

I have done as much as I can. I was so assertive with the credit card company that they passed me to a supervisor who must been a guard in a Russian prison. Google will not cut my service until the 15th. And a credit card is supposed to arrive at the Asylum on Saturday. Not holding my breath. 

Always looking on the bright side

I spent a lot of time thinking up how to get the wheels back on. I don:t have to come up with hotel money until July 18. My debit card is fine. But it is useless for anything except getting cash. If the Japanese ATM is willing. 

And.

And I did go for a walk. 

Also. Washed some clothes and got naked and did the onsen thing.  Both in doors and outdoor. 

As my friend Claudia says: The adventure doesn’t begin until the wheels fall off. And the onsen was excellent. 

Up this morning. Before the train, I wanted to accomplish 2 tasks. Get some money from an ATM. And, get breakfast from someplace that wasn’t Starbucks or a convenience store.  Mission accomplished.

I get into the hotel and head out for a walk

 It was 90 degrees when I left Tokyo. But it’s 75 in Hakodate. 

I was too hungry and too tired to attack a real restaurant so I had a 7-11 dinner. Also too tired to get naked with my hotel neighbors in the onsen. In fact, I dozed off once while doing this post.

I leave you with an interesting Japanese sandwich.