Our final port of call in Japan was Hakodate, located in the northern island of Hokkaido. Although we did not travel all that far from Yokohama, the weather here is much different. In a word – cold with temperatures in the 40’s, 59% humidity, and light winds of 4mph. As we approached the harbor, we could see a dusting of snow on the nearby mountain tops, an indication that winter is holding on later than usual. We were told that the cherry trees had not blossomed yet but again, in this part of the world, we arrived too early. Figures. We did have mostly sunny skies with some clouds in the morning, but it did become overcast later in the afternoon. And once again, there was no satellite TV reception until we left the port.
Excursions here today included a panoramic drive of Hakodate for 2 hours and $110. The Morning Market & Mt. Hakodate Ropeway was 3.5 hours for $150. Goryokaku Park & Tower was 3.5 hours for $150, while Onuma Quasi National Park was 4.5 hours for $190. The best of Hakodate was 7 hours with a lunch for $250. All but the panoramic drive were described as strenuous and not advised for walker or wheelchair guests as some sights had stairs and no ramps.
Today the ship was docked portside at Wakamatsu Wharf, and we had a view of the pier, terminal building and a ship/museum by the name of Mashu Maru. The population of this city is about 239,800 people, the third largest in Hokkaido. Most of the locals are descendants from a hardy people that migrated here thousands of years ago. They became hunters and gatherers, which is different from the rest of Japan. They never developed a printed language and relied on story-telling to pass the history down to the younger generations. With such an extreme climate in the wintertime, survival was their utmost number one priority. There are museums here that depict the culture from days gone by. It sure reminded us of what you might find in Alaskan museums.
All of what we needed to see was within walking distance of the pier, although there were taxis, buses, and a tram that run to nearby communities. There was another crew drill at 9:30am, and a good time to leave. We walked off of the gangway, through a long-covered walkway to the terminal building all on one level. We picked up a local map, then followed it to the Hakodate Morning Market where 250 stalls of fresh & live seafood were on display. The good thing was that all of these stalls were outside on the sidewalk in the open air. Some of the stalls had a couple of tiny tables and chairs if you chose to eat what they were selling. For instance, there were tubs of seawater with squid swimming in them. If you chose to catch one on a fishing line, they would cook it on the spot. The same went for the filets of assorted fish as well. One of the main attractions was the giant octopus that was in a large aquarium for all to see close-up. What a curious type of creature they are. Bet the octopus thought the same by looking at all of us taking lots of photos. We checked out every display table as well as a small supermarket which was inside a building. It smelled like fish in there. That was the only venue in this market that sold some souvenirs like t-shirts and trinkets. Needless to say, it was quite crowded with Volendam guests looking for bargains.
From here, we hiked all the way to the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses, where the old meets the new. Crossing an ancient stone bridge called Tomoe Ohashi Bridge, we came out at the beginning of the warehouses. These warehouses were built in 1887 for storage and re-built in 1909. These days the warehouses are a combination of boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and many souvenir spots. We decided to keep walking to the end of the street and explore the waterfront area below the Motomachi Ekimae Area. There were some monuments along the waterfront as well as some museums across the road.
The hillsides were steep looking up towards the Mt. Hakodate Ropeway, which is a cable car ride to the top of the mountain of 1000 feet in elevation. It has one of Japan’s top three night views here. The fee for a round trip ride is 1800 yen or $11.35 USD. The hillsides below have Western-style houses, churches, and streets that reflect Hakodate’s port history. We could have found our way up there, but it would have used up too much time and energy. We decided to head back and check out the warehouses and look for a place for lunch.
We did pass a very amusing hamburger place called Lucky Pierrot with a Crusty the Clown lookalike on the building’s marquee. In fact we saw two such restaurants close to each other, but did not go inside. We found out from friends later that this venue only accepted Japanese yen and no credit cards, although our mission today was to use the cash we had on hand as well as the coins.
The largest venue we saw for lunch was called Hakodate Beer Hall, which was about full of customers when we arrived. Seeing that they were taking reservation numbers, we almost walked away, but the waitress stopped us and motioned for us to wait a minute. They were clearing a table for two, and we were seated right away. We ordered Sapporo draft beers, which is brewed here, and added a small Margherita pizza and a plate of crispy fried chicken, as suggested by friends Mike and Cathy who were sitting close by. We shared a waffle/ice cream dessert topped with whipped cream. We did use the yen to pay the bill and even had some to spare. We have been finding that the restaurant prices are comparable to what we have at home, or even less expensive because tipping is considered inappropriate here in Japan.
From here, we wandered through the shops finding the deep blue glass stone jewelry we had admired in Okinawa. Doing some research, we learned more about these pretty stones. They are called Hotaru stones or firefly glass. Considered an iconic souvenir, the stones are created with midnight blue colors with added foil inside that reflects light. Some even glow in the dark with phosphorescent qualities. The deep blue shades reflect the ocean colors and represent calmness and confidence. The foil is said to ward off evil spirits. So a pendant, earrings and a bracelet became ours. That took care of most of the paper money, now we had coins to use. The last item we bought was a useful Snoopy pen for a mere 550 yen or $3.50 USD. What fun we have.
We did work off some of the calories with the walk back. Some ladies from the ship used the rickshaws that were manned by some local fellows to go back to the ship. A taxi ride was only $5 we heard. The walk was pleasant since it was not hot. We were back to the terminal by 3pm. On the way there, we stopped to sit for a moment near the old Seikan Ferry Memorial Ship permanently docked across from the Volendam. It was here that a local young lady approached us, asking if we were on the Volendam. She thought we were Dutch since the ship was registered in the Netherlands. No, we explained that the ship held a number of people from all over the world and we were on a world voyage for 133 days. She was impressed, then told us her story of coming here from NYC and Korea. It is moments like this that really makes our experience richer. It is hard to find a country with such friendly people like here in Japan.
On the way back in the terminal, we were required to go through a mandatory immigration inspection with our passports scanned and stamped and our room keys checked for identification. We were lucky to be coming back when we did, because the majority of people doing this drill came earlier and had to wait in a long line. All aboard was 4:30pm, so we had plenty of time if we had to wait. Once the inspection was complete, we could not go back ashore.
The photos have been piling up to process, so that was our job until Captain Frank came on with his sail away talk at 4:45pm. He hoped we had all enjoyed all of our stops in Japan, but now we will have seven days crossing to Kodiak. He hinted that the winds would pick up to 35 knots with 8 foot seas. We could face 43 degree temps with rocking and rolling. The distance to Kodiak, Alaska was 3830 nautical miles at a speed of 16.5 knots. Captain Frank planned on taking a northern route towards the Aleutian Islands, dipping south if necessary. Some unfavorable conditions were in this area, and the head office in Seattle was monitoring our progress as always. He did not elaborate at this point.
So we waited for the ropes to drop and the ship to pull away, but nothing happened. The gangway remained in place. Something was up and we figured some passengers must be late in returning from a tour. We got ready for dinner at 7:30pm, and checked from our veranda to see a medical debark going off in a hearse. Apparently someone had died and was being taken off here. So sad to see, but life goes on no matter where you are. The red tape took up to three hours before we could leave.
The Volendam left around 7:40pm and we did get to see the city lit up at night, which was nice. Oops, forgot to jot down what we had for dinner, but it must have been good.
There was a show in the World Stage featuring the cast with “A Swing Thing” with swinging classics. We did a swing thing to bed as these last three days have been exhausting.
Bill & Mary Ann
