From Hakodate With Love

Speeding along, listening to the soft humming of the train, you look out the window to catch a brief glimpse of a starry sky when the bright lights of the streets beyond your cabin shock your eyes as they flash by.  You’re sipping wine and munching on some salty snacks, and the only thing that drains out the undulating sound of train tracks is loud laughter from within your cabin.  This is not transportation.  In fact, the word transportation itself demeans the very existence of the Cassiopeia Sleeper Train, where the experience of traveling from one destination to another is just as exciting as the destination itself.  

Sleeper trains seem to be some relic of the past, only seen in Bond movies where tuxedos and evening gowns lead to a gun chase through train cars and the quintessential fist fight on the roof.  But the Cassiopeia Sleeper Train offers all the luxury of Bond, with none of the brawls (whether that’s good or bad is up to you).   

In actuality, your adventure will begin exactly one month before you plan to board the train bound for your destination. There is no online reservation or pre-booking service.  Tickets go on sale at all JR Ticket Offices one month in advance and sell out within hours of the ticket office opening, due to the popularity and the infrequency of the trains.  So when we showed up the first time, two weeks before we wanted to take the train, the  thing we walked away with was not tickets but in fact a brief and unmuffled scoff from the JR employee and the kind advice to try again a month before you want to travel.  

Having done more research, we changed our dates and returned with a new course of action.  There are two options for sleeper trains up to the North of Japan: the Hokutosei and the Cassiopeia, both travel from Tokyo to Hokkaido calling in at many stops in Sendai, Tohoku and Aomori along the way.  The main difference between the trains is the price.  

The older Hokutosei has less expensive and more varied options for rooms.  These rooms start at 24,650 yen per person for the B-Class Duet, which includes a  two story bunk bed, and goes up to 35,530 yen per person for the A Royal Class including two beds, toilet, shower, and sink.  The main draw of this train is that it is the last of the “blue sleeper” trains in Japan, once a regularity.  Cue mad camera happy people snapping shots of the unsmiling blue train.  

By the time we reached the Ticket Office, a month before our planned day of departure, with tickets having been on sale a mere 5 hours, all the Hokutosei tickets had sold out.  So we plunged deep into the couch cushions for any and all spare change to pay for the more expensive Cassiopeia, which goes for 31,700 yen per person.  

Cassiopeia is the more modern of the the two trains, has a dining car, viewing car, and each room has two beds, a television, bathroom, sink, and table (oh, and don’t forget complimentary drink).  Although this method of travel is expensive, especially when you could probably fly abroad for that price, the experience of what seems to be a dying concept is worth while.  

What is better than enjoying the “going to” as much as the “being there”?  And when we arrived in Hakodate, bleary-eyed and groggy, what refreshed us most was not the cold morning air but the memories from the night before.  

From Hakodate with Love

The Train...

Travel Diary: Omiya to Hakodate and back again

Friday

4:45 pm-Boarded the Cassiopeia, bound for Hakodate.

We brought a feast befitting of our surroundings and avoided the expensive train food that you have to pre-book.

Saturday

5:00 am (that’s right!)-Got off the train at Hakodate Station and delivered our luggage to our hotel The Comfort Inn (cheap, close to the station, and includes a delicious breakfast)

• Walked around Asaichi, the Morning Fish Market, and had a delicious Japanese-style breakfast and collected freshly cooked crab samples from the street
• Had fresh melon smoothies
• Chatted with the locals who are friendlier and warmer than those from Tokyo, despite their cold climate
• Took the Street Car around town to the old district.  Visited the old Public Hall and had tea at the old British Consulate (great museum inside as well)
• By noon we had seen most of Hakodate so we went back to the hotel for a quick nap
• Took a bus up to the see Hakodate’s famous Night View.  
• Dinner in the Red Brick District at the Beer Hall

Sunday

• Took a train to Onuma Lake Area
• 50 minute walk around the lake to see the fall colors
• We were decieved by a map from the Tourist Information center which said Lumber, an amazing local steak restaurant, was within walking distance. It’s not, so take a taxi if you go, but it is so worth it with portions of meat that make it seem like you are on a farm not in Japan 
• Hitch hiked back to the station from the restaurant
• Returned to Hakodate and went to the Yunokawa Onsen area to the Yunohama Hotel for onsening with an ocean view
• Dinner at Funny Pierrot burger shop 

Monday

• Walked to the morning market for a breakfast of Hakodate cream ice cream
• Shopped around The Red Brick District
• Lunch at Ajisai for Shio ramen (famous in Hakodate)
• 3:55 pm Took Shinkansen back to Omiya

Source

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/cassiopeia_hokutosei.html

Back to Fall

After 2 years in Japan, I have come to depend on the seasons changing.  It is no longer like my California days when the only thing that signaled change was the drink menu at Starbucks--Pumpkin lattes meant fall and peppermint lattes reminded you that it was supposed to be winter...brrr???  But here, in the land of Nihon, there are real seasons, trusty-worthy and cyclical, the seasons come and they go and then they come again.

So it is fall, or at least the beginning of fall, so what is that like?  Well, the trees haven't begun to change yet, but in small clusters red spider lillies, or higabana in Japanese, start to bloom.  In our town you can see a few bunches of these bright red flowers and when they first bloom it looks as though small fireworks have exploded from the earth.  But it is not until you travel to Koma, about 1 and a half hours from Tokyo, that you see them in their true beauty.

There is no comparison to this sight, expect maybe the poppy fields of "Wizard of Oz" yet instead of making you fall asleep like the poppies in the movie, these fiery flowers awaken your senses with their vivid color and sheer volume.  It as if someone has painted a beautiful country-side scene complete with babbling brook and green fields and then accidentally spilled red paint all over the canvas.  Yet, these fields are no accident.

By far, my favorite part of the spider lilly fields is the dark bark of the trees protruding out of the velvety carpet created by the flowers.  It is like seeing a humpback whale surfacing from the ocean and breeching the water.  The trees are part of the field yet entirely different, complimenting yet breaking the overwhelming red produced by the flowers.  

What this trip to the country-side reminded me is how easy it is to forget that no matter how long you live somewhere you should never forget to live as if you are a traveler.  We often get caught up in work dead-lines, cleaning the house, and taking care of laundry and forget about how fleeting life really is.  These flowers can only be seen for about a week.  Before that they look like tiny green poles pushing out from the deep brown mud and after that they look like any other brown decaying foliage.  But, if you can bare to forget about the laundry and the grading for one day, to travel outside of yourself and your town, you might just run across something wonderful.

As I was taking a picture this butterfly landed on the flower, posing, ready for me to snap!

It's Getting Cold in Here, So Put on All Your Clothes!

So I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog, and since it is close to freezing almost everyday here in Japan, I am sure you are wondering what in the world could I be doing with my time.  That, my friends, is a very good question actually.  Here, with the cold that I am not 100% acclimated to, I find it easy to just go home, put on the ugliest/warmest clothes, and watch a movie.  I mean, as I sit here and write this I am donning leggings, sweater, scarf, and scrunched socks (yes I know it’s not the 80s, but desperate times call for desperate measures).  Did I mention that I am in fact, writing this inside and not outside?!?! Due to the cold I have managed to watch Sex and The City from the very first episode to the last (thank God Big finally got it together) in a matter of months.  This is what the cold does to you.  

But, to answer your question, I have been busy during this winter including a little rendezvous to Thailand.  And boy is it easy to forget how cold a country is when you are vacationing in the very definition of temperate weather.  Anyways, after Thailand I easily slipped back into the scrunched sock mentality UNTIL I found out that my parents and very close family friend, Corinne, will come and visit at the end of March.  All of a sudden it was as if I had a new outlook on Japan; like I was a traveler again and not just a person who lives here.  

So between eating various kinds of soups, and if you have been to Japan you know that everything in winter is a soup, I found time to visit some amazing spots in Japan and was reminded how lucky I am to be living here.  

Let me start with a few pictures from Thailand.  Coming from Japan, one of the most expensive countries, to Thailand, one of the not-most-expensive  countries, was amazing!  I ate and drank like a Queen and I am proud of it!!!  What I think I loved was just the mentality of the country.  In Japan there is a formality in everything...Thailand is the exact opposite.  Ill share the important pictures with out giving you a scrapbook of my trip.

Dumbo

Be jealous...be very jealous!

Like a true colonial, ex-pat having afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel

He Tuk-tuk my heart (too cheesy...o well)

Here is various proof that it is EFF-ING cold here...

No I can tell my children and grandchildren and basically anyone who will listen, that I walked to school in the snow!

My School

So now you know how cold it is here, I think I have been ranting about it this entire blog, but on one very sunny and beautiful day when the Gods decided to bring heat to this ice box, I went to a temple in Omiya.  It was beautiful and I even stumbled across a wedding taking place which made the day even more special.

Going to the Shrine and I'm gonna get married!

One day this month I also went to a Japanese style garden in Tokyo (I already had one friend point out how redundant this sounds but o well), called Koishikawa Korakuen.  Beautiful and a must see for all who come, actually I will be taking my parents and friend here when they come because it was so inspiring.  And as Aaron and I walked through the garden we were surprised by little pink buds on the tree, the first signs of cherry blossoms this year.

Cherry Blossoms

I hope you enjoyed the update and I will leave you with these words, I did not write them since I am neither a Saint nor a poet.  And to those visiting me in Japan (Kim, John, Corinne, Emily)  I cannot wait to share this country with you.  

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

FALLing in love with Nippon

So despite the busy schedule that this fall has brought me, it has also brought me a new appreciation for the country I am living in.  With the hot and humid weather behind us, fall has proven to be a wonderfully temperate season filled with mostly beautiful days.  So, I have tried to take advantage of all that Nippon has to offer me in fall, and in true form they mostly revolve around holidays!!

KAWAGOE MATSURI

The first weekend in October, Kawagoe (about one hour from where I live)hosted their yearly matsuri, or festival.  To try and describe it would be near impossible, but I will do my best.  Basically you can imagine a city full of food booths selling everything from hamburgers and chocolate dipped bananas to squid on a stick (no joke).  When the sun finally sets, huge wooden floats get pushed through the streets by volunteers from the town.  In a cacophony of music, dancers, and yelling from the crowd, the floats spin and jet through the crowd at one another.  Two floats that pass each other end up battling one another making this one of the most famous matsuris.  What really impressed me was the amount of people.  It was so crowded, that at times it was near impossible to move making this festival not for those who suffer from any kind of claustrophobia.  

Squid on a Stick!  

Ramon Burger

Battling Floats

HALLOWEEN

To really get into the Halloween spirit I decided to throw a Halloween party at my apartment.  Letting my inner Martha Stewart out, I tried to put together a night that would be fun and memorable, marking our first official holiday in Japan.  Thanks to a care package from home and the generous donations of those who attended, we had many delicious dishes, drinks, and of course all while we wore our costumes.  And, leave it to me to find a pumpkin in Japan, but I did!  So we were able to carve a pumpkin to!!  

It was a wonderful way to start Fall off right!!

Yummy!

NIKKO 

Really there is not much to say about Nikko in fall.  I would prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves.  Suffice it to say that Nikko is about 3 hours from where I live and totally worth the journey.  The colors are more vivid than I could have ever imagined.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is a very important holiday in my family.  Unlike Christmas there is no concentration on shopping and present exchanging, therefore the sole message of “We are Thankful” rings out above all else.  Despite being away from the people that I am most thankful for, I was able to celebrate here in Japan with my newly formed family.  

I contributed the mashed potatoes, gravy, and potato salad (thanks to my Mom and Grandma's cooking tips it was not difficult to make either!)

Aaron did the honor of carving the turkey!

Teachers from Ina Gakuen

Everyone that came brought a dish to share and it was not long before the bar turned into some new aged-Plymouth rock; Pilgrims and Native Americans replaced people anywhere from Jamaica, Canada, and  England to New Zealand, America, and of course Japan.  Although we were far away from America, I think in that little bar we were able to capture what Thanksgiving is truly about: being with people you care for and whom care for you.  And that is something to be truly grateful for.