| [Volume 9 Issue 9, #1941] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 6 of 8 Hakodate (函館) by the Sea and on the Slope | ||||||||||||||||||||
中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒.. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| day 5 in Hakodate was spent on the "ground" and then later on the "mountain top".. on day 6 we had half a day to further explore the city before heading back to Sapporo (札幌), where else could we hang out then?? hmmm, how about the "sea"?? i guarantee you are going to see lots of sea's today, i warn you, haha!! :D | ||||||||||||||||||||
i am always an early bird when i go travel, and going to local markets is definitely one activity i love.. the Hakodate Morning Market (函館朝市 Hakodate Asaichi) is just probably 50 steps away from the Hakodate Station (函館駅 Hakodate Eki) and remember we stayed in a hotel just opposite the station?? so, this was surely a must-go (actually also already in our itinerary).. look at the stalls and shops, the fresh produce and seafood, i would say one word: eye-opening!! we were there 9-ish in the morning and what's the better breakfast to have in a market with many fresh seafood?? seafood rice (海鮮丼 kaisendon) of course!! there were many nice shops in the "rice alley" (どんぶり横丁 donburi yokocho) section, and when i said nice, there's of course some cost to pay for.. the price there started from ¥1000, which wasn't that "attractive" to us.. we explored the place a bit and lucky to have found this canteen (食堂 shokudou) called Hakodate Shokudou (函館食堂), it was on the floor above Ekini Market (駅二市場 Ekini Ichiba), not significantly seen, and one can easily missed the stairs leading to this eatery.. the squid rice, seafood rice and grilled squid we ordered each cost ¥500, though the portion was way smaller [#6.2.2] and "not the best i have had", i found that just nice for breakfast.. and the money we saved?? "donated" to the white sweet corn (¥150) eaten raw and squid ink ice-cream (¥315) later [#6.2.4], haha!! :p come to Hakodate (函館) and you must not miss squid (イカ ika)!! the squid we had may not be the freshest, but if you want real freshness, go into the market, pay to catch one yourself at the seasonal price (about ¥600) and then have it sashimi-ed right away for your palate!! see what the people were catching and eating?? fresh ones from the sea (water) would be translucent if not transparent, unlike those we had on the rice, probably cooked a little by the heat from the rice and turned white.. did i try you asked?? errr, i was worried about the "thing" still moving down my throat, but i would recommend you to go for it, haha!! :D after some seafood rice for breakfast, we gained full-bar energy to continue to our next stop on the itinerary - the Hakodate Bay Area (函館ベイエリア Hakodate Bei Eria).. a nice place to chill out, where you can have a beautiful view of mountain and sea, Mount Hakodate (函館山 Hakodateyama) and Hakodate Bay (函館湾 Hakodatewan), which i would believe is a good combination in fengshui.. plus a nice sunny day, i felt very comfortable hanging out here, though it was warm (temperature on par KL).. the landmark of Hakodate Bay Area (函館ベイエリア Hakodate Bei Eria) would be this Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse (金森赤レンガ倉庫 Kanemori-aka-renga-sōko).. built in 1909 as the first commercial warehouse in Hakodate, it has now been converted to house a number of restaurants and shops including complexes like Hakodate Meijikan (函館明治館) [#6.5.3] and Hakodate Seafood Market (函館海鮮市場 Hakodate Kaisen Ichiba) [website].. didn't take photo inside the shops, lots of stuffs to buy but obviously this Uncle wasn't quite into except one thing he would ask for more - the very delectable cheesecakes from Pastry Snaffle's (a box of 8 two-mouthfuls-and-done cakes for ¥1080) [#6.5.6].. i know what you're thinking, why this Uncle was like eating non-stop the whole morning everywhere he went?? muahaha.. okay okay, but luckily we did, because there was a lot of walking and now look, we were at the slopes of the Motomachi Area (元町地区 Motomachi Chiku).. slopes!! burning energy double-speed!! haha.. but i have to admit, it is such a nice neighbourhood which is a nice blend of Japanese and Western, looking down to the sea below, that we did not actually felt (too) tired climbing the slopes.. in this photo, the Hachimansaka-dori (八幡坂通 - literally "slope of eight flags") was where i found with the best view amongst the many slopes.. how influenced by western and overseas culture you thought?? the houses?? they probably are just modern designs over time.. until we saw the church, to be exact, not one church but a few churches.. from the Hakodate Church (函館教会 Hakodate Kyōkai) built in 1877 [#6.7.1] to the Hakodate Orthodox Church (函館ハリストス正教会 Hakodate Harisutosu Seikyōkai) built in 1860 [#6.7.2] to the Hakodate St John's Church (函館聖ヨハネ教会 Hakodate Seiyohane Kyōkai) built in 1878 [#6.7.3], all over 100 year-old and still beautifully preserved.. and to be more "pro-American", another Statue of Liberty [#6.7.4] spotted, haha!! :p so that was quite about it exploring Hakodate (函館) on foot.. before we catch our 3:13pm train to Sapporo (札幌), we were here for our lunch.. Hakodate's very own, famous and ubiquitous fast food chain Lucky Pierrot (ラッキーピエロ Rakkī Piero) which sells nice burgers as well as Japanese curry rice.. choices were vast and there were also some creative yet interesting burgers to choose from, i had a pork-bacon-egg burger (¥480, image on their menu here) and fries with sea salt, so yummy it went straight into my stomach before my camera "eats" it, ooppss!! must-try~~ :p fast-forward the 3½-hour train ride (we took the limited express (特急 tokkyū) this time hence 30min faster) from Hakodate (函館) and then the 15min taxi ride from Sapporo Station (札幌駅), we were at International Hostel Khaosan Sapporo (インターナショナルホステルカオサン札幌 Intānashonaru Hosuteru Kaosan Sapporo) in Susukino (すすきの), which is quite catered for backpackers.. still remember on day 2 we stayed in this area also, but in a capsule hotel?? this time, we had a tatami (畳) room (¥15000 per room per night) instead, all slept on futons (布団) on the floor except Fing-Fing, who (pretended to have) suffered from nausea on the train, got the bed all by himself.. no wonder he was smiling so cheekily.. :p dinner that night was at an izakaya (居酒屋 Japanese style tavern) in Tanukikoji (狸小路) about 10-minutes walk from our hostel, with a very long name: 豪快居酒屋舟盛屋別邸炙り茶屋 (Gōkai Izakaya Funamoriya Bettei Aburi Chaya), and i sound like i am reading some Korean lyrics instead, muahaha.. food was good and here is the menu on their official website, see if you can find and match what we ordered [#6.10.2]?? hehe.. didn't hang out after dinner since shops were mostly closed after dinner, hence we just got back to hotel, enjoyed some seasonal "desserts" [#6.10.3] and then off to bed calling it a day.. :) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| so that was day 6 wrapping up Hakodate (函館), started flat on the ground then climbed up the mountain and lastly by the sea and slopes, then finally back to Sapporo (札幌).. did i promised you that you are going to see a lot of sea's in this post?? did you count how many?? haha.. next day, we went on an excursion to a place i really enjoyed, stay tuned for the coming post.. :) travelogue posts in this series: |
2014.09.12 | 北海道夏(6)
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The fresh seafood reminds me of last time I went there to have king crab, and the restaurant was facing the sea one (wow, what a nice memories flash back)
ReplyDelete#6.1 Japan always is a very clean and tidy place, and also very friendly to tourists!! Free wifi in the market, very in leh!! So can straight away check-in the location lo!! Good, good, good, I like it!! =]
DeleteGood to see you here so early Sheta!
DeleteHello Sheta and mun!
DeleteKing crab, I macam had that before too! But some ho looks big and giant but inside not much meat only, hehe~
Facing the sea ar? Wow romantic! And also can get cold breezy air and wind, I can tell it must be a nice experience.
I agree, Japan is always that clean and well-maintained. Japanese are polite and honest when it comes to doing business, must be their education and culture since many many years ago. This thing, I give a BIG like, it's really 难得！Even small children knows this 美德 already.
i think many tourists come to this market that's why they also very smart to provide free WiFi to attract more tourists.. i'm not one who likes to check-in on FB, but my friends all very kan cheong check-in, and they also tagged me, so i also no need to worry~~ :D
DeleteSK, haha good la, no need you to 动手 xD
DeleteI also got friends like this, but they will ask me first before tagging me, sometimes some people wanna stay low profile ma! :p
last time i didn't allow people to tag me, then friends say i very "luncy".. okay lor, then i allow people to tag me and then die lor, kena tagged everywhere i think maybe some of my friends also got fed up already, haha.. and now i found a way that is 兩全其美.. allow others to tag, but only myself will be able to see the tag posts.. like that no need to 得罪 others, and at the same time keep low profile and no need to scared others stalking me, yay!! :)
DeleteWith a significant savings for the donburi, never mind lah if it isn't the nest you had. Right? Hehehe
ReplyDeleteyalah.. actually just use the Bolehland standard as benchmark, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING also sedap there lah, muahahahaha~~
DeleteSo the sea today is not sea, sea. But products of sea? :P
ReplyDeleteOh Lina is so smart. I really thought SK meant sea and counted only two photos of sea view. Doh!
Deleteerrr, got sea lah.. the Hakodate Bay mah~~ :p
DeleteYou know... some of us very bodoh one. You must really show sea, be on sea only we know the post is about sea mah. LOL
Delete*that's me lah!*
errr, just having some fun here and no prize or punishment also mah~~ don't take it seriously, go and play Nintendo with your son.. :p
DeleteHokkaido towns sure has strong European influences right?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone would somehow tell us that is not "authentic" Japan. kekekeke
yeah you are right, strong western influence there.. maybe some would not believe if they have not been there, if they have been there also they would not be convinced~~ :D
DeleteMorning morning dear blogers. Happy Friday..
ReplyDeleteOh, I’m also an early-bird when it comes to travelling.. Not only travelling in fact, I everyday also early-bird.. I don’t like to be late, and I’m never late (to work) la.. Hehehe.. I come to work on time, go back also on time..
DeleteOh yes, visiting the morning market is what I like too.. Usually won’t plan to buy anything, just to walk around and smell the fresh products, haha.. But if the product is small and interesting, I will buy also la.. Depending where I stay.. If stay in hostel and cook our own, will buy something from the market to cook.. If follow tour, then won’t buy any kua.. Unless can finish immediately like fresh sashimi, terus stand there and the fishmonger terus slice up the fish and let us try then ok la..
DeleteYour seafood meal looks so good.. Makes me hungry now even though I’ve already had chicken porridge and also fried lobak koh for breakfast this morning.. Ohh and a cup of milo.. Yummzzz.. And OMG, your chocolate sundae is so huge & long !!! I like !!
DeleteCorn eaten raw? Actually I tried that and it actually tasted nice.. You know la, I always boil ABC soup right? In fact I boil ABC soup every week because I need the broth to make noodles for the kids on weekends.. So now you know the reason of my ABC soup.. So I always buy corn for the soup, before I chuck into the pot, I bite some of the raw corn too, and it’s actually very sweet..
DeleteErrr, honestly, I’m not a fan of squid, I can imagine them moving and squirming alive, haha.. But I know they are already dead when served on the plate..
DeleteOohh I clicked on your burger image.. Yummzz, nice.. I love anything burgers.. Somemore got bacon and yummy creamy mayo, wah, I think I can finish the whole tower burger in a few mouths..
DeleteOk, so that was day 6 wrapping up Hakodate (函館), started flat on the ground then climb up the mountain and lastly by the sea and slopes, then finally back to Sapporo (札幌).. Really a detailed post..
DeleteSK, lei hou geng, hou lek, hou yau sum, hou kan lik!
Hello Princess Ribbon,
DeleteHave a good weekend and happy Malaysia day to you!
Mummy Ribbon, that's a good practice! Don't like to be late, or let people wait for too long.
DeleteI even adjust my clock to 5 minutes faster so that I can get prepared for anything, already used to it ;)
Yalo SK and friends memang know how to enjoy and eat great food ho? All the food makes me drool also, so long never have a good proper Japanese meal jo, kekeke!
yeah, i do not like to laze until my lunch become my breakfast, i rather wake up earlier to have more time to explore the place, especially if i know there's a market to go, i can even wake up at 6am for the market!! :p
Deleteyes, the sweet corn eaten raw, taste very milky instead and they chilled the sweet corn in iced water so it was very refreshing.. and those burger, aiyoh, very nice until i forgot to take photo, haha..
"know how to enjoy and eat great food"?? haha.. actually we just cincai find something to eat only.. you see, cincai cincai go somewhere the food also very nice already.. haha!!
Haha, ya wo, cincai find also so nice already! Consider lucky? Or simply because food in Japan are all sedap sedap!
Deleteyalor, i really have to say that actually, cincai find one place the food also nice, haha.. not lucky after so many attempts, and that concludes one thing - the food in Japan are generally nice, and especially if you use Bolehland standard as the benchmark, muahahaha!!
DeleteGood morning SK, today i a bit blur, takes me sometimes to go click on 1.2.3, etc to see the pictures, lol...
ReplyDeleteSeeing the cheesecake, makes me crave for it, occasionally if pass by Ichiban Sushi, i will buy the small piece of cheesecake to eat...
DeleteIf goes overseas and have chance, would loves to go to the local market to look c look c...
DeleteGood Morning Miss Singapore! Wink! Wink!
DeleteI must make a weather report here that the it is very dark and cloudy today. i foresee that it will rain all day, so it is good that you don't open your mouths but open your umbrella.
Hey, how come you leave more comments here but only commented on my 1st and last photo nia. tsk! tsk!
Just kidding la ah nya.
Good day Sharon,
DeleteI am also like you. Take a bit getting used to click photos 1, 2, 3 sometimes blurr will miss out one.
Aicks since when TM become weather reporter ar? :p
Deletethis blog is not a common blog, i have got many interactive elements and you only see those hidden contents if you care to click here and click there and explore a bit, haha~~ :D
DeleteGood Morning Bloggers! Good Morning Thambee! You are still in Hakodate with other activities today. I see that you have similar interests to see local wet markets but anay always could not find the wet markets in China as the villages often sold their produce by roadsides everywhere! I ended up having interests to visit all Family Marts and 7-Elevens!
ReplyDeleteAh, TM, good day to you. Happy Weekend and Happy M'sia day to you in advance too.
Deletei love going to the local markets, these are places we got to feel the local culture, and always there are surprises and eye-opening stuffs.. in fact, i love browsing stuffs inside the convenience stores in Japan too.. :)
DeleteYou walking up or down the slope at Motomachi o? If downhill then is half energy, not twice energy needed XD
ReplyDeleteI love that Hakodatewan photo of 6.4.1, I can see that you found my boat :D
You have to bring your boat back to Straits Quay.
DeleteNo need, I have boats all over the world XD
DeleteBut walking downhill is not easy too since it puts pressure to our knees.
DeleteWow you got boats all over the world? Rich man! xD
haha, yalah.. going downhill also not necessarily using less energy, because gotta brake and control so that you don't "roll" downhill, so about the same lah~~ :D
DeleteCrazy day today for me! I will have to come back later or tomorrow :)
ReplyDeleteHello Phong Hong,
DeleteWeekend is here! Have a good weekend!
hope you both had a great weekend :)
DeleteI like today's post! Visiting the morning market is something that I would enjoy too. Form the photo #6.1.1 it does not look like the typical market that we have over here. It looks more like a sundry shop.
ReplyDeleteof course their market is a lot cleaner and hygienic than our "pasar", haha.. the stalls are all very neat and clean..
DeletePhoto #6.1.3 I see dried fish (?), squids and fruits. I would enjoy slowly browsing and looking at what each market has to offer. As it is, even at the supermarket here, I love looking at vegetables and fish.
ReplyDeleteyeah, really a lot of stuffs you will be able to find in that market.. maybe you will spend half a day in there~~ :p
DeleteSo this Ekini market is touristy and provides wifi to tourists. Touristy usually means premium prices. Best to shop where the locals go. But for look-see-look-see I guess it is alright.
ReplyDeleteyeah, you are right.. but okay for me because i was really a tourist that went in to look-see look-see only :p
DeleteGood thing you spent some time exploring the eateries and found the Hakodate Shokudou canteen. A new experience eating squid rice, seafood rice and grilled squid. Which reminds me of the manhole that had 3 cute squids on it :)
ReplyDeletehaha, yeah, thrifty on spending and always calculate the most economical way!! yeah, squid, Hakodate is famous for that!! :)
DeleteI don't think I have eaten raw squid before. Makes me wonder how it is like to eat raw squid with rice.
ReplyDeleteSame here, never try raw stuff, just don't feel comfortable with it, though there might be dressing/sauce to eat with it... Somehow still think raw food is not that hygiene... Later kena stomach upset during trip lagi susah!
Deleteerrr, it's something chewy like eating rubber!!! muahaha, of course way tastier lah, you know, like you are eating the pork tripe??
DeleteThe seafood rice looks nice. I see a few items on top of the rice. Yes, it is a small bowl bit rice is rather filling especially the Japanese rice.
ReplyDeleteah yes, we ordered a squid rice and then another mixed seafood rice.. actually that portion is good for me, i am not really a rice person when it comes to breakfast..
DeleteOoohh...the grilled squid looks yummy! What are the condiments to go with this? Or eaten plain just like that? I would have liked some chilli sauce with it hee..hee...
ReplyDeletehaiyoh, chili sauce will spoil the whole thing lah.. i remember we ate it just like that, already very nice, or maybe just a little bit of shoyu..
DeleteIt is good that money saved from eating at the canteen can now be used to savour more food! Oh yes, I have eaten raw sweet corn before. Really good! Sweet and crunch.
ReplyDeletehaha, come to think of it, saved or not saved, i guess we would also buy the corn and ice-cream to eat, haha~~
DeleteSquid ink ice-cream? The colour is certainly not attractive to me. But what did it taste like? Surely not like squid, right?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was wondering, haha! But I think SK macam explained it before, thought written squid ink ice cream but still taste like ice cream one, may be just use a bit of the squid ink to make the color, but the ingredients are most dairy?
Deleteyeah yeah, Hayley was right.. still taste like ice-cream and i guess they just put very little squid ink just for the coloring.. it looks more like black sesame ice cream to me, i would expect squid ink to be real black than dark gray..
DeleteHaha, yay! Thank God my memory wasn't so poor yet :p
DeleteI take it that squid is one of the attractions in Hakodate, hence the 3 cute squids on the manhole? Hmmm.. so the squids are swimming in that bathtub thing and people catch the squid and eat fresh. Wow, that must be so amazing! But I would not dare try either. I mean, I prefer not to see my food getting killed.
ReplyDeleteyou are right, i guess so because squid is seen almost everywhere.. yeah, we stood there and watch the people fishing for the squid and then hand it to the boss and he would just sashimi that for the customers.. an experience though i would say..
DeleteThe Hakodate Bay Area is so scenic. Yes, a nice place to hang out to look at the sea and the boats. A lovely backdrop of clear blue skies and Mount Hakodate.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah, there are actually nice cafes there that you can spend some time relaxing and looking out at the sea..
DeleteIt is great that the Morning Market, Bay Area and Motomachi Area is within walking distance from Hakodate Station. I would not mind walking at all. All the better to capture the sights and sounds!
ReplyDeletei actually felt happy i chose a convenient hotel, and have grouped these places on the same day.. initially thought we might need to take tram, but after the previous day's exploration on tram, we found that we can actually walk..
DeleteThe Hakodate Bay Area is rather quaint. Those who enjoy shopping would be happy here. I would not mind having a look but I definitely do not want to spend too much time shopping. Ah, Japanese cheesecake! Yes, yes, I would not miss that! I bet they were delicious-melt-in-your-mouth-cheesecakes.
ReplyDeleteah yes, the cheesecakes were so nice!! there were 8 in a box and just nice for us to share.. we stopped at 2 each, that is actually the perfect amount, not too little you will want more and not too much you will feel jelak~~ :)
DeleteGood evening SK,
ReplyDeleteI see you post one more for us to comment over the weekend. Have a good weekend to you.
Nowadays to leave comments for your post, gotta open two browser windows. One to refer to your post and one to type the comments in. Almost like doing homework or assignment as Claire would say, hahaha.
OK I will be quick lah. Got to do time management and only spend a certain hours on blogs or else I will end up as with an online ban.
Market near to station, hotel near to station so therefore hotel is near to market. What a smart choice for the hotel. I like to live in a hotel within walking distance to attractions.
Commercialized so not actually cheap, ok I get what you mean but as tourists, I am enjoying the place that the locals kept clean for me so I expect to pay a bit more in appreciation for the effort of the locals so ok lah, more expensive, let them locals earn a bit more loh. OK, today my comment is in pasar Inglish, more relax since weekend but then cannot also because this means my English will get more and more teruk. OK, will comment properly after this.
mun, wah you're so serious into commenting, have to open 2 browsers some more ;)
DeleteBut I always comment in pasar Inglish one, haha! Don't care la, as long as everyone can understand, xD
haha, actually i also do the same when i am commenting on some blogs too.. two windows side by side, one to slowly read and the other to comment correspondingly..
Deleteactually i just went to the market to reki-reki and more of a "sight-seeing" purpose than shopping, so i wasn't quite bothered about the price.. and for a guy who doesn't cook and doesn't do marketing often, i also do not know how much is considered cheap/expensive for those stuffs~~ :D
Very nice, this Motomachi Area. Looks very classy. With such surroundings of lovely houses with a view of the sea, I doubt if I would feel tired. More excited and happy I think. I like the view of this Hachimansaka-dori. Makes me feel so peaceful after a crazy day at the office today.
ReplyDeleteah yeah, the slope looking down at the Hakodate Port, such a nice view..
DeleteCan understand when travelling on a budget must search out value for money food. "not the best i have had" - so which place are you comparing the food to? I mean can you let us know the place where you had the best?
ReplyDeleteNot donate to the corn and squid ink ice-cream but donate to your stomach because the food ended up in your stomach. Not the best but still I think much better than what we get here. Delicious seafood and ice cream - I like. Any special fishy taste to the squid ink ice cream?
haha, actually considered very delicious if i am going to make our Bolehland standard as the benchmark.. but then just 500yen it's also not quite fair to expect that much.. i would say, what i got is worth what i've paid..
Deletethe squid ink ice cream just taste like ice cream, i think they just put in very little ink for the coloring only..
So many churches! And old well preserved ones too! Someone once said that for churches, you've seen one, you've seen them all. But they are all with different designs. Maybe this person was referring to the interior - the pulpit, pews and altars may be similar. But I am not into churches.
ReplyDeletereally?? what i've heard is not about church, but someone actually said that for temples and castles, you've seen one and you've seen that all.. but i surely cannot agree with that at all.. no two things are exactly identical in this world, that saying is purely tunnel vision..
DeleteTo me, I don't need food to be that fresh so no, I will not catch and eat my food. Though I can't be vegetarian because I like to eat meat once in a while, I don't go to the length to catch and eat my food.
ReplyDeleteI imagine aliens coming to earth and catching humans as food and then sashimi'ed my family in front of me to eat them freshest. Then will be my turn. So geli.
errr, of course when we eat we don't go and think about all that.. the food chain still needs to have a balance, and it's meant to be in this way..
DeleteLucky Pierrot sounds French. And this is the first time I have heard of this famous Hakodate fast food chain. Pork-bacon-egg burger sounds like something that I would select too!
ReplyDeleteyeah, this one just seems like having all the things i love!! and the burger was so nicely done, until i have forgotten to take a photo~~ :D
DeleteThe Hakodate Bay Area is really a nice place to hang out but must put on sun lotion to protect our skin. Looking at the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse, I suddenly remember the TVB series "The Rippling Blossom" starring Tavia Yeung, Chi Lam, Mylie Wu, Michael Tse. I think they did filming in Hakodate and the series show similar red brick warehouse, I am not sure is this the same one or not.
ReplyDeleteoh ya ya!! i have watched that TVB series also, and i love that!! yes, they filmed in Hokkaido and also went to the place i went like Hakodate, Furano and Otaru.. hmm, but i cannot quite remember seeing this red brick warehouse in the series, maybe i shall watch once again and probably be able to spot more familiar places :)
DeleteI like the Meiji Kan building all covered with plants. Very, very beautiful! Oooo, tasty cheesecakes, I wonder does it taste like the cheesecakes from Komugi bakery here or much much better?
ReplyDeletei actually have not tasted the Komugi cheesecake, haha, so cannot compare.. but probably they are the same thing huh??
DeleteHow many slopes did you walk before you found the perfect view slopes? The churches are so old and well maintained. Nice architecture, Sheta would love just taking photos of the churches.
ReplyDeleteerrr, i have no idea at all.. because i make myself forget that i was actually climbing a slope else i will feel very exhausted, muahaha!!
DeleteStatue of Liberty is everywhere now. I wonder here can we find small Statue of Liberty like this?
ReplyDeleteyeah, i was quite curious why there were so many Statue of Liberty that i saw in Japan, haha~~
DeleteI don't think I will eat burgers in Japan. Save my stomach space for Japan authentic food.
ReplyDeletethose are Japanese style burger also mah, haha~~ :)
DeleteThis father so loves Fing Fing to let him have a bed all to himself. Of course Fing Fing is smiling happily sitting dangerously at the edge of the bed high up.
ReplyDeletehahaha, but half way in the middle of the night, Daddy carried him down to sleep together~~ :D
DeleteFor people who are into Japanese culture, I think they will be very familiar with tatami and futon and will not get it wrong. Thank you for putting in the trivia to educate people who are not into Japanese culture.
ReplyDeleteyeah, blogging is also about sharing, so i was just sharing what i learned.. :)
DeleteAll too soon it is back to Sapporo again! So this time no more sleeping in little caves. At this International Hostel Khaosan Sapporo, although the bedding is mainly on the floor, they do have one high bed. Is it like that for all the rooms? I do not mind sleeping on the floor (it is actually quite nice) and I would not want to climb up that stairs to the bed. hah..hah... I see the "sea" in nausea.
ReplyDeleteactually all the rooms are standard in that hostel, and each can sleep up to 6 people, that explains why they have the futon as well as the bunk bed..
DeleteI guess the train ride is just ok with nothing much to report so fast forward 3.5 hours. For dinner, I like the food not in the photos - Sake chazuke and zaru soba. Tasty tasty especially the salmon in tea rice. Delicious!
ReplyDeletebecause i have already (slightly) mentioned about the train trip in the previous posts, now it's just the return so don't need to repeat.. oh, i wonder why i did not take photos of those, too busy eating i guess :)
DeleteI like those lanterns hanging outside the izakaya in Tanukikoji. Really has that Japanese feel to it.
ReplyDeleteah yes, i do agree with you.. :)
DeleteIn this post, I counted 2 photos with sea in them. Correct or not? Or did I miss out some?
ReplyDeleteI use black and white screen so cannot see the highlighted blue sea word until I switched to colour screen. 20 sea words?
DeleteThis sea here ""海鮮あんかけ焼きそば Kaisen ankake yakisoba (¥730) Soba cooked in seafood gravy" is not highlighted in blue.
What a IQ game. Claire is so smart to spot it.
muahaha, actually i thought of getting the readers to count the word "sea" instead.. and thanks for pointing out the one i missed out :)
DeleteThank you SK for sharing these info and food and sightseeing photos with us. Feel like we went on the tour with you for free but can only see the food but not eat.
ReplyDeleteI will stay in the same hotel so that I can walk to the market to explore and to the bay to hang out and smell the fishing sea smell.
Hope you have a good weekend and write out all the posts of Hokkaido you want to post next week. Can tell you really put in a lot of effort to write the posts. So I spend the last 30 minutes just leaving my comments. Have not even chit chat with other people here yet.
Nice weekend to you again and to everyone here!
yeah, i am happy because i booked a very convenient hotel and the room was nice too, i remember it was not expensive as we paid only ¥3000 each..
DeleteHahahaha, I am writing my comments at the same time as Phong Hong so our comments are interspersed with each other's comments. So funny!
ReplyDeletehaha, yeah, i also noticed that~~ :p
DeleteSo you are on a *see* food diet..you eat what you see.
ReplyDeleteooopsss, but there were just too much to see, yet so little time and stomach space to eat~~ :D
DeleteHello SK! You bold your "sea" in your blog and so out of curiosity, I count them a moment ago... hahahaa... So you actually wanted us to count... hope I got the number correct..just went through once... and only count the ones that you bold...
ReplyDeleteHahaha, oh I see, count the words, not the photos. I am using black and white screen that's why cannot see the bold word, hahaha!
DeleteBlack and white screen, Mun? Oh, I am lost here.... :)
Deletehaha, Claire is so pandai lah.. yes, actually try to let you count the word "sea" that's also why every paragraph i also put in at least one word.. :p
Deleteand yes, i'm lost too!! black & white screen?? still got such thing ke??
So got prize ah for counting the words SEA? hahahaha... CD will do... oh gosh, I feel I am "duplicating" somebody... *spank spank*
DeleteThe 9-ish morning meal looks very nice and cheap too! So fresh seafood but I am not sure whether I can eat this raw.. grilled is definitely much better! Good that you walked around a bit to find this cheaper stall... yes, you certainly have "saved" the money to try other food too...
ReplyDeleteif cannot eat raw ones, they also have cooked ones.. haha, but i think even if we did not "save" the money, we will also buy those snacks for desserts also leh~~ :D
DeleteSo, day 6 is 'spent' on the sea. You been to the gardens, the mountain, the farms and now it's time for the sea. How nice ! You can get to enjoy fresh seafood and sashimi. oh....man.... Im sure I will have a Japanese dinner fix tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteYa ho, SK macam covered many scenery during this trip, got garden, farm and sea, lucky ah boy!
DeleteHaha, seems to me you have Japanese food macam everyday one wo! I think you're good when it comes to Japanese food, you know those names very well =)
yeah.. Hokkaido has got many nice things to see.. previously when i think of Hokkaido, i only think of everywhere snow, haha!! but this trip in the summer really makes me like this place very much.. got nice things to see, and also got nice things to eat!!
DeleteThe sky seems very blue, I guess it's a hot and bright day. Well, I like the structure of the building in the first pix. It looks old but unique, probably Japanese kinda design.
ReplyDeleteyes, you are right indeed it was a very hot and sunny day..
DeleteYeah, since there is wifi at the market, I am sure stuffs will not be cheap over there. In fact , its a known fact that food in Japan are not cheap.
ReplyDeletebut since i was just there to look-see look-see, actually didn't affect me also..
DeleteSo, you had fresh seafood for breakfast ...hmm.... squid rice, seafood rice and grilled squid ... sounds very appetising, especially the grilled squid. But then , it's very high in cholesterol ..hahha.... OK la..once in while is allright. So, how was the food? I am sure it's delicious since its fresh from the ocean.
ReplyDeleteThe squid rice really looks good from the pix. Dip it in sashimi and its heavenly. And again....it's fresh from the sea...wow.... I don't think I can find any good restaurant to match the freshness of this dish. Don't worry about the cost la...once a while it's ok.
DeleteWhite sweet corn and squid ice-cream? @-@ ... I blur liao... got such food meh ?
Deleteerrr, really once in many years only i eat like that lor, haha.. but you are in higher risks, since you eat Japanese almost everyday, muahahaha!! go traveling mah, of course don't mind go over the board lah, you never know whether you are going to go there a second time.. :D
DeleteThe market seems crowded, brimming with lots of folks shopping for ingredients as well as going for their breakfast. So, did you mean that the squids are still wriggling when they ate it fresh ? hahaha.... That I think I wouldn't want to try too!
ReplyDeleteyeah, very fresh and lively squid served on your table!! haha~~
DeleteThe Hakodate Bay area looks nice. And, oh...so, that's Mount Hakodate in the backdrop. Great to see the mountain 'shape'. Yes, the place looks pleasant with water and hills. I guess I can sit there for hours to enjoy the scenery.
ReplyDeleteyeah, got hill and got water, surely a very nice place..
DeleteInitially I thought the red brick warehouse was some factory. Didn't know it was like a mall with full of restaurants and shops. Japanese cheesecakes... usually they have less cheese and softer than the western type. Am I right ? I used to buy some from SG. It's more of a light cheesecake.
ReplyDeleteit was a commercial warehouse at the Hakodate Port but already been converted into shopping complexes.. oh yeah, i just found out you can also get this Snaffle's in SG leh..
DeleteYes, the slopes of the Motomachi Area was really nice!!! It;s like those western town ! And, it's quiet and peaceful too!!
ReplyDeleteindeed, straight road and slope looking down at the Hakodate Bay.. so beautiful..:)
DeleteOh.... I like the church in the pix. Japan is generally a buddhist country and seeing you mentioned so many churches there shows that there are a lot of Christians here. I am sure come Christmas , this place would be very nice!
ReplyDeleteSeems like the churches are very well maintained and there are so many denominations there like Catholic (St John's) and etc, I guess I will attend their service if I am there.
DeleteThe third pix shows a modern church and the building looks so nice! Very special design. I think it could be those rich megachurch. :)
Deleteindeed very well preserved churches which are all more than 100 years old.. this is what i like about Japan, preserving history and culture and tradition..
DeleteAiya...you should show us the sea-salt pork bacon burger before you sank your teeth on it..... sigh... The buildings seems housed a lot of fast food chains it seems. And, it looks quite exciting...hahha
ReplyDeletelooked too sinfully delicious that i couldn't wait until i took a photo lah, haha!!
Deletewah ....this fing fing so mischievous...hahaha... So, you guys slept on the tatami. Its actually good for the back but some folks may not used to it. I did slept on it before when I was a kid.
ReplyDeletewe slept on the futon on the tatami, not directly on the tatami..
DeleteWOw....you guys really had a feast! I don't know how to comment on the food already as there are so much nice food!!! All I can say the food looks delicious ! Im sure you did try a lot of japanese food during your this trip. How nice!!
ReplyDeletehmmm... the third pix in your collage looks like a ramen... but you didn't mentioned it there. Lots of ingredients inside that bowl. The soup must very sweet.
Deletethere is a small little button "What did we have??" below the photo that you can click to find out..
DeleteOK, will look forward to your excursion next.... I was real busy lately but will find time to read your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteso your company annual D&D is going well??
Delete#6.1.3, market, I love visiting to markets too. So many things to see, so many things to buy and so many things to eat.
ReplyDelete#6.2.4, squid ink ice-cream looks yummy and tempting, so nice that after trying lavender ice-cream, melon ice-cream and now squid ink ice-cream.
#6.10.3, I am a dessert person, whenever there is dessert and fruits pictures, attracts Yannie.
DeleteHappy Malaysia Day to SK and every one here.
yeah, i love visiting to local markets when i travel too.. and ice-creams, yes, i think i had lots of ice-creams this time, haha.. desserts, anytime for me!! :)
Deletenever been there must go and visit.
ReplyDeleteyeah, it's a very beautiful place..
Delete我其實好想去八幡坂通，但喺實在太冷太大風，最後放棄。
ReplyDeleteLucky Pierrot 裏面啲各式漢堡真喺大件夾抵食，值得一試。
其實好難想象冬天咁凍, 可以去得邊?? 大概唔同季節係去唔同地方啩?? 係呀, 有點懷念Lucky Pierrot啲漢堡包添~~
DeleteWow Phong Hong, "ho geng", so many comments!
ReplyDeletehee..hee...hee...
Deleteadd oil add oil~~ :D
DeleteThumbs up Phong Hong
ReplyDeleteThanks, Libby!
Deleteadd oil add oil~~ :D
DeleteI like all your photos, especially the building photos, all very nicely taken
ReplyDeletethanks for the compliments :)
DeleteLife is too short, so must learn to enjoy life, I am sure you enjoyed this trip very much
ReplyDeleteyes, i definitely did!! :)
DeleteI will try my best to read every bit of your post here because can see you put in a lot of effort writing this post, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeletethanks for your support!! :)
DeleteFrom the way I see, I love Japanese burgers, they have all kinds of variety
ReplyDeletethat one i had was indeed very nice.. :)
DeleteOK, I come back to take a look at your dinner in more detail. The old style grilled buttered potatoes would get thumbs up from me. Who doesn't like potatoes, right? It is my number one comfort food. Top that with butter, wah!
ReplyDeletemust try potatoes if you go to Hokkaido, they are real soft and nice..
DeleteHmmm..the saefood gratin has lots of ingredients in it. I believe there is cheese in a gratin and I would carefully pick out just the seafood and brush off any sauce sticking to it. I am not very fond of cheese.
ReplyDeletemaybe when that one is served to you, you will start to love cheese instead :D
DeleteAh, the assorted deep fried skewers would be one of my choices too. Fresh seafood deep fried in batter, yum, yum! Is that black sauce the dip? I want chilli sauce :)
ReplyDeleteaiyoh, why everything also chili sauce?? like that better bring your own bottle with you, haha!! :p
DeleteThe soba cooked in seafood gravy would be so flavorful! That would have me slurping away to the very last drop!
ReplyDeleteerrr, do you need chili sauce for that also?? or maybe chili padi with soy sauce?? haha~~ :D
DeleteMelon jelly and fresh fruits for dessert. That is very refreshing after a nice hot dinner.
ReplyDeleteah yes, melon is very seasonal and not to be missed.. the jelly tasted just like melon, very pure..
DeleteThe tatami looks comfortable, anytime better than the capsule room, right? hahahaa.. I see this room, I feel so relieved.. I think I can never sleep in a capsule.. whole night imagining myself being suffocated inside.. phew..
ReplyDeleteYes, your Fing Fing looks the most comfortable there! He also doesn't like the capsule bed... obviously! At least he can open his hands wide here.. hahaha..
of course the tatami room is better than the capsule lah, somemore the same price also.. but that we stayed in Sapporo earlier was just for an experience.. Fing-Fing sure happy lah, got such a nice bed for him :D
DeleteI am so left-out now! Haha! Haven't got time to come and comment (not spam) due to my very busy schedule.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is a very looonnng post!
So, I thought you guys went to seaside/beach since you mentioned about 'sea', rupa rupa nya it's another type of 'sea', LOL! Got a lot of 'sea' la but I din't count how many, haha xD
I am also an early bird when travelling, I don't mind to sacrifice my beauty sleep in order to 'exchange' for some great deals/beautiful scenery. Cause to me, I can always recharge my battery when I back to Msia, but going on tour, not happening always one, so must make full use of everything =)
Plus, if I am really sleepy/tired, I can always nap in the coach (since I joined group tour most of the time), when the tour guide talk in the coach, I can nap, haha, not to say I disrespect the tour guide la but to be honest, tour guide/leader's voice can be very 催眠-ing one, even they themselves know. Sometimes if they talk bout that country's history, lagi lah fall asleep fast! xD
haha, i was trying to make you all count how many words of "sea" only.. and yes, agree, don't waste the whole morning sleeping in the hotel lah.. i actually find it more efficient to wake up earlier and to explore the place more.. hate it when my lunch becomes my breakfast, haha!!
DeleteTrue, go travelling must make full use of the time we have.
DeleteThat morning market looks clean! The food arrangment is also very neat, presentation scored 100! No wonder a 'must-go', some more very near to station. And got wifi in this market? Cool! Tak sangka got wifi in market like this, this explain Japan is really a very canggih country!
ReplyDeleteRaw squid, eee, not my kinda thing. In fact all thing raw is not my kinda thing, seafood rice may be still ok, haha! Small portion ok la, since it's breakfast don't eat too much, save some space for later ma ;P
Grilled squid still ok. Sweet corn and ice cream, sure ok for me, haha! Their corn is so unique ho? Though looks plain macam tasteless, but it's very sweet and yummy already.
Catching own squids sound fun! But I don't know how easy/tough it is la! If I were there and got time, probably I will give it a try, but if manage to catch squid, I'll give to someone else instead, cause I don't eat raw stuff ma, like you said, I cannot imagine how that 'thing' move down through my throat to my tummy.. >.< But if can grill or cook then may be still ok la!
yes, this market is indeed very clean and neat, doesn't at all look like a market huh?? like our supermarket only, haha.. errr, you are right also, when it comes to breakfast, i anyhow is not really a rice person lah, seldom eat rice for breakfast one leh..
Deletethe grilled squid is certainly more ngum our taste lah, and the sweet corn actually not very impressive also lah, i think can find this type in Cameron Highlands also de..
Me too, seldom have rice for breakfast, brunch may be still ok la.
DeleteBut those small packet of nasi lemak may be still acceptable.
Yep, at least if grilled, not so 腥 already.
Oh really? Macam CH's sweet corn? But the Japanese one looks whiter~
That bay area looks very relaxing and beautiful, gave me a feeling like western country like that (and finally I see sea xD)
ReplyDeleteSo lots of things to buy at the warehouse? Cheap or not? I love the design, unique, mixture of modern and vintage architectures.
And OMG, cheesecakes!! Looks very yummy la! Macam can melt in the mouth!
I agree, that Motomachi area is like a combination of Japanese and Western style, and no traffic that time ka?
Those churches look beautiful too!
Lucky Pierrot, their building looks cool! Very eye-catchy! Love the 'poster' there (Is it a poster?).
So this Tatami styled hotel looks more spacious and comfy compared to that capsule hotel, and thank God, that's what I thought about Tatami all this while, din't mistaken the meaning, hehe! And now I learn something, futon.
You guys had quite some good dinner! I especially attracted to the seafood gratin!
yes, Hakodate is indeed quite western culture influenced, at least from the buildings i see.. probably because it was a port and the westerners landed here and developed the place..
Deleteah yeah, surely the tatami room is way more comfortable than the capsules lah, somemore around the same price also leh, rather sleep in a bigger space right?? haha.. but then an experience lah..
yes, one of our friend knows Japan quite well that's why he was our "guide" and brought us to interesting places for nice food.. :)
Haha of course of course, but like you said, it was an experience la! If for me I'll do the same, may be spend a night in the capsule hotel then the rest, in bigger and more comfy hotel rooms ;)
DeleteI eat all the raw fish but not raw squid, feel quite "geli" the texture :P
ReplyDelete