Bureaucrat. Birder. Language Learner. Nature Photographer. Twitter Refugee.
He/Him
Next stop on our trip: Aomori City! We enjoyed the Seikan ferry museum in Hakodate so we decided to try the similar Hakkōda-maru (八甲田丸) museum here.
Pleasantly surprised by how different they were, both felt worth the visit! @hwesta got behind the wheel.
Goodbye Sapporo! Hello HELL. Well. Jigokydani (地獄谷) literally means Hell Valley and you can see why! The area is filled with sulphurous springs, it's quite a sight to behold! We also saw and heard some good birds up in the mountains as well.
For our last dinner in Sapporo we decided to take another run at soup curry, this time at Soup Curry Yellow, which was closed last time.
I enjoyed last time but this one knocked it out of the park. My strongest recommendation. @hwesta got the chashu and it was better than many ramen places we've been to. I only wish we had tried them earlier so we would have had time to go again!
Usually when we are on vacation we hit up restaurants that I've researched ahead of time, or just something convenient if we're hungry.
But! Yesterday we managed to strike up a conversation in Japanese with a staff member at a museum and were rewarded with a recommendation for Men-Eiji Hiragishi Base.
So glad we went! The tsukemen ramen was delicious, and the combination pork/fish soup base was a new and tasty experience for me.
Our first museum in Sapporo and second Ainu museum of the trip was the Sapporo Ainu Culture Promotion Center, aka Sapporo Pirka Kotan. A different experience from the previous museum, with a focus on modern recreations rather than historical artifacts. This meant we could touch the clothing and see how the woven bark fabric felt, very cool!
Dinner at our second night in Sapporo was the local specialty Soup Curry, from the recommended Tiger Curry.
Kind of like a fusion of Thai and Japanese curries. A delicious new experience.
Touchdown, Sapporo! Kicking things off with a hot bowl of miso ramen, cold beer, and vinegar chashu at the famous Sumire. We had heard horror stories of 2 hour lines but we just walked in. Delicious! The sour chashu was a great contrast to the super rich miso ramen.
Our fifth museum of the trip, yesterday, was the super interesting Museum of Northern Peoples in Hakodate.
We're already interested in the history of the indigenous peoples of Hokkaido but what really elevated this museum were the many plaques with more personal commentary on the exhibits and even the building itself from the museum director!
ありがとう、館長さん
The view from the top of Mt. Hakodate was stunning on this beautiful day. It's better known for its gorgeous sunsets and city night lights but we were completely satisfied with the low crowds and clear views just after lunch. 凄い景色！
You can see how the mountain sits at the end of a narrow spit, evidently formed as a sand bar 3000 years ago.
@ninafelwitch yes! Very accessible too, the new shuttle line takes you right there from Ōmiya station.
Our fourth museum of the trip was the memorial ship Mashumaru (摩周丸). This ships serves as a museum for the history of the Aomori - Hakodate ferry line that was obsoleted by the Seikan tunnel. Super cool to be able to explore the bridge! 日本語だけど
Spent our first day at the excellent Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. 30+ historic buildings from the Tokyo area relocated to a lovely park for you to explore. Lots of friendly staff, some of whom spoke English. Hard to capture the experience in photos, since so much of the delight was walking though and feeling the spaces.
@brunoph highly recommend both the Ōmiya and Kyōto railroad museums.
Third museum of the trip: the huge Ōmiya Railroad Museum! A must visit for any train enthusiast. Pictured here is the rolling stock exhibit, just one of five! We barely saw a third of it before we had to head out to catch our shinkansen to Hakodate. We'll be back for sure, maybe even this trip!
Second museum of the trip, the small but excellent Ōmiya Bonsai Art Museum. Lots of excellent information prepared me to appreciate their many beautiful bonsai. Also fully English bilingual signage!
This Japanese White Pine, named Chiyo-no-Matsu (千代の松) is over 500 years old and the largest at the museum, as tall as I am. 美しい。
And for dessert what else but Naruto Taiyaki Honpo. We had them first in Osaka and we're thrilled to find a location close to our hotel in Ueno. Their premium custard really does warrant the label, and we've just never found any other taiyaki as crispy. うまい！
Our first dinner back in Tokyo and it could not be anything but our favorite restaurant in the city: Tonkatsu Yamabe. Every bit as good as we remembered, and this time we hit up their original location.
Several other patrons were ordering not just larges but whole second orders and I completely understand. 美味しい
Lunch at the udon shop located in one of the historical buildings at the Tokyo Edo Open Air Architecture Museum. Two kinds of cold udon. Really hit the spot on this humid day.
@hwesta Infront of one of the 38 buildings at our first museum of the trip, the excellent Tokyo Edo Open Air Architecture Museum. とても面白い！
We're back in Japan! Just a couple nights in Ueno before heading north. Quaint local shrine next to our hotel.
