For the final city (June 6) before returning to Sapporo I chose
Otaru. Otaru is only about 40 minutes by train from Sapporo. I wanted someplace close for that final ride into Sapporo. However, Otaru is nowhere near Nemuro. It was a 10.5 hour train trip. The first leg on a local train again, the second on a fast limited express. Not a bullet train though. I haven't done that yet. It is in the future, for the return to Tokyo from Kyoto.
It turned out to be a rainy morning for the departure. Nevertheless, I decided to walk to the station. The hotel was not across the street from the station, but only a six minute walk. The rain was only a mist by the time I had breakfast and checked out; I didn't need an umbrella. It wasn't an unreasonably early departure (8:20), but very foggy and early enough that I saw a lot of deer during the first part of the ride. Unfortunately no shots, I didn't know when they'd turn up. You can understand that, can't you?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisrgI3HCeq2Ni71NrWtZpMmBfG0hSbN1-Gg6RK1yOPtceNXDVnMhDMntZwczYQfyptgsQi7reFTePR1oZw15XYytqCIBxpWEII63r8ygc_REtmCM273B5jjuRYJWk9EWiWM2kpLufdow/s320/IMG_2678.JPG) |
That train car is at the very last place on the line. Nemuro is it. I am headed in the other direction. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsAAP1Q3vWAeG-V8yyoxlm6HOB4jwUEDBLbx6mWxeWbTQLz6AtlF7pTaX55LXYDbedqig_X53N9S1T9IOmfEDvFyW2XWmSEIb6oO-ivAHqqhumy8tFjzMDPlS6D5Gv3FS78jFzyesYbA/s320/IMG_2680.JPG) |
Fellow travelers. I was relieved, I thought it might be full of school kids. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPpdmjZAr8WsDyCyH-ROyNOVW5mJwgfRfaKNK5Ia6T44HkymB7v5-TjNF1kKu0fHsXsslg6c1cy5PF7Fq6fBlqkc7ZkQ003X2W6pwTGLshofnWmIXJRYyq9Ej_MpNNPBu4571NfpWyw8/s320/IMG_2681.JPG) |
Only one way to go from here. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhu0d8s_zvZYvg7wFnjQK8Ibv7rjLmR13dsUcXkknBL3d2zeG7krQf-44fKoPlwm2QaVPYNG5SazudjykDkFEf9YjQTGH6c8m1V5U8Nh0rlE5I90TgRFKCGQWNwRDoNRVxHeGPyf2wBCg/s320/IMG_2684.JPG) |
My hotel. I guess it kind of looks like a prison too. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhxn5vPo8OUTZxG1hqz65U6lTn7GIDEtewds0EhVb_7aUU25giUPsEeZjfcji2WECdBasnOUoQ_ebmJ4ThDx4J-rG2lzS2U7MHAUgQRVAZWLBBA2UQpkEo6xucFsDIdfYjMRFugSluhw/s320/IMG_2686.JPG) |
Blossoms. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhlQbVMka3ad2BGuDtmRINVGFcAe2-6pKbYBUt65ZTt2CQant7-B18K3lMGjNoGJa6FwDHLmFB6_fPtF4k6R17AfPgdrwaTEKpnwHTa39RAGTHwcDRTzKLp2_C7Hy3e3R6ZtrkvokO2M/s320/IMG_2695.JPG) |
Cows. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tU_jACDD52p_EqKiA9DCDn1v3kVDf3dENoZm4-hAa7QSNb-kvL6h3CX0r9hI493K5Q4JJrznh4foogn02Mjjo1HBR2zgUfQLu4ff2aNltQofhD7RK3DusT3AC__sC-Pf9zZ6frzf93I/s320/IMG_2697.JPG) |
Gangsters. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QMo8feeXGq1EKwWjZW5StPxPZy6MK4UvSOsy1wQ51kESwO4i93LBoQC_RePHhzFsrgBX8_B2vFluUZs2mpMZ8SHRFob_xdoYZOKM2gJx694QdN3SV3LPEgifwocQ5QBtNSXQCeRAlq8/s320/IMG_2708.JPG) |
Has to be a small town. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vqAcTk03kXttNQD1HGvl8TGsYYbTx8NJtUc_RAuVhE5XnWkZ15-uH4_T8mSmik0n19WkU2wWGR51ui3_11e1qECYOO2NH4nHFBtuAHbnXVRzCxluw39jF8seo9gK7RfUXt42xmuZBU8/s320/IMG_2724.JPG) |
Somebody harvesting something. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcXcFl5XR0E-XcBv4tTte_OxEbDqC7wkZAsl5PmUKUqoDbCbPafxtCXUEp-o62aVeYTEIWOBYcPxJyWGv6MwJNhi2JGWfPt_M3VzODCPeNU-k1FrS3grWOYjHXFJHRweq0vYHrJvMF5o/s320/IMG_2734.JPG) |
I'm there, 10.5 hours later... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0frQpZT2mk2jX0ryNjHbAPbyL-604_ofvqKw3ldOnspklbBGwzU42BRmqnkHPzvLQVnZSpC1xrie0O32cOK_ZHNgzqwE4A8riEDcogps3VwqrDqhHY-bSzWGJj56pAqqzcHaV5aP0h0/s320/IMG_2735.JPG) |
Otaru. |
Walk-around...
Otaru is the first city I've been to since Fukuyama that I would call a tourist city. It was a bit of shock seeing lots of Westerners and businesses that cater to them. Refreshing in its way. Otaru had a slight San Francisco feel to me, with all those inclines and super-hip folks.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97Od-njutBo5ACFyCajIR64Cu1UUQ_apkOSxeVcq_naGjB4p7TG-4GvvNfGVSR81oysnPuiLERy_SDVtmSgnZDQjNngFX3Ufc42sG_o6Cu9EswHomCA9Xa5nIf_rGKpS5O-G76T2DnZE/s320/IMG_2741.JPG) |
What you see when you walk out of the train station. The brown building on the left is my hotel. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh315oTMZONQitcrK5q152k7YkfoMOFmwInIw0CTvgAwSdVtcu4oiL5jK2LBp5KonHLIGCk05fxYy2gumgEFVd0JNtAyrWLFVjJcMSqf1F2Ig7tOM2qq-WKZARlioAItg226kNSHMAi2Kg/s320/IMG_2744.JPG) |
View of the train station from my hotel room. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuN477Q095VZeUdPDC4TF4OL7hfuOcL3Ngs_7wLmA6cidROdwSf9j4dns8aWzBbVFjEdaEJBmXhHPu_-lDZfY3Aj6X0jZAgCliOwGIJhjeVzNAwFqRDoOgpg_WLLLRhUt9C4DlFmNLz0/s320/IMG_2774.JPG) |
Otaru, like most of the cities I went to has its own brewery. Their's is really German based. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Y6U-nnjsTn01WCVSLi99_GdKCEkpe844WfGICPamEdb5IydAfS2UXInOmDUTQH65_NiFQKzcpZCVXzBFX3U5N4i8syKz7WNX3SuU2VoMPB1ck6zuOACg6teESvyt30SEzqKFMomSq60/s320/IMG_2776.JPG) |
Styled after a German beer hall with German band music playing... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31uvjh8kcQe_bF1BJcAiY04ZgaZjIAVO0O-POAcodyB0vCxX8XMdI_wiRztBrHcpowvFv6C5n8YoKbjWqEOZ44twVTG7cT6xS9MqkEXMOt_3Yr-b9ULLukd5wLi9_ApK9z2MCC_qsawM/s320/IMG_2779.JPG) |
painted eggs and... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYI0rLEQzLyYORL7xPD7OgEu8zWkvyThtWkMPPXI1Yh87r3SMMv1FLPo8Zn5ap9fDru59tsaSiQXBQDQ-BHmYdF3io5cMnG6syWCwNSr14bu1hBWfnimvkgqUNhhTdM0v-Upv4Vy7sU4/s320/IMG_2782.JPG) |
beef paté. I had the dunkel. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7gzLQZNFxUSNk8ffjWa216RYjABoKdpWGFAS7rBk1iYNHPbEmszEJ7J-FBu4D37RLMliR-9i5eXGr9SZaO0Txjvbvtjyrpp9BkU1b96SFiyyB7J_9EJ_3NVMf9FDytil1ntxBhr0INY/s320/IMG_2792.JPG) |
Buses for bus people. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNY03XS_xvgosCz9pDLBUzAowgHycTp7vHA8ECaQlmAesY1vOcOaOKgyM001V8aTxwF-JQkEO9dce9kbapicMmuSWR7_FdD4BAIV2LUL9FWVJ-Txl7RY4XOLTcsGNx-zc5eh4STkMrTVA/s320/IMG_2794.JPG) |
They even have a short canal. It is so short you wonder why they bothered. You can take a boat ride on it though. |
The hotel clerk recommended a restaurant for me to have dinner. She even gave me a tourist map and circled the place, drew an arrow from the hotel; should have been easy. I am pretty good with maps. I was a boy scout, for cryin' out loud. Couldn't find this place to save my life. I even stopped someone on the street, showed him the map and asked for help. He did the Japanese thing that you often hear about: rather than trying to explain, he took the map and tried to walk me to the place. I say "tried," because ultimately it didn't make any sense to him either. I walked around for another 90 minutes trying to decide on a place. One place I decided on closed between the first time I saw it and when I decided to go back to it. There was a place I saw the back of a couple of times. I found the front on dark, narrow street. Turned out to be the place for me...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ayy3ySAQQNlPBu8GOQx-NGq7Jx6igfS-5D1gBWvQfvKvt4eAyeT7Eqr1uIi4A6eTHQ0jQCLyhUTMGxGP5SdWMUQOdLmREp6MT-yRCkY45UsC4HZ0Nx-khddd32H2Nj2t2FmIXCv0ZB8/s320/IMG_2801.JPG) |
The environment. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU4klXTvrevRnB3Pn4Gv6DVwbDXXSaMh8edBPnksNbeN_Sc_gLgPR4-GxjfN855BeRdDtt1EJP2irM9udQ5To4eqR56RIZxR-NtsM3MkwF9WrJ6z4BC21s4b96f1psl7biquQisv2QXk/s320/IMG_2803.JPG) |
I don't know what these are...not shrimp. Tasty. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqudm8TedDq-zjsbIXCo5XeC4cB-07V2OQU1AcBQs2GglYue9QT-U17YbDnPuFWUAYmitL6eR6l2ddC4exaXwXS492bqTQSXOpRZw5xN7e7ApgUH5RpDTSm3pTS16_XhJANDnL5WB0cs/s320/IMG_2805.JPG) |
Eggplant. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2Td3L7LfugIOI33c0Y-pS4s0QpkvLIk6JvadbDzm2fwHSyC8eN-jrYbTLUsx5heN1g5_lxROtwsorsxL3wxNjS6Au3BUc7d2tScRv8MXI9pfUUdKvOCZBZCZ72MllbRSLKMFCgPDVAI/s320/IMG_2806.JPG) |
Chicken. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7y760VrdaYd9mTeTHjZI6DPZ5IOqa9HeZFiNBJHWrj5EdTJ0ZSxAs1Vk5qMQxZi3sQpWZvjlQN4EK3_Jt0l7LPSljrhp9mwES4rpAzyF5xknLZYfMn4wXfpfzaRW2g644NReN-Si-9fc/s320/IMG_2804.JPG) |
Some kind of snail. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91B_qczMx1j2KUGarJoOdDMzPUzH1z6KQqnxs0dX7oEqIv1TOA8AMD5Am0-Wuq4GdABvp03Usgsdn9sE-c8-UU5ljEur648PkzQbXeR2p08o3S0-BxD4HLSrEIO3VfrkCtactw91NEYY/s320/IMG_2808.JPG) |
Hoke (hoki). |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0jzAKR8xoQTIt2Zz4_ErhRTeyjIVhaZPMenQNg7D7drPu8-Ujhl2uAhWmqZl8FQrWXWefjmIIwGKqmXUb23CgYSUfhHWQ-5gkzbWxQPouUWzPBQBN2QbsWbGHlT27ZqiZkvPNC-HtP8/s320/IMG_2812.JPG) |
Fellow diners; they are from Nara. That is the dog of the restaurant. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0J2UEFAjktr-Z5PvE0HsLgGZTbznFVA4amUS5r4wFjN4Oj3nynfVWOtMvCFuVYsJUCtVBtX8vgZNWbZJZKiLFqyRfQWtS3VnZr5dO7bAqk4-tVvqrmHsfwZCodqeCcSzINki3KxBxN0/s320/IMG_2813.JPG) |
The chef with his wife/business partner and their dog. And me. No English. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNu2_B1aeMhR9joJgoWkmSgUUD8yARUjTa2IHMVXFNPMfYGoDVrUn10jDYyuvyValvUTOpTfY8Pvbu9AvNLWK7U_cei3xR-IKNSf-0NjcpQrW1_1GPSiBN-wA79hTHZSgnTcaVuYf1EmY/s320/IMG_2815.JPG) |
The hotel in Otaru (Route Inn) has a tradition for the cold months, that I guess they feel haven't ended. Between 9:30 and 11:00 PM, go up to the restaurant, show your room key and get a complimentary bowl of ramen. I wasn't hungry, but I had to try it. |
Pretty dog!
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