I am.. Peter MacWhinnie.

This post is several days late, however I have not really felt like writing anything until now. So, this post is about the first day of my weekend in Japan, Saturday.

The day started out slightly different from the rest of the week. We got up at the normal time, however Steven did not make breakfast. We had to get to the train station early to go into Aomori-shi. Once we got into Aomori-shi we walked to the shopping center across from the train station and when to Vie de France for breakfast. The food there was eclectic and served buffet style. I had a cinnamon roll, french toast sandwich (with cheese and ham), and something else I can’t remember right now. It was a pretty alright breakfast.

After having breakfast, we went back into the train station. We had to board the train to go to Hakodate in Hokkaido. We were going to spend the night at an inn with Onsen. We met Steven’s girl friend Mio on the train when it stopped in Aomori and off we went. The train ride was a couple of hours, and it was sort of neat. In order to get to Hokkaido we had to go underwater in the Seikan Tunnel. The tunnel was 240 meters (roughly 787 feet) under water and was 53.85 kilometers (33.46 miles) long. There were several tunnels before and after the underwater tunnel, they went through the mountains. All of the tunnels were incredibly loud, and the air pressure in them was sort of intense (had to keep popping my ears).

After arriving in Hakodate, we went to lunch at a ramen shop and proceeded to go to tourist destinations. We took the tram (street car) around the city, which was sort of neat. It was quite an effective means of travel. While walking around the city we saw a most peculiar cat. It was guarding a building and was very friendly. It was a calico, and seemed to really like to be made off. It was obviously trained, after we finished patting it it proceeded to go back and sit in front of the building again.

We saw the churches, which were Catholic, Russian Orthodox, and Episcopalian. The first two were beautiful on the outside, and the third one looked sort of odd (it was modern). We did not go into any of the churches as mum would have had to take off her shoes, which was a bit of a challenge for her (she had her walking shoes on which did not come off and go on easily).

After seeing the churches, we went up to Mt. Hakodate. We took the Hakodate rope way, which took us right up (and down) the mountain in a matter of minutes. On the top of the mountain, we went to the gift shop where we bought some gifts for people. After going to the gift shop, we went outside and took in the view. It was spectacular, you could see in all directions. We took quite a few pictures. It was interesting to see the city from so high up. It seems worth noting that while on Mt. Hakodate I managed to find the drink I had had previously from the vending machine on Apple hill. It was in fact called Ambasa, and it was awesome to be able to have another one.

After coming down from the mountain, we walked around the city for a bit. We proceeded to go to the red brick warehouses, which were revitalized warehouses turned into shopping centers. I can’t say I thought they were that interesting, but we walked around several of them looking at random things. We didn’t buy anything. After walking around the red brick warehouses, we went and got a snack. We went to Snaffles, a snack type restaurant. We had cake and coffee there, and the cake was delicious.

After walking around the city for a bit more and seeing random sights, we took the tram to the inn we were saying at, Ichi-no-matsu. The inn was really very nice. When we got there, mum proceeded to watch the original Star Trek series in Japanese while the rest of us walked down to the local convenience store. At the convenience store Mio and Steven bought themselves some beer and a cocktail drink for the evening, as well as some snacks for later.

After coming back from the convenience store, we proceeded to go to the Onsen. The Onsen were/was awesome. The clean feeling after you go into them is indescribable. However, sort of amusingly both me and Steven were lightheaded after going in. The Onsen were incredibly hot, and after coming out of them my head was swimming.

Once we came back from the Onsen, it was time for supper. It was very interesting to watch the lady (who worked at the inn) set it all up. The amount of food they gave us was incredible. There were four of us, and there was easily enough food for six people. Mum and Mio got the time we were eating supper a bit mixed up, so we ate about 15 minutes late. The food was delicious, ‘though I don’t think I could put a name to any of it right now.

After eating we proceeded to relax and enjoy the evening. We talked a bit and watched crappy Japanese television. Mum went to bed fairly early, and I spent the rest of the night watching Steven and Mio get drunk (which was funny). We went to bed around 11:30 PM (23:30).

We woke up somewhat early in the morning, I believe it was around 7. The first thing we did was go back to the Onsen. I must say (again) that the clean feeling after going in the Onsen is incredible. After we went to the Onsen we came back to our room and had breakfast. They gave us way to much food for breakfast, and none of us were able to finish what was given to us. While (and after) eating breakfast we watched a red sox game on TV.

After checking out of the hotel, we walked back to the tram. We proceeded to go to Mister Donut and have coffee and (obviously) donuts. After going to Mister Donut we walked around the area a little bit and went to a department store where Mio bought a clip for her hair. After going to the department store we walked over an observatory that overlooked Fort Goryokaku (park). I don’t know what the name of the observatory was, but the view was incredible. We spent a bit of time at the top of it and took many, many pictures. After coming down from the observatory, we walked into Fort Goryokaku (park). We didn’t really do much in the park, just bought some drinks from a vending machine and enjoyed the beautiful day. We also took a few pictures.

After going to the park, we had lunch. We ate italian food, which was good. I have to say that tomatoes are awesome in Japan. I actually enjoyed having spaghetti for lunch.

Once we finished lunch, we started to head back in the direction of the train station. Somewhere along the way we stopped at another convenience store where mum discovered she could use a credit card. She then proceeded to shop around for what must have been an hour and bought gifts for a few people. It was boring.

After going to the department store, we went back to the train station. Along the way Steven and Mio bought gifts for their co-workers (a thing you do in Japan to say I am sorry you weren’t with me when I was on vacation). After they bought their gifts we went to Doutor (a coffee shop) where we had, you know, coffee. It was the first and only place that had free wifi. It was sort of nice.

After going to the coffee shop, we went back to the train station and boarded. We departed and went back to Aomori-shi. The train ride back was uneventful. I listened to music along the way and mum napped. I have no clue what Steven and Mio did, they were sitting in the row behind us. [They] probably talked.

Once we got back to Aomori-shi, we went to supper. We went to an Izakaya. The food was delicious, and for the first time I got to try horse. Steven and Mio would not tell us what the meat they were serving us was. After we ate it, it turned out to be horse. It was absolutely delicious, I would recommend anyone try it.

After going to the Izakaya, we took the train back to Namioka. Mio spent the night with us, as she wanted to see us off in the morning. Once we got back we had to pack like mad and get ready to go home the next day. While we were packing Steven and Mio went down to the local convenience store to get snacks and drinks. They picked me up some coffee for the next morning, which was greatly appreciated.

We went to bed early that night, we had to get up early the next day to leave Japan. I must say that I enjoyed the weekend. The Onsen was awesome and so were the sights in Hakodate. Also, strangely enough, people in Hakodate spoke better english than people in Aomori. I will at some point get around to posting pictures from the weekend.