North Sea Road Chapter 4 - Noboribetsu （登別）

Travelling around rural areas by public transport only is not easy. Trains do not run as frequently as metro (intra-city subway). For most destinations the train only comes once per hour (sometimes only once per 2 or 3 hours). Thus it's very crucial to plan the itinerary carefully and adhere to the schedule closely, to avoid wasting precious time by waiting for the next train.

Taking bus is even worse. For less-travelled destinations there are only 3 or 4 trips each day. The service ends pretty early too. If you take the last bus to visit a place, you won't be able to return because the same bus makes its final return trip back to the original point (a loop service). Zzzz.

The good thing is the trains and buses usually arrive and depart on time. If the timing is planned nicely, the itinerary can proceed very smoothly. The bad thing is that we have to keep track of time all the time (eg. how much time to spend at one place) and this makes the schedule rather rigid. And it's very tiring to flip through the bus/train timetable all the time. Many attractions are not very close to the train stations, so taking a shuttle bus is required (and really costly too).

Actually Hokkaido is best explored by car. But we aren't very experienced drivers, so for safety's sake...


Noboribetsu is a hot spring town, and its hot spring resort is quite a popular tourist destination. No $$$ to stay in such hotels though...

'Mascot' of Noboribestu. Why use such hideous devil? We shall know later...

The hot spring resort  is always shrouded with mist. Looks like the huge amount of steam released enhances the formation of clouds.

Do you BEAR to sit on them?

阎罗王？！

There is lots of 'smoke' coming from this tunnel. And it's making loud booming noises too. What's that?? Let's take a closer look...

A geyser! It spouts water every 3 hours. We were lucky to have caught this.

Not scared of you =p

This map shows the various hot spring spots in Hokkaido.

A large bath complex. There are 7 kinds of hot springs available, which differ by composition and medical effect.

Hell Valley. Why is Hell so smoky in the first place?

What the Hell.

Hell is pretty isn't it?

Newcomers to Hell must report to 阎罗王 at the centre.

Another gushing geyser! The sign reads 'Do not throw coins into it.' Thanks to whoever invented the wishing well.

The concept of forest fire is so imaginary that it requires inverted commas.

After a long trek, we reached the inner area where we saw more geysers and spring ponds. It also started to drizzle. =(

Looks like a crater filled with hot water.

仿佛进入了仙境

If what we saw previous was 地狱, this one must be 天堂. Rested here for a foot bath. The stream is really hot, but my feet feels energized after that. Ready for more trekking!

I guess it would be much better to visit hot springs during winter haha. Then we can appreciate its warmth.

North Sea Road Chapter 3 - Ainu Village

Ainu is an aboriginal race of Japan, concentrated in Hokkaido. It used to face discrimination from the mainstream Japanese people. Today, the Ainu people have mostly assimilated within the Japanese ranks such that they are hardly distinguishable. This means their unique culture is also vanishing.

Ainu culture is very different from we commonly know about traditional Japan. Their language sounds very different too. Kinda similar to China and Taiwan 原住民.

大长老

Nice roofs, but no Ainu lives in such houses nowadays.

Cultural performance by a group of vanishing minority.

The typical 'dance-in-a-circle'.

This picture doesn't make you think of Japan right? Haha.

I feel transported back in time...

Handiwork. Clothing, weaves, decorations etc.

Hunting during the harsh winters.

What a fish sees before it dies.

Buy a bear feed and drop it into this pipe. Don't throw rubbish inside ok?

Sorry I don't see a point in spending money to feed you. The park attendants will feed you anyway.

North Sea Road Chapter 2 - Hakodate's Night View （函館の夜景）

如果我们能在一起

你的天使会比以前爱美丽

会更美丽 就像函馆的夜景

                     ~ 梁静茹 - 《如果能在一起》 （2008）

Hakodate is well known for its spectacular night view. It is dubbed as one of the Top 3 night views in the world. Where are the other 2? I've already seen one of them. As for the 3rd one, I've been to the country but didn't get to visit that city. Go figure! Haha.

When the sun was almost set, we made our way up Mount Hakodate.

Ropeway up Mt Hakodate.

Wah why so crowded? Luckily the journey was short.

Sky's still bright. This view is more shiok than the previous observatory tower.

I didn't know Mt Hakodate is so popular to the extent that I can't find a free edge to lean on and enjoy the scenery properly.

I like this pic a lot. Probably due to the azure blue.

Why are there so many people? What are they 'camping' for??

Sky's dark now. There were lots of misty clouds blowing past. And it was really cooooold due to the strong winds.

The mystery of the huge crowd was finally solved when the sky turned dark. I let out a big "Orhhhh...No wonder..." in my mind when I saw spouts of...Fireworks!!! I was totally unaware of this fireworks event when I planned the itinerary to visit here. I guess I'm luckily in some way hehe. The only downside is having to squeeze with the crowds.

After thinking a little deeper, it makes sense now why I had lots of difficulty booking an accommodation for that night haha.

Actually I prefer to watch fireworks close-up. If it's too far, it feel likes watching from TV or video...not much effect.

This fireworks show is different from that in SG, where many are launched at one shot in a quick successive manner. The show, which spanned over an hour, was divided into many segments with their own special themes, such as animals, colours etc. Before each segment was an introduction about the background behind the fireworks, such as which city/organization designed or sponsored it etc. The fireworks were launched bit by bit. Good for audience who wants to sit back and enjoy for a long time. May not appeal to people who likes rapidfire or seeing the entire sky filled with fireworks.

It was really cold up there, and I forgot to bring my jacket. But for the sake of my favourite fireworks, I persevered to the end.

Finale. A big one to wrap up the hour-long show. Yay no mist =).

There was a huge jam after the show ended. Was impressed at how a traffic marshaller went out of his way to show us the direction to the bus stop. Really love their kind of service. ^_^

North Sea Road Chapter 1 - Hakodate （函館）

We could have just taken a domestic flight from Tokyo, and avoid all the long train trips and transfers. But the most budget flights are nowhere as cheap as those in Europe. If you want to save $$$, you have to lose time...

Outside the train station. The dark clouds were threatening.

Strolling to the mountains in the distance. As if...

How cool. Petrol pump nozzles dangling from the ceiling.

What I like about Japan is they usually have such colourful and attractive visitor-friendly maps at towns and places of interest.

Cutest tram I've ever encountered. It has got eyes in front too! ^_^

Uhh...Intriguing street name (describing Japan's current situation).

Japan and its English.

When you're too lazy to translate.

Finally got a chance to ride a tram, after failing to do so in Europe. Basically it feels like a bus haha.

Visited a star-shaped fort. Reminds me of the star-shaped park I visited in Copenhagen.

Serenity.

A shrine located in the middle of the Star.

Somehow or other the dark clouds cleared, thankfully.

Stairway to Heaven.

I have an obsession with observatory towers and looking from high spots...

...And here I am haha. The fort looks pretty nice from the top.

The foreground may not be pretty, but I like the background a lot.

Nice 'advertisement' targeting people at the observatory deck.

The tour agent said, "The size of Hakodate is like Tampines. Very easy to walk around one." Yeah rite.

That hill (Mount Hakodate) is our next destination. Just waiting for the sun to set.

It feels really great to travel with someone who shares the same mentality as me. Hee.