“It seems the more information and communication humans have, the more stupid they are, the more facts and tools they have, the more they get distrustful, spreading fake facts and lies and ignorance and fear until they become stupefied and closed off from their hearts.”
Salena Godden, “Mrs Death Misses Death”
The fun continues, as I bitterly reach the end of the Hokkaido leg of my trip. So far I’ve been having a blast getting accustomed to the language, food, and norms. Still, I am starting to feel what it means to leave the West, and be the only white person around.
Table of Contents
17 February 2023
- 7:00-7:30 rotenburo round 2
- Ride to Biei, 9:52-10:26 Biei to Asahikawa, 10:30-12:00 Asahikawa to Sapporo
- Lunch at Suage+
- Shiroi Koibito Park (1-2h)
Back to Sapporo
I haven’t been sleeping much in the past week since coming to Japan. Major sleep signs. I woke up earlier than my alarm and decided to check out the other rotenburo at the hotel. Every day they switch up the men and women baths, so you get the chance to enjoy both.
I didn’t have my phone with me. This one was under huge boulders, almost like a cave. The part of them that faced the snow and the view of the mountains was covered in ice.
A very nice British guest dropped me off at Biei, where I boarded two trains to Sapporo.
Using a squat toilet on the train was a bit weird. I guess it’s natural to squat while doing your business, but the modern world has made it feel like the opposite. It’s a bit hard to do both businesses as a guy, though.
Every onsen shower and public restroom I’ve been to has had automatic faucets and shower heads. You can’t choose when to turn them off, they work for a certain amount of time. I’ve found this a little wasteful, because they went on longer than I needed. You can turn then on again if it wasn’t enough for you, though.
When the train reached Asahikawa, a staff member wearing a very formal suit stood by the exit, said “arigato gozaimasu”, and bowed each time a passenger got off. There were lots of passengers going one after the other, so the bowing and thanking was rapid fire.
On my second train, the conductor checked everyone’s tickets, and then bowed at the front of the carriage.
As I walked out of the train station, I realised I’d had my JR Pass scheduled to start today. I paid for an expensive limited express train, when I could’ve just used my free pass.
After depositing my bags at the hotel, I had lunch with a tourist from Singapore I’d met in Lake Akan.
Shiroi Koibito Factory
Next we went to Shiroi Koibito, a chocolate factory in Sapporo. I hadn’t heard of it beforehand. Entry was free for me because I came the day after my birthday. I’ve been spending so much money on ling-distance travel in Hokkaido and tours and experiences and winter clothes and whatnot, that I was happy to do something fun for free. I even got a complimentary cup of hot chocolate: my favourite drink.
This place was kind of wild because it was modelled after London. The gates were like Buckingham Palace’s, the clock tower like the Big Ben, the building partially resembled medieval houses; there was a double decker bus and a greenhouse like the ones in Kew Gardens. Inside was a collection of European paintings and china. Very bizarre to experience this sort of thing in Japan.
We didn’t have time to attend one of the workshops, because my interview was scheduled to air. But there wasn’t a TV in the café, and I couldn’t find the channel online.
Back on the train to the city centre, there was a girl with three Gengar plushies on the train. The kind of thing you only see in Japan.
We visited a huge stationary shop with 4 floors. An artist’s heaven. Checked out some souvenir shops, and then I went to buy a suitcase at Donki. It was an unexpected expense; bringing a huge bag instead of a suitcase to Japan had turned out to be an equally huge error in judgment, which cost me quite a lot. I’d overpacked, thinking I’d be cold and need more clothes than I actually did. Every day so far I’ve left behind stuff at my accommodations, begrudingly saying goodbye to my belongings.
I’ve been really angry at myself for making this mistake & for paying a lot for the train as well. I’m on a very tight budget, and I have to tone it down like ASAP, but there are so many things to experience here…
Leaving Hokkaido is gonna be hard. It’s an amazing island with so much variety. Gorgeous nature, unique experiences, delicious food, festivals and light-up events, the best ski resorts in the world… Will the southern part of Japan compare? I suppose it’s a completely different vibe down there. If I’d had more time and money, I would’ve spent at least a month just in Hokkaido. And another month in the summer.
Today’s highlights: the bouldery rotenburo; delicious soup curry lunch; and the chocolate factory that transported me back to London.
Stray observations:
- Apparently Japan has secret brothels called Soapland. I keep learning stuff like this that blows me away.
- Real wasabi might be the best way to clear your sinuses. It goes straight up to your nose. Strong doesn’t even begin to describe it. My eyes tear up every time I eat it.
- You disinfect your hands and wear gloves and a mask when picking up food at a hotel buffet.
- I like how walkways are very orderly. You walk on the left side. No bumping into people.
- I also like how people queue up to board the train or bus way before it arrives. Even like 20m or so.
- Even wilder, the fact that if you’re a group of 3-4 people boarding a train, you can turn a pair of 2 seats around so they face another 2, and create a spot for 4 people.
- Wearing masks on public transporation used to be mandatory in the west too, but here on top of that you are asked to refrain from loud conversations & from talking while eating (to not open your mouth). People in the west might scream “THIS VIOLATES MY FREEDOM!!!!11”, but I like how Japanese people are more considerate of others.
- I called a remote place I’d booked to confirm how to get there. It took me 10 minutes to understand everything. Phone calls in Japanese are even harder than conversations face-to-face.
18 February 2023
- Nijo market
- 11:30-12:45 Sapporo to Noboribetsu train, 13:00-13:15 bus to Noboribetsu Onsen
- Lunch at Yudesoba
- Noboribetsu Hell Valley (30-60m) + 7th rotenburo in a row!
- 17:05-17:20 bus to Noboribetsu station, 18:08-20:23 train to Shin-Hakodate
Nijo Market
Today started with a seafood market. I hadn’t planned on checking it out, because I’m not really a market guy, but my hotel was right in front of it. There was a nice selection of fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables. Seeing crabs was a bit much for me, though.
I waited an hour and a half to eat at a tiny place for eight people. The quality of the fish was unreal. If you want to eat well in Japan in the cities, you have to wait. Last week I saw a 2h line to a bakery.
After breakfast, I checked out at the literal last minute (“girigiri” as the Japanese say) and went to the post office to ship my bag home. Dragging a suitcase on snow is hard, but a thousand times better than carrying everything one your back.
Next, I stopped by a drugstore to buy a stain remover. The soft and cosy HeatTech white shirt I’d bought at Uniqlo last week gets stained every time I wear it. I’ve already washed it twice. At this rate, buying a new one will be cheaper.
I love how convenient train stations are here, as well as the trains themselves. Ample room for legs. But the head rest reached my shoulders, so that was a bit bothersome.
Noboribetsu
After that, I reached my next destination: “Noboribetsu Onsen”, which roughly translates to “Hot Spring Heaven”.
Well, no, it doesn’t, but it seemed like it. There were sculptures of oni (Japanese demons) in the streets and vents everywhere, and plenty of hotels with onsen baths.
I had soba for the first time. A tempura variant with some seafood. It was a nice appetizer. I can’t call that a full meal.
Then I visited Noboribetsu Jigokudani, arguably Japan’s finest hell valley. It was so beautiful, that I let out a little laugh.
It was smelly and windy, too. The water temperature reached 80 Celsius. A narrow river was flowing through the valley; the sound of the water was better than any painkiller.
I can’t believe places like this exist, and the only thing stopping me from seeing them is money.
The hell valley didn’t take me long. Some walking trails were closed due to snow. I couldn’t resist the temptation, and visited yet another rotenburo. There was a long line at the hotel’s reception, so I knew I’d come to a good place.
First, there was a huge indoor bath with, weirdly, a sculpture of the Three Graces. I couldn’t see anything inside because it was too steamy, so I soaked for like five minutes or so. Plus, I came for the open-air bath anyway.
This one featured lounging chairs (one of which was covered in ice). The onsen’s hot water exit was right next to a small, half-frozen waterfall that was flowing into the onsen, so once again the experience was both boiling and freezing.
The place was packed – probably fifty Japanese men, and me. So far I’ve been either alone or with 1-3 other people.
I was starting to get the feeling some Japanese people aren’t too fond of white people.
In-between soaking, I lounged on a chair and let my feet “rest” on snow and ice. At some point, an old lady (fully clothed) came in and checked the water temperature. Just her and fifty naked men.
It was the most expensive and expansive onsen I’ve been to so far, and I paid so much for it, that I stayed there a full hour, until I was about to pass out.
Hot and thirsty, I left Noboribetsu. You know you’re in the middle of nowhere when the station has no konbini right next to it.
My First Bout of Xenophobia
My experience with locals has been really head-scratching so far. Many are enthusiastic, want to help, want to hear where I’m from and how come I speak a little Japanese. But then I board a train, a middle-aged Japanese woman sees me sit nearby, and goes sit somewhere else, looking startled all the while.
I feel really vile every time it happens. Sometimes I ask for directions in Japanese and people ignore me. I asked two guys at the rotenburo something, and they looked the other way.
I don’t know if it’s Covid or racism. I feel absurd for using the latter word as a white person; white people invented racism. Or maybe it’s just toward me, and fellow Caucasians don’t experience that. Maybe I come off as scary here? Even though I’ve been the harmless nerd all my life?
The train woman jumped a little when she first glimpsed me. She was that freaked out.
Maybe it’s just because I’m in small places in Hokkaido, and the southern cities are different.
Then again, I heard some bars in Tokyo have “NO FOREIGNERS” sign at the entrance.
Apart from small moments like this, everything is superb.
Today’s highlights: getting rid of that torturous bag in favour of a suitcase; the hell valley; the rotenburo.
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