Snoo's kitchen

Breakfast was very interesting – burners were lit and tofu with vegetables started to simmer. As Bert had flashed his No Shellfish card, his tofu didn’t have any pink things with it. There was some black seaweed stuff, some salmon which appeared to be heavily smoked and dried, rice, pickles and the rest I couldn’t begin to tell you what it was. Oh – and a garlic sausage which we were told to boil with the tofu. Quite tasty. We both yearned for some Crunchy Nut Cornflakes – but at least we felt healthy (well I did, not sure about how Bert felt).

We then climbed a mountain! It was a gorgeous day and we walked up to the cable car, full of energy and anticipation.

I was a bit nervous about what I should take – the day looked sunny and the book had indicated no cafe at the top – or toilet. You can buy toilet bags in the hotel to take up the mountain but they just looked too weird even for me. The Lonely Planet guide says “Asahidake peak is an arduous ninety minute to two-hour slog over slippery volcanic rock from the ropeway station, but the view is fantastic”. That last bit sold it for me! 

I packed some seaweed crackers, the last of the lavender chocolate and my trusty Waitrose love life fruit and nuts. A jumper, a long sleeved t shirt and a rain mac and a good amount of water. 

So we set off on our arduous slog. It was very hot and most of the other climbers were Japanese – they were fully mountain-geared up, with proper walking boots, sticks, gaiters, long trousers, long-sleeved t shirts, proper hats, good rucksacks, bear bells…. Bert and I were a little underdressed and stood out from the crowd – I was in shorts and t shirt and trainers, while Bert was in blue corduroys and a short-sleeved shirt, and his work shoes. We had no bear bells. 

But we did it! It was arduous but not that arduous. And the view was fantastic. 

The most arduous bit was walking down – it seems to always trigger a Kilimanjaro memory – hours of scree running. But we both made it down in one piece. We bought up the shop in terms of chips and pizza rolls – Bert found some more lavender chocolate so we stocked up. 

Back at the hotel, we both headed for our respective onsens. Walking ladies take note, we need to find a place where, at the end of the day’s walking, we can shower and sit naked in hot baths of varying temperature – preferably with beers in hand (or whisky macs). It truly is the best thing!

We have another gala dinner tonight so will write about that later. Meantime, going to play pingpong and have a beer. 

Here are some flowers for you to identify, if you can. Oh, and the butterflies up the mountain were gorgeous! 

Was hoping that a white-gloved  someone would come out and fill my car up for me at the petrol station but I guess I chose a self-service petrol station. Had to move the car around as the petrol cap was on the other side – and had to guess how much petrol it needed before I could fill up – but it all went smoothly in the end and we were on our way to the mountains via the lavender/poppy fields. I know I have said this before, but the Japanese drive very slowly. Even Bert, who has only had 4 driving lessons, remarked on the snail’s pace. But, without the need to rush anywhere, it is quite therapeutic – I just hope I don’t bring this habit back to Godalming as I am sure to be hooted at. 

The scenery changed very quickly after turning off the toll road and the forests were lovely. Very alpine. We took a break beside a lake which had an abandoned cafe and a large T Rex statue…

Onward to Furano – belly button festival town and home to all things lavender. There was a food festival going on when we arrived, a kid’s talent show and an enormous tummy button bouncy castle. Best of all I found a bakery which had cakes galore. We filled up on some delicacies – looking at the photos, I wish I had bought some more!

This little cake (above) was amaze balls!

We saw the gorgeous fields of lavender as we headed on through Biei although I think we missed the best. We stopped for lavender ice cream at lavender-land and I bought a few lavender-themed gifts 🙂

An hour later we arrived at our onsen in the mountains. This place is superb – the onsen is fab and we have just had a tasting menu that rivals many I have had in London. With a bottle of Furano white wine (not lavender flavoured), it’s time for bed. 

And yes, they make lavender chocolate…

I think the sulphur got to me and I was happy to get up and get moving on from Noboribetsu. We hit the motorway which was so empty it was like driving used to be ‘back in the day’. The car talks to us every now and then, but we have no idea what she is saying – I guess if it was urgent, she would flash some red lights. We hit Sapporo just as the rush hour started, or maybe the traffic is heavy all day. My normal reaction would be to get stressed and grumpy about queuing in a car but none of the usual road rage feelings kicked in and we eventually found our hotel. Bert hopped out of the car and sorted out where it was exactly and I practised calmness. The hotel were lovely – took the car off me and let us leave our bags as we were about 4 hours early. 

We walked to the end of the road and found the botanical gardens which promised a museum of the Ainu people. This turned out to be one small room with quite a few artefacts, labelled in English, but wasn’t  quite what we were expecting. The light drizzle also felt like we were in England on a typical summer’s day. I think the gardens would look fab in autumn, we were just a few months too early. 

Lunch time and Bert found a great local place where we had our first beers and I had my first miso soup and tempura – everything was delicious. 

We checked in and the lady was so helpful – showed us how to use everything in the room and brought us some welcome cakes. Kneeling on the floor of our room, she explained how she would make up the beds while we were out. We went our separate ways into the onsen and while small, it was lovely. I crashed out for a few non-sulphur hours of sleep and woke feeling so much better. 

The beer museum was calling us from the other side of the park, so we jumped in a taxi and just said Sapporo beer garden. Easily done. We went round the museum – bit boring – although it seems like women have been appearing in beer adverts since the 1800s. Time to sample! We went for the full Monty – 3 each – later I realised it was just us having the 3 types per person – English lager louts! We both got a bit giddy and went on a spending spree in the shop…but I was proud that I resisted the temptation to buy chocolate beer jellies. 

Bert had found out earlier (through a match on tinder) that there was a big fireworks display so we headed down to the river (showed the taxi driver a picture of a firework and he did a great impersonation of one). It was amazing. Nearly an hour of oohs and aahs. Thousands of people had lined the banks of the river with most of the girls dressed up in kimonos. Luckily we found a spot near the loos. 

It was then time to seek out the lamb BBQ which had been hightlighted in the Lonely Planet guide, by UBert and by Bert’s tinder match. I had identified a place in particular – Husband will know what happened next – and once we arrived at the said special place, we joined a queue for an hour. Bert was so patient. (Husband – it was just an hour! Dominique Ansell was two hours, no?)

It really was worth the wait! It was a Mongolian BBQ and the lamb was delicious – we cooked it ourselves and I had more beer while Bert went for apple vodka. The kimchi was also fab. There were only about 10 people in the restaurant at one time and we all sat round a central bar with our own BBQ. Took less time to eat than to queue but at least TMS was available while we were standing in line. 

We are off to the middle of the forests today via Furano and some lavender fields. Wonder if they have lavender chocolate!

If Maldon is salt town (or mud town) then Hakodate is squid town…and there are many squid icons dotted about town. We mooched about and went up the ropecar, aka cable car, to see the lights of Hakodate twinkling in the night.  

Have broken the back of the jet lag and slept all the way through to 6pm. A bit of a potter and then I headed to the market while Bert went to the onsen again. As you may have seen, I tried sea urchin. I ate some of it. I really couldn’t finish it. The market was fantastic – snow crabs, scallops, weird stuff, live squid, dead squid, steam-rolled squid…. 

Luckily, the melons are in season and I soothed my tastebuds with some really fresh melon. I bought some cherries and a perfectly round peach. Headed back to the hotel to check out and then we set off to find a Lucky Pierrot. I had spotted that they only make 20 super big burgers a day and Bert’s interest was piqued. Needless to say, his favourite meal in Japan, to date, is pictured below:

…and that wasn’t the really big one! We headed off to join the motorway to Noboribetsu. It didn’t really seem like a motorway- everyone seemed to be driving so slowly in their mini-mokes. Some of the cars resemble Postman Pat’s van. I have sent Husband pictures of Porsches I have seen in Tokyo but I am not sure where you would be able to drive more than 60mph…

We stopped off at Onuma Quasi National Park and took a swan pedallo (sp) on the beautiful lake which was full of water lilies and tiny islands. To complete the touristy visit, we had lavender ice-creams – delicious!

Arriving at Noboribetsu, we smelt the sulphur immediately. The hotel is enormous – such a contrast to last night. There was no bed in the bedroom, but then we opened a cupboard and found some mattresses and some duvets. So am writing this lying on the floor – will be good for my back. 

It’s a very busy touristy town – the highlight is the baths, of which there are seven healing pools, a sauna, a steamroom and an outside hot spring pool. I kinda got it right today but there were some many different “stations” which were explained in Japanese but I just had to dip my toe in to work out how hot it was. I also surreptitiously watched what other women were doing and copied them.  It is an odd thing but I think it would be good to have a mate there. But I did go in every pool so according to the guide in the room, I should have a healthier heart, no more rheumatism, beautiful skin, no women’s problems and will live longer. Gets my vote..

Dinner was a Mark Warner buffet affair but the food was so much better. I had snowcrab, langoustine tempura and beef fillet. And three types of ice cream – green tea, Cabernet Sauvignon and Hokkaido cheese. Green tea was great, the others not so.

While walking up to Hell’s Valley – which is a volcanic “park”, we were befriended by a local government official who was very friendly and wanted to take our photo. He explained there was a fireworks display at 8.30pm and to get there early – by 7.30pm- to secure a good place. We wandered up at 8.30pm and got there just as it started. It was all over in 20 minutes and consisted mainly of 6 people dressed up as Devils and holding enormous Roman candles which were set off in sequence. We were really glad that we hadn’t waited an hour…

Off to see an Ainu village before driving to Sapporo and a beer tour 🙂 

TMS is on and Bert has fallen asleep. I will turn in and turn off! Oh, and by the way, the cheese here is also very good for you…

First ride on a bullet train: UBert got up extra early to come to our hotel and take us to Tokyo station, steering us to the right platform. What a man! We found the kiosk with the bento boxes – I took a while deciding – there was one shaped like a bullet train and a Pokemon one, but I reckoned they were for real kids. A man in the kiosk reached straight for the smoked eel one so I reckoned that would be a good one. Bert waved his card at the cashier and was given a vegetable box. 

The platform was very organised with queuing lines for each train marked on the floor and the number of the car very visible. There were train cleaners dressed in Hawaiian shirts, with dainty hats supporting a brightly coloured flower, who bowed the train’s arrival and then jumped on the train and cleaned it. Southwest trains could learn a lot. The train left dead on time. To the second. No announcements apologising for running late, explaining the delay due to a driver not bothering to turn up, or another train’s fault. Was so refreshing.

So despite it being only 8.30am, we tucked into our bento boxes. I think I won the best box choice (although you could say Bert didn’t really choose his, it chose him). Mine was delicious. Bert’s was colourful but much was unidentifiable. The trolley arrived within minutes of us leaving and I bought a much needed coffee. Was less pricey than Southwest trains and infinitely more tasty. The early morning wakefulness caught up with us and I dozed a little while we sped through Tokyo and the burbs. An hour later we saw more green and the clouds cleared and we saw a blue sky. 

First time driving in Japan: Four hours and 525 miles later, we pulled into Hakodate shinsen station – a beautiful and very new building. We booked our train back and then set off to the Nissan car hire shop. A short wait and an upgrade (from what to what I couldn’t tell you), and I was pulling out into the highway in Japan. The Nissan lady had put the satnav into English but we couldn’t work out how to input the hotel address so google maps stepped in and, with a couple of odd diversions, we arrived at our hotel. It’s great that they drive on the left and also that they drive very slowly. Husband would be off the scale in terms of frustration. 

First onsen hotel: We parked in front of the hotel and were met immediately by two doormen who wanted to wrestle the keys off me straight away. Maybe it was the fancy car I was driving 😂 Bert disappeared for his obligatory fag break and I went in to check in. First they said I was too early but then they seemed to carry on booking is in. Shoes were removed and much bowing ensued. We were ushered into a waiting room in which there was half a tree trunk cut and made into a table. Green tea and some delicious cakes were beautifully presented and scoffed quickly. 

We were shown to our room. OMG. It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. A large picture window looking out over the ocean and a great futon bed with sleep-inducing duvets. 

Looking forward to opening up the green ladies’ box in the bathroom – wonder what treasures lie inside! We headed out to grab some lunch. Bert was hoping for something other than ramen or sushi (his fear of a daal baht situation clearly at the forefront of his mind – we spent a week trekking off the beaten track, out of season, in eastern Nepal and ate daal baht every night). Unfortunately, the only place recommended close by was famous for its ramen. Poor Bert. I promise we won’t be eating ramen tonight. It was a great little cafe – felt like a greasy spoon but without the grease or any spoons…  and the food was much better. I had egg with rice and Bert, having produced his magic card, was shown pictures of blurry chicken and egg – so he plumped for that one. We also shared some dumplings which were said to be chicken but I felt were more pork.

First onsen: heading back to the hotel, we decided to brave the onsen. We read as much as we could about how to behave correctly. Then headed down in our clothes. We parted at the entrance – ladies bathe separately to men – and arranged to meet after. I walked in hoping to see some clues of what to do where and when but it was empty. I removed my clothes and tried to find a shower – there was a set of cubicles with seats and buckets with shower attachments – so I guessed that was how I was meant to shower. I then stepped into the onsen  – it was so hot that I stepped quickly out and headed to the one outside which was a bit cooler. Was a bit weird being all alone and naked in a hot bath outside overlooking the ocean but in a good way. I didn’t stay long and did the shower thing in reverse. I found an area with hairdriers and loads of different lotions. Wasn’t sure which lotion went where so applied a few of them in separate parts of my body…let’s see how it feels later!

We are off to town – both struggling to stay awake. Hope to take the rope way (cable car) up the peak to watch the town twinkle tonight. There is a squid dance here next week when 10,000 people flap their arms in a squid-like fashion while dancing through the streets… it’s that kind of place. 

See you later!

As you might have seen, I was awake a good deal of the night snacking on wasabi flavoured kitkats. And as is usual, I fell into a deep sleep around 6am and woke up with my body all creased. I didn’t waste those hours though – worked out it might be good to go to Bills for breakfast. So when we woke up again, we set off for Bills – I have a couple of Bill Grainger’s recipe books so was keen to check the place out. I had a great beetroot juice, tasty granola and cappuccino with almond milk while Bert went for a “sunrise” juice – strawberry banana apple juice, a cheese and sage toastie with pork and fennel sausages, and a flat white. Should have checked the exchange rate in the middle of the night – when Bills’ bill came, I did blink. Maybe my calculator was wrong but I think I paid £48 … was tasty though!

We walked past Kenzo Tange’s 1964 Olympic gymnastics stadium which didn’t look ancient despite being built over 50 years ago. 

We met up with UBert and headed to Meiji-jingū – a Shintō shrine which was in the process of being renovated but it was my first ever shrine and I enjoyed the purification ritual, watching other tourists posing for photos, reading the messages of hope and the souvenir shop…

We then set up to wander the streets of Harijuku, UBert being an excellent guide (for the money 😂). We walked down Takeashite road/street – easily remembered and had a lovely lunch in a place below the street – was Thai ish – with a salad bowl and then rice with fish flakes and a poached egg. 

Bert was keen to get the McD visit done – so we slowly walked on to find the nearest one. It is so humid, every part of my body appears to have sweat glands – have you ever felt the backs of your knees sweating? It’s really weird. We took refuge every now and then in a lovely cool shop. Bert needed more shorts so we found the most expensive place and bought a pair. 

As jet lag kicked in, we parted company from our expert guide and came back to the hotel for a “short” nap. Three hours later, we woke up. It took a lot to get up and out again – I went for a walk around on my own – had to go back to Tokyo hands to look at all the crazy stuff again. Nearly bought quite a few things, including this baseball cap which made me laugh…

… but resisted the temptation and came back via a local supermarket where I bought some bulldog sauce and some savoury snacks for our long journey tomorrrow. 

We headed out to a ramen place which I had read about at 3am which was recommended by Ivan Orkin – a chef’s table chef which we had watched just before coming to Japan. The taxi driver was great and dropped us off exactly outside the place but using google maps, we walked a few hundred metres in each direction looking for it. Seeing a chef in the street, I accosted him and showed him my iPhone and he pointed directly behind us to a very small doorway. That’s the way it is! Little treasures are hidden in places where you least expect them.

It was the best bowl of ramen I have ever eaten, admittedly there haven’t been that many, and it was cheaper than breakfast. This is definitely a place to revisit – Suzuran. Lovely Yuko has given Bert a note to show the chefs highlighting his shellfish allergy – it came in very handy! We even had some sake which, to my novice mind, tastes a bit like sherry! 

We walked back to the hotel and watched the weather forecast for Hokkaido – it’s going to be very pleasant! 

See you in Hokkaido!

Not sure which day it is as when I talk about yesterday, I mean Saturday but it’s Monday night here in Tokyo and Sunday seems like it was just this morning. But Bert and I arrived safely on an uneventful but fairly pleasant flight and were met by Uncle Bert and Sophia at Haneda airport. Fantastic airport – not too busy, clean and new. Very efficient. We queued a bit for the JR pass and tickets but were swiftly whisked away in UBert’s large white vehicle. Given we couldn’t check in to our hotel till later, we spent a few hours in UBert’s castle – which has a roof terrace and parking. Great to see Yuko and Sammy too. I tried some fermented soya beans – really delicious although there is a special way of eating them which will take practise. 

 Jet lag started to kick in big time but we held it together – I zoned out a few times. We headed to the hotel and checked in and went to a crazy sushi place where you order everything on an iPad and it comes swooshing round on a conveyor belt.

Overcome by complete jet lag we went back to our hotel for a nap. Falling asleep took seconds and we both woke up fighting the urge just to fall back to sleep, knowing the consequences of being awake at 2am when most of the world is sleeping. 

We made our way to a coffee shop that I had found in one of my many searches of good places to try out when in Tokyo. We walked past it a few times but then I took the plunge and entered a door which seemed it might contain a coffee shop. What a fab place. Beautiful chinaware behind the bar. The barista ground the coffee beans fresh to order and it was like a performance art watching the whole process. Had read that the chiffon cake was also not to be missed – so I chose a cinnamon one and Bert had a banana one. It was delicious and maybe could be our breakfast stop tomorrow (if I can persuade Bert not to go to McDs)…

Meeting up with UBert, we went in search of ramen and found a tasty local place where I chose heavy noodles for health and beauty…it all helps, these days. Beer was good too! 

We wandered around and visited some great shops selling weird but wonderful things – I will definitely have to buy another suitcase for the journey home.  

A fab day and a great start to our holiday. Big thanks to UBert and the girls for such a warm welcome 🙂