Hakodate

Last full day in Japan. Woke up and my voice is gone. But with the help of some miso soup, hot tea , breakfast and cold meds I’m feeling more manageable.
I’m taking a Shinkansen back to Tokyo today at 5 pm. There are only 3 other people in my car so hopefully the ridiculous amount of luggage I have to bring on board won’t shame me too much. And I picked a seat in the back row where people reserve a seat when they have a lot of luggage.
So I now have all day and I figured I’d go into Hakodate to walk around a bit.
So I look at the signs and get on the train. I’m listening to music, looking at the sights, then I wonder where we are in the journey and check Google maps. lol, I’ve gone the wrong way again. So at the next stop I get off ( I saw that there was a train going back the other way in about 15 minutes) and cross the tracks ( wooden walkway and steps show that’s how you are supposed to) and now I am standing at an unmanned Japanese local light rail station ( on a beautiful day) in the middle of the countryside with not a soul around. lol. And there is a sign that says be careful of snakes. Or to please brake for snakes. Lol. Well I wanted adventure.
Thank you Jesus, these trains are so punctual. I am back on and heading the right way. I am the only one on this train, and I wonder what these train drivers think when they see a white lady standing out at a remote train station,🤦‍♀️
So I figured I had about an hour and a half to catch up h the 3pm rapid train back to Shin Hakodate (where my hotel is and where I catch the Shinkansen. So I needed more cold meds. Lol, I have seen more of the streets of Japan looking for a drug store. So I find it, but it is an rx pharmacy only. They were very kind and gave me a map ( they must have to do this every day) to a place to get OTC meds. So I go. I walk for a few, and I’m heading away from the tourist district. And I come across this drug store and it’s HUGE!so I go in and by this time, I know what I’m looking for and I get it. I also have discovered this Nivea lip balm that I am LOVING! I literally buy 2-3 every time I go in a place and see them.
It’s interesting, I can see business shuttered and with the Yen weakened , I wonder how people in these little cities do.
I did see a lot of small restaurant/bars selling seafood. And I saw the seafood guys making their deliveries. I’m not that big of a fan of Japanese style seafood. I like some. But they do a lot of squid, octopus, whelk, abalone and I’m just not that into it. Funny enough, I will eat the shit out of some eel. But it’s always cooked.
I got back to my hotel, rounded up my luggage and walked ( literally) the 90 seconds to the JR station.
So in Japan, there are places just outside of the city (Shin-Osaka, Shin-Hakodate) that are the Shinkansen stations. And they are perfect little hubs if you are traveling thru. So last night I stayed at Shin-Hakodate, instead of The city Hakodate. I wanted to be closer to the Shinkansen with all my luggage.
So this hotel has it all, convenience store, couple of small places to eat, gift/souvenir store. And the JR station has the same kind of stores. So it was actually easier to stay on the JR line and take a train into the city.
And I really hemmed and hawed about whether or not to take the Gran Class car back to Tokyo. And heck yes, it is worth it. It’s also nice that there is literally one other person in this car with me.
As my last leg of my journey, this is a really nice way to end it. I’ll get in about 9:30 pm to Tokyo station. The rush will be over and it won’t be as crowded to navigate onto the airport line and get to my hotel. I am so glad I am staying at the hotel at the airport. It makes things so much easier. Less stressful.
The trip from Tokyo station to the International terminal (where my hotel is ) was not as bad as I thought it could be. But I also came in later after rush hour. I also know when looking for a route via Google I can enter in options for access to elevators. And now I look for them. When I finally got to the international departures hall, it was right where I had come in. I had come full circle. And I felt much wiser and seasoned than when I arrived. (Although I did pretty good on arrival)
I’m not sad to go. It’s time. I’d like to come back and see some museums, some shrines, and explore more neighborhoods in Tokyo.
Being under the weather for this trip really helped keep me in check. I could only do so much. And I’m glad I got as much rest as I did.
So I will go down for one last breakfast, and my flight leaves around 10:30.
I was listening to Coldplay on the train in. I hear them differently now. Those concerts were really “my happy place”. I’m glad I have those memories to carry with me.Read more