Muroran-shi

The first port of our cruise was Muroran, Hokkaido. I originally planed to go to the Hell Valley in Noboribetsu. However, the excursion was sold out. Therefore, we decided to hangout near the port.

First, we paid to get onto a tour bus, but we regretted after the bus started. The bus was very crowded and the location the bus is going to has way less attraction than the original point. We therefore took a taxi to go to the aquarium right across where we got off from our boat.

After arrived the aquarium, we discovered that it was a small aquarium for small children. There were many local kids because it was a national holiday for Japan and people got a week off that week.

We were all hungry after getting into the aquarium. We found a small restaurant selling barbecue seafood and pork skewers. We ordered some and they were all delicious!

After visiting the museum, we walked by the seashore. We first saw an onsen (hot spring) facility, but it was not open yet. Then we went to the Tourist information centre. There were a gift shop selling local product and souvenir, a food court selling local food, an observation tower as well as exhibition about the development of Muroran.

We ate at the food court and cruised around the Tourist Information Center. Both Symeon and Paul love to hang out there as there was stable cell phone signal for them and they could use up the data plan they got in Japan.

I felt cold that morning and I didn’t want to get sick, so I walked back to the onsen to take a hot bath while Symeon and Paul stayed in the Tourist Information Center. It is an onsen with private bathroom, so I can take a shower and soak in the hot spring all by myself. However, they do not provide towel and I had to buy one and take it with me.

After taking a bath at the onsen, I went back to join Paul and Symeon for some Hokkaido milk (it is a tradition to have milk after onsen) and icecream. Then we started to walk back to our cruise ship.

On the way to the cruise ship, we saw the “Bell of Happiness” and we made a wish that all our friends and family are happy. It was a lovely day to walk by the seashore. We love the breeze and enjoyed the walk.

After we got back to the ship port, we saw the shuttle bus we took this morning and it was not busy at all. We decided to ride the shuttle bus and have a quick browse of the city. The bus made a loop and we went back to our cruise and we had some taco as afternoon snack. It is a relaxing day!Leggi altro