Saturday, December 27
Woke up with a brand new excitement, different from the previous day..
Had a bus to catch and a flight to catch..
To the long awaited northern Japan..
It was a Monday morning.
During the bus ride, we saw the rush hour to the various train stations..
The speed to how the waves and groups of black moved, clearly depicts the quickened pace of life..
The city dwellers were rushing for work.
The limousine bus brought us to the airport all right.
Settled on some quick breakfast at the airport to start off the day..
I tried to speak some Japanese to the staff, telling her I wanted a hot green tea..
She pointed to the machine that by the corner that was labelled Coca Cola..
I repeated I wanted a hot one.
She then ran out of her station, opened the fridge, and passed me the green tea.
It was... ... hot!
Then she left the two of us in amusement and continued her work..
Staring at the "refrigerator", I scrutinised it and couldnt help but wonder..
Only the top shelf was hot, the rest of the shelves beneath was cold
Yes I know hot air rises, cold air sinks..
But still how on earth did the genius engineers make such a hot and cold fridge?
It was a simple hotdog bun set but again, it was a meal glorified.
The packaging of the tomato and mustard sauce was good!
The wet wipes provided are not like those provided in some SG dining places.
In fact they smelled nice and very comfortable to the touch =)
A bus drove us to board our very small domestic plane..
Once on the plane, we knocked out completely..
Woke up to find that the only air stewardess on board was beginning to serve drinks..
For a split minute or two, Jetstar flashed across my mind..
Yes, we had to pay for our drinks on board Jetstar =x
The flight duration on ANA was only slightly more than an hour and they could serve such refreshing beverages!
Several businessmen was fast alseep on board..
So instead of waking them up for their drinks, the stewardess made a few rounds to see if they had woken up so that she could ask them to choose their preferences
Awww..
After having a prolonged free fall feel, I looked out the window and saw patches of wholesome white..
They were...OMG all snow!!
So this was how snow-filled Hokkaido looked like from the top..
Everywhere was snow =)
Upon arrival, I was surprised that New Chitose Airport was on par with Narita Airport in terms of crowd and shops..
In fact there seemed to have more warmth here as compared to their city counterpart
Then I saw the blue and white 白い恋人 advert signboard..
Ooo..haha thought of Suki..
But I shalt wait patiently for Ishiya Chocolate Factory..
We decided to grab some snacks to bite for driving instead..
And I didnt know which to choose..
All of them looked damn inviting..
We proceeded to search for the car rental counter..
They guided us to a shuttle bus and chauffered us to the place where all Toyota cars were..
We had to be contented with a Rav 4 that came with a GPS that was in Japanese cos the English ones were all taken up..
While dear was checking out the car and GPS, I went out to the open to feel the snowfall =)
Wooohoo the feeling of first time feeling snow and snowfall..
I could only scream NICE!
*OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG*
We set out the next location using the telephone number of our destination and slowly drove off.
Breathless taking driving view, Hokkaido is a place of must-drive..
The trees were very tall, topped with leftover snow from the previous days..
Symmetrical white mountains stood high on both sides..
Light snowfalls accompanied to complete the awesome surrounding.
After the excitement subsided a little, I felt the hunger pangs..
Same goes for the navigator and I carefully tore open the snacks we bought at the airport..
Popping one into his mouth, the immediate response I got was..
"嗯..很好吃!!"
Tried one myself and I couldnt agree anymore.
The driving feat, the snacks, the view and the venture into what shalt come next..
Gosh, I couldnt believe it..
After an hour plus of driving and following the GPS then driving and getting lost..
Sekisui Tei or 石水亭,
An onsen ryokan, shalt be our accomodation for the next two days =)
There were no underground parking lots or whatsoever like in SG.
The allocated parking lots were some distance away from the ryokan, right beside the stream..
And there were no barricades, only snow by the edges as in indication to where the banks of the stream began.
Parking the car was a challenge.
I got off the car and began to take pictures non stop.
I slipped once but I regained control.
Dear warned me to be careful.
But the next thing I knew, the jumpy me slipped a second time on the iced snow and I fell hard on my left hip bone =x
Checking in, again I was awed by the woody layouts of the ryokan..
Our room, a Western-Japanese one, was considered spacious for a Japanese hotel..
It was really cosy too =)
Snacks and hot water were well prepared for our arrival..
The corridor was a perfect symmetry, and little details like laterns were placed beside to light up the path..
Rocks were used to set the mood right.
It was only 4 pm then, but there was no more sunlight.
Dinnertime was at 6pm..
So we tried to explore the trail, thinking that we could see the hell valley during the night..
But we were very wrong.
In that snow and that dark pitchness, no one would risk climbing those mountains in the right frame of mind.
Thus we headed the other way round deciding to check out the nearby Gokuraku shopping streets as our second alternative.
Unlike TW, night markets were clearly not a favourite among the Japanese.
Shops were mostly closed at 5pm and the streets deserted.
We were the only two dummies who strolled the streets =p
There were really nothing much we could do except to head back to the hotel.
Back in the ryokan, we were deciding if we should change into our Yukatas for the meal.
Then was role playing in my black long john to pass time..
Imagined myself as an assassin..
Bleahz..
The other one?
Assassins never wore white, did they?
Meals in the dining room, we went in our normal wear.
Sakura-bo
Entering the dining place, one could only see the buffet spread laid out in the middle accompanied by reflections of water, to which water came from a small pond within the dining area..
The eating tables in Japanese style were tucked away in the various small dining rooms..
A very peaceful concept..
We had a little of kaiseki, the rest was buffet style.
Alongside the meal, a small glass of 梅酒 was complimentary.
Tried the fresh raw salmon for the first time, it didnt taste so bad as I thought..
But I still couldnt get used to it.
The chef made tempura on the spot..
Chawanmushi was fabulous..
The smooth steam egg had sharks fin in it..Japanese rice was really soft and fragrant.
Then they had this yoghurt dessert that you could top with konyaku of various fruity flavours..
Absoultely loved it!
After dinner, we changed into our yukata and went for onsen or hot spring bath..
Onsen was a scorching 62 degrees and consisted of relatively high sulpuric concentration..
Somewhat common in Noboribetsu..
The representative hot spring paradise of Japan..
The cold and hot therapy..
What a nice combination =)
*****
irony @
12:30 AM
