Japan Day 6: Noboribetsu-Sapporo

We went to onsen first thing in the morning. It was snowing at that time and the sight was really beautiful. We spent about half an hour and had our breakfast before we checked out our resort.

We explored Jigokudani Hell Valley which is the source for hot springs in Noboribetsu. We hiked a bit before we bid the place farewell and continue our journey to our final destination – Sapporo. It was a 1.5 hours drive. Our last drive in Hokkaido as we were returning our car in Hokkaido.

Before we returned the car, we stopped by our hotel to drop all our luggage and bags. We stayed in Karaksa Hotel Sapporo and considered ourselves lucky to have stayed in the middle of Tanukikoji Shopping Street where you could get all your shopping spree done.

Being car-less, I thought we had to walk for about 15 minutes in this very cold weather from TIMES to board a train back to the city. Fortunately, the staff was helpful to tell us the nearest bus stop. While we were waiting for the bus, it was snowing again! Unfortunately, that was the last snow we experienced in Hokkaido.

The bus we took brought us to JR Sapporo station where we had our lunch at Nemuro Hanamaru. It is shared in the internet that this is one of the best places to start your trip in Hokkaido. This is a popular conveyor belt sushi place so, the queue can be really long. Since we arrived around 2.30pm which was past the peak meal time, we had to wait for about 10 minutes only. You can get really affordable and good quality sushi at ¥143. We ordered 15 ¥143-range plates and 2 ¥198-range plates.

Before we went back to our hotel to check-in and rest, we went to search for Kinotoya Bake to their famous tasty baked cheese tarts. It is located at the JR Station East Exit. There is a Kinotoya Cake shop located in Daimaru basement food hall but we were not able to find it. You can buy one cheese tart for ¥183 or six for ¥1080. We went for the latter deal.

Back in our hotel, our check-in process was really smooth. We had two inter-connecting rooms so, if you are looking for such place, look no further than Karaksa Hotel. During check-in, they would ask you if you would like to have some days to be an eco day – the days they will not change the towels, bedsheets, pillow and quilt covers. For one chosen day, they will give you 1 token per person and this token can be exchanged for a free drink from the vending machine in their common hall. They also have this activity going on whereby if you took a picture with one of their boards, they will give you a free selfie lens per pax in the picture. Pretty humble, right?

Where did we have for our dinner?

Suage Curry Soup and Dining! The meals are highly customisable. You can choose  the kind of curry, spiciness level, toppings and the amount of rice to go with your curry. We ordered three different types of curry dishes.

As it was getting really cold, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest after checking out the Tanukikoji Shopping Street.

Japan: Day 5 (Hakodate-Noboribetsu)

This was our last day in Hakodate and again, my baby brother made breakfast for us. Before we left Hakodate, we went to make our final stop at The World’s Second Best Ice Cream. I finally had my melon pan with ice cream which cost me ¥400.

Our next stop was Noboribetsu but we made a stop in Lake Toya for a short sightseeing and lunch. Unfortunately for us, it was raining so, we did not get the chance to explore Lake Toya. However, we were very lucky to witness snow during our ride. It was really beautiful! The temperature was 2 degree Celsius when it happened. Sadly, it did not last long. One thing I love about the highway in Japan is the public toilets are awesome and very clean! Some but not all the public toilets have this swallow origami which works like a good luck charm for those driving on the highway. Very thoughtful, right?

We had our lunch at Toya Marche whereby the food is not that great but the set meals are very reasonably priced. Beef dishes are their specialty so, we ordered 4 different dishes to share which cost us ¥4,370 in total.

It took us another 50 minutes for us to reach Noboribetsu. The hotel that we stayed was Noboribetsu Grand Hotel. Noboribetsu is famous for its many onsen resorts. The resorts offer either half or full board as well. We took full board whereby we had both dinner and breakfast. The resort that we stayed has both indoor and outdoor onsen. I suggest you to dip in the indoor onsen first before heading for the outdoor onsen because it was really cold outside unless you are visiting Noboribetsu during the warm seasons. We had a family tatam room, our most favourite type of room and the first thing we did after we settled down in our room was to get to onsen.

It was my very first onsen experience in my life with strangers. The last experience I had was I was lucky to be alone. No one was in the bath at that time. Hence, I had a cultural shock. There’s an etiquette that you need to adhere when using the hot spring. You are not allowed to bring your body towel into the onsen. However, you can bring a face towel with you. You had to bath first before dipping into the onsen but do not dip your face towel which is considered rude. We spent about 1 hour before we went for dinner.

We had a buffet style dinner. They offer various types of dishes. Everything is free except for beers. As it was really cold outside, we did not explore the town and spent our time in the resort until we hit the sack.

Japan: Day 4 (Hakodate)

Our morning in Hakodate was really simple but lovely. We had our homemade breakfast in our AirBnB. My younger brother prepared them for us. Lovely, right? It feels like we were really at home. We did our laundry before we had our breakfast so, when it was done, we would send them to the nearest laundry shop to use its dryer to dry our clothes. The place we found was Rico Smart Laundry. They have a cafe inside the shop so you could enjoy a cup of coffee while waiting.

After we finished our laundry, we started our adventure together! The first place we wanted to go was The Old Public Hall of Hakodate War. Unfortunately the place was closed for renovation so, we moved on. However, before we left the place, we came across this shop that sells really delicious soft serve ice-cream. The name of this shop is really interesting though. It’s called The World’s Second Best Ice Cream.

Later we walked all the way to Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse. It is located next to the sea so, you can imagine how strong the wind was. We had our lunch at Lucky Perriot. It looks like an expensive place but the food there were really affordable. We had 4 burgers and 2 fried noodles from the menu and it cost us ¥2,772.

Since we still had time, we took public transport to Goryokaku Tower and Goryokaku Park. I enjoyed the park the most as it was really beautiful. The star shaped fort surrounding the park is often the icon that comes to mind when we talk about Hakodate.

That night, we had our dinner at Ajisai Ramen. We ordered 5 bowls of ramen and 1 plate of dumplings. Out of all the ramen dishes we ordered, Miso ramen was the best! We ended the night by making a trip to a convenient store to replenish ingredients for our breakfast. During this tip, we bought Lawson’s neck warmers and gloves. Honestly, the quality is so much better than the ones that we bought in Uniqlo. I even tested it out by covering my whole face with it and I still felt warm in such a cold night. Hence, a tip for you, buy neck warmer and gloves in Japan’s Lawson next time.