It’s not snowing today, so we decided to pop in Otaru again ( just two train stations from our base Otaruchikko)… Today’s Sunday… So many tourists on the sakaimachidori shopping street, I heard people speaking Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese (mainland and Taiwan both)….. Basically packed train and packed streets… Very festive. We enjoyed checking out the gift shops and street foods…..and for the 3rd day in a row we had chirashi for lunch…
Still snowing today but we decided to venture out…. So glad we did… We took a train and a bus to get to these two places which are northern coastal cities of Hokkaido…. There’s immense beauty everywhere especially in Shakotan… A quiet seaside town…. We stumble into a little restaurant in this quiet city without a soul on the snowy street and it’s super cozy and traditional…. Each with their own private tatami room and fresh seafood….
There’s not much thing to do in yoichi except to your the Nikka whisky museum with tasting bar….. Warms us up which is much appreciated…
Woke up to a beautiful snow falling scenery…. There’s nothing much we can do except walk a few steps to the mall next door….. Actually with the fresh coat of snow, it’s much easier to walk….we grabbed lunch there… The around us$12 seafood chirashi set lunch and red bean mochi is so good. Also did some shopping…. It’s a big mall with lots of interesting things to see and buy….. Really enjoyed our snowed in day 🤗
Today’s project is to visit Hill of the Buddha…. A uniquely designed temple by Tadao Ando near a cemetery. We were really impressed by the design that blends in beautifully with the serene environment.
Near by there’s also…
Takes about 2 hours from otaruchikko to hill of the Buddha….three types of transportation… Jr train, underground train and then bus….. Quite an effort but it’s so worth it….
We found a lot of Happy hour food at Daimaru food hall at Sapporo JR Station…. Yum 🤗… Heavenly 😇
Sapporo is only 45 mins away from otaruchikko via slow train…we love the sceneries on the way…. We originally thought it might not be a good idea to come to Hokkaido this time of year but we were wrong….. The blanketed snow covered scene is literally icing on the cake
Just want to point out something interesting about Japan’s garbage collection/recycle system…. It’s very complicated and elaborate… See chart below… We really hope that we did not mess this up 😆
Took a 15 min train ride from Otaru Chikko to Otaru
As soon as we exit the station we saw many skiers….. Popular spot for skiing
Small seaside town with lots of characters
Our final destination is Hokkaido Otaru Chikko …. Only 3.5 hours flight from Taoyuan to CTS airport and another one hour train ride to Chikko Otaru…..
The view from above as we were approaching is gorgeous
Of course we checked out the airport’s food first…. Sapporo beers are a must and first time trying ochazuke…. Oishe desu ne 😋…. And P needs to try an ice cream which Hokkaido is famous for
The train ride from CTS to otura Chikko is mesmerizingly beautiful because of the snow…. It blanketed the whole place in a very neat and calm way… The sun is setting on the left while the sea is on the right….
We were so lucky to get to stay at a beautiful apartment with a bay view as well as mountain view… Also with onsen bathroom set up… Heavenly 🤗
The sailed in was beautiful!!! True paradise… And always hear the welcome song from the rooster (this happened on every Hawaiian island!! 🤩)
Was here 2 years ago and did the waimia canyon tour, this time we choose the Fern Grotto river cruise.. It’s super fun where they serenade us with Hawaiian music and hula dance while sailing towards a landing where we can view the fern Grotto….they performed a Hawaiian wedding song right on the fern Grotto spot (it’s a popular wedding venue) and on the way back the captain gave us a bit of the history
After this we went to the wailua Falls… A fall of au dance
The Uber driver that took us there is an amazing elder lady with a white ethereal butterfly on her white hair… Shes a great guide of kauai and she wrote a book….. Amazing woman who is also a massage therapist that’s also into reiki and energy work
Afterwards we came back to the Port area and then lunch….. Thai food with a precious sea view
I emerged from our 9 sea days intact!! Woohoo!!
3rd visit to Honolulu, decided to finally check out Pearl harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial…
There’s a bus stop just 5 mins walk from the pier and the wonderful thing that happened there is I get to pet a fluffy cutie dog and talk to the friendly owner…. It kept sticking out his arms to shake hands…. Melt my heart 🥰
The ride by bus to pearl harbor took about 50 mins and it stops right in front of it.
Its a very respectful and solemn procedure where they gave us a short talk before ushering us into a boat that goes to USS Arizona
At anytime on the USS Arizona memorial, there’s only one boatload of visitors, we have about 10 to 15 mins to soak in everything before the next boat arrived to return us back to Pearl Harbor memorial
After this very meaningful stop, took a bus back and stopped at Honolulu’s very vibrant Chinatown….
Had a delicious lunch there.. Soup Udon and musubi 😋
And then take a leisure walk back to the ship!! Easy half day tour all by myself 🤗
Spending the rest of the day enjoy
Every time I falled for the Hawaiian super vibe, whether it’s the air, or the people or the hula dancers… They all seemed chilled and graceful and going with the flow of the wave or the universe…. You felt relax and peaceful here….. Thanks for showing us how wonderful life can be Hawaii 🥰
P disembarked here today and fly back to Los Angeles tomorrow….. He’s on his own in Tokyo and I joined an excursion to the following places
Tried some food on nakamise st that’s right in front of the temple….
Japan street views….
Meanwhile…. P is on his own.. One of the exciting things he did was trying the capsule hotel….. He loves it!!!
And zip air
