TacoCat’s Travels #176 (Japan 9.0 - Hokkaido): Relaxing from Hokkaido to Tokyo! 🚅

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Hey Hive!

So if you missed the last couple of posts, we are currently recounting our final journey to Japan back in July 2019 when we decided to explore a new region and see Hokkaido in summer (since everywhere else in Japan is really hot during that period)!

Last week, we took a nice stroll through Sapporo and had a very delicious meal at one of the most famous crab restaurants there! Since we were in Hokkaido; the place with the probably freshest seafood in Japan, what better time to try it than then?

The whole experience was also very unique since it the interior was designed like a traditional Japanese inn. The food was delicious too! Even though Sean's not a big fan of seafood, he enjoyed the meal a lot as well.

Anyway, our trip to Sapporo was only a few days so it was time to pack and leave! Quite unfortunate but we had a nice time especially in the flower fields!

8 July 2019. Monday.

We had to take the bullet train back to Tokyo which would take about 5 hours again and our train was in the morning so we left the apartment bright and early to make sure we got to the station in time.

On the way there, we saw this pirate-themed Karaoke place which looked kinda cool and creepy at the same time? I wonder if there were people who ever cosplayed as Jack Sparrow go in and sing a few songs? xD

We were early so had time to stop by McDonalds to get some breakfast! And of course we went with our usual Sausage McMuffin with egg!

Something that I like to do is inserting the hashbrown into my burger as well so that there's the extra crunch in it. It adds a different texture and tastes so good when you combine them!

We were on the train by 9:20am all situated and comfy! And since we were full from breakfast, ready to take a nice nap. I think bullet train is still our favourite mode of transport since there's so much legroom, the chairs are comfortable and it's just so smooth and quiet.

It was tough to take photos of the passing scenery since we were just whizzing by but it was really bright and sunny out today. Don't worry about that smudge I think there was some dirt on the window.

After about 3 hours we had to stop and change trains. I don't remember what route we took exactly but since we were going back to Tokyo, it was going to be quite a journey.

I don't think I've ever used the toilet on the train before but it is really clean and of course has the classic Japanese high-tech toilet.

We boarded the next train at about 1:30pm and took it all the way to Tokyo station! This ride took about 5 hours so we took a nap again.

We could've taken a domestic flight instead that wouldn't have taken so much time but since we had free train tickets it made sense to use them. And since it was a looong train journey I think we got our money's worth. It was also so much more comfortable than a flight anyway.

We only had a few days left of our trip so we stayed in another hotel, this time in Sotetsu Fresa Inn in Kyobashi, Tokyo!

It was a really nice hotel but of course since it was a Tokyo hotel, the rooms might've been a little small.

Just past the door was a narrow hallway with the bathroom.

And this was what the room looked like pretty much.

I mean it was clean and comfortable so nothing to complain about.

We were pretty tired from all the traveling and both getting hungry so we went for our favourite - Kitakata Bannai Ramen!

I wouldn't say this is our favourite ramen since it's pretty good but not spectacular, but the charcoal chashu rice is really good! And they have a ramen bowl here where they give a hecc of a lot of chashu! You can check out my post here for more details on this restaurant!

But when you're tired and hungry from traveling a lot, it's a really good comfort food and it definitely hit the spot for me. I was soo full and satisfied after that meal.

After that we took a walk to digest our food and we came across this bubble tea shop which looked pretty fancy. And since we've never actually tried bubble tea in Japan before Sean decided to buy one.

The shop did look really nice though and their couch was quite comfortable so we could rest our feet after our walk. The top of the bubble tea was this very nice and simple Mt Fuji art which I thought was really cute.

This was the bubble tea we bought! I think it was just a standard milk tea with black sugar pearls? It tasted alright. I'm no bubble tea aficionado since I rarely drink it other than when Sean buys it but it was pretty average according to him.

We took a walk around the area after we finished the bubble tea. It was a nice night out and was cooling at least but we could definitely feel the rise in temperature compared to Hokkaido.

There was a shotengai/shopping street near our hotel with some cute decorations up! I'm not sure what festival it was used for but it seemed pretty festive.

And of course we ended our day at Donki Hote again to get snacks and drinks to bring back to our hotel.

Sean tried to play this Famicom game they had on display. I'm not sure what the game was called but it's one of those puzzle games where you connect the pipes from one end to the other.

I think that's going to be all for this post. Sorry for the lack of content but it was a nice relaxing day of chill shopping after being on the train for so long. Next week, we go visit a special place and have more fun so tune in for that!

Here's a teaser:

Thanks so much for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

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Check out my previous post in this series!

TacoCat’s Travels #175 (Japan 9.0 - Hokkaido): A Clawsome Experience Trying Sapporo's Famous Crab! 🦀

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