Re-visiting Hakodate/Carlos Pueblo
We left
Aomori to Hakodate in the morning through the famous Aomori Hakodate
Tunnel,
track length 33 miles undersea 23 miles, on a newly operated Shinkansen
from Shin-Aomori
to Shin-Hakodate, Hokuto. The undersea part is Tsugaru Strait
while the
remaining above grounds are small islands. Other than Ishikawa Sayuri’s
Tsugaru Kaikyo
Fuyugeshiki song which I love very much, last night, I learned
another song
by Yamakawa Yutaka, Hakodate Main Line about certain parts of the
north
island. After the Shinkansen, the main line becomes solely for cargo traffic
operated by
Japan Rail system. We stayed at Four Points Hotel, a gift from our
daughter
Michelle, very nice with a very good view of the city day and night.
Other than
touring the city, I took Amy to Sapporo one day and the Onuma Quasi-
National
Park on the 3rd day. I like to stretch out as far as possible for
the JR Pass
both on
Shinkansen and regular express; therefore, I have repeated to several
cities and
travelled more places than other foreign tourists.
My original
plan to re-visit Japan was based on a re-positioned cruise from Yokohama
to Seattle
in May; however, due to the airfare of one way ticket and cruise fare, I was
hesitated and
missed the opportunity. The cruise itinerary is very interesting with a
grand total
of 20 days covering 4 ports in Japan, one in Russia, additional 4 ports in
Alaska.
Since I missed the opportunity, I made the 2nd choice by land and
attempted
to cover all
4 ports, Shimizu of Shizuoka, Aomori, Hakodate, and Sapporo to replace
the original
Muroran on the northeast of Hakodate on Muroran Bay, a sub of Uchiura
Bay where we
also passing through East Muroran Station on our way to and from
Sapporo
Station.
Another huge
part of Hokkaido which I like to visit is the red-crowned crane natural
park at
Kushiro city, south of the Lake of Moshu. Moshu Maru is the counterpart of
the Hakkoda
Maru at Aomori, both are museum now after the opening business of
Aomori-Hakodate
rail. After the red crowned crane and the Lake visit, I like to visit
the far east
of Hokkaido, Shiretoko Peninsula, to witness Katou Tokiko’s Shiretoko
Ryojou and
the four missing islands of Japan after the War.
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