Hello again from Japan! I’ve completed my long journey through Japan’s frosty northernmost island of Hokkaido and rural-but-charming Tohoku that I started telling you about last time. Enjoy part II of Peter’s Hokkaido and Tohoku Travel Diary, if you want to see where I’ve been over the past 10 days!
Peter Returns to Hakodate
After exploring the birthplace of whisky in Japan, I headed to Hakodate (ha-ko-dah-teh), a pleasant port town in southern Hokkaido which is one of my favorite cities. I’ve always loved Japanese port cities like Yokohama, Hakodate, Kobe and Nagasaki, because of the role they’ve played in Japanese history, serving as doorways from the West into Japan. I especially love visiting the gaijin bochi or foreigners’ graveyards in these cities, to wonder how the Americans or Brits or Dutch visiting Japan in the 1860s or 1880s saw Japan.
All corners of the country have been affected by COVID lockdowns and other stresses, and sadly Hakodate is no exception. While normal years would see a light to moderate number of tourists from warmer parts of the country who wanted to sample the brisk Hokkaido winter and enjoy some delicious seafood at the Hakodate Morning Market, this year most stayed away due to anxiety from Omicron, even though there were no formal travel restrictions in place at the time. As I explored the city at night, it was sad to see the high number of taxis sitting idle, hoping for one final fare before calling it a night.
I enjoy talking with taxi drivers while traveling, and they’re usually happy to meet a foreigner they can chat about various subjects with. One man took the opportunity to rail against the new Shinkansen line which allows people to come to the city via speedy bullet train via the undersea Seikan Tunnel from Honshu. “Before, many interesting tourists would visit the city, including ‘railfans’ who liked riding unique trains, like the Cassiopeia [a now-discontinued luxury liner with sleeping cars]. But now, people only pass through on their way to Sapporo, and don’t even stay one night in Hakodate.” Another ranted about Russian President Putin, but not because of the current tension in Ukraine, but because he limited access to the fishing zones off the Kuril Islands, which the Soviet Union seized after the Japanese surrender of WWII.
Curious about Japan’s various island disputes with its neighbors? Here’s a blog post for you!
Hakodate Nightlife and…Deflation?
One of the main things to do in the city is taking the ropeway up to the top of Mt. Hakodate and watching the beautiful sunset, which is among the most amazing night views in Japan. I’d visited a few times before, including when I brought my son here 14 years ago. At the time, I ordered a beer and was impressed that it cost only 600 yen, about US$5.25, despite us being at one of the most exclusive scenic places in Japan. In America, I felt that companies would find a way to extract $30 for that beer, because that’s how American capitalism works. Today that same beer costs 640 yen, reflecting only the increase in consumption taxes since 2008. While it’s nice to have zero inflation in beer prices across 14 years, economists would probably say that it represents deflation, which isn’t good for a country’s economic health.
Let’s Visit Akita Prefecture in Tohoku!
My next stop was to Akita Prefecture, which is home to some unique culture and history… and lots of snow, in January. Located on the Sea of Japan side of the country, it’s always had a strong influence from the original Ainu inhabitants of Japan.
Akita is famous for three things: traditional namahage ogre masks; Akita bijin, or beautiful girls from Akita; plus the legendary Akita dog breed which was bred over the past 500 years in the region. Akita dogs first became famous around the world when Helen Keller was gifted two dogs during a visit to Japan in 1937, and Ms. Keller worked hard to raise funds for the current statue of Loyal Dog Hachiko that stands in Shibuya in 1948. (The first one was melted down to make war materiel during WWII, because of course it was.)
If you’re ever in Akita, don’t bother with the Prefectural History Museum, which is not worth your time. Instead, travel to nearby Kakunodate and explore the Samurai House region, a collection of grand old homes from the 17th and 18th century which let us see what a feudal lord’s house would have been like in the period. In some cases the houses are still occupied by the descendants of the former lords, which I found really cool.
Another place I can recommend is Nyuto Onsen, a collection of old hot springs in the mountains of Akita Prefecture. I stayed at Tsurunoyu Onsen, which has been operating continuously since the Edo Period. It’s a series of baths, including a rare kon’yoku hot spring for mixed bathing, that was great to visit. I’ve got a fascination with traditional Japanese igloos called kamakura and was thrilled that the onsen inn had them for us to take pictures of.
Final Tohoku Stop: Ginzan Hot Springs
I love the Internet for many reasons, including that it allows us to discover amazing and magical places we’d like to visit someday. Unfortunately the Internet also allows everyone else to find these same places, too. so that when we go, we have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with unworthy, unwashed tourists from other parts of Japan or the world who are making the journey beside us. What a hassle!
I’m joking, of course. But it is funny how often amazing places in Japan quickly become popular with foreign visitors, who come in large enough numbers that they somehow seem to steal the magic of the place away. This happened to the Golden Gai drinking district in Kabuki-cho in the days before Covid, and the same could be said of Ginzan Hot Springs, a lovely but ridiculously popular onsen town in Yamagata Prefecture. To stay here you need to get tickets a year in advance, which is quite a challenge.
Thanks for reading my post on my travels to Japan’s amazing Hokkaido and Tohoku regions in the winter. Got any questions or comments? Post them below, or reply to us on Twitter!
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