Akanko Onsen (Part 2)
(Sept 13) As the town’s only business is tourism, most of the street space in Akanko is devoted to hotels, restaurants and (most of all) souvenir stores. Gift-giving is very… Read more »
Akanko Onsen (Part 1)
(Sept 13) The Lake Akan hot springs resort is a small community surrounded by the forests of Akan National Park.
Akan National Park
(Sept 12) An area with a number of geothermal sites.
Shiretoko
(Sept 11) The starkly beautiful Shiretoko Peninsula (from an Ainu phrase meaning “the end of the earth”) extends north into the frigid Sea of Okhotsk. Much of it is taken… Read more »
Abashiri Prison Museum
(Sept 10) As an important part of the Meiji government’s plans to develop Hokkaido, a network of prisons was set up around the island. Prisoners from all over Japan were… Read more »
Train Ride through Hokkaido
(Sept 10) Views from a train, cornfields and fast food. Hokkaido is sometimes compared to the American West, and it does present similar views of flat, open farmland stretching out… Read more »
Shopping in Sapporo
(Sept 9) Many of the more entertaining shops in Sapporo can be found in the Tanukikoji, a covered shopping arcade that extends for 8 blocks in the southeast quarter of… Read more »
Botanic Garden and Museum
(Sept 9) If you have some free time in Sapporo, it might be worthwhile to check of the Botanic Garden of Hokkaido University, which includes a small but well-stocked natural… Read more »
Hokkaido Historical Museum and Historical Village
(Sept 8) If you want to learn about the history of Hokkaido, the Hokkaido Historical Museum is a good place to start.
Arrival in Sapporo
(Sept. 7) Train delays, quick overview of Sapporo, beer, lamb and a traffic accident. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido prefecture and the largest city on the island.