hokkaido hopping

In case you were wondering the dearth of blog updates this week, I'm in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan.

As I was thinking what to write in such a short period of time (have to catch a plane, but I'm actually on waiting list), I realised that I haven't even finished my Aizu stories and the trips I did in Tokyo. And I can't wait to get back to upload tales from Hokkaido. I'm such a sanguine!

Anyways, spending the week in Hokkaido and thus getting away from the heat in Honshu was a good idea. Have been staying in Sapporo for the past 4 nights. I love the way the city is laid out, very systematic, much akin to America's grid system. Each block is numbered according to their coordinates, for example : Kita 4 Nishi 5 (North 4 West 5). This is such a pleasant change compared to the other parts of Japan where the roads don't even have names!

Bought myself the Hokkaido Rail Pass where for Y14,000 I can travel anywhere in Hokkaido in 3 days using their trains and some buses. I've since covered Sapporo, Otaru, Furano, Asahikawa, Noboribetsu and Hakodate and I'm proud to say the amount used is double the worth of the original pass. This is actually very useful for those wishing to hop around the island and see what Hokkaido has to offer. There is also the Y18,000 pass for 5 days.

Needless to say, travelling within Japan is an expensive hobby. I guess the only way I could visit so many places was because I managed to save quite a bit living in a small town like Niigata! For those wishing to do Hokkaido, you might have to spend up to Y80,000 for a week of fun and relaxation. I took the plane from Niigata to save time, but if you have loads of free time to spare, try out the ferry or trains. You will be able to cut down on travelling expenses by quite a bit.