Japan Part 1

Just wanted to share some pictures from my recent trip to Japan! This time round we decided to venture northern Japan since the sakura had decided to open much earlier than planned. It involved us taking a 6.5 hour train ride from Tokyo to Hakodate in Hokkaido. The shinkasen was fantastic and it took us 3 hours only to get to Hachinohe which is the terminal station for the shinkasen. It took us another 3.5 hours to get through to Hakodate through the world's longest undersea tunnel. Hakodate was fantastic esp the nightview on Mt Hakodate. Was not able to take many good photos due to my trembling hands but this is the best shot I managed to get. Definitely deserved the "Best 3 night views in the World" Award. (The other 2 are Hong Kong and Naples)

Despite the freezing cold conditions, the view was definitely breath-taking. After the slow descent, we proceeded to our first dinner in Hokkaido. Their famous seafood bowl. My first bowl on the right consisted of scallops, crabs and sea urchin. It was really good and it seems like the seafood were only caught in the morning.

The next morning, we proceeded to the morning market. It was not as bustling as Tsukiji market in Tokyo but the variety of goods sold were very good as well. Giant crabs were the order of the day and but they were quite expensive. What caught our eye was live squid. We decided to try one and we had to literally fished one out before it was sashimi-ed for us. The squid texture was unlike anything I had tasted before. Crunchy, oozing of freshness. Definitely a must try for everyone going to Hokkaido!

We went to a nearby park, Onuma-koen. 20 mins ride away from Hakodate. It is listed as one of the best new views of Japan and it definitely deserved the title. With a snow-capped volcano in the backdrop and a lake, it was definitely worth the trip.

After that, a rewarding dinner of soup curry ended our last night in Hokkaido.

We then proceeded to Sendai and Matsushima which I will post more on it later on.

Pictures are as usual found on my multiply website: cheewing.multiply.com.

Happy viewing!