Further Japan Journeys

Our story resumes in Sapporo at the end of April after a quick domestic flight from Osaka in late April.

For part 2 of Japan, I decided to spend a second month in the country, and split it between the northern island of Hokkaido and Tokyo. I’d spend two weeks in each to counterbalance my month in Osaka. Tourist visas here offer a third month, but I decided before arrival that I’d max out at two months so as to keep myself moving. I do think that the idea of staying months in a country was striking enough to me to cancel the original idea of just jet setting around the world quickly.

Sapporo was the start again of wandering alone. No partners traveling with nor friends awaiting me, but it wound up being not too inhospitable, though my first days were a bit quiet, with just runs, hikes and work. This is typically what I do first in new places, perhaps also a museum or two. Such activities are, of course, best paired with some vegan eats sourced on Happy Cow.

As my first idea of something notable to do in Sapporo, I settled on hiking up Mount Moiwa, a popular spot for tourists to view the cityscape. Most will just opt for the cable car, which is the norm for nearby mountains in Japan. I love the accessibility of it here, but folks who know me, know I like a good walk. The summit was only about 530 meters, so it wasn’t much of a grind. There were still bits of snowfield in the valleys to slush through and the jingles of bear bells from people paranoid about hungry kuma awakening from their hibernation. Well, with stories like these in your local history.

While I waited at the summit for nightfall and the city below to light up, I found Grace. In the throng of people atop a twilight mountain, it was fortunate to strike up a conversation with another solo wanderer in English, who in her case, happened to be English. I hopped on her plans to tour Otaru the next day, opportunist that I am. We wound up fast friends strolling this scenic coastal spot, and I got my splendid, second spectacle of cherry blossoms on its drizzly, grey hillsides.

We also linked up to visit Noboribetsu, a hot springs resort city in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park in Hokkaido’s South, where I’d get a taste of Japan’s onsens. Unfortunately, most of that culture involves a strict prohibition on tattoos. I’d heard cultural mores were loosening on that regard, but of the 5 I looked up here and in Tokyo, the Dai-Ichi Takimotokan in Noboribetsu was the only one to allow me in! Fortunately, it was quite grand, with many baths to savor, all whilst in the nude.

There were temperate pools, hot ones, cold ones, waterfalls to stand under, water walking circuits, shallow pools to lay down in, saunas and steam rooms. Noboribetsu was great too for a day walking around and seeing the boiling pools out in nature, like a mini-Yellowstone was splendid. All was in a decently quick circuit hiking from a bus stop and a train away.

Back in Sapporo a few days later, Grace and I parted ways as her backpacking is on a faster pace than my month-long stays, sans employment and all, and she still had the rest of Japan to see a few days at a time. I hoped we’d meet in Korea but, alas, it didn’t align. So I gave my best suggestions for Osaka, a good hug, and looked onward to enjoying the remaining week I had in Hokkaido back on my own.

I thought awhile about renting a vehicle to do a loop of the island like I did on Maui a month prior, but the effort to master opposite side driving, and costs of rental, petrol and whether I’d book additional lodging made me put those ambitions to rest and opt for the tried and true, trains and bikes.

A short term rail pass got me to the rural idylls of Biei and Furano to Sapporo’s Northeast. In Summer, these towns become a psychedelic spectacle with fields of lavender and beautiful patchwork arrangements of flowers. I had to settle for earth tones in freshly sown fields, alas. It was easy and cheap to rent a bike for each day of the weekend and do some scenic, hilly rides within valleys splicing snow capped peaks.

My last day of my rail pass was timed to get a ride back to Sapporo’s airport, and I would then be off for Tokyo. Sapporo had a pretty cool vibe that I think was generally my pace. I’d be very interested in returning to see the differences of the four seasons on this unique island.

It’s not like Sapporo was slow paced or anything, but upon getting out a second time at Narita Airport, this time taking the train into the city, I was reminded that where I was going was on another level. Tokyo is the world’s largest metropolis by most metrics, and approximately 20 times the population of Sapporo in metro area comparisons. I felt a bit overwhelmed getting in, and upon settling in at my closet-sized hotel in Itabashi, I was happy to just hang low a couple days.

Awaiting in Itabashi were Nick and his partner Yoshi. Nick’s been a periodic character in my life, dropping in on me multiple times in NYC as a roomie’s buddy I then absorbed as a friend. I’d last seen him in Washington state as I biked across America six years ago. He moved to Japan soon after but kept in touch despite my social media death, a gesture that’s very much appreciated.

It was so cool seeing him again and meeting Yoshi, the two would become my besties for bouncing all around Tokyo. It definitely made for great vibes to get some inside track ideas and dispel any traveler’s blues. I think i gave them a busy itinerary too and spiced up their routines a bit with all the exploring I was keen to do.

I got over my inertia by visiting the Tokyo Tower and getting my bearings of the city, panorama style. After that tour, I wound up out somewhere almost every day, getting drinks or dinner in interesting places, doing a few good runs, a hike up Mount Takao, and sightseeing some of the famous, hip neighborhoods.

My favorite of those wound up being Shimokitazawa, where I met a local teacher and bikepacking adventurer, Claire (also an appreciator of Surly bikes!). I got a couple good days there with her catching the relaxed vibe, interesting nightlife features, and veg snacking. Thrifting malls in Shimo were in vogue next to posh restaurants, and the ‘hood had a great indie rock venue for my last Saturday night in town too. Claire and I may link up again in Summer, which I’m super stoked about, now we just plan something with bicycles.

As my two weeks closed on a last day at Nick’s before an evening flight to Seoul, I definitely felt a lament on how quickly the time had flown here. As long as you can afford the rent, you can have a really fun time in Tokyo. Of course, there are outlets to spend a ton on shopping, high end dining and anything else the world can offer, but I think about the parks, interesting walking routes and highly functional metro as the bedrock for my good times. I adored Tokyo for the ease it felt to slip into a routine, and enjoyed its urban amenities. It’s probably the beneficiary of 6 weeks of learning the ropes in Osaka and Sapporo, and then having cool friends to hang out with here.