This is Reminiscense of second Japan Rail Pass Trip in November 2016.
The second Japan Rail Pass trip was not Green Car Usage Pass. We did not make a reservation especially early, I built up a casual journey to decide where to go and where to stay just before the lodging day.
It was a greedy journey that we used Hokkaido Shinkansen, Super Express “Hayabusa”, which was newly opened this spring. We went to snowing Hokkaido. Next we went go Akita through Aomori. And more my family went to Kyoto to enjoy beautiful autumn leaves. I booked Hotels by "Jalan" (like Expedia) just before the lodging seeing the price and contents and ratings. Even if the grade is high, the accommodation and meals in Hokkaido was comparatively low price, and the Hotel and Inn was a satisfying quality in everywhere.
1st day
Tokyo - (Hokkaido Shinkansen Hayabusa) – Shin Hakodate Hokuto - (Hakodate Liner) - Hakodate - (JR Limited Express Hokuto) - Onuma Park
Accommodation: Hakodate Onuma Prince Hotel
The distance from Tokyo to Shin Hakodate Hokuto is 862 km and the riding time in Hokkaido Shinkansen Hayabusa is 4 hours plus. Hokkaido Shinkansen is the extention line of Tohoku Shinkansen from Shin Aomori. In the future it will be further extended to Asahikawa via Sapporo.
The rail road between "Shin Aomori" and "Shin Hakodate Hokuto" are using the Strait line passing through Seikan tunnel. Although a conventional passenger train has been running here. Except for the special train, only the Shinkansen will be operated. The JR freight train continues to use the same track. In order to allow both the narrow track for conventional line and the wide train Shinkansen to travel, it is a 3 - rails with one extra wide rail for the outer race. Shinkansen Hayabusa runs fast between Utsunomiya and Morioka at a maximum speed of 320 km but the maximum speed of the common section with this conventional line is limited to 140 km. Therefore, it takes more than just an hour to get from Shin Aomori to Shin Hakodate Hokuto.
Shin Hakodate Hokuto station and Hakodate station are connected by "Hakodate liner". Hakodate, the third city in Hokkaido, is very quiet at the stores in front of the station because of off season. We took lunch at Hakodate at morning market place. Because the wind is strong outside and it is snow mixing, so we gave up walking after lunch.
I have booked the today’s lodging at Hakodate Onuma Prince Hotel. We got on a train at Hakodate Station and got off at Onuma Park station. We headed the hotel by taxi. Because this hotel is the Seibu group Prince Hotel, there is a sense of quality, and the room and the bathhouse were large size and we could relax. The price including breakfast is very reasonable of due to off-season at 6,000 yen per person. After our bathing, tourists of Chinese and Korean arrived one after another in the bus. This hotel was also occupied by oriental foreigners.
2nd day
Onuma Park - (JR Limited Express Hokuto) - Oshamanbe - (Hakodate Honsen) - Kutchan
Accommodation: Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafu Tei
The breakfast buffet at Hakodate Onuma Prince Hotel was fulfilling. We felt like everything was very delicious. I was also thankful that the hotel might be considering so as not to be together with large number of Chinese and Korean tourists in breakfast. They seem to have departed earlier than us.
However, it was disappointing this time especially because beautiful mountain "Komagatake" had been hidden because of the snow cloud. We could not see the whole view from either hotel room or outdoor bath or breakfast room or train window.
Today we head for Niseko. We went to Onuma Kogen station by a Hotel pick up wagon. And headed for the Oshamanbe by JR Express “Hokuto”. We transfer to the local line of Hakodate honsen and head for Kutchan where is the gateway to Niseko. In Oshamanbe, once you leave the ticket gate, eat crab meat specialty at "Kanaya Shokudo". "Kanaya " has an old history as a stationary bento. It seems to have used hair crabs (Kegani) in the past, but it seems to be mainly using snow crabs (Zuwai) now.
～This train is bound for Kucchan.～ ～This train is bound for Kucchan, ～～
An English announcement persistently repeated in the local diesel train bound for Kutchan, which has just one car, waiting at Oshamanbe station. From here to Kutchan, it is a trip of 9 local stations, it takes about 40 minutes. It was fairly snowing and it was a snowy landscape from the train window. There were few passengers getting on / off at the station on the way, which seems to be a desolate station. There were not many passengers because it is out of season. In the future the Hokkaido Shinkansen has the extension plan going to Sapporo through Oshamanbe - Kutchan - Otaru, but it is a great worry as to whether there are passengers or profitable.
We arrived at Kutchan. Before Kutchan station, there is Niseko station and Hirafu stations, but there were few users. I headed for the Hotel by taxi. The driver told us an interesting story.
"Is it true that Niseko will be occupied by foreigners in the ski season?"
I asked.
"Sure, we have a lot of both Oriental and White visitors from overseas, Niseko is like a foreign town, Especially, Australian are staying for a long time for skiing.
"They drink incredibly large amounts of liquor. They drunk a lot and they are wandering about a long distance just wearing light clothes.”
"So in the season there are a number of people who are victims, sometimes falling and the dead come out, sometimes he cannot be found until the snow melts."
"No way!! Are you sure?”
"This is an annoyance because we must cooperate to find them even if our taxi drivers."
Niseko Snow resort has not opened yet today, but the area around is completely white and it is already winter scape. It will be heavy snow and getting extremely cold if it becomes middle of winter. I’m sorry, it is very pitiful story talked above since they are in Niseko wonderful snow resort.
Tonight 's hotel, Yumoto Niseko Prince Hotel Hirafutei. It is not Seibu Group.
We can see the ski area from the room and go directly to the course from the hotel. But we cannot be allowed skiing yet due to before opening. And because of the snowy weather today we cannot see Mt. Youtei generally called Hokkaido Fuji.
Ah I want to enjoy skiing in Niseko once before I get old.
3rd day
Kutchan - (Hakoda local line) Otaru - (JR Rapid Airport Express) - Sapporo
Accommodation: Richmond Hotel Sapporo
First in the morning, I get awake firmly in the outdoor bath enjoying the view of ski resort so to prepare for today's schedule. Today we head for Kutchan to Otaru. The Hakodate Honsen runs along in the mountains area from Kutchan to Yoichi , and the coastline from Yoichi to Otaru.
I wanted to stop by Nikka whiskey factory in Yoichi famous for founder Mr. Taketsuru, but we headed for Otaru as it was.
There were many passengers between Yoichi and Otaru. And the weather was relatively good this day. It’s lunch time. Otaru is famous for sushi. I thought that the level should be high even if it is Kaiten-zushi. There was a Sushi restaurant called "Kantaro" just beside the Otaru Canal so we went there. It was quite tasty. As I knew later, Kantaro’s the main shop is Hakodate. The Sushi restaurant is the best location along the Otaru Canal. After Sushi Lunch, we walked along the canal. I subconsciously croon “Otaru Unga” song by Miyako Harumi.
From Otaru to Sapporo, we took Airport Express bound for Chitose Airport. There is no snow at all in the big city Sapporo. The hotel in Sapporo is Richmond hotel which is the Royal Host Group near Odori Park and also close to Susukino.
Sapporo is very big city. Odori Park is lighted up. Susukino is the busy street of the dazzling neon as usual.
We enjoyed Yakitori in healthy and traditional yakitori shop in Susukino the night.
4th day
Sapporo－（JR Express Hokuto）－Hakodate － Yunokawa Onsen
Accommodation: Yunokawa Onsen Ryokan Ichinomatsu
We took early Lunch at "Ramen Sapporo Akahoshi" which is highly rated near the hotel. We must take ramen noodles if we came to Sapporo.
We return to Hakodate again at JR Express Hokuto. It is a long train journey of three and a half hours. It is a pretty nice ride distance through Tomakomai, Noboribetsu and Oshamanbe again.
Tonight's accommodation is a Yunokawa Onsen, Ichinomatsu located near Hakodate. It is an inn that I booked online in Sapporo last night. The review point is so high as a luxury inn with a dinner and breakfast and price was very reasonable about 15,000 yen per person. (usual price should be more than 30,000 yen. Probably this is off season price.) Slippers are not offered in dare because of clean and nice sense of tatami mats covering from the entrance to the hallway.
Dinner was luxurious room meal including hairy crab and sea urchin. Breakfast was also room meal, and service of Nakai san was also very good. The bathhouse was also wide, and there was also an open-air bath made by Hinoki. I found a lot of Nishikigoi Carps swimming in the pond beside the entrance. Ichinomatsu Ryokan is 3 stars great and high-end inn.
5th day
Yunokawa Onsen - Hakodate - Shin Hakodate Hokuto - (Hokkaido Shinkansen) -
Shin Aomori - (JR Express Tsugaru) - Akita
Accommodation: Dormy Inn Akita
I came up with ideas for next trip and I decided to go to Akita, I reserved a hotel in Akita while we were staying at the Yunokawa Onsen. From Shin Hakodate Hokuto to Shin Aomori, we took the Shinkansen “Hayabusa”, and from Shin Aomori to Akita, we headed by JR limited express “Tsugaru”.
Tsugaru was crowded, but we were able to secure designated seat. In Hirosaki, some passenger got off and we could found vacant seats. When we arrived at Akita station, we got caught by “Namahage” who is traditional monster. We took a commemorative photo.
The hotel in Akita is Dormy Inn recently getting popular and well talking about. It is a natural hot spring hotel with subtitle of Nakadori Onsen Komachi no Yu. It takes about five minutes on foot from the station. The room is small, but there are one Western-style room with one bed and one more Japanese-style room for two guests, and curiously the massage chair was set up bizarrely in center of room. The public bathhouse is built on top of roof. On the rooftop following it is an outdoor bath as well.
Since dinner was not included, we looked for and found nice Akita Izakaya near by the hotel. I ordered the famous “Kiritanpo” pot, the “Hatahata” fish with plenty of eggs, and the Pickled daikon named “Iburigakko”. But I do not remember what else I ate. After returning to the inn, “ramen” as midnight food was served in free so I was willing to eat it.
6th day
Akita－(Shinkansen Komachi）－Tokyo－（Tokaido Shinkansen）－
Kyoto
Well, from Akita to Tokyo, this is the first time to get on the Akita Shinkansen “Komachi”. It is approximately 4 hours on the train. There was no snow but we enjoyed scenery from train window.
We arrived at Tokyo Station. Originally this trip was scheduled to be finished because I have to work and go to office tomorrow. Since the effective period of the rail pass remains for one more day, my wife and daughter have decided to trip for Kyoto to enjoy autumn leaves.
After arriving in Kyoto, they visited “Tofukuji” temple and “Fushimi Inari” shrine, those are famous for autumn leaves.
The last 7th day
Kyoto－（Tokaido Shinkansen）－Shin Yokohama
At the last day of rail pass, they went around “Arashiyama”, “Tenryuji”, “Sagano” and returned by Hikari Express, and the trip was completed.
This course was seldom involved in sightseeing on the way, it was the result of moving on the train all the time. Therefore, we had station bento at most of every lunch.
If you pay the normal fare for this travelling route, it will lightly exceed 100,000 yen. Since the price of Japan Rail Pass was less than 30,000 yen in 7 days, the advantage for overseas travelers with Japan Rail Pass are very big. Foreign people gathering at tourist spots in various places may use the rail pass very well.
However, Japan Rail Pass must be used so as not to affect the general passengers. In addition, we must know the rail pass cannot use automatic ticket gates. The rail pass user have to pass through the manned ticket gate staying the station staff. If there are something issue and they cannot communicate each other, the traffic in the gate will get affect to the general passengers and the gate will be congested. It seems that the reputation regarding the rail pass from JR officials and station staffs is not good. Some of them want to discontinue the rail pass. Travelers will be increasing in future and Olympic games in 2020 will invite so many visitors from overseas. Many of them will use the Japan Rail Pass accordingly.
To avoid any problem in station, I sincerely hope that JR and JR Pass user must consider the good operation and the rules / manners so that the Japan Rail Pass will be continuing.
Concluded