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July, 2009: Souya Misaki, Wakkanai, Hokkaido

This is it. If you are travelling north in Japan, this is the furthest you will get. Any further, and you will be in the sea. And judging by the rain, the wind (one guy has the whole plastic part of his umbrella blown away, leaving the 'skeleton) and the temperature, it wouldn't be a pleasant little dip.

Surprising, the monument that mark this northernmost point wasn't really grand. Beside it, there was a statue of Mamiya Rinzou, an explorer.

The only other buildings around the cape were a Jinja shrine, some restaurants, souvenir shops and a public toilet. Of course, each of these establishments proudly proclaim themselves as the northernmost....
Shrine.....

restaurant....

souvenir shop.....
Although the toilet did not claim as such, I guess other than pissing right into the sea, it would have to be the northernmost spot in Japan to do one's pissing. And did I do the pissing? Mochiron, for obvious symbolic reason....
Across the road from the northernmost-point monuments is a little hill where you can find more monuments. But this time round, monuments for world peace. Further down the road is a restaurant in a wind mill (making me feel like Don Quixote) which dishes out the supposedly-famous Souya Misaki Black Bull beef. When I was there, sheltering from the rain, drying my windbreaker and eating my lunch, the restaurant was playing a enka-style song about Souya Misaki. And it was looping on and on and on, such that every 2 minutes or so, the singer was going "....Souuuya...Miiiisaaaaaki...."
The visitor shelter next to the bus-stop has a little notebook for visitors to note down their thoughts about their visit. It seems quite a number of visitors come here as some sort of pilgremage.
There are those who came by walking all the way from some other part of Hokkaido, others who did the trip entirely on a trusty bicycle, and some more who did it to complete their Easternmost+Westernmost+Southernmost+Northernmost-points-of-Japan grand slam. Surprisely, quite a number of Hong-Kongers made their way here.

July, 2009: Wakkanai, Hokkaido

Being just one station away from the northestmost train station in Japan, it would have make sense to take the train from Minami-Wakkanai to Wakkanai station. But I enjoyed my morning shower a little too much. And by the time I rush to the train station, I could only see a sleepy-looking school girl walking out of the station. I knew I have missed the morning train. The lady and her customer at the train station kiosk confirmed that, gesturing at the time table, telling me the next train would be about an hour away.

I decided to take the bus. And by the time the bus arrived, the clear morning sky has given way to an overcasted one. By the time I reached the Wakkanai train station, it was drizzling. And the rain did not stop until much later in the evening. Anyway, I have missed the morning buses to Souya Misaki (Souya Cape, the northernmost point of Japan), so have to check out Wakkanai central while waiting for the 1pm bus to the cape. I didn't expect much, but the Wakkanai Park on a hill overlooking the sea was a pleasant little hike.
Too bad the weather was bad, and the rain was really bringing the temperature down quite a few degrees. And I was more or less in my summer clothings. The Wakkanai Park has some monuments, and being a fishing port, the crab and other seafoods were the other attraction of the city/town. I still dream of the seafood Don.
The train station itself is probably another attraction. Various signs mark it as the northern most train station in Japan. And it come as no surprise that tourist were taking pictures of themselves by these signs.
Speaking of signs, many of the traffic signs in Wakkanai are in Russian, although I did not see a single Russian-looking person when I was there.

July, 2009: Mina-NagareYama, Chiba to Minami-Wakkanai, Hokkaido

Souya Misaki is the northern most place in the whole of Japan. And somewhere south, about 45min by bus, is the JR Wakkanai Station, the northern most station on the JR line. Ideally, I would love to take one of the sleeper train overnight from Ueno to Sapporo. Arriving in the morning and make my up north. But that's 'ideally'. JR slap about 9000Yen surcharge for the sleeper Cassiopia and Hokutosei trains even with the JR Japan Rail Pass. So, this is out. The alternative is to take the earliest possible train out of Ueno to Hokkaido. "Earliest possible" meant one leaving Tokyo after 7am since it would take me about an hour out of Minami-NagareYama, and the first train out is after 5:30pm. And experience from the Kamikochi trip tells me it is possible for the first train to start late.

I would also like to arrive in Wakkanai station on the same day, but I found no sub-5000Yen hotel there, so have to settle for one in Minami-Wakkanai station, one station south of the Wakkanai station.

So, here's the road north:

Leave on the last train from Minami-Nagareyama headed for Tokyo.
Would have missed this if I have doubled back to check I have locked my door.














Head to Akihabara and "check in" to a Manga Kissa place. At 1080Yen for manga, internet and free flow of coffee and other drinks, this is a good way to spend the night before the first train on the Yamanote line.

















Eight cups of coffee later, its time to head out to a bright cool morning, and back up on the Yamanote line to Tokyo.















This being the first day of a long weekend, the Tokyo station is busy with activities. Some travellers were with their full hiking gear. The 6:00 train from Tokyo will run all the way to the end of the Shinkashen line in Hachinohe.













After Hachinohe, it's another train across the straits between Honsho and Hokkaido in a tunnel under the sea.














After a short stop in Hakodate, it is onwards toward Sapporro.

















From Sapporro, it is a Rapid train up north. By the time I reached Minami-Wakkanai, it was slightly before 11pm. I am now thousand over km from Tokyo, and would have been on the road for almost 17 hrs.















Stay at the Chikou Hotel for the night. I like the sound of it. I think all Fragrance and Hotel 81 establishment in the Geylang area should be renamed Chikou Hotels.

July, 2009: Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan

南流山--> (武蔵野線) -->西船橋--> (総武線) -->秋葉原--> (京浜東北線) -->浜松町--> (都バス虹01系統) --> 船の科学館

Gundam is celebrate its 30th anniversary. And as part of the celebration, they went and built a 1:1 scale model of the original Gundam.

Somewhere near Newcastle in England, there is a statue called the Angel of the North. It look like a surfer with a longboard carried horizontally on his back, and with his arms being chew off by sharks off the coast of Australia. It stands at 20m. The Gundam stands at 18m, and stands guard near the Rainbow Bridge of Tokyo bay. And it looks more cool.
I reached few minutes before 9pm, and before I could take out my camera from its casing, they turned off the spotlight for the night. But at least in the dark, they could do a bit of a light show with the machine.
The atmosphere on the field was surprising harshed. Most approached the Gundam from afar with "Sugoi, sugoi", quicken their pace, race to front of the Gundam and then settle to admire it from a short distance. One young lady attempted to crack a joke: "Gundam, 28 sai, dokushin (Gundam, 28 years old, single)". I thought the guy is 30 this year, maybe she knows something I don't.

July, 2009: Yasukuni Jinja, Tokyo, Japan

南流山--> (武蔵野線) -->南船橋--> (京葉線) -->東京--> ( 中央本線) -->飯田橋

Every time a new Prime Minister gets into office in Japan (and this being a pretty frequent event these days), her North Asia neighbors wait to see if he is going to pay a visit at the Yasukuni Jinja.

In July for about half a week, the Jinja has a Mitama Matsuri running in its compound. From the entrance, it looks like any other summer matsuri in Japan, with the food stalls and odori dancing.

But as you venture into the main compound, you will see the main attraction of the matsuri. Lanterns, lots of them, lining the path to the Jinja temple. You would then realize that these are offerings to those who lost their lives in the 2nd World War.
The bright yellow lanterns were displayed with others with the drawing or calligraphy of celebrities and atists. While there are drawings and writing on the theme of peace, there were obviously some "rightist" amongst them. There were many young boys and gals enjoying their night out, probably without knowing the significance of the place. But as they near the main Jinja, the guards will turn away anyone who were still holding food in their hands. If they wish to go any further, they were politely, but firmly, requested to dispose of the food first.

July 2009: Koiwa, Japan

南流山--> (武蔵野線) -->西船橋--> (総武線) -->小岩

When I was in Koiwa, I was thinking of the term Shitamachi, 下町, a term that I first got acquainted with in Asakusa. This seems to mean areas of Tokyo that are populated with the non-ruling class during the times when Tokugawa was still ruling. When I tried to verify this on wikipedia, turns out I was right. Koiwa, like Katsushika, is part of the Edogawa area, which is one of the areas considered Shitamachi.

Every time I moved away from the hustle and bustle of central Tokyo, I think of Shitamachi. These areas seems to be characterized by the bright lights of the area immediately surrounding the train station, and quickly (within a couple of streets) turns into quiet residential area. Koiwa is such a place. And when I am in a Shitamachi area, I like to check out their clock and watch shops. Usually they seems to carry pretty old models.



















The Taiko team was sharing the stage with a local band, which seems to play mainly rock-and-roll stuff from the Elvis era. They were joined off-stage by some of the locals, dress in the custom of that era and jiving and dancing to their music: living up the name of the town, which means Little Rock.









GOTO: I lube, you tube
GOTO: Can move one, this one

After the concert, I went over to Nippori station to sort out some reserved seat tickets. Spin round the surrounding street, and I could feel the Shitamachi atmosphere. Incidentally, the station's ticketing reception area was pasted with photoes of the Taiwan Railway trains and station, while poster were advertising local Japanese train services.