June 14

Hakkodate - Rest Day


Well, that was a pretty low-key day.  A late-ish breakfast and then off to the Hakodate Morning Market.  The market area spans about 4 city blocks .  Products on sale included various types of fresh, frozen, and dried seafood (such as several types of crab, salmon, salmon eggs, and sea urchin), as well as fresh produce - melons, apples, peaches, corn, etc.  Many restaurants can be found in the market area, offering fresh seafood breakfasts.  I had just finished a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel, so didn't need to eat again.  Vince offered to buy a few of us ice cream, though, so I did manage to get that down.  Apparently this is one of the best fresh seafood markets in Japan.  It was busy, but - oh my - so expensive!  


Squid seemed to be a big thing here.  Brought back memories of my snorkelling encounters last fall with 6-foot squids.  These looked a lot more benign.  



Then it was over to the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse district.  Hakodate Port was among the first Japanese ports to be opened to international trade towards the end of the feudal era.  Several red brick warehouses from past trading days survive along the waterfront in the bag area and have been redeveloped into an atmospheric (aka touristy) shopping, dining, and entertainment complex.  Lots of souvenir shops and jewellery shops; a bit too touristy for my liking.  I have found the city here to be in a bit of decline, although they're really making an attempt at drawing in the tourists.    







Out for a big bowl of ramen (late lunch) and back to the hotel.  I didn't sleep well last night, so caught a few z's.  Back on the bikes tomorrow for the last 5 days of riding into Sapporo.  Just when it becomes a way of life, the finish line comes into sight.  For me, it's been a physically hard tour; getting older, I guess.  I seem to be starting to come down with a cold.  Hope it doesn't develop into much.  Maybe a trip to the onsen is in order tonight.  Some of the other folks are starting to have some physical issues - a couple of back problems, some foot issues, and a more serious cardiac issue.  Some of the hazards, I suppose, of pushing these not-so-young bodies hard day after day.  Overall, though, everyone is holding up quite well.

I did go to the onsen...... I had the big pool to myself and watched a beautiful sunset.  Then chatted with a few others in the 13th floor lounge; great views over the city and up to the observatory where we were last night.  









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
Here I go again.  After taking last year off from big bike trips, I thought this one looked interesting.  A totally new part of the world for me.  A new (to me) company, although I know a few people who have been repeat guests with them.   The company is TDA Global Cycling.  It's a Canadian company but they do epic tours all over the world.  Their flagship ride is the Tour d'Afrique.  The trip I'm doing is called "Journey to the East", and is one of their easier trips.     We cycle the length of South Korea from north to south and then fly over to Japan to cycle south to north through that country.  Big miles and lots of climbing, although a few more rest/tourist days than I've had on some tours.  I'm looking forward to being able to experience some of the culture along the way.  I'm always a bit nervous about whether I've bitten off too much, but so far I always manage.  I think I've reached the point in life wh...
Read more

May 2 & 3

Woke up to a notification that my flight was delayed until 5:30 pm.  No problem - time for a long walk, laundry, and a few last minute things. Thanks to Ursula for the ride to the airport. I was there really early, as planned, and beat any rush. The check-in agent hadn’t processed a bike before but with a bit of help I think it got through ok. As the boarding is about to begin, the AirTag shows it in close proximity to the plane. I ate my fill in the lounge and probably don’t need to eat again until sometime tomorrow. Next up - nearly 12 hours on a plane - ugh!  Last I looked, the seat beside me was empty. Fingers crossed….. Once on the flight, they were clear to announce that the flight would be 11 hours and 59 minutes.  Maybe some different regulations are required for a 12 hours flight?  In any case, it was all good.  Well, except for the screaming child directly behind me.  Couldn't listen to audiobooks/podcasts for a few hours at the start of the fligh...
Read more

May 4

Image
Seoul Seoul (according to Wikipedia):  Seoul is the capital and largest city of South Korea.  The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon, emerged as the world's sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, behind New York, Tokyo, LA, Paris, and London, and hosts more than half of South Korea's population.  The population of the metropolitan area is over 25 million. Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC.  In the early 20th century, Seoul was occupied by the Empire of Japan.  The city was liberated by U.S. forces at the end of WWII.  The Korean War (1950-1953) brought fierce battles, with Seoul changing hands four times and leaving the city mostly in ruins.  One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins.  Nevertheless, the city has since undergone significant reconstruction and rapid urbanization.  After a numb...
Read more