October 14, 2006: Day trip to Otaru, Japan

Yesterday, I went to a small port town called Otaru. I went with Nick and Josh -- two friends that I have met since I arrived here. Nick is from England and Josh is from my school (Lewis and Clark).
Anyway, we began our day at the Sapporo train station at about 9am(-ish). We got on a local train, which cost each of us about $6 one way for a 45min ride. It was a quiet ride -- not much to say about it... We arrived in Otaru and went off to a rustic coffee shop/bar that had a bunch of old things inside (lanterns/photos/boat decor/etc.). We hung out and had a snack and coffee for about an hour and then we started our exploration.
We didn't ever really find a whole lot worth mentioning. It was an industrial town with a lot of shopping areas as well. Kinda boring, I think. Anyway, we all just kicked around and took photos of randomness, and then found a decent -- fairly priced -- place to have a late lunch. After that, we went for more coffee. This coffee place was in an old wooden building that was dark, spacious, and comfy. The room lighting was done entirely by kerosene lantern (chandeliers and all). It was pretty relaxing (I will post pics later).
After coffee, we nearly decided to head back to Sapporo because we were out of things/places to explore. We managed to find a nifty little park which had a huge buoy-anchor on display. So, we all climbed atop and sat around for an hour or so. That was the highlight of our day up to that point. From there we could see half of the town that we hadn't been to... so we wandered again. There we found Hokkaido's largest factory-outlet mall -- Yippie! Outside of it was a large ferris-wheel. We each paid about $4 and got to go 'round twice (thanks to Josh, because he asked the attendant for another spin)! That was pretty fun because none of us had been on a ferris-wheel in a very long time.... We all took many snapshots -- those are coming too.
After our ride, we walked through the mall and Josh bought a birthday gift (a liter of the local beer) for his host-father -- which he greatly appreciated.
Josh and I each bought a $3 waffle cone ice cream, and then we started off towards the train station to go back to Sapporo.
We caught an express train back to Sapporo that shaved off 20mins from the trip... They have a variety of trains available here -- they range from fast to slow, or expensive to cheap. They really have an effiecient/reliable mass transit system here -- something that Americans would drool over considering gas prices these days...
Anyway, we got back to Sapporo and went walking around looking for a bar that Josh and I found one night. That was about a month ago and we haven't managed to ever find it again. The bar district here is a maze, and is overwhelming in fact. So, we ended up going to our latest favorite joint -- only I cannot think of it's name... It's a British-style pub, so Nick really fancies it. I think it's a bit pricy, but I don't really fixate on money so much... It's a watering whole where we feel comfortable, and that's good enough.
We all stayed there for about 2 drinks, and then we all went home. I think that I got home at about midnight, but I wasn't really paying much attention....
In sum, the day wasn't all that exciting. We just chose to go somewhere that was cheap and close -- and Otaru fit the bill. I took a lot of pics (which will be added later), and enjoyed hanging out with my friends. What more can a guy ask for? Oh yeah, a Gretchen travel buddie!

I'll try to be better at updating this blog... But I am usually busy, so please be patient...

Next weekend we are all (most of the exchange students and a bunch of Japanese students) going on a weekend trip, so I should have plenty to post in a week or so...
Until then,
Bye!
Robert