Hakodate 1

 

After two nights in shinjuku it was time to head to Hokkaido. This is the Hayabusa super express. The Shinkansen that runs from Tokyo to shin-hakodate.

Since Emma missed the last winter trip, we did Gran Class again so she could experience it.

It costs about as much as a cheap Jetstar economy ticket to get to Japan in the first place, so whether it's worth the money is debatable (although some portion of that you have to pay anyway just to ride the train in the first place so it's not quite that expensive)

It is pretty cushy though.

Snow

Hayabusa themed floor buffer.

This is made of plastic bottle caps. Not sure if it was here last time.

We stayed at the hotel at the Shinkansen station, rather than in Hakodate proper.

It makes getting to/from the connecting trains easier, but if you're planning on spending more than a day in hakodate, you're probably better off in town.

The car park.

We had a bit of time to kill before we were able to check in

So we left our bags at the desk and went for a walk in the snow

The photos feel a bit darker than it actually was

Still, there's not a lot in the area of the Shinkansen station

An ill advised moment pondering making a snowball

The local mascot waves from across the road.

I think he's supposed to be a surf clam.

A tunnel leading to the entrance of the station.

A bunch of little boxes with random stuff on the sides, presumably related to the town in some fashion.

His tail glows red. His name is Zushihocky and he's a surf clam nigiri. He's actually the mascot of hokuto a nearby bedroom community of Hakodate.

The local liner that runs from the Shinkansen station to Hakodate proper.

Hakodate proper

An illuminated archway outside Hakodate station.

I managed to slip and fall walking through it, but I was mostly uninjured. I got water in my phone's charging port that took a while to dry out.

The tunnel outside shin-hakodate station was lit up when we got back.

As were the little boxes.

And sushi shocky was more obviously lit up 

Especially from the front where the sushi rice cycled colors