During the Golden Week holidays, I took a trip around Hokkaido, which also served as a pilgrimage to locations from last year’s Detective Conan movie.
Day 1: Departed from Tokyo in the afternoon, taking my first domestic flight in Japan. The 1 hour 20 minute journey brought me to Hakodate on a Disney-themed aircraft, complete with a commemorative boarding card (which I unfortunately left on the plane 😭).
Shortly after going up the mountain, I encountered rain and strong winds, causing the cable car down to stop operating early. I managed to catch the last car down, otherwise it would have been another entry in my “unlucky diary.”
Day 2 was still rainy, but the wind had calmed down considerably. I enjoyed a city walk through the Red Brick Warehouses and Hachimanzaka, which was very pleasant.
I tried the famous Lucky Pierrot burger. The burger itself was ordinary, but the fried chicken was delicious.
I spent several hours at the seaside Starbucks, which was quite empty.
Realizing I still had plenty of time, I decided to visit Goryokaku, which was originally planned for the third day. Despite the overcast sky, the cherry blossoms were magnificent, and with so few people around, I didn’t even have to queue for the observation tower.
Day 3: A rare sunny day! I visited Goryokaku again to see the cherry blossoms, then returned to the hotel to relax.
Day 4: After checking out, I took the train from Hakodate to Sapporo, a journey of over four hours. Sitting on the right side offered beautiful ocean views. I finished reading “The Golden Age Locked Room Murder Case” during the trip, giving me that long-missed feeling of having read a proper mystery novel. In the evening, I strolled through the shopping streets near Sapporo Station.
Otaru is a small city reached by a 30-minute train ride from Sapporo. It was very windy, with many glassware shops.
I also visited Shiroi Koibito Park, Hokkaido Shrine, and Hokkaido University.
After waking up, I headed home. Overwatch, launch.
