Today was the end of our group traveling together in this trip. From Hirosaki, we planned to go back to Shin Aomori and there we would split; Noushka and Ditha will take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, while Ari, Aina and I will take the trains back to Sapporo.
We woke up a bit early this morning and packed up the remaining stuff in our suitcases and backpacks. We then checked out of Ishiba Ryokan at around 9AM. Ishiba-san had been waiting for us in the lobby. He offered us a short tour around Hirosaki by his car before dropping us off at the train station. And now it’s clear that we have to come back and spend more than just one day here… There was just so much more to see than the Castle.
A mandatory group picture with Mr. Ishiba.
And did you know that Hirosaki was also known for their apples? There was a statue of a woman and a man holding apples. And inside the station, there was a gigantic apple that fascinated Aina.
We had our quick breakfast at the station’s Mister Donut, then took our last group picture together before boarding the train to Shin-Aomori…
When we got to Shin-Aomori, we said bye bye and boarded our trains: Noushka and Ditha boarded the Shinkansen, we took the Super Hakucho that goes under water through the Seikan Tunnel again, the same one we took two days ago.
Our journey back from Hirosaki to Sapporo took us almost 6 hours, changing trains 3 times. We spent most of the time sleeping and reading. By the time we got to Sapporo, it was almost evening, around 5:40-ish. And we were famished. And I was craving monjyayaki… perhaps because Ditha was talking about having monjyayaki when they’re in Tokyo.
So I thought it was like a dream come true when we bumped into an Okonomiyaki & Monjyayaki restaurant at the ground floor of Sapporo Station. Big yay!!
After we were all full and happy, we took a taxi from the Sapporo station to our hotel. We checked in to the APA hotel by the Odori Park and layed on the beds for a while.
When the sun had set, we decided to take a stroll around the Odori Park, which was only a short block away from our hotel. There were many musicians in the park, young and old, with different types of music. Aina enjoyed it very much.
We also stopped by the candy shop and bought ourselves a chocolate-dipped banana, and sat at the nearby fountain to enjoy the atmosphere.
under the Sapporo Tower
We walked to the Sapporo Tower that was located at the end of the Odori Park to take a peek at their beer garden. There was hardly anyone there, though. So we decided to go back to the hotel and have a rest for the night.
Today’s photos are in 22 June 2015 album and the rest of Sapporo photos are here.
Other entries of this trip is at Hokkaido Trip Summer 2015.
