Oma (Aomori) to Hakodate

The grilled hokke set meal I had at a diner in Oma. I had actually planned to eat a tuna bowl with Oma's famous line-caught tuna. Sure enough, every diner had a flag out front saying "Oma tuna". But every one of them was around 2,500 yen. That's expensive... Thinking of the rest of the trip, I gave up. The hokke set was about 800 yen. The portion was huge and it tasted exceptional.

Loading the bike onto the ferry. My heart was racing before landing in Hokkaido.

The ferry set out for Hakodate port. It's about 40 km. Not directly beneath here, but the Seikan Tunnel also runs under the Tsugaru Strait. It's hard to believe anyone dug an undersea tunnel under this strait!!

Mt. Hakodate, famous for its night view of Hakodate. At first I thought it was an island, but the city of Hakodate already spreads out behind this mountain.

Landed in Hokkaido!! The roads are really wide. Apparently it's because of the winter snow, but in summer everyone seems to drive as if there are two lanes. A little confusing. Riding down the middle would probably be a nuisance. After this I went to see my friend Koji, whom I had contacted from Aomori.

In the evening Koji took me sightseeing around Hakodate in his car. In the photo are scallops we ordered at an izakaya. Simply grilled with butter, but delicious!

The night view from Mt. Hakodate. With a 15-second exposure I got a photo like this. It was so beautiful that I lost track of time staring at it.

Koji and the night view. In front of such a beautiful night view, I think a strange tension hung between Koji and me. We were both a bit shy.

Besides the night view, we came across an interesting sight. The photo came out tilted, but this is looking from Mt. Hakodate toward Honshu. At the very back are the lights of squid-fishing boats and the night view of the mainland. And in the sky, streaks of light. Aurora!? I thought for a second, but of course you couldn't see one in a place like this. Apparently it's something called isaribi, the glow from the squid boats' lamps. Perhaps thin clouds caused a Tyndall effect; it was a very mysterious sight. I didn't think the camera would capture it, but when I set the exposure to the maximum 60 seconds it came out just as it looked to the eye.

The next morning I went to the morning market. I ordered live squid, a Hakodate speciality. All over the market there were shops selling it. Tanks like this are full of swimming squid, and when you order, the staff catch one and turn it into squid "somen" noodles. Even chopped up it still moves slightly, and when you put it in your mouth the suckers stick to your tongue. As fresh as it gets. The price was high, though, at 1,500 yen. The seafood rice bowl I ordered with it was perfect too! I realised that the charm of Hokkaido is the food that comes from its rich seas. The bowl came with crab miso soup, full of crab stock and with a refined aftertaste I could have swooned over. And refills were free!!

A hamburger shop I was taken to as a Hakodate speciality. The interior was wildly flashy, promoting Christmas in the middle of summer. Locals apparently call it "Rappi".

A souvenir photo of the two of us at Goryokaku. We're both a little embarrassed. Unfortunately, it seems you can't see the star shape unless you go up the nearby tower.