I was asked a while back what I was going to do for a week long vacation period starting tomorrow (known locally as “silver week”). I pondered for a bit then thought, you know I should go up to Hokkaido. I like Hokkaido a lot, and it would be good to make it up there when many people down here have never been.

My plan starts today. Silver week and my car’s bi-annual inspection just happened to collide. So instead of getting fussy, I instead made it work. So anyway, I’m supposed to take my car to the car inspection place where they’re going to fix a (supposed) oil leak. The whole operation, they told me, would take about 4-7 days (a prime time to travel by train). Hopefully that’ll be a painless affair of just dropping off a car and leaving– but who knows.

Once the car is off I lug my backpack on my back and hike to the train station where I’ll be waiting for my bus to take me to Ooma in Northern Shimokita.

My plan is to camp tonight up in Ooma  then take the earliest ferry from Ooma to Hakkodate. From Hakkodate I buy a ticket to Sapporo and chill out till the train arrives. Once on and sitting down– it’s a 3 or so hour ride to Sapporo where I’ll get off at the big station and make my way around to a Backpacker’s Hostel I booked for the week called “INO’s PLACE.”

In Sapporo, I don’t have much major planned. Mostly I want to go around to places I used to hang out at. Also I need to: drink a coffee at Starbucks, watch a movie at the movie theater, and go to a BIG bookstore and check out ENGLISH books. You know, things you can’t do here. Then I want to do some side trips– Like go to this one coffee shop in Otaru that I’ve only been to once. If it’s still open I want to go in and take another picture. Then, if I have time, I want to go to Jozankei Onsen again and take more pictures of that village.

So that’s my plan for silver week.

Cheers

~J

I suppose I’ll figure it all out when/if I get there (lol).

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