We planned for our 2nd day in Jozankei to be one of recuperation. Not much on the itinerary except a short hike around the resort, more trips to the onsen (I had at least 2 bath that day) and multiple naps.
I cannot explain why naps felt especially nice there in Hokkaido. Just a small window gap to let in the cool air and you can see a couple of us wrapped under the warm sheets and napping the afternoon away~
Dinner on the 2nd night was great as well. Whereas it wasn't in a private room anymore, we still had individual servings and no repeat from the 1st night. I always loved Kaiseki Ryouri and no doubt its one of the main reasons why I'm so willing to spend money on expensive stays.... they usually come with a good dinner~
Another bath before we turn in for the night. Checking-out next morning and onwards to Kiroro! Boarded the same hotel bus which brought us back to Sapporo. Now we head the opposite direction back to Sapporo Tower > [WALK] > Sapporo JR station > [TRAIN] > Otaruchikko > [BUS} > Kiroro
Really really glad that J managed to walk all the way from Sapporo Tower (where we disembarked from the hotel bus) to Sapporo JR Station. The walk was easily 20 minutes considering our load and the slippery pavements. That really justified our decision not to bring along his stroller.
As we took the train to Otaruchikko the view quickly changed from urban to countryside. We also managed to have a view of the sea... That's probably where all those delicious seafood came from!
When we reached Otaruchikko station we still had approximately an hour before the stipulated resort bus departure time. We didn't have enough time to sit down in a restaurant to eat, yet we wanted good sushi as Otaru was a fishing port after all~ Therefore we decided to get some takeaway sushi from the mall beside the JR station.
Since it was our first time in that mall we didn't know which restaurant was good. We asked a lady (probably around 65 years old?) if there was a nice sushi restaurant in the vicinity and she told us it was near the other end of the mall. We got the name of the restaurant and thanked her for her help but she insisted on bringing us there. So she lead us all the way to the other end of the mall, and that was a very big mall as we must have walked 10 minutes before we reached the restaurant. We thanked the lady again as she made her way to her destination. I had a lingering feeling that her own destination was in the opposite direction of where she lead us, but that's Japanese hospitality at its most basic level... Something many foreigners would have been overwhelmed by~
We had our sushi on the bridge just outside the JR station where we protected from the cold winds. We just had enough time to consume the taste of fabulous Otaru sushi before we had to quickly rush to the bus-stop to catch our bus to the resort.
Around 40 minutes later we arrived at our destination, Kiroro Resort - Piano Hotel
We checked in, had a short rest, then ventured to the Indoor Entertainment centre Granship. It was a good place to play video games with the kids before dinner time. We opted for the buffet dinner at the resort restaurant before we went to bed.
Posts from this trip
I cannot explain why naps felt especially nice there in Hokkaido. Just a small window gap to let in the cool air and you can see a couple of us wrapped under the warm sheets and napping the afternoon away~
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| Another onsen hotel right across the road |
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| J enjoying softcream after the hike |
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| More onsen. More candy. |
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| Grilled crab, wagyu on hotplate and many others~ |
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| Japanese Aspic |
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| Grilled crab |
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| Sashimi of the day |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| J all ready to make the walk from Sapporo Tower to Sapporo JR Station |
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| In case you missed it... |
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| The little traveler with his luggage |
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| Really glad this 4-year-old managed to walk most of the way |
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| His favourite pose throughout the trip~ |
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| He looked like a mascot for Sapporo JR Station... |
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| Queueing up for Taiyaki at JR Sapporo Station |
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| Super energetic J at the train platform |
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| J eating his bun while waiting for the train... |
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| Some dessert we bought at Sapporo station for the journey to Otaruchikko |
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| The view along the way. Lots of snow coming up~ |
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| On the other side was the sea... |
When we reached Otaruchikko station we still had approximately an hour before the stipulated resort bus departure time. We didn't have enough time to sit down in a restaurant to eat, yet we wanted good sushi as Otaru was a fishing port after all~ Therefore we decided to get some takeaway sushi from the mall beside the JR station.
Since it was our first time in that mall we didn't know which restaurant was good. We asked a lady (probably around 65 years old?) if there was a nice sushi restaurant in the vicinity and she told us it was near the other end of the mall. We got the name of the restaurant and thanked her for her help but she insisted on bringing us there. So she lead us all the way to the other end of the mall, and that was a very big mall as we must have walked 10 minutes before we reached the restaurant. We thanked the lady again as she made her way to her destination. I had a lingering feeling that her own destination was in the opposite direction of where she lead us, but that's Japanese hospitality at its most basic level... Something many foreigners would have been overwhelmed by~
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| 魚一心 |
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| View of Otaru as the bus ventured further inland |
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| As we moved further up the hills the scenery started to change |
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| Lobby of the Piano Hotel |
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| Plenty of activities for the family |
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| 3 beds in one room. Typical of a ski resort |
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| J topping up on his milk supply... |
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| J enjoying the interactive video games at Granship |
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| Do you like crab legs? |
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| Sweet shrimp galore~ |
We checked in, had a short rest, then ventured to the Indoor Entertainment centre Granship. It was a good place to play video games with the kids before dinner time. We opted for the buffet dinner at the resort restaurant before we went to bed.
Posts from this trip
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