To Otaru

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Tue 17 Oct 2017 22:57
The Final Leg of Our Epic Journey to Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan
 
 
 
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Our third leg of this six hundred and seventy six mile journey was from Shin Hakodate Hokuto to Sapporo.
 
 
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Well, colour us both happy, we were sitting waiting for the little local train when on a side track in came Red Bear.
 
 
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Looking left and right, when he got going it took ages for all his carriages to go through the station.
 
 
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Meanwhile, there was a really annoying woman stuck on a loop telling us where to stand on the platform, to get on the correct bit of the train. It was also flashing on a TV monitor. I had hoped for ‘D’ for Deer, we got ‘C’ for Cow. Say a word and it will hurt. I wasn’t, I was only thinking it. Hear Pepe growl.
 
 
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After fifteen minutes of the Minnie-sound-alike, our little girl arrived.
 
 
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Almost immediately we had scenery.
 
 
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We wiggled a bit around Mount Komagatake.
 
 
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Shame the windows were a little dirty, but still, lovely.
 
 
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Bear decided to eat his late lunch. Oh My. What with the egg in his salad, the bits of crab and opening his chicken..........
 
 
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.........I wasn’t sorry to get a breather at Sapporo. The nice Fat Controllers came over and asked us if we were OK. We showed our tickets and they each said “Third train”.
 
 
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One of our super smartly turned out, skinny, Fat Controllers as Bear stands messily out of a queuing line.
 
 
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Our train appears on the monitor.
 
 
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Three stops (yellow blobs) on the map.
 
 
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On the dot, our fourth and final girl came in.
 
 
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Forty two minutes later we were at Otaru Chikko Station.
 
 
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Outside, we followed the arrows to our hotel down a covered walkway, turned left and went down another long walkway and there we were in a huge shopping mall. If you arrive after ten at night you have to leave the station by an outdoor exit and walk along the road.
 
 
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We walked for ages passing loads of shops, then suddenly on the right, there was our hotel entrance.
 
 
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Beds soon settled. We had two beds, sort of big singles, I knew at once we would snuggle on the one. Too right. You pick one and I’ll be there. (Bear won’t sleep by himself unless I am on watch on Beez) we have to do it then, what you would expect, strange and I do miss you but not now. OK then. Snuggle it is.
 
 
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Another amazing toilet. Seat heat set on low, soon turned to high.
 
 
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Within minutes our room had the ‘moved in look’, glad to see your case on the other bed. It can be moved you know. But...... We were settling to cob a squat (picnic) with cheese rolls, a banana and a shared packet of crisps, we know how to roll......
 
 
 
ALL IN ALL A GREAT JOURNEY TO A LOVELY TOWN BY THE SEA
                     THE JOURNEY WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF A LIFETIME AMBITION