29 October 2016
So happy to give information please sit
The underground heated shopping streets of Sapporo
I had some administrative requirements to take care of.
First of all, I needed to book 3 train tickets for the next 3 legs of my journey so that I dont miss out on seats and have to stand or walk back to Tokyo.
First Sapporo to Hakodate, then Hakodate to Sendai, then Sendai to Ueno in Tokyo.
I searched online and wrote down dates, times, departure and arrival station name and number of train and waltzed into the station office with my special east south something something Hokkaido pass and handed the pass and my requested routings to the man who sits behind the purpose built ticket booking touch screen.
20 seconds later he handed me 3 tickets. And in broken English told me that everybody including Japanese speakers should just do what I do, because job make very easy thank you much.
I was thrilled with cheap praise from Mr Ticket man. As I left I spotted a tourist information centre for food and tourist information for Sapporo and surrounds for tourists visiting tourist attractions and related tourist locations including Onsen and Shrines.
Unfortunately, it is near on impossible to find information on local buses in Japan, and I needed information, so in I went.
There were 3 girls in pink nurses uniforms, asleep. I stand at the mark on the floor as instructed by many signs for about a minute whilst they sleep sitting up. Eventually one of them frightens herself awake, and invites me over, she is super excited! 'So happy to give information please sit!'
I started explaining where I want to go, which was met with not possible, wrong season, runs for 3 weeks in summer only. But I had read of another route that goes within 2km of the special 3 week only bus. This took some real explaining using google maps, and before too long all 3 pink nurse uniformed tourist information girls were crowded around my phone in fierce debate.
Eventually a bus timetable was produced, highlighter marks were added, and warnings about walk very far from bus stop were given, as well as last light warnings and walking on the road warnings. So tomorrow we will see if they were helpful or not, weather permitting.
Train ticket offices helpfully provide a selection of magnification glasses so you can read the timetable / ticket.
Here is my bus timetable. It is an A3 sheet of paper that will disintegrate if breathed on. I have taken a high resolution photo for when that happens.
My first ever usage of Tourist Information seems to have worked, in that I at least got a timetable, and also I gave its bored staff something to actually do.
Dinner tonight was a new kind of Omurice. For the uninitiated, its a rice filled omelette. But it usually comes with curry or similar sauce on it. This time I am having it instead of pasta, in cherry tomato and eggplant tomato sauce. It was actually delicious.
The Sapporo station. It is small on top, but trust me, it is huuuuuuge underneath.
The second in my series of what I am calling 'Leaves of the night, so color, so wonder'.
The Sapporo Eifel tower, proudly sponsored by Panasonic.
Now for some shopping tunnels. Sapporo gets really cold in winter. From what I have worked out theres no need to go outside. A quick drawing on google maps reveals there are 3.8km of connected underground tunnels lined with shops and restaurants.
More tunnel. Look at all the people!