Or these European red brick warehouses in the port. It is an interesting mix of Japanese and foreign influence.
Hokkaido is full of fisherman.
We see one ship returning from his fishing trip.
On shore the fisherman prepare the nets for the next journey, while the huge snowflakes fall down.
You can clearly see that they have been doing this for a long time. So fast they unclutter the nets...
Hand carved knive to cut the lines when necessary.
In one of the warehouses the fishes are sorted on size and quality.
In one of the warehouses the fishes are sorted on size and quality.
His "last supper"...
Mostly a men business but the lady here makes sure that all the paperwork is in order.
On the market next door you can also eat the catch of the day. Fresher then this is hard to get!
After a nice talk with this market vendor selling the famous King Crab, Marleen is offered to hold one. 4,5 kg... alive... Quite scary if you ask me!
Another vendor is selling something we can't quite get what it is....
It is thinly squized smoked squid. Actually very tasty and goes well with beer!
If you want to try King Crab, this is the place to do it. You don't often eat crab, well at least we don't.
Hokkaido also meant more space and we immediately tried to find a spot with sea view.
We missed this! Not being on a parking and enjoying a wide view!
Winter time, means winter food! Time to make apple pie! In our little foldable oven.
That evening we also encountered our first wild life, a fox going for a shell left behind by the fisherman.
We meet Ranzan, ninja and farmer. Ninja's are still alive and kickin in Japan! He gives training and shows around Japan. And as a traditional ninja, he also works as a farmer, nice combo!
He shows us how to throw ninja stars (Shuriken) And once we got the hang of that, he takes it to the next step: you can even throw chopsticks. Helpful when you are eating while being attacked.
The town, Yoichi is also famous for one of the big Japanese Whiskeys. So interesting to see that the Japanese have travelled around the world and picked up crafts on their way and perfectionize them.
The kettles are still being fired by coal done by experts to keep the temperature exactly as required. Everything to get the best taste.
After seeing all this, we got to sample a few. Hmm our favorite is sold out. So much cheaper then in the Netherlands!
Nice farewell diner, thanks Ranzan! We are off to the capital of Hokkaido to try to get our visa extended...
As slow travellers ,we were getting nervous about our 90-day visa... Normally you are not able to extend this, but we really needed one to have enough timein Hokkaido before making our way down to the South of Japan. But Japan is all about rules, and let us know that the changes are slim. We will try to make our case better and need some time to get more paperwork in and even the TV-station helps us with providing a letter.
While we get the required paperwork, we might as well enjoy Sapporo! Another craft perfectly embodied by the Japanes, brewing beer! One of the oldes brewers in Japan.
And as you are used of us, city means: restaurants!
Hmmm... interesting menu... Knee cartilage? As a medical engineer working in the cartilage field, almost tempting to get a piece as backup for less then a euro ;-)
Yes we really appreciate the increase in space at Hokkaido. Still many roads are closed due to snow, but we were lucky with this one. Our first picknick!
On our way to Furano we encounter frozen lake dotted with colorfull tents. Lets have a look!
The lake is huge and a bit hesitating we walk onto the melting ice.
A family approaces a fun day of ice fishing and eating. In Hokkaido the winter is just another season full of its own outdoor activities!
Ice fisher
Good times, fishing, drinking coffee and eating fresh fish tempura.
Woohoo one of our Hokkaido-Winter experiences of our list! Ice fishers.
This friendly man goes often to the lake. It's a nice way to relax and step back of you daily life. Almost meditative!
We continue our adventure in Hokkaido. And stumble often on closed roads... maybe we should learn Japanse ;-)
The TV-crew joins us again when we start our Hokkaido adventure. Nice sushi diner to discuss our plans, tomorrow we leave!
Always nice to go to a new destination, new adventure and new experiences awaits!
We arrive in Hakodate, appearently the first city to open up to foreign trade. You can see this clearly from the foreign buildings, for example this Russian Church.
Or American style burger restaurant.
