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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
Well there is no doubt we are racking up the stamps in our passports and the Japanese authorities have more photos of me this trip than Glenn has taken of me....... Well that's not quite true but seriously, before we can go ashore today in Otaru we need to be 'Processed' again. We are given the 7.30am time slot so we decide to get organized and go ashore early to make the most of the day. It's a bit cool but promises to be a fine sunny day. Otaru began as a fishing village centuries ago with an abundance of herring and then the discovery of coal. Eventually the herring were over fished and the coal supplies ran out. Otaru became less important and almost forgotten. Because it was not considered an area of significance it also came out unscathed after the 2nd world war so a lot of the original buildings are still standing. During its busy days a canal was built to assist with the transport of the goods in and out of the Harbour. Today this is a draw card for tourists and locals on a fine sunny Sunday. We purchase a day pass for the bus us and get a local bus into the city. It's a mixture of architecture which adds to its charm. We want to get to the Tenguyama Ropeway to see the view of the city, the Shokanbetsu Mountains and Shakotan Peninsula from Mt Tengu but the first bus to take us there doesn't start for another hour. We forget it's quite early and it's Sunday. What to do........ Let's have coffee! What a surprise! Refreshed again, we walk down to the canal to take a bit of a look while we wait for the bus to the Ropeway. It's pretty quiet at the moment. We eventually get to the Ropeway and the view is amazing. It's a pretty clear today. Further up the mountain is a luge. This is a well known ski area in the winter and the city of Sapporo which is about 35km away has hosted the Winter Olympics. Also here there is an enclosure where you can view and feed the chipmunks. It's free but someone forget to tell the chipmunks because they were all having the day off.....not a one to be seen! Back down the mountain we view glass makers in their workshop performing their craft while we wait for our bus. In town we walk up and down the streets looking at all the shops, we find temples and shrines, houses that have been preserved because of their heritage and significance but most of them these days are restaurants or privately owned. The fresh fish stalls are fascinating, the crabs are huge, some of the legs are 45cm long! The idea here is you grab a today, go along and chose your scallops, clams (still alive and in their shells) crab and then it's cooked while you wait on a brick fire. Can't get much fresher than that! You get little bowls of sauces like soy, ginger, wasabi and some rice and that's it, sit down and eat! No we didn't eat there! Earlier we found a corner that was packed with little eateries. They were no bigger than 3m x2m and that includes the kitchen in most cases. This is where we chose to have lunch. It's a Japanese BBQ that you cook yourself on a cast iron cone shaped plate over hot coals. There is only room for 8 people around the bench as there are only 4 BBQ's. We get lamb sliced thinly, bean shoots and onion to cook using chopsticks. On the side you get a bowl of rice and a bowl of soy sauce. It's very popular with people queuing up for a spot. We timed it perfectly. The flavours of the meat is yummy and I am sort of getting the hang of chopsticks... No choice really as there is no alternative! Sunday BBQ and a beer, doesn't get much better than that! From here we go on the canal boat. Bit of a yawn really as the narration is in Japanese but by reading the English brochure you do get to glean a bit of the history and significance of the area. The canal is lined with mostly disused factories, and warehouses. The factories were canneries and the warehouses were storage. The warehouses have been converted into retail spaces with restaurants, souvenir shops and there is a boutique brewery and beer hall. By now the canal area is very busy, there are many people sketching and painting and street vendors. Rickshaws are everywhere and the young men in their tiny shorts are trying their hardest to lure in the customers. Imagine a lean, no doubt very fit guy trying to run, hauling the two of us up and down and around the streets. I couldn't do it to a horse let alone another human being! The Temiya Railway line said to be the oldest on the island of Hokkaido is not used anymore but a portion of the track has been left for visitors to walk along and see the old buildings and little houses that once would have been alive with traders. After grabbing a bit of free wifi and catching up on a bit of news from home, it's back to the ship. Another big day in another lovely city.
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