Oh my god, the floor is moving….an earthquake hits at 3:00 am
We have enjoyed our time in Tomokamai. We had intended to stay for a night or two and that turned into three. Isn’t that the joy and freedom of travelling independently and being able to change your plans as you like. No schedules or expectations, only our own. Tomokamai does not have a long list of attractions, but we like the relaxed feeling here as well as the friendly people. Like most Japanese places that we have visited, the parks in Tomokamai are superb, expansive and made for relaxation and spending time. We haven’t visited all of the museums or attractions, but they will wait for us when we return one day. And don’t forget, we have a hairdresser that is very good and the head massage can’t be beat. Today we are heading to Chitose where we will stay the night and tomorrow we will carry on to Sapporo.
Before we got away, we found ourselves stopping at the Mitsuboshi Bakery. In our defence, we do have to ride past it.
It is not surprising, but the women who work here recognize us, and that is only after a couple of days here. We gave them our business card so that they could follow our travels. They have been a joy and with Barry in his element in a bakery, we shared much laughter.
We have rarely seen a hair salon for women or men that has a name that suggests it is indeed a hair salon. Perhaps the connection here is blow for blow dry? It is the closest we have seen.
You may wonder why we are at a Mitsuboshi Bakery again. This is the original site of this bakery and it offers an even bigger selection than the shop in Tomokamai.
This selection at the bakery, all have one ingredient in common, the beloved Haskap berry grown in Canada. We have discovered that Haskap berries grow in Japan as well, but for some reason, the Canadian berry is preferred.
Michi no Ekis often have an observation look out. A Michi’s mandate is to support and feature the local farmers produce, crafts, baking, et. It provides a good insight into where you are. We like the lookouts as it gives a broader perspective than what we can get from our trikes.
We are approaching the New Chitose Airport. When I think of the congestion of traffic in Vancouver, this is delightful. We ride alongside the main terminal and it is very calm.
A lovely sunset from our room. The calming effect of this view evaporated at about 3 in the morning when we both woke up to the bizarre and frightening feeling of the room moving, our bodies moving in response, the clatter of clothing hangers banging together and the water in the toilet sloshing back and forth. We have experienced an earthquake but we are ok. It was unsettling and made for a strange sleep.
