Our time is winding down on Hokkaido and Japan. The plan for today is to ride to Tomakomai and stay a night or two before taking the 40 hour ferry to Nagoya. This will position us well for a 3 or 4 day ride back to Osaka. We are happy that we changed our route to include Hokkaido. It is a special place and is uniquely different from other areas of Japan.
A view of the park and gardens adjacent to our hotel. The hotel is in the distance.
Rain was forecast for today and it came with a vengeance. You could feel the storm building and the downpour was very heavy. Getting Arc’teryx rain pants and jacket have paid off on this trip.
We lined up to reserve a cabin on the ferry to Nagoya for the next few days. As it is a 40 hour trip over 2 nights, we’d like to have a place to sleep. To our surprise, the agent told us that there were no cabins coming up, but if we could travel tonight, we could get a space. Yikes, we don’t have enough days left to hang around Hokkaido.. So, a chance of plan…we will take the ferry tonight and it leaves in a few hours. Thank goodness we got here in time to secure a space. Lots to do. Barry raced off on his trike to get some cash and provisions from a nearby Konbini and I got us organized for the trip….plus I was able to cancel the booking for tonight’s hotel in Tomakomai.
It is cold, foggy and damp with a heavy mist in the air. As always, we are lined up with the motorcycles and will ride on with them. It is exciting, waiting to board the ferry…always an adventure.
Karen PoretYou are indeed fortunate you were able to get on earlier than planned, especially to secure a sleeping spot. 40 hours is too long to not have a place to rest comfortably! Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
We travelled on this very ship a few years ago. It is a bit older, but we like its charm. This theatre will have live entertainment tonight with a pianist and …..
Dinner in the dining room is a buffet. This photo shows our first visit to the buffet. We will have dinner both nights in the dining room and make our own lunches and breakfast. It is good that our cabin has a frig and hot water on demand.
