After nearly 8 months in Japan I have been lucky enough to visit 10 of the 47 prefectures in Japan. And I have a few more scheduled before the end of the year. Mainly Kyoto and Nara. Tomorrow actually. But I’ll gush about Kyoto when I’ll be back, today I will introduce Hokkaido.
I am sure that many of you have at least heard about Hokkaido. I am also sure that many of you haven’t set foot or even thought about going to this northern island. Let me tell you you’re making a mistake.
I say that but Hokkaido has a big, a huge drawback and it’s its transportations. If you want to go to Sapporo fine, there is an airport and efficient train lines. If you want to go to the little town of Furano then, you’re in for quite the journey. Mainly, either take the bus, which isn’t always easy to do when you don’t speak Japanese, or rent a car. Yet, despite the hassle, Furano is more than worth it. Did you expect to see lavender fields in Japan? Well, I didn’t either.
I’m saying the transportation network and is bad and, while I’m not wrong, it doesn’t mean there is nothing to do if you stick to the trains. From Sapporo you can easily travel to all the major cities and to Hakodate. (which must take a while but I have heard it’s worth it). I stayed only three days in Hokkaido so obviously I didn’t exactly have the time to run around all the island but I had the time to visit a few more cities, like Otaru which looks so much like a european town it’s scary and also Yoichi which is only known for one thing: its whisky distillery.
I don’t like whisky that much but I can definitely drink Japanese whisky and Yoichi was already my second distillery. At the time of the visit I had only been in Japan for 5 months. I think it says something about my love for alcohol. Anyway, this distillery is very famous in Japan because it’s the very first one of the brand Nikka. The story of this brand has even been told in a drama called Massan, from the name of the founder, which has captivated Japanese people because Massan who has studied in Scotland, not only brought back the science of whisky but also a beautiful scottish wife. Both of those things didn’t exactly make his family happy but it led to great success as Nikka is now a world renowed brand.
What I was trying to say is that having visiter factories from both Suntory and Nikka, Nikka was the best experience. Maybe not the best whisky but you got unlimited and interesting drinks. Like a wonderful apple whisky which I might have fallen in love with.
But enough about drinks, how about we talk about food? Japanese people can wait for hours for a good meal and Hokkaido is a place where many of them go to for seafood dishes. Because not only is it cheap, it’s also incredibly good. Hokkaido’s sushi are the best I have ever eaten.
And I think this now concludes my little rambling about Hokkaido. Conveniently the Hokkaido shinkansen starts running in April next year, it’s a perfect excuse to go to Hokkaido without the hassle of taking a plane at Narita, especially its third terminal which basically looks like an Ikea building, confortable furniture included. Anyway, see you next time for a visit to another prefecture!
