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After Hokkaido we took the bullet train to Tokyo. In 2016 they started running bullet trains all the way to Hakodate in Hokkaido, and eventually it will go all the way to Sapporo.

We spent 11 days in Tokyo, much if it hanging out with our friends Tim and Liz. Photos are here. Highlights included the hedgehog cafe, the robot restaurant, the Tokyo Sky Tower, Tsukiji market, Sumo, and baseball. See the next blog entry on baseball in Japan. We had a nice, tiny AirBNB apartment near Shinjuku for about $65/night.

Tim and I found a Gargoyles record in a record store in Tokyo, which we of course had to sign.

Christine went to Mt Fuji.

Tokyo is a paradise for those into certain types of collectibles. I have no interest in owning any of this, but they are fun to look at. Here is sample of whats available.

Week 1 of our trip was spent in Hokkaido, where we went to Sapporo, Otaru, Lake Shikotsu, and Hakodate.

Some photos highlights can be found here.

Catching/eating live squid was particularly fun. We even got to try ‘wata ika’, or squid intestine, which was really good. If you want to know more, this show explains everything about Japanese Ika.

After some effort we found an Onsen (hot springs resort) that allowed tattoos, which are banned at most Onsen because tattoos are associated with Yakusa (mafia) in Japan.