steveandmeegs

On the road again…

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After breakfast at Marie’s family home we drove to a nearby lookout. Unfortunately visibility wasn’t the best, we could only imagine how spectacular it would be on a clear day. You can see the mountains, the ocean, and the surrounding towns. We could even see the mouth of the Shiribetsu river where it enters the sea (the river that runs through Kutchan that we used to cross every day to and from work).

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We are now hitting the road again, headed for Hakodate. Hakodate was Japan’s first city to open it’s port to foreign trade in 1854, so there is a lot of history that we are excited to learn about and explore.

 

Suttsu

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Yesterday we left Sapporo and drove to Suttsu, Marie’s home town. The drive there was quite beautiful, with a stunning sunset over the sea and rugged coastline. I couldn’t capture a great shot while we were driving, but believe me, it was great.

12We arrived around 6pm and after meeting Marie’s family (Mum, Dad, grandma, brother and his wife and two daughters) we went to dinner for yakiniku (BBQ meat – Stephen’s favourite)!! Marie’s family actually own the restaurant, and they shouted us dinner, which we were so grateful for and totally didn’t expect, especially because Stephen almost ate is weight in meat! The meal was sugoi oishii kata (super delicious).

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Marie and her two nieces. 

We were also fortunate enough to stay with Marie’s family in their guest room. We slept on futons, which are so comfortable!

The guest room where we slept.
The intricate woodwork on the window frame.

And this morning Marie’s mum treated us to a traditional Japanese breakfast: ham, eggs and asparagus, rice, salmon flakes, marinated squid and takoyaki (fried balls of octopus). It was all really tasty.

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Breakfast.

That’s all for now.

M.

Go Fighters!

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Tonight we went to the Fighters vs Lions baseball game at the Sapporo dome. We caught the subway to the stadium and joined 41,000+ fans to watch the first game of the season. Marie, our housemate, is an avid Fighters supporter, so we were in high spirits ready to watch the fighters win. Unfortunately they lost 8:1 but it was still a great game to watch and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric!

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Bye-bye Kutchan

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Today we handed in our staff phones and apartment keys and left Kutchan, the place we’ve called home for the past four months. Its been so great working a season here. We’ve made some great friends, eaten some amazing food, and got to board in some of the best powder around. Thank you, Niseko.

We’ve now got 9 days to explore Hokkaido before we venture to the mainland for a quick trip to the capital, Tokyo.

First stop, Sapporo. We visited Sapporo together earlier in the season for the snow festival, and Stephen came more recently on a boy’s weekend, but we’re here now to be more like tourists, visiting local shrines and temples, tasting local cuisine, and most importantly attending the first major baseball game of the season – Fighters vs Lions.

Stay tuned.
M & S.

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