Hokkaido Trip (Day 3)

We were up even earlier than yesterday, today. 5.30am to be precise, since we had opted in to an earlier morning "hike." This turned out to be a 20 minute bus drive to some other place covered in snow, followed by a 10 minute stroll, all of 50 metres and back, and then a return bus journey. We were given lovely orange boots, which sort of fitted us, and the place was really beautiful, so it was not a total waste! There was a little stream of running water and a couple of trees, which reminded me of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." The snow was very deep, as well, if you stepped off the trodden path, and some people ended up knee deep.

Breakfast was good again, once you avoided the strange Japanese parts. We made egg & bacon rolls, and stole croissants for lunch.

We set off once more at 8am, and passed various cow farms on our way to the next omiyage shop. Cows are rare in Japan, apart from in Hokkaido (as are horses) so the Japanese loved them! We did as well, since it has been a long time since we last saw one.

We arrived in a place called Nisshou, Tokachiheiya, with its souvenir shop. After racing around this, I broke away from the group and went to explore the outside. There was an edge to the mountain we were on, and below a vast expanse of trees and snow. I could see for miles, which is always really breathtaking, let alone when the view is beautiful. The girls managed to find a little tobogan/sledge run, which they enjoyed playing on for the 30 minutes we were supposed to be buying gifts.

Our final stop was yet another souvenir shop, though this had a few restaurants and was designed as a lunch break. Since it was 11.30am in the morning, some of us were not yet hungry and decided to go off walking instead. James, Ciarán, Katherine, Adriana, and I went off in the snow towards some buildings. We found a bridge with snow piled high on it, which we crossed. On the other side we found a small shrine, and a couple of residential blocks that looked like military buildings, complete with number on the side. There was even a bus stop, though there were only about six buses running each day. On the way back, Adriana suddenly fell backwards whilst crossing the bridge. She had hit her head on one of the overhead bars, since the snow had elevated our walking level. It looked really funny.

We arrived back at the airport and managed to get through customs without too much trouble, this time. On the plane there were a million school girls, who screamed when the plane took off. It is strange how it managed to put the fear in to all of us. What had they seen? When we landed, it was just as bad. The onboard monitors of the landing did not help much either. There was severe wind and you could hear the pilot struggling to wrestle the plane to the ground, with the constant noise of the setup of the plane being changed. From the pictures, it looked like we were performing a power-slide through the air, with the runway seemingly in the wrong place. We hit the runway with a big thump, accompanied by more screaming from behind. It must have been one of the most harrowing landings I have ever experienced. When the plane stopped, we noticed that there was snow flying horizontally through the air outside the aircraft. Having been through it, I now have a new found respect for the skill of pilots, even with all the computers aboard.

We were home, and we got back to Cambridge House safely on the underground. It was a good holiday: it was relatively inexpensive, and I would not have gone otherwise. I am glad I went, even though I will now have to have a few months of therapy to get that annoying Japanese chatter out of my head.