Introduction to today's journey
Today's journey takes me southward by train from Sapporo stopping at the historical area of Shirioi where I explore an indigenous Ainu settlement. From there I continue by train southward to Hokkaido's southernmost city Hakodate.
Today's Journey
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In an underground station in the early morning catching another train heading south. |
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The train quickly heads south along the coast looking inland to Mount Tarumae. |
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Stopping at the very charming Shiroi Train Station. |
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A short walk from the station brings us to the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park. The Ainu people were the original inhabitants of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. |
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The village sits at the edge of the tranquil Poroto Lake. |
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Inside one of the wooden thatched houses of the Ainu Museum. The Ainu people are believed to have originated in what is now the Russian Okhotsk area, arriving here long before the more mainstream Japanese people who migrated from areas of the Asian mainland further south. |
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We return to Shirioi Station and continue travelling along the coast, turning north westward into the start of Uchiara Bay which swings over 180 degrees forming the tail of Hokkaido. |
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When we finally get right around the bay, the train heads inland passing more mountains. |
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We eventually arrive in Hokkaido's southernmost city of Hakodate not long before sunset. |
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View of the city and gondola on top of Mount Hakodate from the Port of Hakodate. |
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