Day 4: Tomamu → Sapporo

We slept with the curtains drawn back so that we could catch the sunrise. Well according to Apple's weather app, the sun rises at 3:55AM. In reality, it was already broad daylight by the time we woke up. However, the slight disappointment was quickly overwhelmed by excitement that the sea of clouds (unkai) has occurred!

We each got a postcard at gondola reception, which we were told can be sent free of charge from the top of the mountain.

In a stark contrast to the reasonably clear view at the base, the ride up cut through quite a fair bit of clouds and precipitation.

After a 10 minutes or so ride on the gondola, we arrived at the top of the mountain, cutting through billowing clouds along the way. I must say, the view was impressive.

There was also a wooden walkway protruding, which offered a bird eye of the hilly terrain beneath the clouds. At this point, we were literally tiptoeing through the clouds.

Photo credit to Wayne

Coming down from the ink terrace, we headed down to the restaurant for breakfast, which was included as part of the package. It was a decent spread, sumptuous by Japanese standards, and by far the best we had for this trip in Japan, though pales in comparison to any recognised hotels in South East Asia.

Well, I guess what they lacked in quantity, they made up for it in terms of quality. The fish roe was really fresh and flavourful, and the pancakes delicious with fresh jam and berries.

The view from the restaurant is alway picturesque, with the clouds wrapping around the surrounding mountains. It's a real pity that the sky was rather gloomy after the rainy weather but I am thankful that despite the odds against us, we managed to catch the unkai in action.

We had a quick nap after breakfast to catch up on sleep lost catching the unkai. Finally it was time to say goodbye and we boarded the bus back to the JR station. 

As the bus drove out, the staff bowed towards the passengers. Actually I felt that I should have bowed to thank them for the stellar service.

Back in Sapporo, it took us a while to find Rikio's place, which was a 40 minutes bus ride from the JR Sapporo station. Rikio welcomed us into his new house, which was clean and fairly cosy, and superb value for the amount we paid.

We had a quick stroll in downtown Sapporo, starting with the iconic old Hokkaido government house.

Followed by the equally iconic, but in a lesser state of maintenance, clocktower of the original Sapporo Agricultural College.