Ferry to Otaru

Most of the day was spent on the ferry doing nothing. Everyone boarded around 11:30, then left port close to 1:00. My 2nd class ticket did not have a room number on it, but all the 2nd class rooms did! So I walked up and back down the hallway, until a japanese guy helped me out by saying no number simply means any room. So I chose one that looked suitably empty and picked a spot. No luxury here, just a space and a blanket. But there was lots of room as the trip was not fully-booked.

The ship itself was pretty nice, there was a public bath, kinda small and no cold-bath, but still nice. A grill, a cafeteria, a small takeout place, a little convenience store, and some vending machines provided snacks and food. The beer vending machine was particularly popular. There were some comfy chairs around, and an open-air seating area to visit. I slept for awhile, got up, looked around, then slept more. Got up, had some food (which was more expensive that would have liked, the whole captured audience thing), sat on deck, then went and slept some more. It was a nice, lazy boat ride and I wasn't doing much of anything. But I wasn't alone in this, as that what a lot of the Japanese did, just slept as much of the way as they could. And talked a bit with some bikers, Hokkaido is popular to travel by motorcycle in the summer, there are road houses set up all over for lodging, and its a good way to see the scenery (and motorcycles/cars can be brought on the ferry to).

On arrival, everyone filed off. I looked at maps and tourist info in the terminal, but didn't feel like walking an unknown distance with a heavy pack so I grabbed a taxi to take me to the hostel. Nice backpackers hostel, bunkbeds, library of books, dvds, trinkets around, nice shower, etc. I relaxed a bit, took a shower, then went to read a book at the kitchen table when the host came in with some Otaru beer and another guest. It was good to drink a dark craft beer, instead of the mass-produced stuff you get everywhere, and we all sat around talking for a bit. Or, actually, I didn't do a ton of talking, simply because the Japanese conversation was flying all around me. It was fun, and met a german backpacker who had hitchhiked up from Tokyo. Good to hear a first-hand success story about hitching in Japan, maybe I'll try a bit of it.