Sunday 18th April
Well here we are at the top of Japan, very close to Russia, writing a blog and drinking Calpis!
We had a speedy start today to catch the 7.48 train to Wakkanai. The scenery was amazing and certainly not what I had expected. I remember saying to my workmates before we left that "it's a bit cooler in Hokkaido". I'd like to revise that statement. It's REALLY cold in Hokkaido! The landscape was much more open and snow was all around us, even at ground level. At one stage the train driver braked quite heavily and tooted his horn (it sounded a bit like Thomas the Tank Engine) and I saw a small flock of deer go scampering off up the hillside. We also saw a sign that indicated that some sheep had strayed far from home, too.We struggled to stay awake on the train as we'd started early and the motion of the train is very hypnotic, but we were fascinated to watch the world go by and didn't want to miss any of it. The regular visits by the food and drinks trolley girl was enough to keep us awake. The trolley service girls are so lovely. As they leave each carriage, they turn around to face the passengers and bow before moving off to the next carriage. Just imagine an Aussie doing that!
We arrived in Wakkanai around lunch time. The train station was a very 'one-horse town' type of station. They had a tourist information office, but nobody staffing it and no brochures in English. Unlike other parts of Japan we have visited, there are very few signs in English and we quickly got the impression that we wouldn't find too many English-speaking people here. Time to put those lessons into practice! I've been very lazy about speaking Japanese as we can so easily make ourselves understood in English. We took what we could from the Tourism Office and headed out into the cold to find the hotel. Luckily, there aren't too many buildings around these parts, so the hotel stood out like dogs ears. Although we were very early,
the staff let us check in so we could go exploring without our packs. We walked down to the waterfront to gaze north towards Santa's abode. Behind the town is a big hill covered in snow. As the wind was blowing from that direction, the air was super-chilled. We had a look at the Roman-style structure which was built in 1936 to protect the town from the big waves which sometimes managed to go over the top of the existing sea wall. There were a couple of official-looking ships in the harbour. We were a bit puzzled about their purpose until a friendly guy who could speak a little English came out and had a chat with us. It turned out that the were coast guard ships. The crew were just warming up to go on a training run and invited us to join them. We politely declined their generous offer. Before we parted company, the English speaking guy informed us that the temperature was about 3 degrees, but I don't think that took the wind-chill factor into account. We also passed the town's public baths, but our hotel has a hot spring bath on the 10th floor, so we'll be visiting that shortly. We dropped into the bus terminal to see if we could find information about the bus to Cape Soya which is actually the topmost point of Japan. Tourists are keen to visit Cape Soya, but the staff at the bus terminal spoke no English and the signs were all in Japanese. I hesitantly asked in Japanese "How long does it take to get from Wakkanai to Cape Soya?" and the receptionist produced a timetable. She circled the appropriate departure and arrival times, and then I managed "How much does it cost?". She wrote down the answer on the timetable and our mission was accomplished. Only tomorrow will we find out whether we actually understood each 
other. We might find ourselves at Cape Soya with no way of getting back till July!
the staff let us check in so we could go exploring without our packs. We walked down to the waterfront to gaze north towards Santa's abode. Behind the town is a big hill covered in snow. As the wind was blowing from that direction, the air was super-chilled. We had a look at the Roman-style structure which was built in 1936 to protect the town from the big waves which sometimes managed to go over the top of the existing sea wall. There were a couple of official-looking ships in the harbour. We were a bit puzzled about their purpose until a friendly guy who could speak a little English came out and had a chat with us. It turned out that the were coast guard ships. The crew were just warming up to go on a training run and invited us to join them. We politely declined their generous offer. Before we parted company, the English speaking guy informed us that the temperature was about 3 degrees, but I don't think that took the wind-chill factor into account. We also passed the town's public baths, but our hotel has a hot spring bath on the 10th floor, so we'll be visiting that shortly. We dropped into the bus terminal to see if we could find information about the bus to Cape Soya which is actually the topmost point of Japan. Tourists are keen to visit Cape Soya, but the staff at the bus terminal spoke no English and the signs were all in Japanese. I hesitantly asked in Japanese "How long does it take to get from Wakkanai to Cape Soya?" and the receptionist produced a timetable. She circled the appropriate departure and arrival times, and then I managed "How much does it cost?". She wrote down the answer on the timetable and our mission was accomplished. Only tomorrow will we find out whether we actually understood each 
other. We might find ourselves at Cape Soya with no way of getting back till July!On the way back to the hotel, we came across another first. There is a small Japanese-style restaurant just opposite the hotel, which would have been our first choice, except for the sign on the door which said "We speak only Japanese so please do not enter our restaurant if you do not understand Japanese". We were quite stunned by this, as we have encountered only friendly, helpful and considerate people all over Japan and they are always willing, no matter how limited the language skills are on each side, to try their best to provide good service. After a brief thawing out in the hotel, we happily took our money to another restaurant (where the staff also didn't speak English but were very pleasant and welcoming) and we managed quite well with my little bit of Japanese. The menu was only in Japanese, but I was able to point to a likely-looking dish and ask "What is this?" and we understood the answer well enough to know that it wasn't anything unpleasant. Now I know I can do it if I try. As I write, I am stuffed full of ramen noodles and about to go and scare all the other ladies in the public hot spring bath.
If you don't hear from us again, You'll find us in Cape Soya looking for transport back to Wakkanai.
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