After canceled the hotel in Asahikawa, we checked the hotel in Obihiro, there were still many empty rooms in Obihiro. We found out that Hotel Nikko ホテル・ニッコー still have a lot of empty rooms and the price was not expensive. Hotel Nikko is considered grand in Japanese standard. So, we decided to book the rooms in Hotel Nikko Obihiro. The accommodation settled, next transport. There are two ways to go to Obihiro, by express train and bus. Express train ticket costs 6510 yen, while bus ticket is around 3500 yen. By the time we checked the bus schedule, the next available bus would depart after 1 hour. Luckily, after inquiry, there were still empty seats available. So, we quickly left the hotel and went to the Odori Bus Center 大通バスセンター to board the bus to Obihiro. Plus all of us, the bus was full, so lucky, no one left behind. We reached the bus center just in time, so dangerous, almost miss the bus. We paid for the ticket on the spot.
By the time we reached Obihiro, the day have turned dark. It was very cold in Obihiro. Luckily, the Hotel Nikko is very near to the train station (the bus station is very near to the train station). (>_<!)
We checked into the hotel and I felt that the room was so comfy. Hahaha, although not very big in Malaysian standard, I had, well, for a long time, to save money, stayed in business hotel and dormitory style room while traveling. Seeing that room made me felt better. (Still kind of sad because had to miss the Asahikawa Zoo)
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| double room in Hotel Nikko Obihiro (they even had USB charger for iPhone) |
Then, after leaving all the stuffs in hotel. We went out for dinner. We had buta don 豚丼 (pork rice). It is a local delicacy in Obihiro and it tastes very nice! However, we were so lucky because the shop we went to close on 7 pm. After 7 pm, no one can come in, so strict! We went inside just 20 minutes before the shop closed.
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| the cups in the Buta Don restaurant (元祖，帯広，豚丼the words engraved on the cup mean original Obihiro Pork Rice) |
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| Obihiro Buta Don 帯広豚丼 |
After dinner, went back to hotel. I had to do some laundry. Finally, this hotel has coin washing machine. The hotel that I stayed in Sapporo don't have washing machine. Had to hand wash the underwear during my stay in Sapporo, I don't mind re-wear the sweater or pants, but I need clean underwear!
Anyway, after doing all the laundry and had a nice bath, we were left with nothing to do and the day still young. So, one of my friends suggested to have a little party. Luckily, there was a convenience store near the hotel. So, my friend went out in the cold winter night to buy alcohol. Here's the funniest part, since our shoes were all boots type, and she felt it was too troublesome to wear the boots, she just wore the hotel slippers and planned to run out of the hotel to the convenience store and ran back. However, right after she left the hotel and ran, the hotel staff ran after her and shouted "Surippa, surippa ......!" Hahaha, so she had to go back to the room and change shoes. The slippers provided can be worn inside the room only, cannot wear outside the room. (*Surippa = スリッパ = slipper in Japanese)
At the end, we slept late because we talked, gossiping and drinking.
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| Obihiro Station during the day |
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| Obihiro Station during the night |
5th January 2013
Had breakfast and went to the bus stop. Our destination was Kofuku Station 幸福駅 (literal translate is Station of Happiness). The only reason we went there because there was really nothing else to see in Obihiro. The bus frequency was very infrequent too. Most of the people who visit the Kofuku Station will drive there. But, winter is a very dangerous season to drive especially for us who don't have any experiences driving on the snowy and icy road.
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| a giant thermometer outside the Obihiro Station (-13 deg Celsius, so cold!) |
Anyway, we used the public bus. The Kofuku Station is in a walking distance to the nearest bus stop. Well, the view along the way was very white, a vast expanse of snow. After days of seeing snow, the novelty wore off. Still, now when I think of it, I feel calm.
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| expanse of snow |
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| expanse of snow |
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| on the way to Kofuku Station |
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| Kofuku Station Post Office |
Kofuku Station is a small wooden station with preserved diesel train cars. The most special thing in the station is the messages left by visitors. Since this is literally Station of happiness, people leave messages around the station. Some post their photos with their loved ones, some even left their name cards. I picked up one from the floor to stick it back to the wall and my friend saw that, he said that it was kind of fate, so he tried to call the person with skype, however it didn't go through. Hahaha!
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| Kofuku Station 幸福駅 |
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| message board inside the Kofuku Station building |
We took photos and fooled around the station. And we forgot one important thing, the bus schedule. We missed the bus, so we had to stay there for a longer time to wait for the next bus. It was so cold! To keep warm, I went to the toilet nearby, it was significantly warmer.
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| diesel train car |
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| diesel train car |
Since we had much time left before the next bus came, most of us decided to buy and send postcards. There is a special wooden postcard there. I bought a normal postcard and a wooden one. I knew that sending the normal postcard to foreign country costs 80 yen per piece. However, sending a wooden one will definitely cost more. We asked the Ojisan who managed that souvenir stall, he told us that he didn't know, but he knew that sending to Taiwan costs 130 yen. So, 130 yen it is to send to Malaysia. Two friends of mine decided to send postcards to a friend in Malaysia, however, they didn't know the address. So, they decided to send to the friend's workplace. However, they didn't sign off with their names, instead they wrote "from your love" and "from a person who loves you"! The messages were very mushy too. I heard that when the postcards reached the company, it caused quite a stir. Hahaha, but the recipient was very happy to receive that special postcards.
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| postcard from Station of Happiness (I bought a wooden postcard) |
Nearby the Kofuku Station is another station called Aikoku Station (patriotic). We didn't go there.
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| on the way back to Obihiro town |
Before the line was canceled, a lot of couples love to take the train from Aikoku Station to Kofuku Station. Literally, if you take the train from Aikoku to Kofuku, in Japanese is "愛の国から幸福へ", means from country of love to happiness.
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| from country of love to Happiness 愛の国から幸福へ |
Finally, after being in cold weather for whole one and a half hour, the bus reached the bus stop near the Kofuku Station, what a relief! We went back to Obihiro and had lunch in Richmond Hotel, I found out that the food in hotel is actually not that expensive! It is comparable with the outside normal restaurant. I had Indonesian food, not bad! They put onion into the salad, quite nice.
After lunch, went to the bus station again. Our next destination was onsen hotel. There is a famous onsen hotel in Obihiro near a bridge. From the outdoor onsen pool, one can see the bridge while onsen'ing.
After onsen, had dinner in izakaya. Everybody was so exciting about the next day trip to Tomamu Resort.
*although I am sad for not able to go to Asahikawa Zoo, I appreciate the Obihiro trip too. With friends, even a very mundane place will become exciting.
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