shuigao

After Hakodate Morning Market, we checked out of the hotel and returned the rental car (very quick, 5-minute affair, no fuss). Then we walked to the JR Hakodate station where *gasp* the green car (premium cabin) and reserved seats for the train we wanted to take all sold out!!!! So we bought unreserved train ticket instead.

Note to anyone who's planning a train ride in Hokkaido in the future: Trains on this island are NOT like on Honshu, in that the frequency is a lot lower (like, only one train every 1-1.5 hours). So if you can, buy your reserved seat a few days in advance. Unreserved is fine too but it can get really really crowded (people standing/squeezing in the aisle).



From Sapporo, we flew JetStar back to Tokyo, and then hitched a ride on the Keisei line to what is the smallest hotel room we've ever seen in all our trips to Japan - APA Hotel Keisei-Narita. There is literally no room to open even a carry-on on the floor. Can't really complain too much for the price though, I guess. - just under ¥7,000.




Anyway dinner was at a random izakaya-style restaurant nearby: Watami. No idea if there is any relation to the chain in SG/KL/elsewhere of the same name.



English menu is available for us gaijins.



Food overall, just so-so. I'm pretty sure there are better places in Narita to have dinner but we were too lazy to properly research.





Anyway, this officially brings our Japan trip to a close! In next post we will cover the return journey - "Business Class" on ScootBiz back to SG!

shuigao

Haha I definitely wanted to eat a whole crab but ... the wife and I don't really have big morning appetites. We even had problems finishing off the two rice bowls.

Thanks for the support! I think the two biggest surprises for me were the Hoheikyo Dam (the scenery there, which I wasn't expecting, is amazing) and Noboribetsu Bear Park (feeding the bears is surprisingly fun. And perhaps also because such a place would never survive in the US/Europe - PETA would picket every day until it closed down).

The biggest disappointment must be Otaru Canal. Maybe it was a function of the weather, but it was so un-picturesque I had half a mind not to even bother taking a photo.

shuigao

After a night in that terribly small hotel room, we take the hotel free shuttle bus to Narita Airport for our sad, sad flight back to SG. Honestly is there any crappier feeling than a flight back home after holiday? Especially when we're flying budget airline back (vs SQ Suites Class to Japan?)

Anyways, there was a random Mazda (new) MX-5 on exhibit in the T1 departure area. I think it's a very handsome looking car, but the wife says "not practical."



A word of warning: If you're looking for food at the airport, avoid this tempura shop. The tempura really really sucks.



Anyway, our FlyScoot B787 Dreamliner awaits (2 hour delay, for what it's worth). If you've flown B787 before, you'll know the 'standard' Dreamliner perks: Cabin is more humid and is pressurized to a lower altitude, windows are huge and the shades are electrically controlled (goes from clear, to a very dark blue), and there's funky rainbow cabin lighting.



We'll focus instead on the "business class" seat. Scoot markets this as "ScootBiz" but it really really is just a Premium Economy product. Seating is 2-3-2 i.e. 8 seats across, so you can imagine width-wise not that much difference from other airlines that do 9 seats across in Economy.



Having said that, the legroom and recline angle is vastly superior to Economy. I'm a fairly tall dude (6'0") and yet had so much legroom. Recline is "about 8 inches" and is very comfortable for two ~4 hour flights.

What I mean by "two ~4 hour flights" is that Scoot flies NRT - TPE - SIN; not direct.



So the seat is awesome (for the price), but the food really sucks. We tried four different main courses in the flight and all four sucked bad.



As for the IFE: you need to stream the entertainment to your own device (android and iOS supported for both tablets and mobile phones. laptops also supported). Free for ScootBiz passngers, but note that the selection of movies and tv shows was very poor.

There's also internet (which you need to pay for); no idea how fast / slow it is.



Cloudy view upon take off ...



... so, an uneventful end to our Hokkaido Autumn guide!! Hope that this helps you in your planning. If you've got any questions, do ask in this thread, and if I don't reply (cos you might be asking like months or years from now) drop me an email at shuigao (at) gmail. Cheers!

AirPanda

Good job on the report! I am considering if I should do a report in 'Y' class on the EVA Air Hello Kitty 773ER. Any opinions? Also, is it hard to get from Tokyo to elsewhere in Japan without having a car license and any driving experience?

shuigao

I'm not sure what you mean by 'without a car license.' If you mean without needing to drive, Japan is extremely well connected by bus, plane or train to most places. In particular, on the main island of Honshu, vast majority of tourists won't bother renting a car.

Only the northern and southern islands of Hokkaido n Okinawa are perhaps less developed and so car rental (or following a tour group) is recommended.

HangukStyle

Just by looking at the pictures I could tell you stayed at an APA hotel! They all look the same. So far I've stayed in APA hotels in Osaka and Tokyo, it's small, but not bad.

Thanks for posting this TR!