旅のエッセイ_Travel Essay

Man Is a Thinking Reed / Aomori & Hokkaido, Japan

Sea of Japan in Winter Dusk

Henashi Fishery Port

Fukaura, Aomori

Afternoon View from Donan Isaribi Railway

In February, I visited Taiwan as a tour guide for my family trip. Even though the guide work ended up taking only about a half of the entire trip, I deserved a little reward for myself. Since I had already taken time off at work to go to Taiwan, I figured I should plan one-night weekend getaway.

For a Japanese person, a hot spring (“onsen” in Japanese) is the perfect way to treat yourself. With only two days, it is tempting to go somewhere nearby, but I believe travel is all about seeking an escape from the everyday. I wanted to go somewhere far away.

There is an onsen called Koganezaki Furofushi Onsen on the JR Gono Line in Aomori Prefecture. It is an inn famous for its seaside open-air baths, and I love the quality of the spring water – it is salty and has a little oil floating on top. Since the Onsen is not crowded in winter, I decided to revisit there.

The number of miles required for a Japan Airlines award ticket fluctuates based on demand. On the other hand, as long as I have enough miles, it is easier to make a reservation. For this trip, I planned to fly to Aomori Airport then take a bus to Hirosaki to catch the Gono Line. On the second day, I planned to take the Gono Line Rapid Service to Shin-Aomori, then take the Shinkansen to Hakodate for a sushi restaurant. From there, I would just take the last flight from Hakodate Airport back to Tokyo. It was just a combination of places I had visited several times before, so I thought there was not much to think about.

I had been constantly changing my travel plans in Taiwan. Since this was a trip rewarding myself after the Taiwan trip, it was probably better if it was not too novel.

When I boarded Hokkaido Shinkansen at Shin-Aomori, it turned out to be a train that stopped at every station to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. It came to my mind that just going all the way to Hakodate might not be very interesting. Man is a thinking reed. I found myself thinking that it might be a time to think about something.

Once I get like this, I cannot stop myself.

I got an idea of taking “Donan Isaribi Railway (South Hokkaido Railway)” from Kikonai Station to Hakodate Station. I checked the timetable on the Shinkansen and found a train with good connection. Upon the train arriving at Hakodate Station, I would take a bus to the sushi restaurant and arrive right on time for my reservation. Even though it meant wasting a part of the Shinkansen fare, I decided to get off at Kikonai Station. I made that decision just one minute before the Shinkansen arrived at Kikonai.

The Donan Isaribi Railway was a local railroad. I boarded an old Japan National Railway (JNR)-style diesel train, the kind that even JR Hokkaido probably does not use anymore. Even more, a train passed at an intermediate station was painted in JNR’s vermilion color, adding even more charm to the experience.

True to its name, which includes “Isaribi (meaning fishing lights),” I was able to enjoy a leisurely journey on the Donan Isaribi Railway while gazing out at the sea of southern Hokkaido. I regret not buying a beer beforehand even though I had a little time to kill before the train departure.

By shifting my perspective just a little, I made a new discovery. Just because it was a reward trip to myself, I should not make it by inertia. After all, man is a thinking reed.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Koganezaki Furofushi Onsen & Hakodate

The times listed are based on the schedule at the time of my visit.

Day 1

Tokyo Haneda 07:15 (JAL141) > Aomori 08:35
Aomori Airport 09:00 (Konan Bus) > Hirosaki Station 09:54
Hirosaki 10:21 (JR Gono Line) > Fukaura 12:44

Lunch: Sailing

Fukaura 14:42 (JR Gono Line) > WeSpa Tsubakiyama 14:57

Accommodation: Koganezaki Furofushi Onsen

Day 2

WeSpa Tsubakiyama 10:38 (Resort Shirakami 1) > Shin-Aomori 13:27
New Aomori 13:59 (Hayabusa 17) > Kikonai 14:49
Kikonai 15:19 (Donan Isaribi Railway) > Hakodate 16:22

Dinner: Kihara

Hakodate 19:30 (JAL588) > Tokyo Haneda 21:00

Gap Between Ideal and Reality / Taipei

Letterpress Printing Shop

Tea Wholesaler

National Railway Museum

This trip to Taiwan was largely driven by spur-of-the-moment decisions.

By the time I returned to Taipei after I had finished my ride on Breezy Blue train, it was already past 9:00 p.m. Since I was flying back to Tokyo the following evening, I could stay in Taipei only for about half a day.

I went to Taiwan as a planner and tour guide for a family trip, but I was not sure if my guide duties were limited to Taichung. I believe in “Knowledge of Ignorance,” there are certain things better not to know. I deliberately let the time pass without knowing any plans for my final day in Taipei. Even though the departure had approached, it seemed I had no particular plans as a guide. Seeing this as an opportunity, I decided to fill my schedule in Taipei with whatever came to mind.

During my first trip to Taiwan, I took an express bus from Taipei to Yilan for a Kavalan Distillery visit. I would not be able to visit the distillery this time, but there was a bar in Taipei owned by the Distillery. I had heard that they had special whiskey aged in casks from famous French châteaux. Also, there is a flower market in Taipei that I have wanted to visit for a long time. Furthermore, I hoped to revisit the letterpress print shop and tea wholesaler I had visited at the first Taiwan trip.

While researching Alishan Forest Railway on a later day, I eventually found that National Railway Museum had opened in Taipei. It seemed to be partially open, but since it was originally Taipei Workshop of Taiwan Railway, I thought I would be able to take some nice photos there. I wished to visit the museum as well.

I had a lot of hopes, but without giving much thought to create a plan, I found myself arriving in Taipei. I took a first-class seat on Taiwan High-Speed Rail, intending to do some research during the ride, but I fell asleep. It was a completely useless expense.

Since the bar is only open at night, I headed straight there for whiskey. I tried three types of whisky aged in ex-Bordeaux casks and one type in an ex-Port Wine cask. Since they were cask strength, I ended up consuming quite a bit of alcohol.

While having whiskey, I thought about my plan for the next day.

Apparently, the flower market opens early in the morning. I would go back to the hotel for a quick sleep, head to the flower market, return to the hotel, and sleep again. Then, if I go to the Railway Museum at 9:30 a.m. as its opening time, I still have time to visit the letterpress print shop and the tea wholesaler before catching my evening flight. It was an ideal plan, indeed much better than a Japanese proverb “killing two birds with one stone.”

I was fairly drunk when I left the bar. I thought I was able to catch the last bus, but Google Maps was wrong. It happened to be a bus stop that had a real-time arrival information display, showing service for the day had ended. I was not bothered to use Uber to call a taxi and walked to the hotel. By the time I got back, it was past 1:00 a.m.

Going to the bar at 10:00 p.m. was not a bad idea. However, considering how much I was likely to drink, my plan for the next day was unrealistic. There is a Japanese proverb “easier said than done,” I had no choice but to face reality.

Stay up and go to the flower market or manage to wake up before 9:00 a.m. to visit the Railway Museum. If I did not choose one or the other, there was a high chance that I would be ended up “chasing two rabbits and catching neither” as said by a Japanese proverb.

I did not have the energy to stay awake till 3:00 a.m. and I realized that I even did not know where the flower market was. I was already drunk, so the best I could hope for was to wake up around 8:30 a.m. and head out to the Railway Museum.

I cannot travel only on ideals.

In the Details / Breezy Blue, Taiwan

Taiwan Railway Locomotive

Breezy Blue

Taiwan Railway Passenger Car

Pacific Ocean from Breezy Blue

I believe the joy of travel actually lies in the planning stage. I take my time creating a detailed itinerary, putting a considerable amount of effort into it. After all, God is in the details.

For the trip to Taiwan this year, the weather was particularly unpredictable in advance. I had given up on my plan to trek in Alishan. When I arrived in Taichung, however, the weather forecast turned out to be better than expected, so I decided to try reviving the Alishan plan. I remembered the general outline of the plan, but I had forgotten even name of the hotel and had left materials such as the trekking map at home. Even so, I tried to replan by recalling my memories, but it was a task that required a lot of mental effort.

Since I could not secure Alishan Forest Railway tickets, my visit to Alishan fell again and I decided to focus on photographing the Alishan Forest Railway instead. The guidebook I brought to Taiwan explained how to ride the Alishan Forest Railway, but it did not mention where to go to photograph it. I started my research from scratch.

In Taichung, I acted as a tour guide for my family, so I had to plan my schedule in spare moments. After struggling with research, I finally managed to put pieces together a plan for photographing the Alishan Forest Railway. After photographing the railway, I decided to visit a wet market and a former sugar factory in Chiayi, but even with them, all would be completed early in the afternoon.

It was already late at night when I finished my plan for Chiayi. By that time, I no longer had the mental energy to think about what I would do after Chiayi.

I had tour guide tasks on the next day as well. Considering that I would need to use the spare time to make various arrangements, my time was really limited. I had to pick plans to fit my schedule from the vague backup ideas I had considered before the trip. The candidates were Keelung, Kaohsiung, and Taitung. My reasoning was that with such a wide geographical spread, the weather would be good somewhere.

The closest to Chiayi is Kaohsiung, I could make it by the time of sunset at Kaohsiung Lighthouse. It is a beautiful lighthouse, and since it was cloudy at the last time I visited, I could not miss a chance to see it on a sunny day.

The problem was the following day. I already had visited most of the places I had wanted to see in Kaohsiung. The only place left was a temple that supposedly had amazing night views, but I figured I could easily visit there after seeing the lighthouse. Since I was not interested in art museums nor shopping, it seemed difficult to spend a whole day in Kaohsiung.

That leaves Taitung or Keelung.

Because I used to live in Taito (台東) Ward in Tokyo, I had been wanting to visit Taitung (台東) in Taiwan. So, I had done a bit of research beforehand, but it seemed there was no spot in Taitung itself where I was particularly interested. On the other hand, if heading out to the countryside from Taitung, there were beautiful rural landscapes and coastlines. However, traveling around eastern Taiwan by public transportation seemed quite challenging. Besides, it was going to be a one-day trip, I needed to narrow down where I actually wanted to go. By that point, I already lost the mental energy to think that far ahead.

That left Keelung, but my main draw there was a local fish market that starts around 3 a.m. However, after watching the sunset in Kaohsiung, the southernmost city, I wondered if I would really go all the way to Keelung, the northernmost city, by passing Taichung and Taipei in the middle. I have noticed my stupidity, but even with my limited mental capacity at that time, I could tell that would be ridiculous.

I overthought things late at night and lost my ability to think clearly. I was left with no options and got desperate. It would be more accurate to say I “remembered” rather than “came up with the idea,” but I decided to take Breezy Blue, the same train I took last New Year’s holidays. It was the only thing I could think of which would make the most of the sunny forecast. I managed to book tickets at the very last minute.

On the day of Breezy Blue ride, I planned to wake up early in the morning and head to Zuoying Station by subway. To board the Breezy Blue, I needed to go to Fangliao. The rapid train that goes Fangliao originates from Taiwan Railways’ Xinzuoying Station, which is adjacent to the subway Zuoying Station. Furthermore, the high-speed rail back to Taipei also departs from the adjacent High-Speed Rail Zuoying Station. Ultimately, everything effectively is the same station. If I went ahead and stored my suitcase in a locker at Xinzuoying Station, I was sure to secure a seat on the rapid train and could travel without heavy luggage. God is in the details.

I surely got a seat on the rapid train at Xinzuoying Station, but I could easily find a seat even at Kaohsiung Station. I supposed demand for ordinary trains in southern Taiwan was not strong.

From there on, it was obvious that things were mostly the same as last year. The only difference was that I realized I could place my suitcase on the overhead rack in the passenger car as other Taiwanese travelers did. Since riding the train was the main focus of the trip, it was an itinerary that involved very little carrying of luggage anyway.

As it turned out, there was no need to wake up early and went to Xinzuoying Station to use a locker. Moreover, lockers in Taiwan seem to be hourly-based rate, and using one for about 12 hours ended up costing a fair amount.

Overthinking when you no longer have the mental energy to think about is truly something to think about. The devil is also in the details.