Hokkaido Travel Blog Day 2 (Noboribetsu and Kani Goten / かに御殿) Restaurant Review)

Finally... our first meal in Hokkaido. After driving for about an hour we reached our very first destination in Hokkaido to have our lunch. It was already about 2pm and my tummy was growling for some authentic Hokkaido cuisine :). We had our lunch at a restaurant called Kani Goten which literary means Crab Palace in English located along the Muroran Highway. I chose this place for lunch since its location is pretty strategic as it is located en route to my hotel in Hokkaido. We will be staying at Dai-ichi Takimotokan Hotel for the night which is just 20 minutes away. It is not easy to miss this place as there is a big crab sign board right outside the restaurant and a giant bear statue on the roof of the restaurant. To be exact, this place is not only a restaurant but also a small seafood market where a variety of seafood produce are sold. 

Kani Goten Family Restaurant

Bear Statue on the roof of the restaurant

To get here, exit Hokkaido Expressway at Exit 8 (Shiraoi) and head towards Noboribetsu. After a short 15-20 minutes drive, you should find the restaurant on your left. Despite the restaurant known for crabs, we did not order any as I felt that I would have much of it over the next few days. With the intention of going simple and nice, we ordered a Donburi (a bowl of rice with mixed seafood ie tuna, shrimp, salmon roe and sea urchin) and Stuffed Squid with Black Ink Sauce.  

Donburi

As a person who don't prefer to eat raw seafood, I still find the Donburi to be really delicious. Funny... The rice was sweet and had a nice flavour to it. If I am not wrong, vinegar is added when the rice is cooked. The seafood was fresh and there was no fishy or foul smell at all. Really nice. 

Stuffed Squid With Black Ink 

Source: kanigoten.co.jp

Can't say the same for the  squid stuffed with rice though. It tasted too bland for my liking. After lunch, Wifey and I walked around the area selling seafood located next to the restaurant. You can find all sorts of seafood here including different types of crabs, scallop, sea urchin, oyster and etc kept mostly alive in aquariums. I guess it caters more to local Japanese tourist who can make purchase here and get the seafood delivered to their homes anywhere in Japan.

After lunch we continued our journey to Noboribetsu. If you are driving to Noboribetsu from Chitose, I would suggest you take this route ie via Muroran Highway instead of all the way using the Hokkaido expressway. Firstly, there are a few seafood restaurants along the way that you can try and secondly you get to catch the view of Hokkaido Coastline. Not that it is really a magnificent sight but I guess it is more interesting especially if you are a foreign tourist.  

First Japanese Car Parking Experience

After about 20 minutes driving, we finally reached our hotel for the night, Daiichi Takimotokan Hotel. We were directed by a hotel staff to go to the basement level for parking. As soon as we there, another based at the parking directed me to park a an empty lot right in front of the entrance. I thought to myself how lucky can I be right? Wrong!!!

As I was preparing to alight from the car, it started to turn 90 degrees to the left and soon I found myself facing this. 

Yikes... I was totally not prepared for this. The staff manning the parking asked me to retract my rear mirrors and I didn't really know which button to press since I just got the car. So I decided to go trial and error and luckily I managed to find the right button. Once the car was parked inside the space provided, Wifey and I quickly grabbed all our belongings and ensure nothing is left behind. Once outside the car, I tried to lock my car with the remote but somehow the car lock did not work. ??? After several tries, I decided to give up and just leave the car as it is since it was going to be in a cage anyway and..  of course we were in Japan, one of the countries in the world with low crime rate :). The morale of the story is to get to know your rented car well enough including some of the controls or otherwise you may end up like me. I later found out that the reason why I wasn't able to lock my car with the remote was because my car engine was not switched off. Luckily, the car system knows how to auto shut down after the car was left idle for a while.

Daiichi Takimotokan Hotel, Noboribetsu

A great hotel although I find it to be a bit touristy. Will write more on a separate page. :)

A walk in the evening

After checking into the hotel, we decided to take a short walk outside the hotel before our much anticipated buffet dinner. The good thing about Daiichi hotel is that it is nearby to the main tourist attraction area like Hell Valley, Sengen Geyser and the main shopping street. 

Main shopping street (a bit quiet since it is late evening already)

Some of the statues you find along the road...

The smog in front is actually hot steam from Sengen Geyser

Sengen Geyser (Note that it sprouts every 3 hours only)

Watch the video of our Hokkaido Trip:

Hokkaido Travel Blog - Day 2 (Haneda Airport, Chitose Airport and Car Rental) PART I

Links To Previous Post On Hokkaido Trip

Hokkaido Travel Blog (Overview)
Hokkaido Travel Blog Day 1

Getting to Haneda Airport

Woke up early on that morning to ensure we don't miss the morning flight to Hokkaido and of course, I was also looking forward to the buffet breakfast at Sunroute Hotel. We are suppose to catch a flight from Haneda Airport (Tokyo) to Chitose Airport in Hokkaido at 11am. Taking into consideration that we should arrive at the airport circa 2 hours earlier means we should already be there by 9am. 

After the wholesome breakfast, we make our way to the bus stop located at the west exit of Shinjuku Station which is just 10 minutes walk away from our hotel. We already bought the bus tickets a day before which cost us 1,230yen/person. For further info on airport bus please click here.

Airport Bus @ West Exit Shinjuku Station
Source: Google Maps

There are basically two common ways to commute to Haneda Airport ie by monorail or by airport bus. I find the latter the more convenient way to travel since the bus stop is nearby my hotel and I am not required to switch train along the way. If I take the monorail, I will need to take the subway from Shinjuku Station and transit somewhere to get to the monorail, which may be quite troublesome. Travelling time by bus will just take about an hour. 

Haneda Airport

Haneda airport used to be the main international airport of Tokyo before it  was moved to Narita. Nevertheless, Haneda was subsequently refurbished to accommodate the increasing passenger traffic in Tokyo. We took All Nippon Airways (ANA) to Hokkaido which would depart from Haneda's Domestic Terminal. 

Though not as big as compared to the airport's international terminal, the place is still pretty cozy and not overly packed with people. The lay out is well planned with a small shopping area at one end of the terminal. At the upper floor, you will find some cafes and restaurants. Since we were not hungry after the heavy breakfast, we loitered around the shopping area before heading to the security check point leading to the departure hall. Security check was a breeze likely due to the fact that this is a domestic terminal and hence security check may be less intense. 

Haneda Airport

ANA Flight

Our flight NH061 to Hokkaido cost us 10,000yen or RM326/pax which comes with free 20kg luggage allowance. In order to keep our cost down, we did not pay for seat selection and consequently wifey and I had to seat separately. This was fine since the flight took only 90 minutes. Just enough time for me to enjoy a cup of coffee while my wifey doze off as usual.

ANA NH061 To Chitose

Chitose Airport

We touched down at Chitose Airport on time at around 12.35pm. Sorry for the lack of pictures as I recall at that time my mind was overly focused on how to collect my rented car. Immediately after arrival, we head directly towards the Toyota Rent A Car counter to wait for our transport to a satellite building nearby the airport to collect our car.

Toyota Rent A Car Satellite Building 

Toyota Rent A Car Sapporo (Click here to official website)

We rented a 1,500cc Toyota Prius C (Hybrid) model for 3 full days for 38,232 yen or RM1,179 which works out to about RM393/night. We will be using this car to travel to Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Otaru and Sapporo. Since this is a hybrid car, no refueling was required until we finally reached Sapporo where we are required to return the car with a full tank. The car is equipped with a GPS with Japanese interface although the verbal directions can be in English. Searching out locations are pretty easy by using the telephone number of the place you are heading. Just make sure you get it right or you will end up in somewhere really wrong. As the interface is in Japanese,  it may be helpful if you can read basic Japanese / Chinese. As a form of assurance, I always double check where I am heading using google maps on my mobile to ensure I am going to the right direction. Yeah, google maps works here too. To sum it up, use local gps for navigation or directions and use google maps for bearing.

The car was pleasant to drive though I took some time to get familiar with it due to the fact that it is a hybrid car and the handling is really different from the old car I drive back home. Firstly, there is very minimal vibration and sound hence it is confusing to me to even know whether the engine is switched on or not. Secondly, I also have to get familiar with the new technology ie keyless entry, automatic wiper and headlamps which you normally don't find in old cars. Luckily for me, I had earlier downloaded a copy of the car instruction manual and had briefly read through it before the trip. This was also my first time driving outside of my country.

GPS With Japanese Interface Included

Driving in Hokkaido

Our Driving Route In Hokkaido covering about 270km (Chitose, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Otaru and Sapporo)

Driving in Hokkaido is actually quite fun with its scenic views and is not that hard to drive at all due to the relatively low traffic and straight road. The only thing is to familiarize with is the local traffic rules which may turn out to be quite confusing. To me, the first one to be aware of are the traffic lights. Even if it is green, look out for oncoming vehicles in front (as well as people crossing the road). For reasons I don't understand yet and luckily I am back safe and sound, you may not necessary have the right of way even if it is green on your side. I almost learned this the hard way. Do take note on this. Second is the speed limit. It is quite common that speed limit on trunk road is around 40-60km/hour only. Initially, I tried to comply with it but soon I realised that everybody actually drives 10-20km/hour faster. This is weird especially in Japan where the society is known to comply with rules and regulations strictly. 

Watch the video on our Hokkaido trip.