Isaac, Joy and Papa Go Japan: Day 1 and 2
We picked up our car at Chitose Airport from Hertz/Toyota, after we flew over via Narita. Actually you don’t get the car at the airport but they have a greeting counter there and then a shuttle bus takes you to the huge lot where they have the cars and the rental office.
I got a white Toyota Axio and it was as boring a family car you can get. But you also know it is reliable. I feel like my late father, who drove a Toyota Corolla, and then changed to a Toyota Corolla when the first Corolla’s COE expired. I understand now why he liked these cars. They just work.
My teens were fairly well-behaved in their journey here. They only needed occasional reminders to put away their iPhones and pay attention to their surroundings and do the important stuff first. So my task as driver, tour guide, parent and general do-everything person, was made slightly easier.
They have grown considerably since their last trips with me. Both of them traveled solo with me when they were 12. And now they were older and more mature. It is different to deal with a kid then and now dealing with a teen. What you say to them changes, what you talk to them about, changes too. I quite enjoy interacting with these older versions of my children. There is more to share as their interests get broader.
We didn’t try to go too far on the first day. I was tired from the redeye flight from Singapore to Tokyo and then the 3 hour layover in Narita, followed by the flight to Chitose. So I decided to drive to Lake Shikotsu, in the town of Shikotsukoonsen, on the recommendation of my friends, Mr Miyagi and Tama-san, my remote tour guides from Singapore.
Lake Shikotsu is a lovely place to chill. It’s a beautiful lake and very quiet during this time of the year. We booked an entire house by the lake and spent the afternoon looking for lunch in the small town by the lake.
Our first real meal in Hokkaido was awesome, and a fitting start to the trip. We were reminded by the host of our place to settle our dinner early because shops here close at 4-5pm. So while we were having lunch, we bought our burger dinner across the street. We would heat the burgers up later at the house for dinner while watching Shazam! streaming from my iPhone to the large screen TV in the living room/den.
It’s COLD here. It is 15-20°C in Tokyo but in Hokkaido, we are looking at single digit temperatures. By the lake, the wind chill made it even colder. Good thing I packed the right layers for the kids and myself, and assumed winter weather even though, technically, it’s autumn.
We had the heaters on full blast in the house but even then, our unacclimatized Singapore bodies still needed sweaters to keep warm.
Nightfall came very quickly and it was dark by 4.30pm. By 9pm, we were already in our futons and I was about to doze off. The kids managed to stay up a bit longer watching YouTube on their phones.
I was told some ghost stories by Miyagi and Tama-san regarding the lake area. Shikotsuko is 支笏湖 in Japanese. But sometimes the locals also call it 死骨湖, which is the same pronunciation. There is a lot of algae in the lake, and once you drown, no bones float, which makes it ripe for scary stories.
There is the famous Shikotsuko story of the 100km Obasan. If you drive at night, the 100km Obasan will chase you and if she catches up with your car, you will die.
I decided to not tell the kids the stories until we left the area. I also decided not to drive in Shikotsuko at night hahaha!
The next day, we had breakfast in town and set off, not knowing we were heading next. The kids already know Papa travels by the seat of his pants and just went with the flow. All we needed was this car, some tunes to sing along to, and each other.
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