Nine and a half hours of travel and we have returned to what feels like our second home, the Prince Hotel in Shinjuku. The weather was wet all the way down, the first time we have actually needed the umbrella.
We left Sapporo at 7am on the Super Hokuto. Unfortunately, we were seated on the right, away from the ocean views. Not enough space for our luggage either. Three hours later and it was straight across the platform at Hakodate to the Super Hakucho.
A bit more scenic on that train, with views of the lonely grey sea and the quiet villages beside it. I should love to have stopped and dine at some restaurant overlooking it. But then it was beneath the Seikan tunnel and back to Honshu and Shin-Aomori, a trip that took two hours.
From Shin-Aomori up the escalators and on to the Hayate Shinkansen to Omiya in Tokyo, three and a quarter hours later. I spent the time writing my blog, amusing Alex and sleeping, as did B. Finally a local train to Shinjuku station, where I had to brave the rain to carry the luggage to the hotel.
That left some time for shopping and browsing at Takashimaya, Tokyu Hands and Tower Records, before we retreated under the rain to the comfort of our tiny, trendy, familiar room.