Appletown
Sister’s picture compilation.
I have an apple and you have two,
You give me an apple and I have one.
I eat one apple, and give one back to you.
I don’t have any apples, you still have two.
With Tomoyuki accompanying us to Fuda station, we set off early on Saturday to catch our train to Hachinohe [we were re-routed to Hachinohe and Hakodate then Sapporo as the direct train to Sapporo was fully-booked]. Tiring but mmm that means more adventures for us!
The heavy brown paper bag contained all my prrrrreeecciioouusss [stuff from Ghibli Museum and my snow globe]!
It was raining in Hachinohe when we got there, and the wind was strong. Brrr. With 5 hours to spare before our next train ride to Hakodate [all the names are a mouthful!], sister and I got on a bus heading to a local shopping centre - Lapia. Or so we thought it was heading there.
My kiddy meal, ‘cos I wasn’t sure if I was hungry or full. Ahem. 550 yen!
“What a cold, grey, dreary place Hachinohe is!” said sister mournfully.
How true.
Everything was in shades of grey and white and black, saved for the tomato car and markings on the road.
Grey, cold and bleak.
Anyway, as adventures go, we ended up at the local marketplace instead.
People queuing for sushi and sashimi.
Stuck, we decided to make use of the time to walk around and shop for more useless unique stuff, and that was when we discovered a treasure trove of…. apples. The marketplace has everything and anything apple-ish; apple tea, apple chocolates, apple toys, the list goes on.
Twilight apple-zone.
Due to the amazing array of apple products at every turn, I started nicknaming Hachinohe ‘Appletown’ [that, and because I had trouble remembering and differentiating Hachinohe from Hakodate. Ahem. Somehow my brain shut down automatically upon hearing any Japanese words with more than 3 syllables]. Well, it IS Appletown! Sister agrees with me! Right, right, right?
With time on our hands and not enough time to head to Lapia, sister and I made our way back to the station, where we shopped at -can you believe it - whatever convenience stores we could find around the area [which came up to maybe about 1638 stores]. Not sure about sister but I felt quite nomadic. Poor homeless, cold creatures we were.
More apples! Roll over and faint.
Was tempted to cart all these beautiful boxes back home!
Look at the various apple toys! Sister and I got the stuffed toy keychains on the left of the picture.
It was not long before the sky turned dark and it was time for Hakodate!
Other Nihon Reads:
The Amazing Race [Nihon Version]
Let’s Become Lost Children Together
- the lost traveller
s t a r m | s t February 27th, 2008
lapia?!
labia?
-_-”
[...] Appletown [...]