Hakodate

Japan as a whole has been very hospitable. A farewell dance performance on the pier as Silver Shadow drew away from Kushiro, and small boats jetting coloured water in the harbour for the arrival in Hakodate. Both places have many tourism people around to provide assistance.

Diva took the shuttle into town and took a look around the local market. Mostly fish and unrecognisable dried goods. Not as welcoming as some, as some stalls don't allow photography of the produce. She walked past a man in uniform with a large truncheon (traffic cop?). He bowed to her and said something in Japanese. She bowed back and said 'Good Morning', which made him laugh and repeat the words back to her.

She saw the labelled  'first concrete electricity pole in Japan'. The Japanese ports so far have been unglamorous working ports. The houses are a jumble of nice and not so nice mixed in with commercial buildings. Slightly strange to English eyes accustomed to most things being zoned as retail, commercial or residential. The scenery around the ports has been hilly but nothing as dramatic as on the first part of the cruise.

The weather is a little warmer.