Maizuru…waiting for a ferry

June 5, 2023

We have stayed quite a few times in this chain of hotels…the plus is that a good breakfast is included, but our favourite thing is the onsen. Here the onsen has natural hot springs which our bodies will appreciate.

Japan loves happy animated mascots and this guy always greets you at this hotel.

Another plus about travelling in Japan is that hotels give you everything you could possibly need. Kimonos or Yukatas, slippers, toiletries in the room as well as stations like above. Unless you have specific needs, you really don’t need to bring toiletries. And did I mention that there is usually free coffee in the lobby?

Bikes are not usually a priority here in the planning of hotels. We have grown used to and spoiled by the infrastructure that Europe offers. However in Japan, we feel that there is a safety here…as we have read in other journals, some people get to the point of not even locking their bikes. However, we do lock ours and try to secure a safe spot. This hotel has the policy that you can take your bike to your room…very unusual!…but our trikes are too big.

Today is a slow down and wait kind of day. Our ferry to Otaru on Hokkaido Island doesn’t depart until 23:50. What to do and where to spend the time from 10 am check out until the ferry time?

In Japan, check out time is firm and in order to have a late check out, you pay for each hour you stay. That sounded ok, it is 1000¥ ($10) per hour . Then they said for 2 people it will be double. We haven’t heard of that before in other hotels and it makes no sense, but there is no point in arguing with policy. We decided our only option was to pay for a second night. It is cheaper and it allows us to stay as late as we like. We tried for a discount as we would not be sleeping there nor having the breakfast. We struck out.

We did make good use of the Hotel’s beautiful onsen with its natural hot springs. The benefit of using it midday is that no one is around, so we had the luxury of having our own space.

It’s 9 pm and we are off to catch a ferry!

There is something magical about riding at night. We enjoyed riding through these quiet, deserted backstreets that are bustling through the day.

The ferry is 10 Km away, so we didn’t leave the hotel until after 9 pm and had a nice ride to the ferry…light traffic and cool temperatures. A brief stop at the 7-Eleven for provisions for the trip and we boarded the ferry close to midnight…the only bikes and the only non Japanese travellers.

Waiting to board. The ground crew were surprised that we didn’t know where to park while waiting to board. See the “P” on the sign beside Mary Ellen….that’s it.

We always feel a sense of adventure waiting to board a vessel like this….off to the unknown. Mary Ellen remembers the same feeling of excitement and anticipation as a child when we would take the CNR train for a day trip to Toronto for shopping or sightseeing and see dad who was a conductor on the passenger trains.

The ferry is quite modest and very old. It took forever for the ferry to be loaded. We never know what is going on and just watch for a guy to come running and waving wildly. Somehow we ended up alongside rickshaws, big trucks and collector cars. This is going to be a different experience. We are ready!

Today's ride: 10 km (6 miles)
Total: 1,485 km (922 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	3
Comment on this entry	Comment	0