Hi amirm,
I speculate you stayed in a ryokan. I had a couple of ryokan experiences in Hakodate and Noboribetsu. The food was not only great tasting, the number of dishes was too much and the portions were not small at all. I felt extremely stuffed though I only ate less than half of what was served.
If I may ask, have you been to Hoshinoya Kyoto?
Sam
I have not. I had heard great stories of superb ryokans in Kyoto but sadly never got a chance to experience them. I have been to Kyoto maybe 20 times but most times it was part business, part pleasure so I had to stay in corporate hotels. They are of course superb but not personal like a traditional Japanese hotels can be.
The Ryokan in Hokkaido was "interesting" as they do not speak any Japanese. If you don't know at least a few words and customs (especially the marking on which Onsen (hot spring) is for women or me
), it can be tough.
This reminds of how friendly the people in Hokkaido are. While all Japanese are polite, Hokkaido people are warm and friendly on top of that. Here is an example. I had my first trip there organized by Microsoft Office in Japan.
When I landed at the airport, they had a taxi take me to the local hotel and the next morning to the remote area the above hotel was located. They had asked a "translator" to also come. I get there, and the translator is an older gentleman that spoke broken but workable English. They take me to my hotel. I ask them for recommendation on a place to eat dinner and ask them if they like to go with me. They do and we go and have some nice sushi (including my first time whale sushi!). We talk and the translator says he works for the taxi company. Later that night, they take me to their taxi office and a bunch of people greet me with open arms, explaining what I was about to see.
Next morning, they meet me in the early morning (best photography is before sunrise and we had 1 to 2 hours of driving to get there). They ask me if I had any breakfast. I said not. He reaches into a bag and he has breakfast and warm drink for me! They take me to the hotel and then volunteer to carry all of my heavy lenses and photography equipment. Now, it is about -20 to -30 degree F. It is so cold the LCD on my camera had built up quarter inch of ice from my breath! And these too poor guys were just standing there holding my stuff. Talk about going beyond call of duty.
The morning shoot finishes and they take me to the hotel. When we get there, the translator helps me get checked in and then the owner of the hotel comes to greet me. He was also supposed to be my photo guide for the next couple of days but as soon as he arrives, he says he doesn't speak any English. While I thought I could still manage, to my shock and surprise, the translator asks for a room and says he is going to stay there to translate for me! No matter how much I insisted he doesn't have to do that, he was determined to stay and help me.
I am feeling really bad. The guy dressed very modestly and I kept thinking how could afford to go without pay for the next two days and pay for the hotel room to boot.
Anyway, he stayed and I had a wonderful time shooting Hokkaido's native and endangered Tancho (cranes). He was a funny guy and we had a blast.
On the last day, I am saying goodbye to him and thanking him profusely. He pulls me aside and quietly says: "I don't just work for the Taxi company. I am the General Manager and part owner of it!"
So there I was. I had an owner of the largest Taxi company taking me around for free and acting as my translator for two days. Not only did I come back with some nice pictures, I also came back with appreciation of people living in that remote area of Japan and for that matter, the world. Speaking of pictures, here are a few:
And this is some of the natural beauty:
