Long trip back from Hokkaido, School Make-Up Rule Hello! In the last update, I wrote about taking a trip to Hokkaido. Getting back from Hokkaido was difficult - I was originally scheduled to take a flight back to Osaka on Monday evening but there was a typhoon approaching the Kobe/Osaka area. The storm was not supposed to hit until Tuesday so it looked like maybe I might be able to make it back before flights got canceled. But, on Monday morning, the airline let me know that the flights that...

More from Hokkaido, National Ainu Museum Hello! Last time, I wrote about visiting Hokkaido and hiking at Asahidake. Earlier in the trip, while I was making my way to Asahikawa (the town near the mountain), I came across a flyer advertising bus tours in the area. A lot of people recommend renting a car while visiting Hokkaido. But, I do not have a Japanese driver's license and since it was a busy travel season, renting a vehicle would be expensive. Foreigners can get an "international" license...

Trip to Hokkaido Hello! I recently took a trip up to Hokkaido, which is the northernmost main island of Japan. It takes about two hours to get there from Kobe via plane. Traveling by train takes at least a half day of riding, so it is better to fly up. Temperatures in Kobe had been pretty hot, so I was hoping to get a break from the heat further north. I flew into Sapporo. Sapporo is the largest city in Hokkaido and also home of the Nippon Ham Fighters baseball team. This was Ohtani's team in...