Japan Diaries 4: Week 102

June 03, 2026

Week 102: October 9 – 15, 2023

Day 707: October 9, 2023

Monday – 3-Day “Sports Day” Road Trip D3

It's the last day of our 3-Day “Sports Day” Road Trip

Today is Sports Day (スポーツの日). It’s a holiday here in Japan. It’s also the last day of our 3-Day “Sports Day” Road trip around the Shiretoko Peninsula. Originally, we intended to visit the town of Niki to do some grape picking, but we realized that we hadn’t really explored Otaru City (小樽市) yet. That’s why we decided to just go around the city instead.

Otaru City manhole cover

We checked out from our accommodation in Otaru City - Hostel Junpu Manpan at around 8 AM. From there, we drove around the city.

These are the places that we visited in Otaru City:

Otaru Canal

📌 Otaru Canal

Otaru Shukutsu Panorama Observation Deck

📌 Otaru Shukutsu Panorama Observation Deck

Otaru City Museum Main Building

Inside Otaru City Museum Main Building

📌 Otaru City Museum Main Building

Otaru Steam Locomotive Museum

📌 Otaru Steam Locomotive Museum

Sumiyoshi Shrine's main torii gate

Sumiyoshi Shrine

📌 Sumiyoshi Shrine

After paying respect and offering prayers for our safe trip home, we decided that it was time for us to say goodbye to Otary City (for now). However, it’s not yet the end of our road trip as we still have Ishikari City (石狩市) in our itinerary.

On our way to Ishikari City, we filled up Riri's tank first at Modasekiyu Kanayamaten in Sapporo City

2nd Street Ishikari

COSTCO Ishikari

We had our favorite pizza for lunch

Itadakimasu!

For Ishikari City, we simply dedicated the whole afternoon to shopping. First, we headed to 2nd Street Ishikari and then wrapped it up with a visit to COSTCO Ishikari. We left the city at around 5 PM and reached our home in Rumoi City a little past 7 PM.

Overall, despite not being able to visit any new municipalities today, we were still able to visit a lot of new destinations in Otaru City. At the end of our 3-Day Sports Day Road Trip, we were able to visit 7 new municipalities in Hokkaido. It means that we are now 121/179 of our Hokkaido 179 travel goal.

Day 708: October 10, 2023

Tuesday – Rumoi

Rumoi High School 10.10.23

On this brisk and sunlit morning in Rumoi City, I find myself biking back to work at Rumoi High School after an unforgettable three-day road trip.

Here’s my workload for today:

Class with Sengoku-sensei

2nd period – Miracle Mirror @ 1-1 of Matsuda-sensei

3rd period – Show & Tell: My 5 Essential Items @ 3-4 of Sengoku-sensei

4th period – Sports L7 P2 @ 1-34 of Matsuda-sensei

5th period – Dear World: Bana’s War Finishing up @ 1-56 of Matsuda-sensei

Sinigang for dinner

It's getting a bit colder now, thankfully, it does not have any effect on Kai yet

After work, I joined my wife in tackling the household tasks that had been postponed during the weekend. One of our errands led me to Jabba Laundry, where I dropped off our clothes for drying. Thanks to our combined efforts, we accomplished the chores, and as a delightful reward for our family teamwork, my wife prepared a mouthwatering "sinigang" for our dinner.

Day 709: October 11, 2023

Wednesday – Haboro

Haboro High School 10.11.23

Before anything else, I would like to wish my wonderful mother a Happy birthday. I’m praying for you always.

It’s a sunny but cold morning. For my school visit today, I’m heading to Haboro High School. It’s my 11th visit for the School year 2023 – 2024. For this trip, I used my 2-day Skip Moekko Free Ticket.

Here’s my workload for today:

Class with Okumura-sensei

1st period – Calamity Drill @ 3rd year of Okumura-sensei

2nd period – Calamity Drill @ 1B of Okumura-sensei

3rd period – Calamity Drill @ 1A of Watanabe-sensei

North Herring Shop

Inside North Herring Shop

DZ Mart Haboro

At lunchtime, I went out to grab something to eat. My first stop was the North Herring Shop, hoping to try their kaisendon, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available when I arrived. So instead, I headed over to DZ Mart Haboro to pick up some food.

Haboro High School Fire Drill

Later, during the sixth period, we all participated in a fire drill, which wrapped up with a live demonstration on how to properly extinguish a fire.

Day 710: October 12, 2023

Thursday – Embetsu

Embetsu Agricultural High School 10.12.23

It’s a sunny Thursday. Today, I’m heading to Embetsu Agricultural High School for my usual Thursday school visit schedule. It’s my 16th visit for the School Year 2023 -2024. For this trip, I used my 1-day Moekko Free Ticket.

Here’s my workload for today:

Class with Sasaki-sensei

3rd period – Passive Voice @ 3rd year of Sasaki-sensei

Incredible sunset at Ororon Line

On my way home, I was treated to an incredible sunset—one of those breathtaking views that make every minute of the long bus ride completely worth it.

Day 711: October 13, 2023

Friday – Tomamae

Tomamae Commercial High School 10.13.23

What a splendid Friday it turned out to be! The sun is shining, and there's a refreshing breeze in the air. Today was the day for my customary Friday school visit, and I made my way to Tomamae Commercial High School. Can you believe it's already my 15th visit for the school year 2023-2024? Time is certainly flying by. For this trip, I used my 2-day Skip Moekko Free Ticket.

Here’s my workload for today:

Class with Matsushita-sensei

2nd period – YouTuber Presentation @ 1st year of Matsushita-sensei

3rd period – YouTuber Presentation @ 3rd year of Matsushita-sensei

Thanks, Matsushita-sensei

Dinner for the day

Movie night: Smile

Before calling it a day, my family and I watched the 2022 psychological horror film Smile. Despite some least convincing acting, the storyline was very good. To sum it up, it’s a nice movie to watch.

All in all, this past week has been wonderful. I had the pleasure of celebrating the Sports Day holiday with my family, and on the professional front, my visits to Rumoi High School, Haboro High School, Embetsu Agricultural High School, and Tomamae Commercial High School were incredibly productive and fulfilling.

Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 102

Japan Diaries 4: Day 707

Otaru Canal

Otaru Canal Revisited 2022

Otaru Shukutsu Panorama Observation Deck

Otaru City Museum Main Building

Steam Locomotive Museum

Sumiyoshi Shrine

Hokkaido Manhole Covers

Japan's Awesome Manhole Covers

10 Things to Do in Otaru City

10 More Things to Do in Otaru City