Four Days in Hokkaido with My Grandchildren (4/4)
Part 4: The Morning of Departure, and the Journey Home
The morning of the final day of a trip has a different texture than the mornings of other days.
The moment I wake up, the feeling that 'this is the end' hits me. That is not necessarily a sad thing. A desire to use the time before the trip ends as carefully as possible arises naturally. On the last morning of a trip, I want to eat something special, I want to see that scenery one more time, and I want to gaze at the children's faces a little longer.
Thursday, October 1st, cloudy. Today is the Harvest Moon, but the sky is covered in thin clouds. Since we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest yesterday and the day before when it was sunny, I don't mind that it's cloudy today. The weather on a trip is not distributed evenly, and that is fine.
We already saw the sea of clouds yesterday. This morning, I was able to wake up slowly for the first time in a while. I look at the massive building of The Tower from the window. The parking lot is full again today.
Breakfast is at SORA -Tenku- again this morning. I have grown quite fond of it on this trip. We ordered the sashimi set, the crab and salmon roe bowl set, and the soba noodle set, and shared them little by little. The all-you-can-eat service ended yesterday, but I don't care about that now. Since we have been eating well every day, our bodies aren't really complaining of hunger. The grandchildren were eating energetically.
Checkout is at 12:00. We decided to spend the remaining two hours or so driving a cart in the farm area.
We drove to the GAO Outdoor Center for the third time and entered the 100-hectare farm area in an electric cart. Cows, sheep, horses, and goats were grazing.
At first, there were cows nearby. The older grandchild said, 'They're huge,' and the younger one silently took a step back. Even though they were shouting 'Shake it more!' during yesterday's rafting, they were timid in front of the quiet cows. It is impossible to predict what a child will find scary or not, depending on the child and the situation.
My wife (Grandma) picked some bamboo grass by hand and started teaching the grandchildren how to make bamboo grass boats. If you fold the leaves and shape them, you get a small boat. We floated them in a small stream on the farm and raced to see which one would flow faster. 'Mine won!' 'No, mine did!' the grandchildren shouted. Games that use only grass and water, with no electronic devices or video games involved, make children take things seriously.
Children from a generation ago knew this, whether they lived in the countryside or the city. In an era when nature was close at hand, everyone had games involving grass and water. No matter how much technology advances, the joy of floating a boat made of folded leaves down a river never changes. There are still people in the grandparent generation who can pass such things on. I thought that was one of the hidden values of traveling with grandchildren.
When we stopped the cart near the sheep pen, the grandchildren tried to offer them some grass. However, as they got closer, they shrank back in fear. 'These are scarier than the cows from before,' the younger grandchild said. I retorted, 'They don't even have horns,' but the criteria for what a child finds scary cannot be measured by an adult.
We also encountered horses. There were a few horses about the size of ponies. I remembered that a painter who draws horses appeared in 'Natsuzora.' Horses are certainly animals that look good in pictures. Their large eyes were looking at us slowly.
The rowan berries were turning red. It is a tree that represents Hokkaido and is often used for street trees. It was still a little early for autumn leaves, but the red of the rowan berries was already anticipating autumn. The older grandchild said, 'It's beautiful,' and stopped to look at it. It was a short phrase, but I believe it was sincere.
There was an attraction called a pasture grass bed where you could lie down and spend time looking at the sky. I didn't lie down because I was worried about ticks, but the grandchildren rolled around on it for a while. The autumn sky of Hokkaido was vast, even though it was cloudy.
At noon, it was time to check out.
We were truly well taken care of for four days. I think it was the best resort for those with children, where you can play to your heart's content without getting bored. The Unkai Terrace, the safari cart tour, the rafting, the Minamina Beach. It wasn't that any one thing was outstanding, but that it was designed as a combination that was excellent. There were mechanisms to keep us from getting bored day after day.
We left the lobby and loaded our luggage into the car. The grandchildren were still running around the facility and wouldn't come. When I called them, they came over with regretful faces. The older grandchild asked, 'Are we coming back?' When I answered, 'I'd like to,' they said, 'We're definitely coming back.' Children often use the word 'definitely,' but every time they do, my heart is moved a little.
We headed to New Chitose Airport via the Doto Expressway.
There are 14 tunnels from the Tomamu Interchange to the Chitose-Higashi Interchange. The longest is the Hobetsu Tunnel at 4,318m, followed by the Oyubari Tunnel at 4,172m. Inside the tunnels, it is a monotonous space with only lights, and the children became quiet. When the scenery outside disappears, the inside of the car becomes a little more introspective.
I asked my grandchildren, "What was the most fun part?"
The older grandchild thought for a moment and said, "Rafting." Then added, "And the red fox." The younger one immediately replied, "The pool." Oh, I see, Minamina Beach. Not the Sea of Clouds, not the rafting, but the wave pool. Adults can never predict a child's priorities. I think that's how it should be.
I did all the driving for the entire trip. The roads in Hokkaido are easy to drive on, but long distances make you sleepy. The straight roads go on forever, and there is little change in the scenery. Fighting off sleepiness, I headed straight west.
At 1:30 PM, I returned the car at the Toyota Rent-a-Car New Chitose Airport Suzuran branch. There were no accidents and not a single scratch. That alone gives me a sense of accomplishment.
After 2:00 PM, we had a late lunch at the "Hokkaido Ramen Dojo" inside the airport. There were 10 shops lined up, and what decided it for us was the sign that said "Half-sizes available for all items." Traveling with children and being tired from the trip, it's a relief to be able to choose half-sizes when you're not sure if everyone can finish a full bowl. We ate at "Yuki Akari," having the miso butter corn ramen for 1,130 yen and the green onion miso ramen for 1,010 yen. It was perfectly good.
At 15:30, we departed New Chitose Airport on ANA flight 68. The aircraft was a B787, and the occupancy rate was about 50 to 60 percent. We pushed back on time. The sky over Honshu was clear, and the setting sun reflected off the sea, casting orange light into the cabin. It was beautiful.
The older grandchild pressed their face against the window and kept looking outside. They had done the same thing at Haneda on the way there and while flying over the Shimokita Peninsula. Perhaps seeing the world from an airplane window became the central theme of this trip for this child.
The parking fee at Haneda Airport's P3 parking lot for four days was 6,120 yen. It was about the same price as if everyone had taken the airport bus round-trip, but we could load our luggage freely and travel from door to door. Taking my own car was the right choice for a trip with children.
We returned home and had the bento boxes we bought at New Chitose Airport for dinner.
The only disappointment was that the distribution of the Go To Travel regional coupons was delayed until October, but other than that, it was a trip where we were able to enjoy the benefits of the campaign to the fullest. In addition to the 35 percent discount, we unexpectedly managed to get all five of us together for a trip, and we fully enjoyed our four days and three nights. I think it was a job well done.
How much will my grandchildren remember of this trip?
The older grandchild will likely hold onto several scenes firmly. The moment they saw penguins swimming as if flying through the water. The moment a red fox appeared in the grassy field at dusk, making them think, "It's real." The excitement when their younger brother was almost thrown off the raft and shouted, "Shake it more!" The voice that said "Cool" when watching the kayaker go over the waterfall. Standing in the dark sky before sunrise at the Unkai Terrace.
The younger grandchild is only four, so there may not be many memories left that can be verbalized. However, something will be etched into their body. That small palm that silently held my hand in front of the sea of clouds. The feet that took a step back in front of the cow. The eyes that stared intently at the bamboo leaf boat flowing down the stream. Even if it doesn't become words, it will sink somewhere deep inside them.
It is often said that travel is the act of creating memories. I don't know when or in what form those memories will resurface. Ten years from now, when they hear the word "Hokkaido" by chance, that sea of clouds might pop into their head. Twenty years from now, the day might come when they take their own children rafting. At that time, will they suddenly remember the Sorachi River we went down here in Tomamu?
I don't know how many more opportunities I will have to travel with my grandchildren from here on out. Children grow up fast, and when they get older, it becomes more fun to travel with friends than with grandparents. That is natural, and that is fine. That is why I hope, just a little, that this trip—these four days that the five of us walked through Hokkaido together—will remain as a memory for everyone.
On the night the trip ended, the grandchildren fell asleep in no time. Children sleep well on days when they are tired. After watching their sleeping faces for a little while, I opened the last can of Sapporo beer I had stocked up.
I drank it while thinking, "It was a good trip."