Category: travel

  • Renting an electric car in Norway

    Renting an electric car in Norway

    On a recent trip to Norway I found myself needing to rent a car – and, for the first time, most of the cars available were electric. As someone who doesn’t own an EV, and doesn’t live in Norway, I wondered if it would be a pain – if you have the same questions, here’s…

  • Japan on a Budget: Sapporo to Ueno on the Hokutosei

    Having returned from Furano to Sapporo, I needed to get back to Tokyo in time to fly back home. There’s one simple and obvious way to do that: domestic flights from New Chitose airport to Haneda run just about every 30 minutes, take 90 minutes, and aren’t too expensive. Instead, I took a 16 hour long…

  • The Dai-Kannon of Ashibetsu

    The Dai-Kannon of Ashibetsu

    In Japan, big statues are no big deal. There’s the Daibutsu at Nara, of course, but I’ve stumbled across other monumental, well, monuments in several other towns. But then, rolling through the countryside on a local train somewhere between Takikawa and Furano, I spotted a giant white figure on the horizon. The Dai-Kannon at Ashibetsu…

  • Japan on a Budget: Furano and Biei

    From the port of Otaru I jumped a train to Sapporo, from there took an express to Takikawa, and from there hopped a tiny, chuntering one-man train to Furano. In Furano, I rented a small car – there’s a large Toyota Rental shop right outside the station if you turn left – and drove out…

  • Japan on a Budget: Otaru

    Otaru lies to the northeast of Sapporo, and in the winter is on the train route to the ski resort of Niseko. In spring or summer, though, it’s a major domestic tourism destination. To get there, take a futsuu train from Sapporo’s JR station – it’s not far, and the journey down the coast is…

  • Japan on a Budget: Sapporo

    Sapporo is, appropriately, the easiest place in Hokkaido to get to. There’s a huge JR station, it’s the terminal for buses to all over the island, and of course there’s New Chitose airport, served by loads of flights from Honshu and beyond. I rolled in on a coach from Toyako Onsen. There are three subway…

  • Japan on a Budget: Toyako Onsen

    About half way between Hakodate and Sapporo you’ll find an almost circular lake with a handful of islands in the middle, and on the southern shore of that lake the resort town of Toyako Onsen. Lonely Planet describes it as “faded”, which is a pretty fair description, but if you have the time it’s worth…

  • Japan on a Budget: Hakodate

    Six months after leaving Kyushu, I couldn’t resist a super-cheap flight into Haneda in early May. Having never visited Japan in springtime before, this was a chance to finally see the famous cherry blossoms – except that I would be arriving a bit late, and the only area still blooming with sakura would be the…

  • Las Vegas to Palm Springs

    A couple of years ago I found myself with three days to kill in Southern California, so I rented a car and circled around – passing through the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs along the way. It seemed like a nice little town, but I didn’t really have time to stick around – instead I…