Trip to Japan – Round 2 – Day 8 (2024)

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– Admiring the various, numerous Hakodate trams in the city.

This blogpost covers the day of February 3rd, while in Hakodate, Japan.

Woke up at 8 AM, caught up on social media, Azur Lane, etc. Done my usual morning routine, this time slowly heading my way to Hakodate Station to do some light tram spotting. I was hoping to see an Hatsune Miku tram, something which never showed. I would eventually explore at the water area, venturing towards Mashu Maru, and simply playtesting a few games, or attempting to. One game preventing me from playing it with wifi stability issues, and another needed more time to cook in the oven.

It was a relaxing chill day in Japan. Exploring and relaxing at the same time. A slow day. I was even able to witness some fireworks in the area at night.


Japan Trip 2024:

[Day 1] – [Day 2] – [Day 3] – [Day 4] – [Day 5] – [Day 6] – [Day 7]


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– Making my way to the nearby Konbini while having fun making note of the various trams going by.
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I was hoping to see an Hatsune Miku tram in Hakodate. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

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– A nice clear morning in Hakodate. Seeing Hakodate’s ropeway from Hakodate Station.
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– JS Shiranui.
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– Checking out the nearby water’s edge while others were fishing, relaxing, and just doing their thing. Fishing in the winter.
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– Sure, why not. Let’s head over to see Mashu Maru.
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– Admiring Japan’s architectural beauty.
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– Mashu Maru!
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– A beautiful day.
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– Poi!~
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– Poi!~ – Meeting Area, Squid Plaza (Hakodate’s Symbol fish, the squid.)
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– Accidental photo-bombing of my own image. Had to awkwardly take pictures causing this accidental capture.
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– Port of Hakodate.
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– Poi!
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– Poi!~
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– Poi!~
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– Poi!~
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– Poi!~
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– Poi!~
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– Kon!~
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– Kon!~
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– Love these sorts of displays. Anchor, train wheel, anchor.
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– Poi!~
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– Sun making me glare. Kon!
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– Mashu Maru, and folks in the bow’s window.
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– Mashu Maru, and a blurry “Poi!~”
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– Still a blurry Yuudachi. The people are also gone from the window.
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– Poi!
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– Mashu Maru! (and a potential camera stand-off with a person taking pictures with their DSLR in the distance.)
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– Poi!
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– Poi!
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– Mashu Maru & Poi! Poi! Poi! Poi!
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– Poi!
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– Panorama – Hakodate Ropeway & Mountain to left, and Mashu Maru to the right.
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– A lovely lone cloud and a flight above Hakodate.
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– Skymark Airlines – SKY772 – Sapporo to Fukuoka. A flight I had to make note of, it was a flight I intended to take to Fukuoka after Sapporo.
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– Time to check out Mashu Maru. It’s about that time, especially after having explored all the external point of views.
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– I struggled open the door assuming it was a push-pull door, not a sliding one. I managed to eventually get through it, with help of the tourist clerk in the area. I apologized, even obtaining a leaflet for touring Mashu Maru. Paid, made my way, and had an awkward, yet positive experience. Made note of the posters, etc.
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– Making note of Hakodate Mountain from the vantage point of Mashu Maru. Nice!
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– Memorial Ship – Mashumaru.
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– JR sign, anchor, among others.
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– Welcome!
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– I love, and admire these stairway designs.
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– JR Hokkaido Ferry – Hakodate to Aomori Route opened since 1908 (JR affiliated).

I genuinely desired to visit Aomori, yet failed to implement both it and Sasebo into my travel plans. I really, really desired to visit both Aomori and Sasebo, I sadly failed on both parts. Maybe on my potential third Japan visit? If I’m even allowed to do so? Would be awesome, if I could.

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– The neat interior of the Mashu Maru. Someone also watching the movie playing on the TV.

I was embarrassed with how squeaky my shoes were from the snow, melting snow, and the type of flooring Mashu Maru has.

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– Coming up to the window other curious people were viewing from while I took pictures of Yuudachi.
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– A lovely view of the bow.
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– A better view of Shiranui, or so noted by Google search. JS Shiranui – 120.
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– JS Shiranui, of the Asahi-Class Destroy (JMSDF).
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– Using Azur Lane’s AR Mode to use Shiranui’s festive outfit.
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– Shiranui from Azur Lane using AR Mode.
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I would have used KanColle’s AR mode if it even had one. It has one, it’s however far more troublesome to make use of, and not quite in the way Azur Lane does it. A tour guide came and went, even potentially discussing things with other folks. It was neat.

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– I actually jumped from a radio transmission playing in this room. It auto-played, possibly even motion activated.
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– So peaceful, and neat. I admire Hakodate.
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– I eventually realized I was on camera.
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– Making my way up towards the bridge area. It’s quite neat.
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– Panorama – Mashu Maru’s bridge.
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– Yuudachi and JS Shiranui.
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– Poi!
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– Attempting to view nearby scenery through the viewer. The nearby historical building, among other stuff.
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– Viewing with my glasses on was tricky. Even without my glasses was tricky.
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– White-Blue Cathedral-Church.
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– Nearby apartments and bird.
– Video – A view of Hakodate, if roughly done. Phone slipping off the view-finder. (Apologies for the phone-slipping noises).
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– JS Shiranui – 120. Admiring the view.
– Video – A close-up of Shiranui with workers and crew tending to her.
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– Poi!
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– Yuudachi on the bridge of Mashu Maru. Poi!~
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– Mashu Maru and various tug-boats. The neat snowy mountain-scape of Hakodate in the background.
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– Poi!~
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– Hakodate City Seikan Ferry Memorial Museum. Mashumaru.
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– Experience the sensation of driving a propeller. Variable pitch propeller control device.
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– It was neat interaction with the the various levers. You live and learn, and I’m glad I felt how it was to pilot a vessel.
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– Please treat the levers with care and respect.
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– Treat the experience with kindness and respect, but you can also feel the sensation of commanding a vessel. (not the translation, just the basics of it.)
– Video – Demonstration of how to move the levers around.
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– View of the bow from the bridge.
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– Navigational chart.
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– The snowy upper decks of Mashu Maru.
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– An old Windows XP educational PC for the kids.
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– Propeller for the vessel on the top deck. Because of the weather we weren’t allowed up there, if implied one can go there at other points in time during warmer climates. Spring, Summer, autumn.
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– Re-view look at Mount Hakodate while exiting Mashu Maru.
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– Making note of other equipment.
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– I both heard and saw a plane taking off from Mount Hakodate needing to make note via Flightradar24. ANA554 – Hakodate to Tokyo.
– Video – A windy wait while doing a pan around Hakodate waiting on Mashu Maru’s horn to sound at 12 PM. It startled me, sounding at :45 seconds into the video. Sniffling from the wind, and startled by the sudden sounding of the horn.
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– Admiring the beautiful architecture.
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– Panorama – Mashu Maru and the park-like area.
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– Mini-Panorama.

I ventured to a nearby 7/11 for some drinks, snacks, and to warm up again. I desired to eat more spicy chicken. The best thing ever! KFC has nothing on these juicy, delicious spicy chicken! I also desired to spend the time eating while using that time to also charge my phone using an external battery pack.

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– Poi!~
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– Yummy!~
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– Acquired some neat Azur Lane gear via ‘SPring Festive Fiascor Event’ mail reward. Happily obtained equipment for use on a Dragon Empery shipgirl.
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– Hakodate’s Konbini life-savers! Almost one on every block, and I admire these. They’re far more useful, handy, and worthwhile than the trashy Canadian versions of these. Japanese Konbini are the best.
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– Hakodate’s Anime automotive mascots for a gastation.
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– Still hungry, I figured I might as well venture to Lucky Pierrot again. Let’s eat real food, even if it may not be traditional Japanese food. It’s something I’ve only seen in Hakodate so let’s have fun eating here again.
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– You order what you want at a counter, pay by cash, and then take a number while displaying it at a table. They bring your food to you. Fries, burger, and a Coke. Poi!~

Spent this time charging my phone using a storage bank for my phone, texting with a coworker, and discussing how much better winter is in Japan over the non-existent winter in Canada. I shared them the website of where I was eating, and just general workplace conversation.

Other foreigners were eating out in the area. They were talking about things happily, and possibly about travel. I forgot what they’ve noted, though may have been about hotels, how much it costs, among other stuff. Even in a European language, school, etc.

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– Yummy burger!
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– The entrance/Exit is amazing!
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– It’s funny how Hakodate become more snowy ever since I took a seat in Lucky Pierrot. It’s now strongly overcast, snowy, and the mood is interesting.
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– Making note of trams each, and every time. Yes, even if I’ve seen them before I’ll keep taking more pictures of them!

Ventured back to the hotel in an attempt to charge my phone directly through a port. They were cleaning out my room, hence why I sat in the lobby. I sat in the lobby charging my phone using a wall socket. I also spent the time eating and drinking whatever I purchased from the 7/11 I stayed at while waiting to return to my hotel room. Yes, I’m aware it was early, I however desired it to be a quick stay before heading back out again. Somewhere.

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– Tram!
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– Dohsui.
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I was eventually allowed to venture back to my hotel room at 3 PM to where I spent my time properly charging my phone back to its proper 100% mark.

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During all this, I also attempted to fully download and update ‘Dead or Alive: Venus Vacation’ because it wasn’t allowed in Canada. Numerous offended Western Liberals, political activists, and other fake Western movements successfully pushed against anything Asian and fun by banning each and every fun games in the Western world. Fun Asian games you can now only find in Asian nations, Japan included, needing VPNs, alternate payment methods, or even literally entering Asian nations to play these normal games. You’re not allowed to play games like Dead or Alive in Western Nations because it offends unattractive individuals, morally corrupted activists, or “useful idiots” hellbent on destroying their own self thanks to other people living a more worthwhile life than their own. Crab mentality nonsense. It’s all thanks to “no-fun-allowed” activists desiring everything to be about killing normal people, or shaming other people as ‘Alt-Right’, fake ‘Transphobic’ slander, or other shaming tactics when what they accuse is something actually normal, not ‘Alt-Right’, not White Supremist, or fake “misogynistic”. These idiotic political activists destroying everything by making things harder than it should be. They even desire males to be killed, females to be unfaithful and trashy, among other traditional-destroying traits and behaviours. Anything normal on a female side is viewed as “slutty”. How dare a female show her feminine side, it’s “hideous”, offensive, and whatever nonsense they spew against normal people. They desire you to rape and violate little kids on top of that. They become violent shooters. It’s horrible. I had to go to Japan briefly escape their nonsense and to also download Dead or Alive: Venus Vacation because of their constant whining, moaning, and abusive tantrums. It’s stupid. The world should be allowed to play this, not be unnecessarily region-blocked by political activists and ‘useful idiots’. And it’s the sort of thing which I would see idiocy defended when it comes to protecting fake political minorities, not actual real-world people.

Rising World (the game causing me the most headaches; Update & people wise) also updated with a set of new biomes, able to tame horses, mow grass with a hedger, something I’ve also desired to spend my time checking out in game. I desired to explore my saved world to see if I could find either of the two biomes (hot or cold biome). Basically seeking out a savannah biome, a desert, or even an arctic biome. Instead, I simply became lost. I, at the very least, tamed a horse, and I’m happy. The game finally added saddles, something to which I finally tamed my long-desired horse for. I became lost leaving the game where it was, eventually returning back to my main settlement in a very frustrated and lost manner. Rising World was easy to get lost in while exploring. One needs a navigational map to properly play it, something which hasn’t still found its way into the game of this blog posting, even if Red51 firmly stated he would have implemented a small update in a month’s time from when I played in time for my return back in Canada (March 2024).

I tried updating ‘DoA’, it however wouldn’t proceed thanks to the instability of my wi-fi connection. It would always cut off when patching. I wish the patching side of ‘DoA:VV’ would patch incrementally, not in one go. If you disconnect you should continue from where you last left off. Only small indie games could be played with my WiFi gadget. Non-intensive internet games could be played, such as Azur Lane and Blue Archive.

Once semi-satisfied with my gaming curiousity, I ventured to visit Mashu Maru again for some night time photography. I also needed to eat a night-time meal (supper/dinner) making it a “two birds with one stone” situation. I needed to head back out. I also felt I was wasting too much time, and I needed to do more in Japan, while in Japan. I was disappointing myself, even if this was one of my good days in Japan.

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– Japan’s neat construction barriers.
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– Making my way to Mashu Maru.
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– She looks gorgeous at night.
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– Various parts of Squid plaza lit up.
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– Nightly view of Mount Hakodate and ropeway. It’s amusing how you can see the various flashing lights from the ropeway from other people’s cameras, even if it isn’t necessary.
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– A nightly Mashu Maru.
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I sadly, and stupidly, spooked myself thinking of ghosts on a ship thanks to the night time scene. The various, and numerous ghost stories I heard of ghosts on ships, or buildings, and Japanese settings. I’m at fault for spooking myself over something so mundane. Basically stories of ghosts which come out at night, and now would be roughly the time they would come out and haunt the place. I was being stupid with my intrusive thoughts. Once I felt satisfied of the various images I took I basically ran back to the hotel, konbini food eventually in tow.

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– Konbini pitstop. I sadly returned back to my hotel room, not because of depression, but because of Rising World’s update. I desired to do more to explore what the game was about. I was hyped about the new update, yet disappointed how lost I became in the ‘Rising World’ biome update.
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– A squid Hakodate manhole cover.
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– Came back to see the local TV (with a famous TV crew) exploring and making note of various Kamakura shrines, locations, and how high above the water-line various parts of Kamakura are. My nostalgia of Kamakura was high.
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– Kamakura is gorgeous!
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– I was startled by loud bangs outside. Fireworks were being set off near Mashu Maru. Unsure of the occassion. If I was a little bit more tardy, more time spent admiring night-time Mashu Maru, I would have seen the fireworks up close. It’s a shame I was off beat today, and tonight.
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– Poi! More neat karage type Chicken (or similar), and more neat Konbini food to admire. My mood was weird, especially thanks to desiring to play-test Rising World on my Steam Deck.
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– These are delicious. As seen in Anime! <3

It was awesome exploring the nearby area of Hakodate Station. Touring Mashu Maru, capturing more trams, and experiencing Mashu Maru’s horn at 12 PM. It’s however a shame I felt worn out, especially the point I felt it was appropriate to play Rising World’s new biome update over exploring Hakodate itself. I could have gone downtown, to Goryokaku Tower, and other nearby neat scenery. Granted, my phone wasn’t charging fast enough to make it worthwhile to explore other areas. It’s a case of “shoulda-woulda-coulda”, and everything makes more sense in hindsight. Maybe the seasonal winter mood had something to do with my mood swings, even though I should be “immune” to winter depression in various ways as a Canadian.

Rising World’s biome update was neat, if unfinished, buggy, and needing more polish. Needed more polish, a necessary usable navigational map update, and less abusive people in the forum community. Red51 should have held the update a bit longer to allow for maps to be useable, or releasing a necessary navigational map sooner. I experienced a semi-neat time in Rising World, if in an incomplete state. Everything was a rushed experience. The rest was done once I returned to Canada, which was a good thing. Sadly, the Rising World community isn’t honest with itself, hence the constant tension between them and myself, the needless infighting, and the stupidity constantly displayed there. Makes me partially regret even playing Rising World in Japan. Even local political activists have taken advantage of this, sabotaging, destroying, and lying to other people to sabotage myself and the game in the process over their own idiocy. They’re offended by the actual truths I have, and had stated on numerous occasions. They hate reality, even going as far as to slander others and myself with negative terms and fake labels (Alt-Right, Nazi, misogynistic, skitzo(schizophrenia), Lolicon, transphobe, and other fake terms and labels), ones only highly delusional political activists use and apply when offended by actual reality displayed to them. Even Google admits these terms are used by people who abuse their meaning, further hollowing their further meaning into nothingness. I wish I could have instead properly play-tested ‘Dead or Alive: Venus Vacation’. Sadly, the wi-fi connection wouldn’t allow it, dropping out every so often interrupting any progress made. I would have to attempt to play it back in Canada.

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– Rising World – Steam Deck – Tamed a horse, also spotting a pig with a pair of glasses on them.
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– Rising World – Steam Deck – Priding myself on having tamed a horse. Better late than ever, yet happy.
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– Rising World – Steam Deck – Pig with carrot on a stick easteregg.
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– Rising World – Steam Deck – Purple Milka cow hide which randomly spawned on me when placed on tanning rack. It’s in reference to Europe’s Milka Cow with a purple cow as the mascot.

Unwinding back at the hotel was neat, yet again, I should have done more exploring and venturing. In hindsight I should have visited a mall further out, or explored the “downtown” area more, or something I haven’t seen yet. I should have attempted to seek more out, a KanColle restaurant suggested to me, or revisit near the ropeway to see what other hidden gems lay hidden from my oblivious attention. What is done, is done, and I made note of the good times in Hakodate, and I wouldn’t trade it in for anything. It’s my positive experience.

Even so, I had my great fun with Mashu Maru. It was surprising to see a blue-clear sky turn into heavy overcast and snowy day. I genuinely had a great time, and that isn’t a lie. The neat sudden fireworks at night, nightly exploration, the sensations, the sounds. Playtesting games. It all adds up to a neat Japanese experience, even if it was a “slow day”. Being startled by Mashu Maru’s horn while standing near the museum memorial ship. Hearing her horn each and every 12 PM and 6 PM. But it’s true I should have done more. I allowed this day to be a wind-down day thanks to me having to travel from Hakodate to Sapporo. I used this night to basically “relax” in a gaming manner to playtest. It was a rest day prior to my train trip to Sapporo via a Hokuto train.


Thanks for viewing, and hope to see you in the next Japan 2024 blog posting!