22-28.07

During the week I worked mostly, and then on the weekend I decided to visit some sights near Sapporo. I had to take the bus there and I've never taken a bus in Japan before, so I was a bit nervous. Luckily I have an IC card (it's like a rechargeable ticket here), which made the journey pretty easy. I just had to hold the card on the scanner when getting on and off, and the rest was done automatically. In Japan, you always get on the bus at the back and off at the front. The system doesn't work any other way, as you have to scan at the back to get on and at the front to get off. If you don't have an IC card, you have to get a number from the machine on the bus, and then the fare is displayed as a neon sign at the front of the bus for that number. You also have to pay on the bus with exact change, and if you don't have any change, you have to change it at the machine at the front, which I find very inconvenient and confusing. The IC card system in Japan works in such a way that you need a different card depending on the region. Unless you get the Suica, which is valid for 30 days and can be used anywhere without regional restrictions. First I visited the large Buddha statue and the Maoi figures. There was also a replica of Stonehenge right nearby. After about 30 minutes' walk I looked at a park and the Ashiribetsu waterfalls.