Hokkaido

The ship is quite large, and the pier is easy to find. Boarding is on the 3rd floor. When traveling in Japan, be sure to arrive early to choose a better seat. If you want to rest on the ship, it is recommended to bring a sleeping bag. It takes 3.5 hours to reach Aomori Port! During peak season and before the New Year, it is easier than taking the JR line!

Purchases are accepted until 11:59 on the day of your visit. Since the time slot is specified, it can be difficult to adjust your visit time, but the priority lane points are incredibly powerful! I'm glad I bought it. Mount Moiwa Observatory is very popular with tourists, so there are often long lines to board the ropeway. Being able to skip straight to the priority lane was extremely efficient, and since you get priority boarding, you can secure a good spot for a good view. The priority lane perks are more effective than you'd expect, so I highly recommend it.

Since we wanted to visit the outlet mall after getting off the plane, we opted to take our luggage back to the hotel first. Two 30-inch suitcases cost over NT$800, which wasn't cheap. However, saving ourselves the effort of walking in the snow and pushing our luggage was priceless.

We arrived at the cable car at around 4:30 PM, but there was a huge queue. We waited 60 minutes to go up and 50 minutes to go down. It was mostly outdoors, so it was cold. I recommend bringing plenty of warm clothing. The views were amazing.

It saved me a lot of time to get entry into the zoo without having to queue in the icy weather. Price was reasonable and costs the same wherever you buy them. Be careful stepping onto icy ground I saw a lot of people slipping and falling. Animals were the standard in any good zoos but the winter snow gives it a whole new experience. Still I can’t help but to feel that some of the animals are depressed and having some issues being cooped up in a small enclosure.