Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 57

Weekend 57: December 3 – 4, 2022

Day 397: December 3, 2022

Saturday – Rumoi

It's a frigid day in Rumoi today. It's hardly surprising given that it's already winter. Fortunately, it's a beautiful day without the normal sea breeze. Last year, I took advantage of opportunities like these to tour the city because Rumoi has a dreadful windy bone-chilling winter.

Ella's first winter in Hokkaido

She made her first snow angel

She also did some "snow shoveling" 

...and also built a snow castle

Ella and I went out and played in the snow. She did her first snow angel, had a snowball fight with me, and we even built snow castles.

We also went to DCM - Rumoi to buy some winter essentials

Then we headed to COOP to buy groceries

It's -1 degrees today. Coldest so far.

That afternoon, my wife and I went to do some errands. We first drove to DCM (formerly Homac) to buy some winter essentials, then drove to Coop to buy some groceries.

Movie night: Texas Killing Fields and Troll

After getting home, we spent the remainder of the day resting and binge-watching the Netflix documentary Texas Killing Fields and the 2022 Norwegian film Troll. Both we worth the watch.

Day 398: December 4, 2022

Sunday – Rumoi

Good morning everyone! It’s another very day. It’s windy with snow but that didn’t stop me and Ella from playing outside. We continued building our snow castle and this time we also added a wall to protect it from the wind. We wanted to see if our castle would make it through the week.

2nd day snow castle making with Ella

When we got in the house it was so cold that we spent the day under the blankets and sleeping. However, that afternoon, we decided to head out and drive to Hotel Kamuiwa (ホテル神居岩) to try its onsen.

Hotel Kamuiwa (ホテル神居岩)

Team Nicerio visits Hotel Kamuiwa for the first time

Hotel Kamuiwa’s onsen is Rumoi City’s only public bath. I have been here more than a year but this would be my first time to take a dip in its onsen. Honestly, I read many negative reviews about the onsen but after trying it out for myself, I could say that not all the negative reviews were right.

Time to head back to Rumoi City proper

However, I agree with them that Hotel Kamuiwa should renovate its onsen as it’s quite old and the lighting was too dim making it look dirty and unappealing. Regardless, looking beyond that, I still enjoyed my time there. I particularly love the medicinal bath as its aroma made me feel relaxed.

Route 1031

Lapita Ramen (羅妃焚 留萌店) 

Lapita Ramen's miso ramen

Before going home, we went to Lapita Ramen (羅妃焚 留萌店) for dinner. We ordered our favorite Miso Ramen.

Overall, we were not able to visit any new cities, towns, or villages this week but we still managed to visit one new destination in Rumoi City. We are looking forward to our next weekend.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Week 57
Hotel Kamuiwa

10 Things to Do in Rumoi City

10 More Things to Do in Rumoi City

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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