Today i went up to Otaru. It is a port city on the northern side, in a bay that overlooks the sea of japan. It was pretty nice, but it was constructed on the hill side into the bay. There is a famous mountain named Tenguyama that has tengu masks, but i did not go to see that. I just hung around to see the bay and went into some of the shops there. In the bay there was a whole bunch of Jellyfish just a few feet from the pier and what seemed to only go for a few feet. I found it strange that they were there. I played the slots so i could get free parking. I really do not understand the Japanese concept of the joy of Pachinko and slots. It wasn't that fun, and i do not see how people could get addicted to it very easily. The one thing about Otaru is that from November 11 to December 25 they have a thing called Long Xmas, where the town is decked out in Christmas decorations and all the stores have events that go along with it. There is even a class being offered on one weekend to learn how to make Japanese Christmas cake. I hope that it will be enjoyable. I just hope that the snow does not make it difficult to travel there. If it does, i guess i could just take the train up to it for safety's sake.