Magical Hokkaido


Ceritanya, aku baru pulang dari Singapura, menghadiri event #ResilientJapan, yang memfokuskan pada bahasan bagaimana teknologi digunakan untuk menanggulangi bencana di Jepang. Melihat bagaimana teknologi diimplementasikan dengan baik, penuh perhitungan, dan melibatkan semua pihak di negara yang memang rentan bencana ini, mau tak mau aku terkagum-kagum. Diam-diam aku berharap, di negara ini suatu saat nanti, akan terjadi sinergi yang luar biasa antara pemerintah, pihak swasta, serta warga negara untuk menanggulangi bencana sehingga pembangunan kembali pasca bencana bisa sengebut di Jepang.

Namun, bukan hal itu yang menjadi sajian utama kali ini. Aku ingin bercerita tentang Hokkaido, pulau di ujung utara Jepang yang belakangan menjadi primadona, walau masih tak terlalu ramai. Tercatat aku sudah tiga kali mengunjungi pulau ini. Kali pertama, saat musim panas. Lalu kali kedua aku berlibur di Club Med Sahoro dan Tomamu. Belum lama ini aku kembali menghabiskan lima hari di Hakodate dan Sapporo di saat musim dingin sedang mencapai puncaknya. Tetapi, mari fokus pada musim panas di Hokkaido saja. First stop:

HAKODATE

Dari Tokyo Station ke Hokkaido ternyata sudah bisa ditempuh menggunakan Shinkansen. Seperti biasa, Jepang selalu menyediakan kenyamanan dan keramahan. Aku makan siang dulu di Tokyo Station, lalu membeli bento yang bentuknya lucu banget untuk di makan di dalam kereta.

Lama perjalanan Tokyo – Hakodate: 4,5 jam. Bosan nggak selama 4,5 jam itu? Sama sekali nggak. Pemandangan di musim panas berarti: bukit hijau berderet-deret, sinar matahari yang melimpah, dan wajah-wajah yang lebih ceria.

Tiba di Hakodate menjelang sore, aku check in ke hotel dan tak membuang waktu untuk segera pergi melihat kota Hakodate dari Mt. Hakodate. Kabarnya, pemandangan di sini sangat spektakuler. Rupanya, puncak gunung Hakodate lumayan populer. Ramai betul orang-orang yang berkunjung. Sayangnya, kondisi malam itu berkabut tebal. Aku sudah terlatih untuk menelan rasa kecewa dan selalu memanfaatkan kondisi yang ada. Maka, malam itu aku menjadikan tempat yang diselimuti kabut sebagai ajang latihan memotret.

Dari motret orang-orang yang berduyun-duyun menembus kabut, sampai memotret mobil polisi yang lampu sirinenya menyala. Kabut di malam hari dan lampu jalanan yang kuning menimbulkan suasana misterius dan eerie. Siluet manusia yang ada jadi seperti pasukan zombie dengan asap dan kabut di belakang dan sekeliling mereka. Seru! Selalu ada cara menyenangkan diri walau situasi tak mendukung atau tak sesuai ekspektasi, kok. Dan akhirnya, saat turun dari Mt. Hakodate, aku berkesempatan juga melihat lampu-lampu Hakodate yang berkelip dan memotret beberapa kali.

Turun dari gunung, aku ke Motomachi district yang terkenal dengan gereja-gereja katolik tua, melihat bangunan tua bergaya western yang tambah cantik karena diterangi lampu-lampu, pergi ke jalan yang katanya paling mahsyur di Hakodate, yang mengingatkanku akan San Fransisco karena jalannya turun naik dan di ujung jalan ada laut dan foto-foto di sana, dilanjutkan dengan makan malam di tengah kota, di tempat makan yang bernama Daimon Yokochoo.

Keesokan paginya aku ke Hakodate Morning Market. Kalau kalian pernah ke Tsukiji Fish Market di Tokyo, Hakodate Morning Market ini akan terasa familiar. Bedanya, di sini banyak, amat, sangat, banyak kepiting yang gedenya gak masuk akal, plus ada beberapa kolam untuk memancing cumi-cumi hidup. Dengan biaya sekitar 800 yen, cumi-cumi yang kalian pancing (caranya supermudah! Hanya memasukkan kail ke kolam, sangkutkan ke sirip si cumi, maka cumi-cumi akan tertangkap) akan langsung diolah menjadi sashimi yang supersegar.

Ada dua hal yang menggelitik. Yang pertama, ternyata cumi-cumi itu berubah-ubah warna ketika tertangkap. Yang kedua, tentakel cumi-cumi yang udah jadi sashimi, uget-uget di piring ketika disiram shoyu. Agak geli sih, ngeliatnya. But still, food is food. Rasanya endolita estaurina alias enak! Segar, jelly-like, dan ada rasa manisnya. Recommended banget!

Jika puncak kecantikan perempuan Indonesia (mungkin) adalah Dian Sastro, maka Goryokaku Park menjadi lambang kecantikan kota Hakodate. Asli, ya, aku nahan napas lama banget saking cakepnya! Hal lain yang membuatku melotot: soft serve rasa melon Hokkaido dan susu yang dijual di tower ini. Along with Cremia, it was the best soft serve I’ve ever had. Rasa manis segar melon berpadu lembut dengan susu Hokkaido (btw, Hokkaido memang sangat terkenal dengan melon, keju dan susunya), meleleh di lidah, dan menghilangkan segala rasa capek berjalan kaki sepanjang pagi. Ketika kembali ke sini di musim dingin, aku menuntaskan rasa rindu pada soft serve melon dan susu. It was truly heaven!

OTARU

Tiba di pusat kota Otaru siang hari, kami disambut banyak sekali perempuan berlalu lalang mengenakan yukata. Dengan penuh semangat, tour guide kami menjelaskan, nanti malam akan ada Hanabi, atau festival kembang api di dermaga. Itu sebabnya banyak perempuan yang sudah cantik menjadi lebih cantik dengan make up dan kostum yukata. Wah, aku langsung semangat. Kembang api selalu menjadi favoritku sejak dulu karena keindahannya, dan karena susah difoto. Diam-diam aku mencatat dalam hati, nanti malam harus dapat spot yang bagus dan harus berhasil memotret kembang api.

Selain punya deretan gedung kuno bernuansa Eropa, Otaru juga kota kotak musik! Ketika mau menyeberang jalan, clock tower di pusat kota menunjukkan angka 4 sore pas, dan dengan segera alunan nada khas music box memenuhi udara. Aku terkagum-kagum. Apalagi ketika angin bertiup, lonceng-lonceng dari kaca berwarna-warni dengan ukiran lucu-lucu berdenting-denting, saling bersahutan dengan musik dari clock tower. Dengan segera aku jatuh cinta ke kota kecil ini.

Alasan mengapa banyak lonceng kaca kecil warna-warni yang dipasang di tiang-tiang listrik terjawab tak lama kemudian. Kami dibawa masuk ke sebuah tempat untuk membuat kotak musik sendiri, dan di situ, aku diberitahu bahwa selain music box, Otaru juga terkenal akan kerajinan dari kaca. Mulai dari piring, gelas, mangkuk, mug, sampai mainan yang lucu-lucu. Prestasi sore itu: aku berhasil membuat sebuah music box yang nggak malu-maluin visualnya.

Malamnya, dermaga di Otaru dipenuhi ribuan orang yang duduk dengan tertib, dan semuanya takjub menyaksikan kembang api yang meledak dan mekar susul menyusul dalam ragam bentuk dan warna, satu jam nonstop. Aku juga berhasil mendapatkan beberapa foto yang bagus-bagus! To sum it up, that day was perfect.

Hari selanjutnya, kami dibebaskan jalan-jalan keliling Otaru sampai siang hari. Aku memanfaatkan kesempatan ini untuk mencoba cheesecake terenak di dunia, di gerai LeTao (seriously, kalau kalian ke Jepang, jangan sampai nggak makan double fromage-nya LeTao. It’s like heaven melts in your mouth!), lalu makan soft serve delapan rasa. Secara nggak sengaja aku masuk ke dalam satu toko mainan yang terletak di samping Clock Tower di city center Otaru, lalu terkaget-kaget (dan histeris!!) karena lantai dua toko ini penuh dengan berbagai merchandise dan pernak-pernik Studio Ghibli. Dari Totoro imut sampai boneka Totoro raksasa, neko bus, kotak musik Totoro, gambar dan lukisan Princess Mononoke, buku bersampul Howl’s Moving Castle, sampai bantal Laputa Castle In The Sky dan banyak lagi judul film Ghibli lainnya, lengkap. Aku berpindah dari satu surga ke surga lain siang itu. Seandainya kami tak harus berangkat menuju Sounkyo, aku pasti akan tinggal di toko mainan ini sampai malam.

Aku keluar dari toko ini dengan dompet kempis dan hati buncah oleh bahagia karena tiga kantung oleh-oleh serba Ghibli di tangan kiri dan kanan serta senyum yang tak henti-hentinya berkembang.

 

BIEI AND FURANO

Sebelum berangkat ke Jepang, aku bertanya, berhubung berangkatnya akhir Juli sampai awal Agustus, apakah memungkinkan melihat kebun bunga lavendel di Biei atau Furano? Ketika menerima itinerary, aku melonjak-lonjak kegirangan karena kami akan ke sana!

Tiba di Biei, kami berhenti di pinggir jalan, dan aku langsung mengerti kenapa. Di hadapan kami, terhampar semacam ladang menguning dengan gulungan-gulungan besar rumput kering yang menambah bobot fotogenik tempat ini. Di belakang ladang, berderet-deret pohon pinus dan pohon lain berjajar, diselingi rumah dari kayu. Pemandangannya terlalu indah aku sampai menahan napas.

Hari itu, aku mencatatkan rekor: makan siang tercepat dalam hidupku. 7 menit! Nggak pake tiup nasi atau menunggu katsu sedikit hangat. Di kunyahan terakhir, aku sudah berdiri, menyambar kamera, meneguk ocha dingin, dan pamit lalu kabur secepat mungkin.

The next twenty minutes was one of the best twenty minutes of my life.
Aku terpesona melihat deretan bunga warna-warni yang begitu rapih dan menyenangkan mata. Aku menelusuri kebun himawari (bunga matahari), berjalan sampai ke ujung untuk mengamati gundukan lembah karpet bunga ungu-merah-biru-putih-oranye-kuning dedaunan hijau dan langit biru dengan saputan awan putih bergumpal-gumpal kecil dan mengamati pasangan-pasangan muda maupun tua yang tampak berseri-seri sambil bercakap-cakap dan berjalan pelan di antara barisan bunga warna-warni.

Di Tomita Farm, mimpi lain menjadi nyata. Barisan bunga lavendel yang menguarkan wangi lembut, warna ungu sepanjang mata memandang, serta cuaca yang sempurna membuat hari itu terlalu menyenangkan untuk diakhiri. Namun, setiap awal pasti ada akhir. Kami pulang ke hotel dengan wajah berseri-seri, dan aku berjanji pada diri sendiri untuk segera kembali ke sini. Summer di Hokkaido = surga. Kalian wajib ke sini untuk merasakannya!

To describe Hokkaido in one word, it would be: MAGICAL!


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