OK, so this time I let Liz organize the trip to Hokkaido. The party consisted of me, Liz and her boyfriend Adam. We took a ferryboat from Akita to Tomakodai (12 hours) and happened to find Scott and his girlfriend on the same boat! The ferry was cool and the journey was smooth, but we had a huge problem: we stayed in a 12 people room　with a nice group of japanese that included another student from Akita but one old man in the group snored all night long. And I don't mean just a regular snore, I mean SNORE! No one in that room was able to sleep a wink. I grew desperate and just left the room spending my time roaming around in the boat. We got to Tomakodai around 4am, took a bus to the station, waited about an hour for the train and finally headed for Sapporo. The first day we just decided to explore the festival grounds and then go for lunch. We all wanted to try the Hokkaido specialty: crab (it is difficult to get bear meat these days, not to mention EXPENSIVE!). THe restaurant was in this nice old Sapporo Beer Brewery converted into an arts and crafts atelier with some nice shops and eating places. We decided to get a Lamb meat Tabehodai (all you can eat for 60 minutes), plus the crab and some sushi. May I say that was one fine meal, we almost cried of joy given how much better food tastes in Hokkaido than Akita. After lunch we explored the crafts and souvenirs shops and then parted ways with Scott and his girlfriend cause Liz had mistakenly booked us a ryokan someplace far off Sapporo called Ebeosu. And that was really FAR from Sapporo, somewhere in the middle of this snowy wasteland on the way to Asahikawa! But the place was so nice, with ZERO tourists except us that I was really glad Liz made a mistake!

South Korea & Japan Winter Trip 2007 - Day 6

18/12  Sapporo Fresh Seafood Market, Shiroi Koibito Park, Sapporo Beer Museum, Clock Tower, Sapporo Odori Park, Nakajimakouen, Mount Moiwa

So this is our room, not so neat, and look quite ugly, but it's OK for us as we wouldn't spend a lot of time in the hostel.  It's just a place to sleep, and I can actually sleep in everywhere.

We planned to have an intensive sightseeing today, so we bough a day pass in a subway station.  I highly recommend you to buy the day pass if you plan to travel different locations in a day!!!  The 1 day pass is only 1000yen, and you can use the card to take bus & subway to everywhere!!!  Since the single ticket costs at least 200 yen, so if you take more than 5 rides, you can get your money back!!

The subway station in Sapporo~

Inside the subway.  Well it's quite old and I think that the HK one is better!

It's well known that all high school students in Japan like wearing mini skirts as their uniform even it's under zero degree!!  We didn't expect they wore the same type of boots for school before, it's quite fashionable!!

As I'm from Hong Kong, it's my first time to see so much snow & ice...the ice can be quite dangerous sometimes!!  I could imagine if one of those icicles fell down and hit someone's head, the person might get injured seriously!!

Our first stop was the fresh seafood market.....you see, there are plenty of huge crabs

It's our brunch.......quite good....After we left this restaurant, I realized that this restaurant was actually recommended in my book!!!

After having such a nice brunch, we're heading to the Shiroi Koibito Park!!

It's very nice to have snow on the 2 sides of road!!  Thanks for those workers to remove the snow on road, it's much easier for drivers.  On the other hand, people like Michelle and me found it is really difficult to walk on the pavement with snow covered!!!  We're walking like skiing!!!

Shiroi Koibito Park is a kind of theme park by Ishiya, a famous local chocolate company.

There is a little museum there showing how to produce the chocolate, but we arrived and found that the museum was closed for maintenance and would be re-opened in 2008!!  What a shame!!

Anyway, the park itself was interesting enough to recommend people to come for visit, especially for girls and young couples!

It's really cute to have this tiny house...it's so neat and cute!!

It's actually so funny for us to take a picture with this little cute house and we made an agreement to put on our facebook as our profile pictures.  Do you remember, we did put it!!!

OK~~Bigger picture here..It's difficult for Alban to get in!

Inside of the mini house~~

This little horse-drawn sleigh is very cute..we're like living in the fairy tale!!

This little white house is very cool as well!!  I appreciate the Japanese, they can make everything cute!!

This is the soccer park in Shiroi Koibito Park, but it's full of snow now, I don't think people can play soccer anymore in winter!!

Alban felt hungry after visiting the Shiroi Koibito Park, Michelle and I were still full, we order a bowel of rice to share!!  I was attracted by the egg...but it tasted really bad!!!  It's like we're eating saliva!!! Although it's quite cheap, I won't recommend anyone to try this!!  Actually, it's the first food that I really hate in Japan!!

Then here we came to Sapporo Beer Museum~

The whole building with the star gave me a feeling of Germany~~

Inside the museum~

Of course, we bought some souvenir here!!!  This is Sapporo Draft Beer Candy!!  It's very interesting to have a candy with beer taste!!  I've never tried, and I like it quite well even I hate drinking beer!

We thought we could see the process of beer manufacture in the beer factory but we couldn't find it, so we asked the staff there.  Guess what?  The beer factory had been converted to a shopping mall!!!!

After the beer trip, we took a bus to return main city.  As we were told both beer and chocolate factories were quite far away, we supposed the bus might take long!!  However, we found that the city of Sapporo was actually very small, we reached back the city very fast!!!!

I like the town planning of Sapporo city, as they manage their street very neat, you won't get lost in this city!

We reached the Clock Tower again where is not only the symbol of Sapporo but also one of the major directions to our hostel.

The building was constructed in 1978as a drill hall of the Sapporo Agricultural College. The US made clock was added in 1881. The Clock Tower has been designated an Important Cultural Property and now houses a small museum.  We watched some videos inside the museum to see how people renovate and repair this old building.  I was interested in watching it as it was what I learnt in school but Alban was also interested in it as well!!

So this is the clock, I didn't see this special though!

Japanese trusts everyone very!! Why? Do you remember what I told you in the last entry we bought the ticket to Noboribetsu  date historical village, but they never checked our tickets even in the main gate!!  For this clock tower, if you enter from the main entrance, you've to buy a ticket, but if you enter from the backyard, you don't have to buy ticket. 

I found it accidentally when I went to the toilet.  I found that the toilet was in the back yard, outside the museum of building.  There was no security guard nor gate for checking you when you came back from the toilet back to the museum.  So, if you a short of money, you can go to the toilet first then come to see the museum!!

They had a guestbook there for visitors.  I had made a comment there and remind the museum to have some security measures for the entrance problems.  Not only because they will loose money, but I don't want to see some bad people came and destroyed this nice place!

We walked pass the Sapporo Odori Park again!!

Then we came to a very nice park called Nakajimakouen (中島公園)!!  I love this park a lot!!  Highly recommended!!  In comparing to the Sapporo Odori Park, I think here is nicer and much less people.  I'd say it's  empty in fact!

Remember this logo! 

And we actually played snow here...so happy~~

It's beautiful, isn't it??  It's a lake in summer time but it's now fozen!

A silly picture!

You see, this park is really beautiful and I was glad I've made a visit to this unpopular park!

Then we took a cable car to the Mount Moiwa~~ There were some big jackets provided in the cable car station, you can take one with you to the mountain for free.  Again, they trust everyone will return the jacket back, so no registration is required.

The cable car could not bring you up the top, you've to interchange with this couch and a bit hiking as well!!  It's my first time to take this snow climbing couch, I guess it's much safer!!

So we reached the top!! I could tell, it's really cold, I wore my ski gloves and 2 big jackets but I sill felt very cold!!!  So, if you come here in winter, it's better to wear more or take the big jacket in the cable car station!

Snowman..Guess what?? Michelle broke the snowman after taking this photo!!

It's bad that our hands were shaking, the night view of Sapporo was quite pretty and neat!!

Still, I think I prefer the night view of Hong Kong!

We went back to the city again!!  It's great for Japanese to build many subways in town, as they understood the weather of Sapporo was very cold in winter.  They didn't want people too walk in the street in that cold weather, they built lots of subway, and even a whole shopping street in underground!

When we're on the way of finding food for our tonight dinner, we found this cooking studio!!  We're all attracted, I'd like to take a cooking class here for sure, but the point it we didn't speak Japanese!!!

We found a famous local fast food restaurant in Japan!!  It's called 松屋, I wish they could open their store in HK, the food there was much better than 吉野家!!  IT's our dinner~~~nice and cheap!!

Michelle and me were very hungry as we didn't eat much today, only the brunch and that shitty tea...but after having this very great dinner, we're very full and decided to walk back to hostel instead of taking train.

This is the street near our hostel~~~~

Excellent location for ski trip, as the ski lift is just outside the hotel door, free lockers for boots, skies and boards in lobby. Free Wi-fi access in lobby. Restaurants are good but closed at non-meal hours. Both indoor and outdoor hot springs are good and free access for residents. Buffet breakfast is good. Bar serves "all you can drink in 2 hours" for 2000 yen per person. I stayed there in January 2007.

The location is okay, about 5 minutes walk to JR station and the shopping street. Indoor hot spring is good. Buffet breakfast is good. Room is small but clean. I stayed there in January 2007.

Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 5:21 AM

 Subject: Greetings from the land of the rising sun!

       I'm sending this message out to share my tales of adventure while I am out here.  The quest is to ride across Japan with my buddy Dave by bicycle from Hokkaido, the Northernmost island, all the way to Kyushu, the Southernmost.  For any necessary travel between islands it's either ferries or tunnels.

      First off, my plane left O’Hare at 12 noon on Saturday and I was in daylight for over 24 hours.  I tried to set my internal clock by staying up all of Friday night, but had only marginal success.  It's amazing how all the Japanese one studies over the past few months just flies out of our head the first time it's needed.  The customs officer was very concerned with what the 4 by 7 foot box I was pushing contained.  After about five to ten seconds of straining my brain I managed to blurt out "This is a bicycle" in Japanese.  So, after landing and meeting Dave (he was already in the country for over two weeks) I was ready to collapse and he was rearing to go.  The youth hostel where we were staying actually offered to pick us up from the airport without prompting.  Are these nice people or what?  The room was actually about the size of a small house bathroom.  The bathroom of that room was actually about the size of an airplane bathroom with a very small, but very deep bathtub.  I had to get used to everyone looking, looking away, and then quickly looking back again to make sure that they actually saw the strangers they had just looked upon.  Soon after dropping off baggage we went straight to my first ever true Japanese restaurant.  Tatami mats, cushions, and a menu I couldn't even begin to understand was the gist of it.   For those that aren't familiar the Japanese writing system actually consists of three sets of "alphabets" that they mix constantly in the same sentence.  There are 47 base Hiragana symbols (there are accents that can be put on them to slightly change the sound) and each represent a different syllable like 'KA' 'SO' and 'SHI' to name a few.  Also, there is one 'N' sound to be used at the end of syllables only.  There are 47 base Katakana characters as well, but it is used for all imported or borrowed words like supu, salada, and orenji (Hiragana is intended for original Japanese words only).  You can technically create any of the Japanese words with these two syllables sets, but it's not that easy.  Kanji is another "alphabet" and consists of an entire ideographic set of characters that can represent just about anything (like Egyptian hieroglyphics), and are often multiple syllables for just one character.  There are about 5000 of these characters, and if a kanji character exists for something it is often used instead of spelling it out in hiragana.  Anyway, the curious owner, as well as many of the people that we meet are very anxious to here what brought us there.  Luckily Dave studied about 9 years of Japanese, and can tell the tale.  Even so, memorizing all the Kanji is almost an insurmountable task, especially without daily and repeated exposure.  Even town names are often written in it!  After that good night's sleep it was time to be off.  During breakfast the strangeness of where I was really started to sink in.  The Japanese really seem to over-do it with cartoons on TV.  They are in almost every commercial and even the news.  The sun and the clouds all had faces on them for the weather report, the raining cloud was actually frowning and crying the rain.  Our first 50km brought us to Kashima, where the Kashima Shinto Shrine landmark is.  The primary deity seemed to be one of the warrior gods for the Shinto religion.  The entire place had a powerful peaceful energy about it.  The trees were two to three times taller than any I have ever seen.  Also, the roots of the martial art Iaido (simplified as way or art of the sword) are to found here.  Dave is an avid practitioner of the art and there was even a dojo there.  He was most pleased.  Soon after visiting the dojo we both purchased authentic Bokken, wooden katana swords, that may well have been blessed by the monks there.  We'll attempt to clarify that soon.  So, not only did we have a tent, two backpacks, 4 panniers, and two backrack packs to lug with us, now we had wooden swords sticking out the backs of our bikes.  No one would resist looking after that.  After the shrine and lunch it was a 40 km trek to Oarai on the Pacific coast.  Any maps of these areas for those curious can be checked out at http://www.mapquest.com and http://www.mapblast.com.  Anyway, one thing learned quickly is that no one here seems to have any competence in giving distances in kilometers.  It's always minutes, and it's always about a mere 20% to 30% of the amount of time the helpful citizen specified.  One person that we actually asked how many kilometers it was ended up being about 30% off.  When we had ten kilometers to go, it was dark (all the time spent in the shrine area) and we were extremely tired.  Food was the goal.  Any food at all.  Oh, did we need to find any place with food.  Any place open past 8 was becoming harder to find.  Eureka!  We find what appears to be a Ramen restaurant.  It was very difficult to fight off the urge to just lay down on those comfortable cushions.  The smell of our food coming surely assisted.  After that, it was time to lay in the dirt in front of the store for a little bit.  Oh boy, it was heavenly.  I couldn't believe how incredibly comfortable dirt was under the right circumstances.  Dave and I concluded that we should just go to the nearest beach, public or not, set up the tent, and sleep.  The restaurant lady informed us how to get there, three lights down and turn left.  Unfortunately, the oh-so-helpful restaurant lady led us to a nuclear research facility.  Just what we needed!  We couldn't tell it was that at first though.  There were little cartoon people on the signs and security guards riding up and telling me to stay back with the bikes.  After some talking to Dave, he found out that it was indeed some high-security nuclear facility of some kind and that we shouldn't really camp on the beach.  Then it occurred to me what the cartoons were.  They were atoms and molecules with happy faces!  We mustered what strength we had left and pressed on.  Finally we saw an advertisement that said "Camp!  Barbecue!  Fun!" and we quickly got off the road.  No camp, no barbecue, and no fun was anywhere nearby.  There was a beach though.  There were several people there (remember it was past ten on a weekday here) mostly setting off fireworks and drinking.  We steered clear of everyone and dragged our bikes and gear on to the beach to set camp.  We were a little tired for that so I laid out my bikebag, collapsed on that, and fell asleep to the sound of the crashing ocean waves.

     This sleep was very short lived, indeed.  I faintly hear Dave's voice telling me that he thinks there is trouble.  Let me tell you about trouble.  What was once a relatively peaceful beach several minutes ago was now filled with flashlight wielding Police officers and paramedics.  I sure did hope Dave had really good Japanese while groggy!  I made sure I was primed to whip out the phrase "I don't speak much Japanese."  I had a feeling I was going to need it very soon.  They were upon us moments later, and Dave was saying blah blah blah CAMPU blah blah.  They promptly replied "Blah blah CAMPU?!?! Ha ha ha ha ha."  After a lot more blah blah blah, we showed them our Passports, explained our situation, and signed a release form that the ambulance had (that we were okay, I believe).  After they left, Dave explained that one of the beach occupants was worried and called them to come check on us.  Anyway, the massive temperature drop caused us to pitch the tent.  It took hours to fall asleep after that.  Many patrons kept walking by making comments and laughing while I tried to translate whatever words I recognized to make meaningless sentences.  Just a note, the heavenly dirt from before was much better than the sand.

     Alright, next day.  We were in Oarai to catch a ferry to Hokkaido.  It was the cheapest way to go.  Lot's of rest would help as well (it's nearly a 30 hour trip, or so we thought).  I wake up to meet three friends Dave already made that came from Tokyo that morning named Yoshi, Akira, and Kumobara.  They showed Dave where the ferry terminal (it was about 7:30 and the ferry was for 10:30) and the bathhouse was (Boy did we need baths!!).  Although I couldn't communicate like Dave, I surely was able to hum along when I mentioned Yoshi from Super Mario Brothers and he started to hum the music.  It's amazing sometimes how we can get past communication barriers.  Another discovery was that Japanese restaurants really aren't open in the morning.  Japanese morning restaurants are convenience stores, just like the convenience stores in America with perhaps a little more ready made microwavable dishes.  Well, we decided to get ferry tickets first, just in case, after eating.  It was almost 9:00.  We ride down to the terminal to be greeted just outside of it by a ferry employee yelling something having to do with our bikes.  We go inside to by tickets, and discover that the ferry is leaving immediately!  I look at the real schedule and indeed it is.  There is no 10:30 ferry.  The tourist information center's "information" was junk.  Well, time to rush on the boat.

     This was just what we needed to recuperate from the day before.  It was kind of a primer for the much harder journeys we have ahead of us.  We got the cheapest tickets, which put us in the tatami mat room with a couple dozen others sprawled out on the floor.  After lunch and some map studying it was time to sleep again.  I woke up around 2:30am the next day with Dave nowhere in sight.  I didn't know if he was testing his resolve by practicing Iaido on the deck baring the cold winds or something.  After strolling about the ship a bit there was nothing much going on and it turns out he was trying to get sleep in the TV area.  Soon after I laid down again, all the lights in the ship go on.  Yay!  Just what I wanted at 4:30 in morning.  Well, time to pack up and ship out.  After our breakfast at dawn (at the convenience store of course) in the port town of Tomakomai, we set out for Sapporo, the largest city on Hokkaido.  About half way through the ride a cyclist zooms by on a racing bike.  No big deal you might think.  This is the first bike that appeared to be worth over $50 since I got here.  Every standard bicycle looks ancient from decades ago and in poor condition.  There are far more people on bicycles here than I ever saw in America, too.  Anyway, the beauty of Hokkaido captivated us for most of the remainder of our journey to Sapporo.  Just when we get there we decided to get milkshakes at McDonalds (actually MAKU DONARUDO here).  Just thought I'd mention that they replaced Cherry pies with Bacon Potato pies, there are seaweed covered French fries, and Ginger sauce burgers.  No super size here.  The largest shakes we could get were the same as kiddie size drinks in the US.

     Soon after Dave has a nap in McDonalds while I read about the environs, we are on our way to central Sapporo, home of Sapporo beer.  We come up to a beautiful central city park that is the closest thing Japan has to Bourbon street with musicians, flowers, and happy people everywhere.  I finally see another Caucasian (the first since the airport) and find out that he is from Switzerland.  He points us to a better hotel than the Youth Hostel we are headed for and then we unload there.  Sapporo nightlife is huge.  Wandering the streets there was amazing, indeed.  I couldn't believe how relatively safe this big city is at night though.  It's more tame than the suburbs as far as the sense of danger.  After that night it was time for super sleep (another bad thing about the hostels is that you have to be in by 8 or 9).  I wake up (this very morning as I write this) and it's time to see the International communication center to ask about buses, trains, the nearby hot springs, and Internet access.  That's what brought me here to Bon de Bon Internet Cafe in Sapporo station.  More adventures to come soon!!

Saporro is a city on the highestof the 3 main island Hokaido.

Stayed here for 2 days 1 night and the people are most friendly,alhough English is a big problem.

The Universaty has an nice park where you can stroll around.

The Saporro beer factory is worth visiting aswell.

At the Train station has a broadcast company where you can go to the top floor and enjoy the view.

The streets are mostly long and straight like the American way,so it is not difficult to gett lost.

At the square in the centre have an small eiffeltower which illuminate at night and there is an old cityhall which is build colonial style.

As my time was limited i could not see everything,but in the summertime the tempeture is not as hot as in the rest of Japan and it has an long and cold winter.

Wish to come here back somewhere in an April/May month when the cherry blossom trees blooms.

The Sapporo Snow festival is magnificent, and an event not to be missed. In Japanese it is called the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri. It is one of the largest winter events in Japan and is an absolute gem. If you have the opportunity to go to Sapporo City at this time of year, make sure you take it. The festival takes place in early February for 7 days (the actual day of the following year's festival is decided immediately after each festival finishes). In 2007 the festival is from Tuesday February 5th to Monday February 11th. Low-cost student accommodation is available to all enrolling in our Hokkaido winter programs - enjoy the festival, skiing & snowboarding! Sapporo ("important river flowing through a plain" in Ainu language) is the capital of Hokkaido and Japan's fifth largest city. Sapporo is also one of the nation's youngest major cities. In 1857, the city's population stood at just seven people.

In the beginning of the Meiji Period, when the development of Hokkaido was started on a large scale, Sapporo was chosen as the island's administrative center and enlarged according to the advice of foreign specialists. Consequently, Sapporo was built based on a North American style rectangular street system.

Sapporo became world famous in 1972 when the Olympic Winter Games were held there. Today, the city is well known for its ramen, beer, and the annual snow festival held in February.

Last day, and our mission is to get the white lovers' chocolate at the airport. At the airport, we were surprised to see japanese queuing up, like singaporeans, to buy something popular. Some of us queued up with them, but of course, we (singaporean) want to buy the winter lover's chocolate, the japanese are queuing up for another snack. When the stock came, the singaporeans were dissappointed because they were not white lover's chocolate. my sis bought one of the snack the japanese are queuing up for, and it is some potato crisps. When winter lover finally came, all of us filled whatever remaining bags we have with the winter lover's chocolate. hahaha...honestly, it taste really good.
So, fly back to Singapore. The only eventful thing that happen was want we spotted mt fuji on our way from chitose airport to kansai airport. Unfortunately, I only managed to capture a shadow which looked like its peak.
Anyway, I love Hokkaido for the natural sceneries it offered, and the relaxed pace of life, and of course, the best therapy to stress, the slow pace and calmness in every breath I take. It was the kind of trip which makes me feel happy that it had ended, because I looked forward to the next trip, and not keep living in the past. it is a new feeling, quite a contradicting one, because I dont feel sad that I am leaving Hokkaido, but I felt happy that I have been there. I love it.

After a stop in Bangkok, we reached Kansai Airport. A while later, we reached Chitose Airport. The journey starts.
It was my first time to Japan, and my first time is given to Hokkaido. As my mother had been to Tyoko and the nearby cities, Hokkaido seem to be the perfect place to spend Christmas. Pre-departure tips from my friends who had been there always include "bring lots of warm clothing. It is very cold". My warmest clothing record is 3 sets of long john, 2 sweater, 1 winter jacket and 2 sets of pants. That was when I went Korea in winter, but Hokkaido is much north than Korea is, so I brought all the warm clothing which I can find over.
When we reached Hokkaido, it was already afternoon, so after we had lunch, we went to Ikeda for the wine castle. The castle just adds on to the majesty of the place, but to me, it is just another factory. Perhaps it is due to the time when we got there, which makes the place look quiet and unlively. In winter, the sun sets at 4pm, so when we reached the castle, it was just a place for warm our cameras and get used to the early sunset in Japan.
As we havent had a good sleep on the plane the previous night, we were very grateful to arrive at the resort early. Dinner was buffet, and as there is a very nice hotspring there, my sister and me took a dip before we went for dinner.
Recalling how embarrassing it was to see naked women running around at the hot spring in Korea, I initially had second thoughts about going for a bath there. But the guide told us that Shi Shen (in chinese, dont know how to spell in Jap the name of the place) has the best spring for female skin. It contains some mineral, I think it is copper, because the water is reddish brown in colour, so since vanity is norm for woman, I went for my first dip.
It wasnt bad, considering I dont even see naked woman in the water itself, because it was soo hot, that the whole place is filled with steam. It was refreshing. Once my body gets adjusted to the temperature of the water, I forgot all the tiredness. I can feel my feet expand as all the soreness from my body exit from my soles. It was contenting.
Then my sis and me went to the outdoor spring. The temperature outside was about 10 degrees below zero. It was nothing because our body temperature has risen and it is only a short walk in the cold, once we immerse ourselves in the water, there is only one word to describe the experience heavenly. Imagine your body is hot and warm and you just to to sleep there, while you are breathing in cold air, fresh air from outside. Pity it wasnt snowing, else everything would be perfect for a nice relaxation session.
As we dont do hot spring regularly, we just went for dinner after half and hour. Dinner was fine, but I tried my first sashimi. I didnt dare to eat sashimi in Singapore, because I was scared the meat is not as fresh, and I have heard nasty stories first hand of people getting infection from eating sashimi. So I dont really dare to take the risk in Singapore, esp when the weather is so hot.
Anyway, the real surprise came after dinner, because our room faces a nice mountain scene, and the moon was rising when we got back from dinner. I think I spotted Mars, because of the non-twinkling red light near moon. I spend some time, freezing my hand, trying to take a picture of moon-rise (dont have tripod).

I took a 5-day trip on my own to the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido, for the holidays. It was a wonderful experience. The weather was snowy, the scenery was astonishing, and the food was delicious. Here is a recap of my adventures.

I flew into 新千歳 Shin-Chitose airport outside of Sapporo early Monday morning, Christmas Eve. The flight from Tokyo was a quick 1.5 hours. I had to take a train into the city from the airport. Along the way, I saw my first snow in Japan and it was beautiful.

Upon arriving, it was too early to check into my hotel. But I decided to drop my bags off and wander around the city. Downtown Sapporo is more or less like one of the neigborhoods in Tokyo, complete with flashing neon signs and tall buildings. It was of course, much much colder. I stopped in for lunch at the ラーメン横丁 or ramen alley as a recommendation from my guide book. This little alley was lined with ramen stalls specializing in their own different type of ramen, a Sapporo specialty. I had some tasty noodles that warmed me right up.

After lunch, I wandered around the city a little more, then checked into my hotel. It was becoming late in the afternoon and I really wanted to check out the 札幌ビール園 Sapporo Beer Garden. Sapporo has a nice network of buses and subways to get you around. Japan's amazing like that, you can go to almost any city and the public transportation is excellent and standard. So I took the subway out to the museum. The beer garden is located inside the old factory (they've moved their beer production to a different location further outside the city, which also offers tours) which looks like something straight out of late 19th century industry - complete with smokestack. The inside is three levels and there's a self-guided tour and two Japanese speaking tours. I decided to do the self-guided tour. I wandered around the inside of the museum, looking at the various displays of old memorabilia, dioramas of the beer production process, and the history panels of Sapporo beer. At the end of the tour, there's a bar where you can sample all of the different beers. I couldn't resist. I also couldn't resist trying the 黒ビール and イカ ice cream (that's black beer and squid flavor). To my surprise, they both were delicious, especially the squid. Full of beer and squid ice cream, I went back to the hotel for a nap. I ate dinner at a 回転寿司 kaiten-sushi (revolving) restaurant nearby the hotel. The sushi was fresh and delicious.

Christmas Day was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it had snowed the night before, so a fresh blanket covered the ground. I started my morning out by going to the morning fish market. Hokkaido is really famous for its seafood, especially the crab. I love the morning markets! The vendors are so lively and offer you tastes of the fresh crab before they pressure you into buying it (btw a single crab can cost upwards of 7500 yen, 75.00USD). I had breakfast at a tiny tall that featured 親子丼 (oyako-donburi, which is traditionally chicken and egg over rice in a bowl, but the version of oyako-don here was salmon and fish eggs over rice). I had a crab donburi, yum! Energized, I went to Sapporo station and hopped on a bus to my next destination for the day: 定山渓温泉 Jozankei-onsen.

This tiny village up in the mountains about an hour outside of Sapporo, was founded by the monk Jozankei several hundred of years ago. It is famous for the 温泉 or hot springs. I hiked around the town on foot, stopping at all the landmarks like the 神社 jinja or shinto shrines, the 寺 tera or Buddhist temples, the various kappa statues, and the foot bridge overlooking the river. After I was thoroughly chilled, I went to the Jozankei hotel, the oldest hotel there, to use their onsen. I spent over an hour soaking and relaxing in the 42 degree celsius water! Their baths were huge, with over 15 different baths, including two that were outside. Those were my favorites because you could sit and look out at the snowy landscape. I ate curry at the hotel restaurant before catching the bus back into Sapporo. I took a long nap on the bus as my body was thoroughly relaxed.

Christmas dinner in Sapporo. A famous dish of Sapporo, besides the ramen and seafood, is something called ジンガスカン Jingus Kan. Why they call it that, I'm not sure. But it's basically lamb that you grill yourself over a stone pot with vegetables. It was....delicious of course! After a long day of sightseeing, onsen, and good food, I crashed back at the hotel. Of course, it wouldn't be a true Japanese Christmas if I didn't have some Christmas Cake. I had a slice before bed. All in all, it was a wonderfully relaxing Christmas Day.

Wednesday morning, it was time to leave, so I checked out of the hotel and dropped my bags off at the station. I had some time to kill, so I took a trip to the 円山公演 Maruyama-koen, or park. The park itself is very large and holds a number of Shinto shrines and Buddhist monuments. I paid my respects to the larger one, 北海道神宮 Hokkaido jingu. I decided to go for a short hike up the mountain that was part of the park. Standing at about 230 meters and completely snowed over, it was a little bit longer and more challenging of a hike than I thought. But it was worth it. I especially enjoyed seeing the various statues of Buddha lining the sides of the trail. It was such a peaceful journey to the top. When I reached the summit, I stopped for a break to enjoy the view. I could see all of Sapporo! I was fortunate for clear weather that day. After taking in the view, I turned around and headed back to find some lunch. I was going to try to check out the 植物園 shokubutsu-en or botanical gardens, but they were closed. I was sad because I hear it's one of the best things to do in Sapporo. I grabbed some quick ramen and went to the station. Sapporo is a wonderful city and I enjoyed exploring it. Being more like a big city though, I was anxious to get away to my next destination, a quiet seaside town called 函館 Hakodate.