HOKKAIDO 北海道 [A Travelogue] - limwhow & SereneXMM

[limwhow]

This is our family holiday at the end of year 2010.
Some ding dong ding dong during the initial discussion phase.
But at the end of the day, the Grandfather's wish prevailed - Hokkaido in Winter, here we come.

HOKKAIDO
北海道

A Family Travelogue
14 - 23 December 2010

We have always made it a point to go for at least once a year family holiday.
And family holiday means including the ourselves, the children and the Grandparents too.
This year, our original plan was to go to Perth.
But the heat during the summer month of December down south,
presented us a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit
the beautiful land of Hokkaido

Here, I have simply put up our photos in order of travel with some anecdotes.
We have departed from our usual practice of framing up every picture and putting our names onto them.
But instead, we leave them un-framed and un-named,
with the Captions describing the photos individually.
Every photo has been post processed.
Some have not been processed in the ideal fashion.
Others suffer from poor composition, exposure and colour casts.
We apologise for the deficiencies.
Many of the photos have annotations and inserts embedded in them
to enhance the light-heartedness of the moment.
All are done in good fun...

We just wanted to post these photos up here to share with our
beloved photography community and importantly,
as per my personal aim always, for us to remember the trip by.

We hope we could present our simple little family trip in an enjoyable way
and yet with snippets of little information
for all our viewers here.

Please feel totally free to C&C any of our photos, and to correct us if there are any mistakes made
in our write-ups. Thank you very much to all in advance.

Limwhow & SereneXMM

[limwhow]

Preparation

The trip was undertaken with a simple aim: To go on this trip Free and Easy.

"Free and Easy?!" I asked, when I first heard of that.
"I don't speak Japanese, I can only read some Hiragana, I don't know how to
drive in the winter snowy condition... How to Free and Easy?" I protested.
"You can do it one. So it's decided already," The children's Grandfather insisted.

Wah lau eh... it's a nightmare for me because I needed to plan the route, the city of travel, how to go from one point to another, where to eat, what to eat, how to communicate, and how to navigate.
A kind friend and my own sister passed me loads of materials.
I bought several Chinese Self-plan travel books, and spent sleepless nights on Tripadvisor.com to ask questions after questions.

Plane tickets
This is the easiest part.
Bought out an bought in. Done.
Only trouble is, our flight out of Singapore was at 1am on the 15th Dec 2010.
And our eldest son, this troublesome fellow, would only touch down at Changi Airport at 8:20pm on the 14 Dec 2010, from a school trip to Prague.
That meant we literally had only a couple of hours to drag him by the collar from the arrival hall to the departure hall to make it for our flight's check-in at 11pm.
Tricky bit of manouevre needed. And lots of luck, hoping he suffers no delay in returning back to Changi Aiport.

Navigation
Another kind friend guided me how to buy a Garmin Oregon GPS and how to download Google Maps as overlays into the GPS and how to plot all my waypoints.

Transport
Not being experienced in driving in snow, I posted by question in a couple of forums and have gotten affirmative answers that I should forget about driving during winter.
So we opted to go by the Hokkaido JR train means of transport manjorily, interspersed by the Subway, and even a couple of bus trips.
That meant one thing - our luggage had to be really as compact and as portable as possible.

Hotels
The Chinese travel books and Tripadvisor.com had several good, almost budget business hotels recommended and we simply booked through fax. Simple enough.
The Japanese hotels didn't require booking fees. They were indeed gentlemanly.

Sight-seeings
There were so many beautiful places to visit and so many wintry sights to see in Hokkaido.
For many weeks I was to-ing and fro-ing between tens and tens of places, until a couple of friends told me to forget about packing them in. Go easy. Just choose the nice few places. Enough.
Well, that's just what I did.

Meals
Now this part is tricky. It could range from a relatively cheaper 750yen to 1000yen (S$12-16) bowl of Ramen or a S$100 per person kind of high class set meal.
This was my first time. And I could only quietly note down the prices and the varieties of the restaurants to go to and plot them into my Garmin Oregon GPS.

Activities
We knew we wanted to do Snowmobiling. But I didn't know which company to engage.
So I studied Tripadvisor.com like crazy until I came upon this one called Sapporo Snowmobile Land, apparently the biggest snowmobile company in Sapporo.
Correspondence through email settled the prices and the arrangement for transport to and fro the hotel and the mobile site.

We also wanted to soak in the famous Hokkaido onsen.
Again, some research and some email correspondence got it settled.

Camera Equipment
Now this one was the most heart-breaking part. Both SereneXMM and I love to bring all our camera bodies and lenses to shoot. But this type of family trip meant that our photographic equipment had to be kept to a minimal.
So at the end:
SereneXMM brought her Nex5 with the 16mm pancake, the Fish eye adapter and the 18-55mm.
Me, I brought my 1DMkIV with the 16-35mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 on my ThinkTank belt and harness under all my cold wear.

[limwhow]

DAY 1: Depart Singapore - transit Beijing - New Chitose Airport, Hokkaido

Well, we got to be at the airport at 8pm to wait for the eldest to touch down from Prague.
So we were all set to go.

[limwhow]

Yah yah yah... the elder sister just can't suppress her excitement...

[limwhow]

Well, while waiting for 哥哥, the eldest son to return to Changi Terminal 2 from Prague, the children had a relaxing time together with the son of our family friend.

[limwhow]

Oh no... my son's flight was delayed and landed in Singapore one hour late.



Not only that, his luggage got lost somewhere inside and was taken back into the aircraft and flew back to Colombo where he transited.
He was now effectively... luggage-less and clothes-less.
Luckily the careful-planning Grandmother packed an extra full set of clothings for him.
What a close shave.

[limwhow]

Finally, the young man had arrived and quickly settled down.
We just managed to squeeze through our check-in with the bare minimal amount of time to spare before the plane took off... whew...!
Never again!



Here the children are... happily awaiting take off.

[limwhow]

Here we were... relieved... but only for the time being..

[limwhow]

Arriving at Beijing international airport after 6 hours of flight at 6:08am
It was negative 12 degrees Celcius outside there.
The air stewardess announced over the radio to put on all our warm clothings.

"Warm clothings? For what... we are going to walk through the bridge into the building mah, right?" and so we thought...

Until the cabin door opened and the gush of freezing cold air overwhelmed our nostrils and chilled us to our bones.

"We walk ourselves to the building yah!" we chorused.

Disembarking from the plane to... walk to the airport building in Beijing International Airport at 6:15am, exposed to the elements at minus 12 degrees...
Quite an experience for us.

[Translation: "Aiyoh, Beijing Airport is too cold already!" said the Grandmother.]

I don't know whether we should consider ourselves lucky or not to have a bus ferry us part of the way to the main building.
But what I knew for sure was, it was still dang cold inside the bus and the Grandfather could not tahan already...

[limwhow]

Well, we only spent one hour in transit here in Beijing International Airport and off we flew to Hokkaido.



But still, we waited. For it was only a short wait here in Beijing.



Finally, we were boarding our fight to Hokkaido at 7:39am.



The flight to Hokkaido was filled with a palpable sense of anticipation, for we were closer to our final destination already...


[Translation: "Grandfather, I filled up my name incorrectly on the Arrival Card. What do I do?" said ZL.]

At 12:12pm we finally, finally landed at New Chitose Airport, which was about 35mins by MRT to Sapporo, the main city in which we will stay in Hokkaido.


[Translation: "Yay, it's snowing in New Chitose Airport!" said ZL.]

Around the same time, the eldest brother discovered something...



Hey, don't be stuck up, ZA! This is the door meant for the small robots, not for human beings!

[limwhow]

New Chitose Airport

Wow.. so many things to shop and to buy. But we knew we couldn't because we still had a long journey ahead.
We will buy once we are back here on our return trip.



It was really easy to buy Hokkaido JR Pass for every one in the family.
The JR Pass counter is just right at the airport and the counter girl servicing us spoke beautiful English.
What a great way to start our trip!



... until Grandmother realised that one of her luggage container her warmest coat was MISSING!
AARRGGHH... it was stolen from right under our nose while we were buying tickets!



The young lady was very nice.
She calmly brought all of us to the central station counter at the New Chitose Train station a short walk away and explained our situation to a lady staff.
Then what happened after this was totally beyond our imagination...
The lady staff asked Grandmother a few questions to verify the characteristics of the luggage and coat and lo and behold! The lost items were right at the counter!
An honest passerby who have found and picked up the bag had returned it to the lost and found department.

Our highest admiration to the Japanese people... their display of honesty is really first class!
What a way to start our trip!

[limwhow]

Day 1: Sapporo

Sapporo, Here we come!
Taking the JR Train from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo JR Station was simple.
It took about 35 minutes, and it cost about 1320 yen, which we used our Hokkaido JR Pass to pay for.
Here is a photo of this bunch of poor, tired, thirsty, a-little-hungry, cold, Japanese-illterate Singaporean standing so desolate in the middle of the Sapporo JR Station...
All looking towards me, who was holding the Garmin GPS, the Japanese Translation phrase book, and supposedly the one who knew how to walk from the Station to our hotel.



Sad to say... I didn't know.
I could only vaguely make out a sign board in Hiragana saying something like Eki-kita-guchi 駅きたぐち, meaning the 'North Gate of the Station' and put on a brave front and pointed towards there:

"Nah... there it is! That's our exit to walk to our hotel!" exclaimed this tour guide with a little too much enthusiasm.

And we ended up here:



Well, aside from the very obvious that this tour guide was a little lost, the fact that it was cold and started snowing gave the much-needed distraction from the feeling of lost amongst the group.



The girls were the first not to be able to conceal their excitement in seeing and touching snow for the very first time in their lives.
Enthusiasm which was not exactly shared by their Grandfather, who was the one person who could tolerate little cold.


[Translation: "Wah lau, brought me to this kind of weather, making me suffer!" said Grandfather.]

The beautiful lady of course had every right to complain for she was carrying a Karrimor 65litre backpack behind and another backpack in front containing all her camera equipment and all other chaplunk things.



Time was running short. It was almost 4:30pm and that is when it turned dark here in Sapporo.
The GPS could receive signal but intermittently when walking in between tall buildings and the direction that was given was all in big big circles going round and round the final destination.
The poor troupe had to drag their luggage on wheels through thick snow, literally dragged and making all kinds of noises under their breaths.
Until finally we made a turn, and we arrived!

The famous Toyoko Inn Eki-Kita-Guchi hotel, of the Toyoko Inn chain of value-for-money hotels catering to local Japanese business travellers and those travelling on budget like us.

[limwhow]

TOYOKO INN EKI-KITA-GUCHI HOTEL
(东横Inn駅北口)

Now it has been said again and again how clean and efficient the restrooms in Japan are.
But nothing prepared us for what we were to behold.
Right inside our packed but very well organised hotel rooms were the most amazing toilet bowls we have ever seen.
Those who have been to Japan before would laughed at us and say we were Sua-Koo (ignorant).
But we do not deny that.
The toilet bowl had a built-in spray that could spray both the bottom behind as well as the bottom in front.
And it was sooooo good, that both the children as well as the adults kept going back in to use them again and again and again...
This, in one of my client's own words, is: "World Class!".



As the children dumped their luggage and got ready to go out for a walk and for dinner, they begun to realise that they are in the midst of a snow city.



And everywhere they turned, there was snow on the ground, snow in the trees, snow falling in soft flakes from the sky...



... and they could not hide that smile on their faces upon being reminded of that wonderful fact.



Here... we were getting ready to go for dinner.
Waiting and re-organizing outside the hotel before moving off...



... and the girls wasted no time in getting their hands cold and half wet...


[Translation: "Grandfather, I really like this Toyoko Inn because not only is it cold here, we can also play with snow." said ZL.]

[Raven]

Wonderful descriptions and pictures! I feel so much being part of the trip by seeing the pictures and reading the descriptions. Look forward to more Hokkaido pictures!

[Air on D]

ooh...what a start!!!

*camping for more*

[limwhow]

Wonderful descriptions and pictures! I feel so much being part of the trip by seeing the pictures and reading the descriptions. Look forward to more Hokkaido pictures!

Raven, thank you very much for your encouragement.
I was really not sure how I should present this travelogue, and whether this way would be acceptable to viewers, for it appeared too normal, too mundane and too run-of-the-mill already.
But this is the only way I know how to present it.
So I am glad you don't mind it.

ooh...what a start!!!
*camping for more*

Air on D, it's really great to have you on my thread again!
And certainly a big thank you for your continual encouragement.
Like what I said to Raven above, I am really not sure of my approach and I was afraid that certain viewers may not like this.
But from the depth of my heart - thank you!

[limwhow]

Day 1: Sapporo

Dinner at Daimaru Sapporo-den

Our Toyoko Inn Hotel was only 5 minutes (literally 5 minutes, no more...) walk in the snow to the JR Sapporo Station.
And what was so wonderful about the Sapporo station was that EVERYTHING was there - shopping centres, book stores, restaurants.
Names many of which were unfamiliar to me - ESTA, Apia..., and names that were familiar to me, if not somewhat vaguely - Daimaru etc. etc.
Anyway the hordes of (well-mannered) crowd that thronged the Stations and the myriad of Japanese signs served to confuse this already very confused Tour Guide.

"Where are we going to have dinner, Papa?" the young ones and the old ones all looked towards me...

Wah lau eh... stressed ah.

"The Chinese guide book says that there is a very famous Buffet restaurant up there at 8th Storey of Daimaru called Daimaru Sapporo Den 大丸札幌店. Apparently not bad. So let's try ok?" replied the Guide with quivering voice.

Armed with a smattering of broken Japanese, we managed to make our way up to the Buffet Restaurant.
I have not encountered such well-mannered and courteous service staff before.
Despite not being able to understand what I was trying to explain to them, they were still very patient and went out of their way to assist us in locating our destination.




The Buffet restaurant was surprisingly reasonably priced. And adults only paid something around S$30 for unlimited buffet including lots of Japanese sashimi, shushi, tempura, teriyaki as well as international and Chinese food.
My goodness, I have not seen the children and the old folks ate the way they ate that night for a long long time!
They must have been famished!
Luckily the Guide book didn't fail me.

My favourite Zaru soba...



and SereneXMM's favourite salmon...



... and some Chinese food...

[limwhow]

Day 1: Sapporo

JR Tower T38

So many guide books, travel books and those who have been there have stated and re-stated time and again the beauty of viewing the whole Sapporo cityscape from the 38th floor of JR Tower 173m from above.
Our original intention was to reach JR Tower just before sunset and stay on until nightfall so as to view both the day and night scene.
But like all trips, sometimes things don't happen the way we wanted them to.
So at 7:30pm, with barely half an hour left in the opening hours, we paid 750yen per adult and 450yen per teenager to go up.



The night scenes were spectacular.

"Hey, we can see our hotel there... at the lower right hand corner!" exclaimed the Grandfather.
And true enough... Toyoko Inn was there.

I have always imagined, before we arrived in Sapporo, seeing a whole scene of misty white looking from high above, with snow-paved roof tops and roads...
But I guess colourful night scenes like these were part of the wintry landscape of Sapporo too...

[limwhow]

... walking back to the Hotel...

Well, the dinner was nice and sumptuous. The day had been long. And the travellers were tired.
What a lovely weather to take a nice slow stroll on the icy pavements back to the hotel...



... the bicycle wheels were snow-capped...



... the post boxes were snow-capped...



... the shrubs (? fir trees... pardon my ignorant in the correct name) were snow-capped...



... and we had to be careful crossing the roads for the main roads were snow-covered...



... and what did the children do again? Played with the snow lor... what else?! Haha....

By the time we stepped into the hotel lobby, the zzzzz bug had begun to hit.
Soon, all were in snowy, winter, slumber-land...

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo

Free & Easy
It is well known that for those of use who travelled free and easy, and especially like me who went every where by public transport, it is impossible to see as many sights as those who are on a guided tour.
But of course F&E gave us just that little added advantage of flexibility.
Both in destination, timing and importantly food.
Don't get me wrong. I am not one to stinge on food. But often the stomachs of the young and the old may not be hungry at the right moment.
And having a choice of what we want to eat and where has significantly cut down on the whole cost of the trip.
In fact, after coming back from the whole trip, and doing some calculation, we found that per person, we spent only about two-third of what my friends did with their guided tour same period to Hokkaido (and even one or two days less than us).
But of course, this is merely an aside.
Our going F&E is really never originally to save on cost but that has been how our we loved to travel.

Itinerary
This first-time-Japan-tour-guide here planned this for the day:

• Snowmobiling at Sapporo Snowmobile Land!
• Lunch at the famous Ramen Kyowagaku to enjoy various types of Hokkaido Ramen
• Nice walk to Hokkaido University compound
• Hokkaido Old Government House to enjoy a unique scene of old Hokkaido during the Meiji period
• The famous Hokkaido Clock Tower
• then walk to Odori Park to view the famous Christmas Light-up and Display
• to see the Sapporo TV Tower
• to enjoy a classic Hokkaido Crab Dinner at Susukino
• then sleep.

Sounded really ambitious.
Some of my friends dropped their jaws when they saw this itinerary.
And they dropped their jaws even more when they found out that I was going to walk all the way in Sapporo. No cars. Sorry. Don't know how to drive in winter.

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo

Breakfast in Toyoko Inn Hotel



So early in the morning.
Breakfast at Toyoko Inn Hotel.
People may be thinking: "Siao ah.. breakfast also wanted to write."
But I thought it would be useful for some of my fellow forum mates who would like to go on their own and would like this information.
Toyoko Inn chain of hotel is really one of the best ways to stay in Japan as in most major cities they will always have one of their hotel right next to either an MRT Station or a JR Train Station.
And what's better? It is dang cheap. For one room that can sleep three teenagers or two adults, it only cost S$120 per night. And the rooms were all spotless, clean, tidy and with everything in!
Once I became a member (signed right on the spot), my rates per night in the Toyoko Inn in another city Hakodate actually was even cheaper at S$95 per night.
And all Toyoko Inn came with free breakfast (and dinner, just that we were never in time for dinner).
Here is the breakfast. It is really the typical Japanese breakfast with free flow of coffee, tea, and food.
During breakfast we saw many Japanese business executives in the dining hall having their morning cuppa and reading the papers.
Even until today, my whole family still misses the breakfast of Toyoko Inn.






While waiting for our Snowmobile transport, our youngest daughter did it again...
A Singaporean-made Japanese-Snow-man...




Snowmobile!

Many tourists to Hokkaido would not hesitate to ski.
In fact, Hokkaido is so famous for skiing that when I told people that we were not going to ski, I got a blank look and lots of question.
Now snowmobiling is a different type of experience. And something that I planned right at the beginning of the trip to give the family the highlight and the big bang to start off their trip with.

The exhilaration of a speeding snowmobile, up in the mountain, with rows and rows of trees flying past you and snow falling on your face sooo painful that you had to put your visor down...
The scenery and the experience is priceless.

There are many snowmobile companies in Hokkaido. I was also confused initially.
And the prices varied. Some offered different level of experience, different terrain and different duration.
I chose Snowmobile Land because not only was it one of the more established ones, they were also very professional, which I will explain as we go along in this travelogue.

Even before we arrived at Sapporo, they have already emailed me back home in Singapore that their bus will pick us up at our hotel at 9am.
And true enough. 9am sharp the bus drew up on the front of the hotel.
Talk about Japanese punctuality! Another big :thumbsup:!

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - Snowmobile Land!

The trick with either skiing or snowmobiling in Hokkaido is - the timing must be right.
If the temperature is not cold enough the few days before, and importantly if the snow is not enough the night before, the snowmobile operator will call us and cancel the event.
So I literally had to monitor the snow amount on www.snowjapan.com for a few weeks to reassure myself that we had enough snow for the snowmobiling.

I kept looking at my Garmin Oregon GPS and saw that the bus was taking us to a mountainous area 5km to the north-west of JR Sapporo Station called 五云山.
Snow was aplenty both in the air and thick on the ground. As the bus strained up-slope we could feel that the temperature just became even colder.
Snow was pelting down against the windscreen of the bus like rain-drops.
My goodness... what a start to Day 2!

Arriving at the training house...



We were greeted by a team of young men and women who was surprisingly very fluent in English.
We were originally very worried and we packed ourselves with water-proof track pants, water-proof gloves and water-proof everything.
But when we arrived, we were very relieved to hear that Sapporo Snowmobile Land provided everything.
We all slipped into the overalls, both top and bottom and their special boots and gloves and helmets.
In fact, many of us left our own Outer shell layers, gloves and track shoes at the training shed!
What great service!



Here was how we all looked - all decked up and ready for the ride...



Here EVEN the grandparents were game for the ride..! THUMBSUP!

... finally... walking to the Snowmobiles.


... seeing the rows of Snowmobile lining up waiting for us sent a adrenaline rushed all the way through...

[limwhow]

The Snowmobile Trail



Just for information for some of our good members here who may be thinking of doing the same, Sapporo Snowmobile Land has some interesting rulings:

• A participant younger than 16 years old must be a pillion rider and cannot ride his own snowmobile.
• An adult male can rider with a pillion rider behind him.
• But an adult female is NOT ALLOWED to have a pillion rider behind her.

Hmmm... but you know what? When the Counter Manager was told that my son was 13 and a half year old, he took one quick, shocked look at that young man and told me that this young man better take a whole snowmobile all for himself! HAHAHA...
My son was half a head taller than me and of a big muscular build!
Good decision, Snowmobile Land - that's why i said they were good!

What's more, we all had to have training on a flat piece of show ground, going round and round in circles first, as the instructors train us on the handling of the snowmobile.
Only when he was totally satisfied that we could all handle the machines were we allowed to start the 60mins ride.

Wheew-wee!

Here is the typical snowscape that we come across on the trail.



... and here is the brave old folks on their snowmobile...



... and who else but yours truly on the snowmobile but yet cannot stop shooting... cannot miss the moment mah... This is real dedication to the job of a record photographer!
(Our youngest daughter was sitting pillion with me...)



.. and the whole family was lined up in a convoy all vrooom vrrrroooommm... ready to go!
Where was SereneXMM? Right in front lor of course... taking this photo mah...

[limwhow]

The Snowmobile Trail - continued...

It must be experienced to be believed, but as we sped up and down the slopes, the gushes of wind swept the snow flakes onto our faces so hard that a couple of times i tried to lift up the visor, only to be met with painful hits on my face.

But we all were just soaking in the lovely environment and peaceful surrounding, peace only broken by the roaring noises of the engine and the smell of the petrol...

... yours truly having h*ll of a time zooming by in the snow...



... beautiful scenery that could only be beheld off-road.



... Our courageous Deputy Record Photographer and Deputy Tour Guide (a lousy Deputy Tour Guide... hehe...) on her Snowmobile.



.. and the muscular young man appreciating the warmth and the water-proofing of the Snowmobiling gloves...



... and the girls up to no good again!

[limwhow]

Through peaks and valleys we rode, across twigs and branches...
A few clove shaves as our snowmobiles slid sideways in the slippery snow.. but more due to inexperience and an eagerness to cheong the speed high high...
But the instructors were always close at hands..

... Ok.. home run liao. The instructor stopped to give us a last instruction on how to tackle an up-slope on our way back...



And of course, as always... the young man can't wait to rev his engine to full... Here he could snowmobile.
Back home he couldn't even motorbike. Of course he would make full use of this opportunity!



At last, the ride ended.
It was a most up-lifting run. And an experience befitting of a trip like this.



And again, as we walked back... we saw all the snowmobiles lined up... as if waiting for their next fun ride.



.. and for the Photographers, it was their first attempt at Sports Photography Snowmobile style.. erm... with Sony Nex 5, in SereneXMM's case.. hahaha....

[limwhow]

After Snowmobiling... what else is good to do?
Snow fighting lah!


Here is a record shot of the training shed.



Now, as for the snow-fighting thingy, Haha... I think being people living in the tropics for too long, we all can't be blamed for grabbing whatever opportunities we have to play with snow.
Snow fighting must be something that is rarely seen in Hokkaido... but only participated by Sua-Koo Singaporeans going that for that first time... Hahaha...







So FUN, right??!!

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo

The Ramen of Hokkaido -
Lunch at Ramen Kyowagaku 拉面共和国 (らめん共和国)
Even before setting foot on the shores of Hokkaido, everyone already knew that Hokkaido is famous for its Ramen.
But there were so many stores, so many styles... where to eat and what to choose from?
Many a kind-hearted friends have posted on theirs and mine Facebook telling me which were the nice ones and which ones to avoid.
Honestly I was utterly confused.

I've read up before-hand that there were a few types of Ramen famous in Hokkaido:

• Shoyu Ramen (Soya sauce ramen 酱油拉面)
• Shio Ramen (Salt ramen 盐拉面）
• Miso Ramen (Bean paste ramen 豆瓣浆拉面)
• and different cities in Hokkaido have their own version of Ramen.

So we were literally spoilt for choice. Which again, was a total nightmare for this newbie Tour Guide.
But to make things simple, although deep inside my heart I knew that there were plenty of nice tasting ramen all over Sapporo, I opted for the easy way out. For those new to Sapporo and simply don't know where to go, don't think too much. Just make straight for this location: JR Sapporo Station - ESTA shopping mall - 10th Floor - Ramen Kyowagaku.
There were many stores selling all kinds of Ramen here. It was really a tikam-tikam game for us.

Here is just a record shot of the place. Yours truly and the half a head taller son...



.. the girls were good for they led the way in helping me tikam-tikam to choose a Ramen shop.



Finally we ended up eating in this shop called Dai-shin 大心.
Why? Very simple. Because the cartoon is very very cute. You know girls lah.. they just go by cartoon and colours mah...



Many people have asked, is it expensive eating out in Japan.
Well, apparently Hokkaido is not as expensive as in bigger cities like Tokyo.
But one bowl of Ramen at any chaplunk store would also be around S$10+.
Here is the menu for reference: the version that costs 750 yen = S$12. And the version that costs 1000 yen = S$15+.

[limwhow]

Well, but I must say, the taste and the smell and the portion all are certainly unique.
Something which certain Japanese restaurants in Singapore have tried to come close to, but never exactly the same...



Here, the Grandfather dishing out his specialty... haha...


[Translation: "Here, let you all have the special seaweed rice," said Grandfather.]

Fortunately I did assign the elder sister to learn some simple Japanese phrases together with me prior to coming to Hokkaido.
For the effort paid off as she was able to order hot tea and hot water for the Grandparents when I was not around...
.... and she knew how to get to the toilet... Hahaha...

[limwhow]

The First Slip on the Icy Pavement

Well, so far we have been lucky... all of us.
Despite the snow and the frozen ice on the pavement, we haven't had any fall yet.
Close calls, yes. But no outright fall... until this young man here decided to give the Hokkaido pedestrian pavement the official slippery index a good test... right after lunch.
Haha... our first fall in Hokkaido.

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - onwards to Hokkaido Old Government House!

By the time we finished lunch at Ramen Kyowagaku, it was already quite late.
One thing that i have miscalculated and for which until today I am still slapping myself again and again on my cheeks, is that during Winter, the day time hours were very short.
That is why by the time it came to 1-2pm, we were basically rushing to meet all our destinations.
Thus, it was with a heavy heart (a figure of speech) that I had to announce that we had to give the Hokkaido University a miss.
Why? Because we were on foot and did not have the luxury of a tour coach and a professional tour guide.
But heck... let's move on to the rest of the sights.

En route to the Hokkaido Old Government House, we past by some interesting sights that were unique to Japan, maybe to Hokkaido...
... yet another Ramen Den...



Forced-marching through the streets of Sapporo... haha...



Yodobashi Camera... apparently this is quite a famous place to buy photographic equipment in Sapporo.
But... nah, I think I've got most of my camera equipments already lah... no point adding on to my check-in luggage weight...



By afternoon, most of the snow in the morning has stopped. And the temperature nudged to just above zero. A lot of the snow has been cleared off the side of the road and the pavements, leaving only the remaining bits and pieces on the leaves...



It was 3:14pm by the time we reached this part of Sapporo on foot... and we haven't even come to the Hokkaido Old Government House...
Wah lau eh.. if there were ever to be a test for Newbie Tour Guide, yours truly will fail with flying colours...
Imagine.. Late for every single one of the sights! Haha....

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - Finally, Hokkaido Old Government House!


3:28pm.
Finally we arrived at the Old Government House.
This house was quite a spectacular sight. From about 100metres away as my GPS indicated its position, we could already see the red bricks of its walls.
And once we stepped through the main gates and into its garden compound, our breaths were taken away by its grandiose, and the whole un-touched, un-spoilt, un-stepped-on sheet of white snow on its land.
With the coniferous all around, it was indeed a sight to behold and I would state here and now that we would never forget this structure ever for in my mind, it was representative of Sapporo, and Hokkaido.


{distortion - taken by UWA.)

This Old Government House was constructed in 1888 and it was built by the local Japanese Architects but modelled against the Massachusett State House.
The building was characteristic of the buildings during the Meiji period in Japanese history, when the Japanese Government was opening up itself and reaching out to Europe and America for their technologies.



I really liked the park.
It was totally quiet and peaceful despite being smack right in the middle of the city of Sapporo.
And standing here looking at these three elegant Japanese ladies making their way through the park, I felt as though I was in a movie.

[limwhow]

... a reverie broken by the laughter from my children.
These rascals have found the smooth, perfect snow too tempting and proceeded to add noise into the smooth landscape.

姐姐


哥哥 getting ready for yet another snow ball fight...
Goodness, it was a wonder that the Sapporo police hasn't come after us...



妹妹... again, with a Singaporean-made Japanese-snow-man... right in the middle of the field of the Park of the Hokkaido Old Government House!



... and who else but our lovely on her Nex5... shooting in the classic, relaxed SereneXMM style...

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - The Clock Tower 时钟楼 (时计台)

About one kilometre down the road, we came to the Clock Tower, with the help of the GPS... but not without turning a couple of rounds and asking for a little bit of directions.
It was indeed turning darker already, for by this time it was getting a little colder...



... and the youngest of them all was, more than a little tired to keep her eyes open.. haha..
But the day is not over yet! There were more things to come...


[Translation: "I've played the whole day today and I'm feeling tired and I want to sleep." said AhLiXMM.]

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - The TV Tower 电视台 (テレビ台)

Just diagonally across the Clock Tower stands the 147m TV Tower.
I used to be the place to go up to to view the cityscape. But now with the newer and higher JR Tower T38, it has lost just that little bit to its new competitor.
But still, its resemblance to the Eiffel gave it its flavour and tourists still flocked to its 93m observation tower to enjoy the view from high up.
But it was a little late for us... so we thought we'd just check it out from below.

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sapporo - Odori Park 大通公园 ~ The Christmas Lightup

Well, December wasn't exactly the time for the Snow Festival which is typically held annually in February in Odori Park.
But on this night, Odori Park was lit up with a different kind of lights - those of Christmas Lightup for it was almost Christmas when we were there.



... all kinds of souvenirs to buy...



... all kinds of handicrafts to marvel at...



... and all kinds of everything to shoot at... SereneXMM working ferociously with her Nex5...
So far so good, the Nex5 hasn't died on her yet despite the cold... hehe...



... and the Japanese Santa Claus came a-Ho-Ho-ing!

[limwhow]

Another view of the TV Tower from Odori Park.



Not the TV Tower, but part of the Christmas Lightup...



... and I personally find this one of the most memorable photos for the trip.
I was a terrible photo - poor focussing on the right side, super high ISO and terribly noisy...
But it portrayed exactly the scene and the mood I wanted at that very moment.

[limwhow]

Day 2: Sappro - Odori Christmas Lightup & Susukino

The Grandmother had hoped to see Snow Festival ice carvings.
But she knew that December was not the time for it yet.
But the lightup was kind of a consolation for her, for it was a special scene very different from what we have at home.



This being the first time for us, it was good enough for all of us.
And I am sure the children were as in awe as I was.



... It was only about 5pm but the sky was so dark already.
Made every one felt just like having dinner.
And walked down south towards Susukino we did...

[limwhow]

Crab Dinner any one?

People always say: "If you are in Hokkaido, make sure you enjoy the classic Hokkaido Three-type-crabs dinner. Must eat huh! Must eat!"
Ok lah.
I am not so much a crab person. Only SereneXMM and the Grandfather are.
But still, a deluxe crab dinner was in order.

The crab restaurant that this tour guide planned for dinner wasn't far.
It was only about 200m down from Odori Park somewhere at Susukino.
The tour guide didn't even know what Susukino was. To him, it was merely a word in his GPS.

Here is the GPS track of this troupe from JR Sapporo Station to the various places and finally ending up at the crab restaurant.



So we walked and walked...
... and made a left turn and there it was... the Big Crab sign.



It said Kani Shogun かに将军.

"Papa, what is Kani Shogun?". Sh*t. I should've known the question will come.
"Kani means crab in Japanese. And Shogun mah... Shogun is, you know last time there used to be a movie called Shogun, you know...
.... I think it means maybe a warrior, a warrior General something like that...". Never mind. Like that any how explain also can pass. Hey... I newbie tour guide mah..

Wah... this food joint must be dang high class man.
Because there was a well-dressed senior gentleman at the front lobby who very gently guided us how to take off our shoes and very carefully placed them in a well-designated slots.
My, such care given to even footwear. Must be a very high class set up...



Anyway, this Kani Shogun was highly recommended in one of the Tour Guide books.
So it must be good.
And come on lah... How expensive can a few pieces of crabs be in Japan, right?
...... Ahem... well, we'll just wait and see.



... well... no, not wrong place.
Papa has decided to give all a luxury of a life time mah... So all of you, please order as you like and just don't look at the prices. OK?


[Translation: "Aiyoh.. goodness, so many different Crab set meals and they're all in Japanese. How do I order?" Said Grandfather.
"Grandpa, just point!" suggested the young man.]

So Grandfather just closed his eyes and tikam-tikam just pointed.... and unfortunately his finger landed on the most expensive set on the menu. Haha...

[limwhow]

Our nth highlight of the day: Hokkaido Crab Extravaganza!

So, with fingers pointing all over the menu and my brain ticking away doing quiet mental sums of the total damage... a few Kimono-wrapped old Japanese women came up and set up the charcoal grill on each of our table.

Here is just a short intro to how some of these beautifully decorated delicacies looked like:

Don't ask me what this was. I just knew it was some crab's upper limbs.



And this one mah... this one... it looked like the left elbow of another different species of crab..
I don't know what name...



And yah! This one...! This must have been its other elbow...
But just happened to end up on another family member's plate...

[limwhow]

This one with the tomato and lettuce, must be the Japanese version of Big Mac...



Now hey, this one! This one we know... the girls' favorato sushi...!



The old Japanese lady with the wrinkled face was very nice.
She pitied us for paying her boss all these stacks of Japanese yens.
So she took out some of the left-over of the crabs we ordered and peng-kang (grilled) for us..
Here, i think, are some of the breast meat, right thumb, left thigh, loin meat...
Hmmm... sure looked nice and delicious!



Haha... so grooosss right? The way I described the meal?!
Haha... just for fun. Just for fun.
But in all honesty, it was a very very unique experience for all of us... having succulent, raw Hokkaido crab and grilled crab pincers on a cold, winter Hokkaido night.
Something that we are certainly not going to forget for a long while.
What we have also found out was, Hokkaido crabs are certainly very different in taste and in texture from the local Sri-Lankan crabs that we are so used to eating back home in Singapore.
So it would require a total change in mind-set and a complete adjustment in wallet composition before one ventures into the world of Hokkaido Crab Meal.

[limwhow]

After the onslaught...

Er... what I meant was, after we have slaughtered the crabs and all their appendages, we walked out happy, contented, and full onto the cold of the night again.
The night wind woke us back to reality as the night scene of Hokkaido bombarded our senses.



Not far from Susukino was the small shopping arcade of 狸小路.
How to pronounce that in Japanese, I didn't know.
But there was lots of CDs, and lots of typical cute cute Japanese crafts and items for sale there.
And of course, not short of more restaurants.

"Hey what does the signboard says?" I asked the elder sister, for she was the one who was holding the Japanese book.
"しやぶしやぶ... It means Shyabu Shyabu, Papa..." the young lady peered into her book and decipher each syllabus.

Hmmm... This Papa quietly made a mental note to remember how to come here for another round of meal.



Another meal.
Another night.
Another one kilometre walk back to the hotel.

"Papa, Papa.... hey they have Daiso here! Daiso! Daiso! That $2 shop. Can we go and see.. can we go?"
Wah lau.. the children. Once they see Daiso, they were like gone crazy.
"Hey, but you all please don't any how buy things ok? We still have a long long journey to go." instructed the tired Papa.

Haha... actually that's how family trips are.
We adults have our fun, then the old folks have theirs. And when the opportunity presented themselves, the children have their own set of fun.



With bags and bags of Japanese tit bits and bottles of Sake from Daiso in our hands, we happily walked back to our hotel, stomach full, body warmed, and mind happy...
... but of course, with the Papa's wallet significantly lightened.

Again, very very soon... every one slipped into Winter Slumberland in Hokkaido...

[Zeus]

The Hokkadio crabs look very delicious. I suppose they're pretty expensive?

[limwhow]

The Hokkadio crabs look very delicious. I suppose they're pretty expensive?

Hello Zeus, haha... yes I guess for this type of special meal it can't be priced too low.
It's about 6000 yen - 8000 yen per set meal, around S$100-$130 per set.
Hey, thanks for coming by the thread, Zeus!

[limwhow]

Day 3: Sapporo to Otaru

Detour:- Ishiya Chocolate Factory at Miyanosawa


Wow. It's Day three already.
We were just beginning to enjoy the hotel in Sapporo and we had to uproot ourselves and start travelling again.
The next four days will see us travelling from city to city. Thus we dumped a great deal of our stuffs in the Sapporo hotel and brought just the essentials on the roads.

It's all my sister's fault. I told her that the factory is out of the way. But she insisted.
She told us: "哥, you all have got to go to that Ishiya Chocolate Factory outside of Sapporo! You all must! The children will love it, and the chocolate are fabulous!"

Ok lor. She said until like that... how can we not go.
But honestly, this Ishiya Chocolate factory is a little out of the way, without a tour bus.
But heck, since we are on a Free and Easy, let's just rough it out a little lah.

So we lugged all the stuff, walked to the Sapporo Subway Station to take a Subway train (MRT. Not train.) to Odori Station.

... waiting for MRT... looking so poor thing, all these poor little old and young Singaporeans...



Took a MRT to Odori.
Their MRT are very similar to our Singapore's MRT system. I guess it's pretty internationally universal, these MRT layouts and diagrams.



Alight the MRT, change another MRT to Miyanosawa (宫の沢).
I kept looking at this photo here. I couldn't tell which drew more of my attention - the lovely young man with the wrinkle in the photo, or the two lovely Japanese ladies...



The MRT trip took about 35 minutes. And it cost only around 200 yen per person.
Of course, the children prices are cheaper - Half price.

[limwhow]

Ishiya Chocolate Factory

Those good CS members who remembered the trip to the chocolate factory during their trip would surely recall that the journey was nothing special.
Got on the tour bus, sat down for less than half an hour. And wala! Arrived at the chocolate factory.

Those who have chosen the more tedious and much less luxurious way of travelling would certainly remember themselves carrying all their luggage climbing up the long flight of steps up the Miyanosawa MRT station, reached the outside, looked around struggling to find their directions, and walked left and right, up and down to search for the small lane leading to the chocolate factory.
Provided, of course, if you have a GPS with you. Aaahhh... that would change the whole picture.
With the little gadget - one straight road, one left turn followed by one right turn, and we arrived.
But still, not without much walking...

Here... just outside the Miyanosawa MRT (Subway) Station - all these wicked fellows were there enjoying the snow while the poor tour guide sweat like crazy to find his bearing...



... and the children - wah lau eh - they really knew what to do with snow!
They seem to have an intrinsic creativity in them when it comes to all things snow...
even if it was the very first time they come into contact with the fluffy white stuff...



... and of course, what else than the usual snow-balling that served nothing but delay the poor tour guide in arriving at his destination...



.. and the usual mischievous no goods that the girls would indulge in...


[sorry, this picture PP-ed a little more, cos the original was a little too dark...]

And finally we stumbled upon the fabled Ishiya Chocolate Factory...
.. wow, looking up at the architecture in awe...

[limwhow]

What was so special about the Ishiya Chocolate Factory.

• Well for one, it had that cute little Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人) Park just beside it. A theme park made for children to play.
• Secondly, its whole architecture was made like that of a chocolate factory in a fairy land story. So it catered to children and those who were young at heart.
• Thirdly, there was a a section in the factory where one could view through the glass panels the automated conveyor belt system that manufactured their famous Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人) chocolate biscuits.

So there we have it.

Here are some shots from SereneXMM's Nex5 with her Fish eye here..

[limwhow]

Some more shots by SereneXMM (in addition to all her other shots shown in the previous sections) of the interiors of the Chocolate Factory.
She was very intrigued by the use of Fish eye inside the building... went a little crazy with it.. haha...







... and right inside, there was a self-playing piano which attracted the attention of the family so much...


[Translation: "Grandpa, this piano can played itself. It's so special! It's the first time I'm seeing this" said AhLiXMM]
... indeed, it was.

... and just across the piano, was a display of all their lovely pastries.
The Japanese are really deeply in love with all things colourful and kawaii...

[limwhow]

It was quite interesting walking through the chocolate factory.
Every time we turned a corner, there would be something interesting on display.
Just that it ranged from one theme to another. And out of a sudden you would have a magnificent exhibit of Gramophones...
I was feeling a little confused... haha...



... and we had to ask our way around to finally arrive at the famed glass window over-looking the actual process of automated Shiroi Koibito Chocolate biscuit production.
Apparently this item was all the rage in both Japan and outside of Japan...



... and SereneXMM at it again with her Fish eye on the Nex5...



... and again with the Fish eye on Nex5..



... and AhLiXMM finally could not tahan, and asked permission to buy her own box of Shiroi Kobito chocolate...

[limwhow]

Day 3: From Sapporo to Otaru



It is one thing about reading on paper how to travel.
But it is another thing about actually doing it on the ground.
The distance from the Ishiya Chocolate Factory to the JR Station that I initially wanted to use to take a train to Otaru was, about 1.8km away.
Not a great distance.
But with the old folks and the children dragging some lousy luggage that cannot move in snow, it was turning out to be a little bit of nightmare.
So I had to execute a change of plan before a mutiny started...
We took a bus from a few blocks down from the chocolate factory instead.

The bus was much cheaper. Only about 300 yen an adult person. And it took about 45 minutes.
But it took a nice, winding, scenic, costal road to Otaru... a sight that we would have missed had we taken the train.

[limwhow]

Otaru 小樽

Otaru is a well know port town on the northern shore of Hokkaido.
Famous for its picturesque street scene with Vicrtorian style street lamps and buildings lining its streets, not to mention its canal that was previously buzzling with life and commerce within and without the warehouses.

Some have said that Otaru is a touristy town.
I beg to differ, for I personally find a charm that was only unique to Otaru.
My memories of Otaru were all positive and favourable ones and Otaru could easily be labelled as one of my favourite cities.

Alighting the bus from Miyanosawa, we found ourselves standing in the middle of the town, just beside the JR Otaru Station.
A family of seven, carrying and holding on to luggage big and small, staring out to the street and buildings...
... and then turning towards the tour guide in the desperate hope that he will guide them out of this.

... and the Garmin Oregon 450 GPS kicked into action.
It guided us up an over head bridge directly opposite the bus station...


... and led us along pedestrian paths lined with strange green fences and posts...



... it made us trudge through thick snow-padded pavements strewn with bicycles..



... and it showed us a side of Otaru that could be seen by walking along its sidewalks...



... and it brought us past historical buildings that called out to us, wanting to tell us its story...