Hokkaido!
I went to Hokkaido at the beginning of February (I’m updating this from Kyoto haha xD) and got to see the Yuki Matsuri (snow festival) as well as see a friend who I haven’t seen in a long long time! He took us around Sapporo and Otaru and it was so nice to have a guide because he could tell us where to get good food and we also saved a lot of time because we didn’t get lost!
We arrived in the late afternoon/night so after checking in at the hostel, we went to this little ramen shop (which was delicious!) before checking out the ice sculptures at Susukino and then part of the snow festival at Odori.
Real fish and crabs in the ice sculpture!
Sapporo TV Tower and ice sculptures below - it was snowing really hard!
The second day, we went to the Sapporo Beer factory museum and apparently this is the traditional way of making beer…
Ohhh so that’s how it’s done! haha
The outside of the Sapporo Beer factory museum
This was lunch! Parfait made with Hokkaido ice cream - it was so good!
Then we waded through crotch-high snow to get to the Historic Village of Hokkaido where we saw lots of old houses - sort of like the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum - but in Hokkaido and with lots and lots of snow! We also went to the museum nearby which was quite interesting!
So much snow!
Then my friend introduced us to this famous food in Hokkaido called soup curry! It was so delicious!! And great for when it’s cold out :D
On the third day we went to Otaru! This was my favourite part of this Hokkaido trip! I like the atmosphere in Otaru. First we walked down towards the canal.
Then time for lunch - affordable good seafood!
Then we wandered around Otaru for a bit. The shops were all really intricately decorated and I didn’t want to leave!
Shop for music boxes - I loved it in there! But I didn’t buy anything D:
Cheesecake at LeTao! Apparently it’s famous and from Otaru! It was delicious!
Then we wandered back to the canal to see the snow festival there! It was really beautiful!
Before heading back to the station we walked down this whole street of mini snow sculptures (?) and decorations!
Otaru <3
When we got back to Sapporo we ate at the Ramen Kyouwakoku
Yum! Ramen IS better in Hokkaido!
The fourth day was our first day without my friend being our guide. We wandered around downtown Hokkaido and checked out the rest of the Yuki Matsuri in Odori (we didn’t know the rest existed =P we always stopped at the food area and never went any further haha!). After that we went to the Shiroi Koibito Park where we saw the famous Shiroi Koibito being made!
Tokeidai (Sapporo Clock Tower)
Old Hokkaido Government Building
Scallop!!! At Yuki Matsuri
More sculptures…
Kodama <3
Massive Chibi Maruko-chan!! <3 It was my favourite TV show when I was younger :D
Shiroi Koibito Park…
Shiroi Koibito - yum :D
Outside the factory - it’s really pretty!
On the last day we just chilled at the hostel for a bit before heading to the New Chitose Airport to go back to Tokyo! But not before stopping by for some cake at a store near the hostel - recommended by my friend! And he was right - it was really good!
Generally a good trip - a bit too cold for my liking (not as bad as home but still…) and I came back sick D: probably due to the fact that my boots let the water in so I had freezing feet most of the time! But ate a lot of amazing food and saw a lot… and got these too! :D
Marimokkori! hahaha
