My first visit to Hokkaido and I was quite excited about the trip. We flew to Narita Tokyo and along the way we could see the top of Mount Fuji above the clouds. Then from Terminal 1 at Narita, we went over to Terminal 2 to fly Air Asia to New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido.
From New Chitose, we took an express train to Sapporo, which took about 30 minutes. Sapporo station is huge and is connected to several big department stores. There is sort of a plaza outside the station where the taxi stand is. My son was so excited by the accumulated snow, his first encounter with powder snow.
The Hotel Sunroute New Sapporo, where we stayed, is centrally located and right next to the Tanukikoji Shopping Street which is a long sheltered shopping alley, connecting with Pole Town, an underground shopping street that runs all the way to the Sapporo Train Station. There are numerous restaurants and snack cafes here and also many souvenir and convenient stores.
We were there on Christmas Eve, and there were carolers singing Christmas carols in Japanese. Altogether the sheltered shopping street is divided into 7 sections. Our hotel is at Section 6. The entrance to Pole Town is at Section 4. In Section 7, you can even find a Singapore Kopitiam restaurant serving Nasi Lemak and Bak Kut Teh. At the other end, Section 1 leads to the Nijo Fish Market.
The Nijo Fish Market (二条市場, Nijō Ichiba) is really something else. The variety and quantity of seafood that are on sale there is beyond imagination. The size and freshness is also eye-catching. The different species of crabs alone is quite astounding. Truly worth a visit.
The weather around Christmas week (20 Dec - 27 Dec) in Sapporo is quite an experience too. Some days are sunny, but there can be sudden heavy snow storm on others, temperatures between -4°C and -9°C. The roads and walkways can become rather slippery with ice, so have to becareful when walking. I love falling snow, but when it gets really heavy and when the wind is strong, it could get difficult to see while walking.
As part of the Christmas celebrations, the Sapporo White Illumination was a highlight where Odori Park was transformed into a fairyland of coloured lights. Even the famous landmarks like the Sapporo Clock Tower (札幌時計台 Sapporo Tokeidai) and the Sapporo TV Tower (さっぽろテレビ塔, Sapporo Terebi-tō) are lighted up. It is really beautiful and we were very privileged to be there at the right time to see it.
At the JR Sapporo Station, at the south entrance is the Sapporo JR Tower, a skyscraper, shopping mall and office complex. At 173 metres, the top level 38th stories high is an observation deck T38. The night view from T38 is quite breathtaking. You can also see the grid-like design of the city of Sapporo. I made a souvenir good coin of T38 and now carry it around as a key-chain.
Sapporo Beer is world renowned, and the Sapporo Beer Museum is a tourist attraction. We visited the Sapporo Bier Garten for the purpose of the jingjiskan dinner (barbecued lamb/mutton) at its 2nd floor Kessel Hall housed within the great Genghis Khan Hall building.
Walking back to the hotel after dinner, it was Christmas Eve and light snow was falling. What a fantastic way of spending a White Christmas in Sapporo.
We actually wanted to go skiing on Christmas Day, but unfortunately, all the bookings for skiing lessons were full till the new year. So we took the streetcar to Mount Moiwa instead.
The 531-metre high Mt Moiwa-yama is accessible through a ropeway (藻岩山ロープウェイ, Moiwayama Rōpuwei) which is the Japanese version of an aerial lift. We took the aerial lift to the Midway Station and transferred to the Mo-risu cars to the Summit Station.
The view along the way up is pretty stunning, but what awaited us at the summit observatory was absolutely breathtaking. We could see the whole city of Sapporo and the mountains beyond. And with the blanket of fresh snow, the entire place looks so pure and at one with nature. Never felt more at peace with myself and my surroundings. What a memorable and truly White Christmas it turned out to be.
Of course this is only about the places we visited. If you want to know about the food in Sapporo, look out for my next post.
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