Sapporo/Incheon/Taipei (Day 63): 3 Countries in 12 hours

May 2, 2016

This morning we woke up early to catch our flight to Seoul-Incheon en route to Taipei. Our flight time on our e-ticket said 8:55am so we woke up at 6am and left the hotel around 6:45am. We took the JR train to Chitose Airport, which took about 40 minutes (we also had to wait 15 minutes for the train). Luckily, Tim checked the flight time while we were at the train station and it showed that the flight time actually changed to 9:40am. I guess we didn’t get a flight time change notification. Any how, that actually worked out a lot better for us because by the time we arrived at our check in counter, it was already 7:50am.

Empty Sapporo streets early Monday morning
Empty Sapporo streets early Monday morning
A good mall right beside Sapporo Station
A good mall right beside Sapporo Station
Train to New Chitose Airport
Train to New Chitose Airport

Chitose International Terminal is about a 8-10 minute walk from the JR train (it’s a lot closer for the Domestic Terminal). The international flights that leave Sapporo are only to a few cities – 5 to Taipei, 4 to Seoul, 3 to Bangkok and 1 to Kuala Lumpur on a daily basis. One thing that I’ve noticed in Sapporo that I didn’t see anywhere else in Japan was that tourist signs always include Russian. We’re pretty far north and this is probably the closest I’ve ever been to Russia.

The International Terminal at Chitose has a few duty free stores. The store with food souvenirs was a bit of a gong show. There were a few Thai flights leaving so people were stocking up (I think I’ll be the same in July). A LeTAO representative was there dishing out huge spoon fulls of their cheesecake. (Yum!).

The busiest duty free store is the one with all the food
The busiest duty free store is the one with all the food. That will be us (Tim: “us”) in July at Haneda.
Our boarding gate at Chitose
Our boarding gate at Chitose

We were flying Korean Air so we had a 3 hour layover in Incheon before flying to Taipei at 4pm. Incheon iss a really good airport to have a layover in, so I don’t mind being there for 3 hours. There are a lot of stores, restaurants, and their Wi-Fi is extremely fast.

Our flight to Seoul from Sapporo was only half full (if even), so we got a row to ourselves. There are some really nice views of the mountains as you leave Sapporo. Tim likes to take aerial shots from the plane while we’re flying. The food on Korean Air has been very good. We both had a chicken dish and it had a shrimp salad and a plate of assorted fruits. (I didn’t take a picture of the meal).

When we arrived at Incheon, we walked around for a bit and browsed some of the duty free stores. If you like Longchamps bags (Tim: and who doesn’t?), Incheon’s Longchamps store is about about 25%-30% cheaper than at home or online. I can’t say the same for the other luxury brands, since those are the only bags I looked at in detail. Also, if you want to buy face masks while in Seoul, you can buy packs of 50 of them at the cosmetic stores for slightly cheaper than what you would pay in the stores in Seoul (they have Nature Republic, Tony Moly, Innisfree, and the Face Shop). Another interesting thing to note is that Incheon retail store prices are all in USD and are charged in USD, which doesn’t really make sense to me. But all the food and restaurant prices are in Korean Won. I don’t get it.

Tim and I didn’t eat anything at the airport since we got meals on both the flights on Korean Air. While walking around the airport, I was reminded why I wasn’t a big fan of Korean food and/or snacks. There was definitely not as big of a draw to buy any snacks and treats like there is in Japan (unless you want to buy Red Ginseng). I just bought a Chilsing Cider (which is their version of 7up) to tie us over until our flight.

My artsy shot at Incheon
My artsy shot at Incheon
This is why Incheon has been the best airport in the world 11 years in a row
This is why Incheon has been the best airport in the world 11 years in a row

Our flight to Taipei was a full flight and it was a fairly large plane (777). Apparently there was a long weekend for Labour Day in Taiwan this weekend, so that’s why so many people were traveling. The flight was one of the scariest flights I’ve been on to date. There was a lot of turbulence that made the plane go up and down a lot. I’m “okay” with turbulence when it just shifts the plane side to side but when it starts to dip up and down, that’s when I start to freak out. The flight attendants had to sit down quite a few times during the flight because the turbulence was so bad. When I’m scared on flights, I grab Tim’s hand and squeeze it pretty tight. He’s really calm when there’s turbulence. He told me after we landed that I looked like I was going to cry. To be honest, I did have that urge to start crying (which has never happened before on a plane). Other than the turbulence, I watched the Steve Jobs movie (which was pretty good) and the meal they served was also quite good (I had Korean beef bulgogi).

Approaching Taoyuan Airport
Approaching Taoyuan Airport
Finally! Sapporo > Incheon > Taipei
Finally! Sapporo > Incheon > Taipei (Tim: You can see the crooked path the pilot took, probably to try and avoid bad weather)

We landed at Taoyuan Airport about 15 minutes late and as soon as we got off the plane, we felt a sudden wall of humidity. Apparently it was 37 degrees Celsius today, a stark difference from our 5 degrees temperatures in Sapporo. A bunch of flights from Japan landed at the same time and we were caught behind the crowds and had to wait at customs for about 35 minutes. We finally got through and got our bags, which were very lonely on the baggage carousel by the time we got downstairs. Uncle Albert came to pick us up and we dropped off our bags and headed straight for dinner with Tim’s Mom, and Tim’s Dua-yi Diu (whose apartment we are staying at).

We went to G-Woo, a restaurant close by to the apartment and one that we had gone to in March with Tim’s other relatives. They are known for their chicken soup, but since we got there fairly late, around 8pm, they said they were sold out. Everything Tim’s Mom and Uncle ordered was really good. I didn’t realize how much I missed the taste of Taiwanese/Chinese style food.

At G-Woo for a delicious dinner
At G-Woo for a delicious dinner
Tim's Uncle, Mom and Uncle Albert
Tim’s Uncle, Mom and Uncle Albert

Before leaving Japan, we found out that some good friends were in Taipei visiting from Toronto and we would have a 12 hour overlap with them here. Unfortunately they were leaving tomorrow morning at 6am for Hong Kong so the only time we could meet was tonight. We planned on meeting at Ice Monster (shaved ice restaurant) after dinner. We don’t get to see them very often since they live in Toronto so we were both really happy to see them here. We shared two shaved ice and chatted for a couple of hours before saying bye. It felt like we were at home. They had to be up in a few hours to go to the airport and we were pretty beat from our long day of travel.

Line up outside Ice Monster
Line up outside Ice Monster
Us with JT, Bernice and Laurence at Ice Monster
Us with JT, Bernice, and Laurence at Ice Monster

We walked back to the apartment, washed up and crashed. Tomorrow we planned on watching Captain America Civil War (which came out in Asia last week, and doesn’t come out in North America until Friday) at 9:30am. Tim has been waiting to come back to Taipei to watch it, since most movies here aren’t dubbed like in Japan.

It feels nice to be back in Taipei. It feels like our second home since we’re most familiar with it and there is family here. We only have 3 nights before heading off again. I kind of wish we had a bit more time here before leaving. Tim’s Mom is here visiting, so it’s nice to be able to see Taipei with her and meet more family friends.

Steps today: 13,000

Sapporo (Day 62): Otaru

May 1, 2016

It was our last full day in Sapporo and in Japan. We decided to take the train out of Sapporo and go to a city called Otaru. Otaru is located on the water on the north shore of Hokkaido. It’s a small quaint town with a lot of neat shops and museums. The streets downtown used to be the “Wall Street of the North”.

JR train to Otaru
JR train to Otaru

The train ride from Sapporo Station is about 30 minutes and costs 640 JPY each way. Too bad we didn’t have our JR passes any more. The train to Otaru is the last stop on the same line that takes you to the Chitose Airport (Sapporo Station is in the middle of the two). The train ride to Otaru was very scenic. About half way to Otaru from Sapporo, the train runs right along the coast and you can see views of the snow capped mountains on the other side of the train. The sun was shining and the ocean was a deep blue. It was beautiful.

The best picture I took from the moving train
The best picture I could take from the moving train

We arrived at Otaru Station and headed straight for the fish market. Sankaku Fish Market is located directly to the left of the station (Tim: when exiting). Hokkaido is known for their seafood, particularly their scallops, crab (king, snow, hairy), salmon roe, and uni (sea urchin). The market is a small strip of a few vendors as well as restaurants (some a lot busier than others). The restaurants mostly served seafood rice bowls of all sorts, sashimi, and grilled seafood. We put our name down at one that looked most appealing to us and waited about 10 minutes before getting called in.

Otaru Station
Otaru Station
Another Saint Germaine's Bakery
Another Saint Germain’s Bakery
Hokkaido crabs
Hokkaido crabs at Sankaku Fish Market
Lots of scallop products - dried and candied scallops
Lots of scallop products – dried and candied scallops

The restaurant was called Takeda, and after looking at their promotional brochures, it looked like the Takeda group has multiple seafood shops within the fish market. We ordered a plate of fatty salmon sashimi (600 JPY for 8 pieces) to share and I ordered a salmon and scallop don (it was a special order because I’m not a huge fan of uni or ikura/fish roe) and Tim ordered salmon with fish roe (both for 1,200 JPY = $14.30 CAD). Each don was served with a bowl of miso soup. The fish was laid out so nicely and everything was fresh and tasty. The scallops were my favourite as they were plump and sweet. Hokkaido uni is very popular and many people were ordering plates of it. The guy beside us ordered the chef special chirashi (deluxe assorted, for 3,000 JPY = $35 CAD). It looked really pretty. I was tempted (but I resisted) to ask him if I could take a picture of it before he ate.

Crowds starting to form for lunch outside the restaurants
Crowds starting to form for lunch outside Takeda’s Restaurant.
One of Takeda's store, this is where our fish for lunch came from
One of Takeda’s store, this is where our fish for lunch came from
More seafood from the Takeda shop
More seafood from the Takeda shop
We sat at the counter. There are a lot of pictures all around the walls of customers.
We sat at the counter. There are a lot of pictures all around the walls of customers.
Fatty salmon sashimi. 8 pieces for 600 JPY = $7.15 CAD
Fatty salmon sashimi. 8 pieces for 600 JPY = $7.15 CAD
Tim trying to show the guy's special chirashi
Tim trying to show the guy’s special chirashi. It’s too small to really see everything.
My salmon and scallop don
My salmon and scallop don
Tim's salmon and salmon roe
Tim’s salmon and salmon roe

After lunch, we walked into town and went to the Otaru Canal, which is one of their major attractions. The sightseeing part of Otaru is all within walking distance from the train station, which makes it really easy to come for a day trip from Sapporo. While walking around Otaru and seeing their old buildings, the architecture and style of the buildings were all very western.

Nice looking hotel
Nice looking hotel
Japanese KFC
Japanese KFC
Otaru Canal
Otaru Canal
Finally a good picture together
There are some vendors along the canal selling arts and crafts
Otaru's version of taiyakis, called Panjus
Otaru’s version of taiyakis, called Panjus.
We tried green tea with bean and a custard 89 JPY = $1.05 CAD each.
We tried green tea with bean and a custard 89 JPY = $1.05 CAD each.
The green tea bean was better because it was freshly made and piping hot
The green tea bean was better because it was freshly made and piping hot

There were a couple of museums that we wanted to check out: the Finance Museum at the former Bank of Japan building, and the Music Box Museum. All the museums in town (Tim: that we went to) are free to go in, which is great.

The Bank of Japan building, which is located on the former “Wall Street of the north”, is now Otaru’s Finance Museum. They show the history of Japan’s currency and how it has evolved to what it is today. I thought the best part of this museum was going into the vault and being able to pick up a stack of 100 million Yen (I’ve never held so much money in my life and probably never will). All of the signage is in Japanese with no other translation, but when you get into the museum they give you an English pamphlet with information of what you’ll see when you go in. On our way out we watched a (Tim: English dubbed) video about how the Bank of Japan works and the role that the central bank plays. While watching it, I felt like I was in school learning about basic economics and inflation.

Former Bank of Japan and now Otaru's Finance Museum
Former Bank of Japan and now Otaru’s Finance Museum
Inside the Finance Museum
Inside the Finance Museum
Inside the Finance Museum. This a box of shredded 100 million Yen that are unsuitable for reuse. That's why you don't see gross wrinkly Yen around.
This is a box of shredded 100 million Yen that are unsuitable for reuse. That’s why you don’t see gross wrinkly Yen around (Tim: they said the average circulation life for Japanese banknotes are 1-2 years).
Holding stacks of 100 million Yen in my hands. It's pretty heavy.
Holding a stack of 100 million Yen (approx 1.12 million CAD) in my hands. It’s pretty heavy.
Inside the vault
Inside the vault

We walked down one of the main streets in Otaru that was filled with shops that sold mostly Otaru sweet and snacks. The most popular store in Otaru is LeTAO bakery. They have multiple locations in Otaru (you’ll also see their merchandise at stores in Sapporo and probably around Japan) and are famous for their dairy based merchandise – cheesecake, cheese crackers, cheese and chocolate cookies, chocolate, and ice cream. Walking down this street and going into the multiple LeTAO locations, Tim and I tried everything they sold. They give samples of everything (and big ones at that). They have a sale associate standing outside their stores with either a tray of chocolates or a whole cheesecake to scoop samples for you. Their merchandise was very good. I really enjoyed their cheesecakes and chocolate. If they have LeTAO merchandise at Haneda, I’ll probably buy some to bring back home in the summer.

Otaru's charming streets
Otaru’s charming streets
They have pedicabs all around town.
They have pedicabs all around town.
One of multiple LeTAO locations
One of multiple LeTAO locations. The sample girl is in a blue jacket.
LeTAO chocolate was really good.
LeTAO chocolate was really good. The blue jacket girl was giving full chocolate samples of the pyramid chocolates in the picture.
LeTAO is known for their dairy products - mainly their cheese cake or "double fromage" cake
LeTAO is known for their dairy products – mainly their cheesecake or “double fromage” cake
Considering they have multiple locations in town, all the stores are packed with tourists
Considering they have multiple locations in town, all the stores were packed with tourists.
We got the twist of cheese and jersey milk ice cream
We got the twist of cheese and jersey milk ice cream (390 JPY = $4.65 CAD)
It was good. The cheese part made it more unique. But I enjoyed the ice cream from Kinotoya better.
It was good. The cheese part made it more unique. But I enjoyed the ice cream from Kinotoya better (Tim: and I enjoyed the ice cream from McDonald’s better).

After our little food tour, we ended up at the famous steam clock in Otaru. It reminded us of Gastown and as we got closer to it, we saw plaques all around the steam clock’s base that said “Gastown, Vancouver, BC, Canada”. Being away from home for 2 months, I was really excited to see something from home in any shape or form. It turns out that the steam clock maker from Vancouver also made this one in Otaru, the cast of the Gastown clock was used in this one. The steam clock is located right in front of a music box store and museum. When you go in, the whole ground floor is full of tiny music boxes and as you go up to different levels the music boxes get more expensive and fancy.

The nice building on the right is a LeTAO store now
The nice building on the right is a LeTAO store now. There are still cherry blossoms in Sapporo.
Otaru's steam clock
Otaru’s steam clock
Home!
Home!

thumb_IMG_2185_1024

The first floor of the music box store
The first floor of the music box store
The more expensive items are all upstairs
The more expensive and unique items are all upstairs
Inside the Music Box Museum down the street
Inside the Music Box Museum down the street

We walked through town some more and eventually made our way back to the train station. Otaru is a very small, charming, and beautiful city with a lot of character. I’m glad we spent our last day here as it was different from other cities in Japan that we had visited. We had planned to have dinner in Otaru but we didn’t see anything that caught our eye. Most of the restaurants served seafood dons, similar to what we had for lunch so we decided to head back to Sapporo for our last dinner in Japan.

The old railway tracks are still here but no in use
The old railway tracks are still here but not in use
Old railway tracks in Otaru
Old railway tracks in Otaru
View of the ocean on the way back to Sapporo
View of the ocean and surrounding mountains on the way back to Sapporo

When we got back to Sapporo, we were actually both still full from the LeTAO samples and the ice cream we had. We decided to do a bit of last last minute shopping at the ESTA mall beside Sapporo Station. A lot of stores were having sales because of Golden Week. Muji had signs all over showing discounts, but since I couldn’t read the signs and only saw the percentage off, I didn’t know what the conditions of the sales were. What I thought was discounted was still regular price despite all the signs saying 20% and I wasn’t able to communicate with the sales associate showing her the sign. Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be. Sorry Nate, no bear T-shirt for you.

For our last dinner in Sapporo, we ended up having CoCo Curry (Tim’s pick). It was between that or yakitori (my pick). But since we had yakitori the night before and the smoking was a bit annoying, we went to CoCo. This is truly Tim’s comfort food restaurant. I like Japanese curry too but not as much as Tim does. But since he’s always so happy when he eats it, I compromised.

The happiest Tim. We both got hamburger steaks and a side of croquette and fish. Dinner was 1,600 JPY = $19 CAD
A happy Tim with his comfort food. We both got hamburger steaks and a side of croquette and fish. Dinner was 1,658 JPY = $19.72 CAD

We stopped by Lawsons (convenience store) on the way back to the hotel. This seemed like a very regular occurrence for us before going back to any hotel/apartment we were staying in while in Japan. We would usually get a beverage of some sort (water or cool Japanese drinks we haven’t seen before), a snack for later (usually ice cream or a Japanese pudding) or breakfast for the next morning (either yogurt or an egg salad sandwich). I’ll definitely miss Lawsons, Family Mart, Sunkus, etc.

Our Sapporo home. The Nest Ekimae. I would highly recommend this hotel for it's great location.
Our Sapporo home. The Nest Ekimae. I would highly recommend this hotel for it’s great location. We were a 5 minute walk to Sapporo Station and were able to walk to a lot of the sights in Sapporo.

Packing up each time we move around is always a tasks in itself. Given the small quarters of our room, it was a little difficult. I had everything from my bag sprawled out on the bed. I can’t wait to go back to Taipei and unload some things. My bag has gained 10kg since leaving Vancouver (yikes!).

It’s crazy how fast April has flown by. I’ve really enjoyed Japan, which doesn’t really surprise me. I love Japanese food, snacks and products so I knew I would like it here. I’ll really miss how pleasant and nice everyone is, how clean the washrooms are (they all have heated seats!), and how good (reasonably priced) the food is. I know we’ll be back in the future to explore more, or even to just go back to Tokyo. We spent 26 days in Japan, but we could have easily spent our full 4.5 months here and not been bored. Everyone says how expensive Japan is to visit, but in actuality Japan can be as expensive as you want it to be (Tim: or as cheap as you want it to be… which could probably be said of most places). If you want to eat “the best” of everything, then obviously Japan is super pricey, but if you eat modestly like how probably 80% of the population eats, it’s very reasonable and cheaper than back home for something similar.

We’ll be heading back to Taipei for a few days before going to Australia. I’m most looking forward to seeing family and friends while there. I am not really looking forward to how we’ll be eating. Australia is notoriously expensive, so I think Tim and I won’t be eating as bountifully as we have been in Asia. Maybe we’ll start to actually lose weight.

Steps today: 18,000

Sapporo (Day 61): Snow in April

April 30, 2016

We woke up this morning, looked out the window, and it was snowing! Not the magical white fluffy snow, but more of the wet icy type of snow. Tim checked the forecast yesterday and saw it was going to snow a bit today, and he was excited. I think he thinks it’s really magical (and romantic) when it snows.

Can't really tell from this picture but it's hailing
Can’t really tell from this picture but it’s hailing
You could see more of the hail in this picture
You could see more of the hail in this picture

We bundled up even more today and headed out. For lunch, we planned on going to a yakitori (grilled skewers) place we saw on our first night that looked good. We didn’t eat there that night because the wait was too long so we passed. When we got to the restaurant, they had a lunch menu displayed and it was all tonkatsu lunch sets. We then realized that yakitori isn’t lunch food, and thought to come back for dinner (third time’s a charm, right?).

Since it was cold out we decided to check out “ramen alley” in Susukino. We had watched Anthony Bourdain’s Hokkaido episode on our first night here and wanted to check it out. Instead of walking outside today, we headed straight for the underground (like the rest of Sapporo). When we got to Susukino and found “ramen alley”, half of the restaurants were closed. It’s Golden Week in Japan right now, so a lot of people are on vacation. The restaurants that were opened were not very busy, some were even empty (it was 12:30pm). We did pass by the restaurant that Anthony Bourdain went to, it was also pretty empty. We didn’t see anything that seemed too interesting and since we had ramen yesterday we decided to find something else (Tim: I should note here that while some of Kaitlyn’s posts might give the impression that I love ramen, I actually don’t like it all that much. There’s a very small subset of ramen I really enjoy (Tonkatsu broth, thin noodles, no bamboo shoots), otherwise most bowls of ramen fall way down on the noodle-soup rankings for me).

Going down to the underground
Going down to the underground
Susukino
Susukino, it’s apparently Sapporo’s red light district, but during the day we didn’t notice anything
Sapporo Star is everywhere
Sapporo Star is everywhere
Ramen Alley in Susukino
Ramen Alley in Susukino
Where Anthony Bourdain had his butter, corn and seafood Hokkaido ramen
Where Anthony Bourdain had his butter, corn and seafood Hokkaido ramen in 2011 (Tim: umm, here’s a stock photo of Bourdain, and another photo of the restaurant without Bourdain)

We walked around the block from ramen alley and found a tonkatsu restaurant that looked interesting. It is part of the Matsunoya chain, which serves mostly donburis, but this restaurant just specialized in tonkatsu. The prices advertised were extremely reasonable so we decided to give it a try.

Outside Matsunoya
Outside Matsunoya
Ticket machine to order and pay
Ticket machine to order and pay. Luckily there’s English as an option.
Tim's tonkatsu set (500 jPY = $5.90 CAD) with an extra order of ebi (490 JPY to $5.75 CAD)
Tim’s tonkatsu set (580 jPY = $6.85 CAD) with an extra order of ebi (490 JPY to $5.75 CAD)
My tonkatsu with daikon set (500 JPY = $5.90 CAD)
My tonkatsu with daikon set (500 JPY = $5.90 CAD)

Everything at Matsunoya was very good. It’s quite easy to find good quality cheap food in Japan. That’s something that we’re going to really miss when we leave Asia for Australia. After that filling lunch, we headed back to the underground and did a bit of browsing and last minute shopping at Muji, Uniqlo and Don Quijote, as our time in Japan is winding down.

We're in the "Pole Town" part of the underground. There's a good selection of stores and restaurants in this area.
We’re in the “Pole Town” part of the underground. There’s a good selection of stores and restaurants in this area.

While walking through Pole Town, we noticed a line up outside a bakery that made cheese tarts (similar to the ones we had at Pablo) and they also served Hokkaido ice cream. Before coming to Sapporo, everyone told us we had to have Hokkaido ice cream, as Hokkaido produces high quality dairy products. We got in line at Kinotoya Bake and ordered one cheese tart and an ice cream cone to share.

Kitanoya Bake
Kinotoya Bake
Freshly baked cheese tarts - 170 JPY = $2 CAD each or 1,000 JPY = $11.80 CAD for 6.
Freshly baked cheese tarts – 170 JPY = $2 CAD each or 1,000 JPY = $11.80 CAD for 6.
Hokkaido ice cream (360 JPY = $4.25 CAD)
Hokkaido ice cream (360 JPY = $4.25 CAD) and our cheese tart.

The ice cream cone was huge! The soft serve is different than what we’re used to. It’s a lot creamier and not as sweet (if you’re comparing it to Dairy Queen). The cheese tart was like a warm cheesecake except a bit more gooey. It was good, but we both thought the cheese tart from Pablo was better.

We came up from the underground and saw it was sunny and there were blue skies. It was the first time we’ve seen blue skies in Sapporo. I guess being underground for most of the day, you don’t get to see what’s going on outside. We went to the Former Hokkaido Government Office and walked around inside. It’s free to visit and there are rooms filled with Sapporo memorabilia – like letters from world leaders who attended the G8 Summit in Sapporo in 2008. The building is a beautiful red brick building and looked very western inside.

Former Hokkaido Government Office
Former Hokkaido Government Office
Carp flags outside the government building
Carp flags outside the government building
Inside the Governor's old office
Inside the Governor’s old office
Beautiful pond and some lingering cherry blossoms around beside the government building
Beautiful pond and some lingering cherry blossoms around beside the government building

We went back underground and went to Sapporo Station to browse around at the stores. The Uniqlo at Sapporo Station is one of the better ones I’ve been to this trip. Since it’s Golden Week, there are a lot of sales going on. After trying on a lot of items, I restricted myself after thinking about my bulging backpack.

Can see the sunset through the buildings from Sapporo Station
Can see the sunset through the buildings from Sapporo Station
Sapporo Station at dusk
Sapporo Station at dusk
Sapporo TV Tower lit up green for Golden Week which used to celebrate the Emperor's birthday but now it's celebrated as "Greenery Day"
Sapporo TV Tower lit up green for Golden Week which used to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday but now it’s celebrated as “Greenery Day”

From our shopping today, here are some snacks that were interesting but we didn’t/couldn’t buy. Too bad all the specialty Glico Pockys are always in such big boxes. I knew that Hokkaido was known for its dairy products but I didn’t know they also specialized in cantaloupe/melon flavoured treats.

Melon pocky
Melon pocky. Huge box for 800 JPY $9.45 CAD
Red bean Kit Kat at Don Quijote
Red bean Kit Kat at Don Quijote

It was time for dinner so we walked back towards the yakitori restaurant, Kushidori. There were two other groups ahead of us and had to wait about 15 minutes. We got seated at the counter and ordered 15 skewers, edamame, and two drinks (ginger ale and a beer) for 28,000 JPY = $33 CAD. Everything was really good, I think yakitori is one of my favourite types of Japanese food. Grilled meat is so simple but it tastes so good. My favourites from tonight were the bacon wrapped mochi and the classic chicken and leek skewer. Most of the skewers we ordered were 130-140 JPY = $1.50 – $$1.65 CAD.

Kushidori in Sapporo
Kushidori in Sapporo
There's a grill in the front and in the middle of the restaurant
There’s a grill in the front and in the middle of the restaurant
Mochi and bacon, pork and leek, eggplant, scallop
Mochi and bacon, pork and leek, eggplant, scallop
Chicken meatballs, chicken wings, chicken and leek
Chicken meatballs, chicken wings, chicken and leek

The restaurant is a block away from our hotel, so it was a short walk back. My favourite meals in Japan have been izakayas or yakitori restaurants. I guess I like bars in Japan even though I don’t drink. The only downside to eating at these places is that smoking is allowed, which is not something we’re used to.

It’s our last day in Japan tomorrow. I’m a bit sad to be leaving. There’s so much more to see and eat!

Steps today: 16,000

Sapporo (Day 60): Ramen, Sapporo Beer, and Sushi

April 29, 2016

We’ve been away from home for 2 months now. Time sure does fly! It was our first full day in Sapporo and we were ready to head out and explore the city. The forecast for today was rainy, cold, and windy. It made for a perfect ramen day.

Rainy day in Sapporo
Rainy day in Sapporo

Tim did a bit of ramen research before we left the hotel and there was a ramen restaurant called, Aji No Tokedai, that was fairly close to us and in the direction we planned on spending part of the day. It’s a Hokkaido ramen chain that has locations all around Sapporo. We ordered gyozas, miso ramen with corn, and a Hokkaido special ramen (with butter, corn and scallops). The ramen with butter started off pretty tasty but soon became a bit too rich for me. I wasn’t able to finish my bowl (which was a lot larger than I thought it would be).

Aji No Takedori
Aji No Tokedai
Gyozas (230 JPY = $2.70 CAD)
Gyozas (280 JPY = $3.25CAD)
Hokkaido Ramen - butter, corn, pork and 3 large scallops (1,450 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
Hokkaido Ramen -Miso based with butter, corn, pork and 3 large scallops (1,450 JPY = $16.90 CAD)
Normal Miso ramen with corn (850 JPY = $9.90 CAD)
Normal Miso ramen with corn (850 JPY = $9.90 CAD)

Feeling pretty bloated and lethargic after lunch, we continued our walk around Sapporo. It was raining quite hard outside and we didn’t see too many people walking around. We initially thought it was just because it was rainy out and that Sapporo is a smaller city, so naturally there’s less people out. But then, we went down to Sapporo’s underground walkway and discovered that’s where all the people were.

Sapporo underground walk ways
Sapporo underground walk ways connect the majority of the streets in the “downtown” area.
Sapporo underground - where everyone is warm and dry
Sapporo underground – where everyone is warm and dry. The exits and maps were very convenient to show you exactly where you are in the city.

We exited the underground to find Sapporo TV Tower, and walked briefly down Odori Park. Odori Park is a long park that extends 1.5km down the middle of the city running east to west. We came across a block that appeared to be a fish market. There were a couple of streets of vendors that sold Hokkaido crab (a lot of king crab and hairy crabs) and other various seafood. We later learned that this fish market is mainly for tourists, while the actual Sapporo Fish Market is not as central.

Odori Park
Odori Park
We spotted a fish market
We spotted a fish market
Cute fisher boy
Cute fisher boy statue
Vendors mostly selling king crab
Vendors mostly selling king crab
If you buy the crab they can cook and serve it to you in 30 minutes some signs say
If you buy the crab they can cook and serve it to you in 30 minutes some signs say
Love the Hello Kittys
Love the Hello Kitty fencing barriers

We made our way towards the shopping area of Odori and went to a department store called, PARCO. While in Tokyo, I was looking at Issey Miyake’s line of bags and purses called, BaoBao (I think the name sounds cute). Issey Miyake items are around 30-40% cheaper in Japan than they are in the States (you also save 8% on tax-free shopping). I couldn’t really decide on one in Tokyo and I saw that Sapporo had a location so I waited until we got here to possibly buy something. Since I hadn’t bought much of anything on this trip, I wanted a souvenir from Japan that wouldn’t be consumed within a few months (like the snacks and sunscreen). After staring at the different options for a while and messaging my sister asking her for her advice, I ended up getting a black clutch (converts into a cross body bag). I didn’t know much about Issey Miyake and then I read about him on Wikipedia and found out that apparently he was friends with Steve Jobs and produced his favourite black turtlenecks.

thumb_IMG_1744_1024
Took a picture inside PARCO away from the Issey Miyake area. They don’t allow pictures or even FaceTime in the store.

After shopping, we walked about 15 minutes towards the Sapporo Beer Museum. The museum is in a nice red-brick building and had free admission. The museum wasn’t that extensive but it’s set up very nicely inside. At the end of the museum, you can pay for samples of different types of Sapporo Beer. Tim had a 3 glass sampler (600 JPY = $7 CAD) and I had Sapporo’s Ribbon brand’s grapefruit juice (100 JPY = $1.13 CAD). The grounds of the Sapporo Beer Museum are quite nice. They have a restaurant, store, and beer garden as well.

Sapporo Beer Museum
Sapporo Beer Museum
Sapporo Beer grounds
Sapporo Beer grounds. There’s still cherry blossoms here!
Old Sapporo advertisements
Old Sapporo advertisements. It was only until later that they started to use men in their ads.
Vending machine to print out your drink order
Vending machine to print out your drink order
Sapporo girls pouring the beer
Sapporo girls pouring the beer
My grapefruit juice and Tim's sampler
My grapefruit juice and Tim’s sampler. Mine came with a white chocolate popcorn snack and the sampler comes with salted crackers, which aren’t pictured because they forgot it.

thumb_IMG_1830_1024

We quickly walked back to the hotel because my parent’s friends, Auntie Mary and Uncle Reg, were picking us up for dinner. They had moved to Sapporo temporarily to work as missionaries while running a guest house. We got in touch with them when we got to Japan and had planned to meet while we were here. For dinner we ate closer to their neighbourhood, about 6km from the city centre. They took us for sushi at a restaurant (I think it was called Torimon) that had about a 20 minute wait at 5:30pm. It was clearly a popular restaurant with the locals. It was nice to get out of the city core and see where the locals lived and ate.

Torimon Sushi
Torimon Sushi
Great seeing them!
Uncle Reg and Auntie Mary
With Uncle Reg and Auntie Mary
Our sushi chef was posing for the picture too!
Sapporo crab (hairy crab) miso
Hokkaido (hairy crab) miso. Broth was very sweet.
thumb_IMG_1848_1024
Hokkaido scallop miso. I ate most of Tim’s scallops. Delicious!

We had a great meal with good conversation about our travel stories. They have been to so many places in Asia and were telling us their favourite and least favourite places they’ve visited. After dinner, they brought us to the house that they are living in and showed us the B&B rooms. It was all really nice and spacious and all the pictures and knick-knacks felt like a real home. We sat and chatted a bit longer while eating some freshly cut fruit (we missed having fresh fruit while being in Japan, so this was the perfect end to the night). They drove us back to our hotel and we said our goodbyes. I think I’ve stressed before how nice it is to meet with family and friends while traveling and tonight just reaffirmed my feelings.

Yum! Freshly cut fruit.
Yum! Freshly cut fruit.
Chatting in the living room
We’ve been living out of hotel rooms and empty apartments so chatting in a home felt really nice.

Steps today: 13,000

Okinawa/Sapporo (Day 59): From Summer to Winter

April 28, 2016

Our last morning in Okinawa was just packing everything up before the check out time at 11am. The sun was shining and it was about 28°C. We checked the forecast for Sapporo and it was a high of 11°C and a low of 3°C. We basically picked the two most extremely opposite parts of Japan (climate wise) to visit back to back.

Before checking out we went downstairs to the Family Mart and grabbed a few things for lunch – an egg salad sandwich, a fried chicken drumstick, and inari. We checked out and made our way to Asahibashi Monorail Station to take the train to Naha Airport. The train ride to get to the airport was 260 JPY = $3 CAD each. We arrived at the airport dripping in sweat, it was not a pretty sight.

View of the street from Asahibashi Station
View of the street from Asahibashi Station. Goodbye, Naha!
Monorail stations in Naha are very small
Monorail stations in Naha are very small
Two train monorail
Two train monorail

When we arrived, we checked in and noticed that Tim’s boarding pass said Star Alliance Gold. He didn’t think he still had status this year but apparently he still does? Or maybe this is because he had gold status when we booked these flights. Anyway, we went to the ANA lounge and they scanned his boarding pass and we were allowed in. The lounge was very business oriented and quite small. They had some fresh juice, fountain drinks, Suntory Whiskey, Orion Beer, and some Japanese cracker snacks. Their Orion Beer pouring machine was really cool. Tim took a good video of it.

While sitting in the lounge, there were a bunch of fighter jets taking off from the airport. Except this time, these fighter jets were part of the Japanese Self-Defense Force. (Tim: We saw two jets take off in tandem and banked left together immediately after taking off… which was pretty cool). We had some drinks in the lounge before heading to our gate.

Naha Domestic Terminal
Naha Domestic Terminal
ANA lounge in the Naha Domestic Terminal.
ANA lounge in the Naha Domestic Terminal
We looked into a construction area and a runway
We looked into a construction area and a runway

thumb_IMG_1640_1024

Goodbye, Okinawa!
Goodbye, Okinawa!

Our flight was delayed by 10 minutes, but still ended up getting to Sapporo on time. The flight was about 2 hours and 45 minutes. ANA domestic flights don’t offer much in terms of food or drinks (they only have coffee, apple juice, green tea, or consomme), which is a bit disappointing for an Asian airline. The best airline we’ve flown has been Bangkok Airways. For a domestic flight in Thailand (that was only an hour long), they served us drinks and a meal.

Welcome to Hokkaido!
Welcome to Hokkaido!

When we arrived in Sapporo and stepped out of the plane, we could immediately feel the cold crisp air, a stark difference from the warm humid air we were in a few hours ago. After we got our bags we headed for the JR New Chitose Airport Station where we caught a train to Sapporo Station. The train ride was about 35 minutes and cost us 1,070 JPY = $12.45 CAD each.

Tried to take some pictures of the mountains from the train into Sapporo
Tried to take some pictures of the mountains from the train into Sapporo
Sapporo Station
Sapporo Station
On our way to our hotel
On our way to our hotel

Our hotel, Nest Hotel, is about a 6 minute walk straight up the street from Sapporo Station. On our walk there, my sweatshirt was not cutting it. It was so cold! I don’t think we’ve been this cold since some time in February when we left Vancouver. Tim’s going to say it wasn’t that cold, but it was (Tim: it wasn’t that cold). We got to the hotel and checked into our room. The room was similar to other typical Japanese hotel rooms – small, double bed, with minimal space to put your luggage. But as always, everything is very clean so there’s not much more you can ask for. We got a pretty good deal on this hotel room, we’re paying $245 CAD for 4 nights here. We booked on Expedia and had a promo code for $100 off from TD Rewards.

Our double room
Our double room. Pretty standard Japanese hotel room set up.

thumb_IMG_1680_1024

We settled in and layered up. I wore my Heattech shirt from Uniqlo, brought out my scarf and my toque (I basically brought my toque just for Sapporo). We did a bit of research on what restaurants were close by since our plan for tonight was just to grab dinner and plan our next few days here. Since it was so cold out, I was actually craving ramen (which rarely happens). Sapporo is known for having good ramen, Hokkaido ramen, which is more of a miso based broth (vs. tonkotsu broth from Fukuoka/Hakata). My favourite ramen in Vancouver is Santouka on Robson, which is originally from Hokkaido. There’s actually a ramen area in Sapporo but it was too far of a walk for tonight, so we continued looking. Tim found a yakitori place one street over that sounded really good so we headed there.

When we got to the yakitori place, it did look really good but the wait for dinner was 45 minutes so we passed. We’ll try to go back again another day. We walked down the street and found an izakaya whose menu looked good so we went there. The izakaya was filled with smoking businessmen and women. We were seated at the counter since all the tables were full. Unfortunately, everyone to my left was smoking and blowing it my direction (I used my scarf to cover my nose when it got bad). We ordered a salad, yakitori, chicken karaage, fried squid, pork belly fried rice and edamame (which we thought was free but I think it’s free if you order drinks). Our bill came out to be 4,049 JPY = $47 CAD. Everything was tasty (we have yet to have a bad meal in Japan. *knock on wood*), but towards the end we wanted to leave as soon as possible since even more smoke was blowing our way.

Yakitori grill
Yakitori grill
Daikon tuna salad. I thought the tuna was going to be raw.
Daikon tuna salad. I thought the tuna was going to be raw, oh well. 560 JPY $6.50 CAD
Pork belly and chicken yakitori 160 JPY = $1.85 CAD each
Pork belly and chicken yakitori 160 JPY = $1.85 CAD each
Salad, half eaten fried squid leg dish, assorted yakitori and chicken karaage
Salad, half eaten fried squid leg dish, assorted yakitori and chicken karaage.
Pork belly fried rice. Tim's favourite dish. (699 JPY = $8.10 CAD)
Pork belly fried rice. Tim’s favourite dish. (699 JPY = $8.10 CAD)

The Sapporo Clock Tower was close to the hotel so we decided to take a quick look. We took a picture and then walked back quickly. It was too cold!

thumb_IMG_1699_1024

Looking forward to exploring another part of Japan in the next few days. It’s our last Japanese city we’ll visit before heading back to Taipei on Tuesday. April went by so quickly, I can’t believe it’s almost May. We’ll be more prepared with layering up even more tomorrow.

Steps today: 7,000