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

Taitung (Day 10): We’ll be back

March 10, 2016

Today was our first full day in Taitung.  The weather didn’t really improve much from yesterday, it was still overcast with no sun in sight (Tim’s going to say, “stop complaining about it being overcast!”).  The reason why I wished the sun would come out is because I know that Taitung would be amazingly beautiful with the lush green mountains and ocean on either side of the city. But with an overcast sky, the city wasn’t able to really shine through. I suppose I had high hopes for Taitung because it is Tim’s favourite Taiwanese city. I wanted to love it here like he did, but I didn’t. I would like to come back when the weather is nicer (which is usually 90% of the time), to experience the city the way it should be.

We started off our day with a nice and hearty breakfast… at McDonald’s. We like to try different McDonald’s around the world because they always have unique menu items and Taiwan was no exception to that. We ordered a chicken and egg breakfast sandwich meal (which is like a McChicken with an egg in a muffin (Tim: and without lettuce)) and an extra sausage and egg McMuffin. The meal came with a hash brown and instead of coffee we ordered corn soup. I enjoyed everything in the breakfast – especially the corn soup (Tim: I love how corn soup is a substitute beverage choice).

Breakfast at McDonald's. (136 NT = $5.50 CAD)
Breakfast at McDonald’s. (136 NT = $5.50 CAD)
Corn soup
Corn soup
Chicken and egg McMuffin
Chicken and egg McMuffin

After our breakfast we picked up bikes from the apartment and started a trail that wrapped around the city. We headed towards the mountains and the bike path was pretty clear. It felt good to ride and feel the breeze – it was refreshing and freeing! (Tim: It wouldn’t be as refreshing if it was sunny and hot… Thankfully it was overcast). After we passed the 2km mark, the bike trail emptied and we were the only ones on it. It was nice that was it just us, fresh air, (away from all the scooter exhaust) and some small low flying birds.

Trail map
Trail map. Taitung is home to seven aboriginal groups, the most in Taiwan, making up 35.5% of the population.
Obama Cakes?
Obama Cake?
The bike path - I see my last name!
The bike path – I see my last name!
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Taiwanese countryside

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Tim has fond memories of the time he spent in Taitung in 2009. He likes to recount how while biking along this same trail, a stray puppy rode along side him for a couple of kilometres until he got to a larger street intersection that he needed to cross. The puppy was too scared to the cross the street and Tim never saw it again. When he thinks about it, he gets a bit sad. (I think he regrets not keeping the puppy). I make it worse when I tell him that the puppy chose him (just like how elephants choose their mahouts (owners) in Thailand) and he just left him. Later on at the beach, a stray dog was attracted to Tim and followed him around while he took pictures. I thought it would make for a pretty epic story if that dog turned out to be the same dog from 7 years ago (too bad this dog was brown and not black).

Tim and his friend
Tim and his friend
Taitung has a lot of stray dogs
Taitung has a lot of stray dogs. This the one that followed us around a little bit at the beach.

When we reached a split in the trail we decided to head back so we could go back towards the beach. We ended up walking to the beach instead because I was too scared to ride on the street alongside all the scooters and cars. I get a bit anxious when I’m on a bike or scooter in traffic and I feel like in Asia it’s even more chaotic (although, it’s likely more of an organized chaos).

After dropping our bikes off, we stopped to get bubble tea a “Presotea” which advertised a “Panda” bubble (black and white pearls!). We also attempted to Facetime my family for my Mom’s birthday. Taitung County has free wifi (TT-Free) throughout the city if you register your phone number. Unfortunately, my family was only able to hear us, but we were able to hear and see them.

Panda milk tea, it was really good. We enjoyed the big and small (white) pearls. (40 NT = $1.60 CAD)
The Panda milk tea was really good. We enjoyed the different sized and textured pearls. (40 NT = $1.60 CAD)
For my family, this is what we looked like while trying to Facetime
For my family, this is what we looked like while trying to Facetime

We walked to the beach area that we visited shortly yesterday. This time we walked down to the actual beach and watched the waves crash on to shore for a while. The east coast of Taiwan is very beautiful. In the summer, Taitung has a hot air balloon festival that looks awesome, maybe next time we’ll come for that.  Although, I’m sure then I’ll probably wished the weather were like how it was now- mild rather than really hot.

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A dome and walkway made out of bamboo. I can’t seem to find the name of it while googling

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A man on a scooter taking in the ocean. It looked cold, but it was 20+ degrees
A man on a scooter taking in the ocean. It looked cold, but it was 20+ degrees, which is cold for Taitung standards.

After the beach we headed back to the apartment to grab our bags that we left there. We were moving to another place to stay because the apartment was booked for tonight. We walked down the street and checked into our hotel, “Traveller’s Hotel”. We read good reviews about it for being a clean and friendly hotel. The room is very basic and clean (the only important thing), which works for us! The only “bad” thing is that the internet is a bit slow.

Basic and clean hotel for the night
Basic and clean hotel for the night (39 USD on Expedia, Tim used his Paypal account from his Canucks ticket sales. (Tim: Glad to spend USD Via PayPal, otherwise, it’s almost impossible to withdraw your USD Balance out of a Canadian PayPal account without paying ridiculous exchange fees… More on that later maybe.))

Once we checked in, we headed to grab a late lunch and walked to the Taitung Forest Park to wander around. We thought that on our way to the park we would pass by a lot of food options, but that didn’t happen. I think we underestimated the effects of a small town/city. I kept thinking, there’s got to be a lot of places surrounding the park or even a snack stand inside the park. We were wrong, there’s no vendors inside the park. It was about 3:30pm and we were both pretty hungry (Tim: Kaitlyn was pretty hungry). We walked around the park for like 15 minutes and then left to find something to eat.

Entrance to the Taitung Forest Park
Entrance to the Taitung Forest Park

We decided to walk down a different street on our way back. There were a few bento lunch options and we decided on “Woo Ricebox”. We’ve seen a bunch of these types of Taiwanese fast food restaurants around, mainly at train stations. The wooden bentos are filled with rice, pickled vegetables, cabbage, sausage, chopped bok choy and a meat of your choice. I had a pork chop and Tim got pork belly. They were a good lunch option and I can see why people would order them to take with them on a train.

Our bentos
Our bentos (75 NT = $3 CAD) and 85 NT = $3.40 CAD)

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to settle in and get ourselves organized for tomorrow. We booked our train tickets from Taitung to Hualien (we’re heading north on the east coast). This was our first time booking the train ticket online – we didn’t want to risk the train we wanted to be sold out. We also booked our hotel for two nights in Hualien – “East Town 26”. The hotel has really good reviews on Trip Advisor so I’m looking forward to it (hopefully I won’t be disappointed).

Tonight for dinner, we met with Tim’s relatives at “Showtime Plaza”. This mall was built a few years ago and is one of the newer building complexes in the city. It has a movie theatre, a couple of clothing stores (Uniqlo and Nike) and a few restaurants. Tim’s relatives made reservations at a Japanese Tonkatsu restaurant (I couldn’t find the translated English name). It’s always nice to meet with family and friends while traveling. It’s a nice familiarity and comfort knowing that loved ones are close by. The tonkatsu set meal and was delicious – it was my first time having tonkatsu where you have to crush the sesame seeds with a mortar to make the sauce. (Tim says now we don’t have to go to one in Japan…). Tim’s relatives are in the middle of moving so we caught them at a hectic time. They were very hospitable to us despite this and I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet them on this trip.

Crushing the sesame seeds for the tonkatsu sauce
Crushing the sesame seeds for the tonkatsu sauce
My tonkatsu set
My tonkatsu set
Tim got his with curry
Tim got his with curry
Us and the Pan family
Us and the Pan family (Tim: Minus Daniel)

After dinner, Tim and I decided to check out the night market, which was down the street from where we were staying. The night market here is only opened from Thursday-Sunday (the majority of night markets in Taiwan are 7 days a week). Tonight it started to rain, and apparently when it rains no one in Taitung goes out. This was evident in passing by the night market. This was the saddest night market we had seen so far. Many of the vendors were closing down and some didn’t even set up. There were no crowds at all. See? This is what happens when the weather isn’t good in Taitung.

Deserted night market
Deserted night market

Now we’re back at the hotel, getting ready for tomorrow. Tim’s aunt is going to pick us up tomorrow morning to drive us to the train station at 8:30am, our train to Hualien leaves at 9:39am.

There’s still a lot more of Taitung that we haven’t seen, but we know we’ll be back one day.

Steps walked: 24,300 steps
Biked: 11 km