… Not quite as I hoped. At least it was not exactly snowing where we were on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Hokkaido trip started on Christmas Eve, when my friends and I took the domestic flight to Hakodate, then took a bus to the bus terminus opposite our hotel (Hotel Route Inn Gratia Hakodate).
Hakodate Airport
Hakodate Sea View
Hotel Route Inn Gratia HakodateWe then had lunch, checked in and went on to Mount Hakodate in a gondola that night. After coming down from the gondola, we took a bus to the town centre and went into a night market. We saw crabs, fish, seafood and other kinds of stuff. Then we had dinner and went on to the riverside to see the Christmas Tree.
Night view on top of Mount Hakodate
The big Christmas tree
Hakodate Riverside
Actual night view of HakodateHakodate was about zero degree Celsius that day, but it was not snowing. In fact, the grounds had no snow at all. The wind was blowing strongly and there were chills, but no snow. We wandered around the area, then went into a pub to drink and countdown for Christmas.
Upon returning to our hotel, we went to indulge in the hot spring for a while, before sitting at the massage chairs outside the hot spring and just chatted late into the night. We even exchanged gifts after that! Amazing we could still wake up early the next morning for breakfast, explored the morning seafood market filled with lots and lots of gigantic fresh crabs, scallops and whatnot, before going to the train station to take the ten o-clock train to Noboribetsu!
Upon returning to our hotel, we went to indulge in the hot spring for a while, before sitting at the massage chairs outside the hot spring and just chatted late into the night. We even exchanged gifts after that! Amazing we could still wake up early the next morning for breakfast, explored the morning seafood market filled with lots and lots of gigantic fresh crabs, scallops and whatnot, before going to the train station to take the ten o-clock train to Noboribetsu!
View of Hakodate City
Entrance of Hakodate Morning Market
Hakodate Morning Market
Crabs swimming - look like aliens, right?
Scallops
Sea urchins!
Crab trying to climb out!
In front of JR Hakodate Station
En route to Noboribetsu
A frozen lake
Noboribetsu (this building happens to be an aquarium of sorts)Christmas Day in Noboribetsu. There was some snow on the grounds, but other than that, the ground was bare. The hotel we were in is highly recommended (Daiichi Takimotokan Hotel). It is the best hotel in Noboribetsu! For the price paid (about S$150.00 per night, please bear in mind peak season costs more), we have a big tatami room overlooking the mountain, access to the seven different kinds of hot springs, free breakfast and dinner, walk around Hell Valley and free shuttle bus to Sapporo all thrown in! Where can we get a better deal?
We checked in then went for lunch. After that, we proceeded to have a walk around Hell Valley. I was there a couple of years back during the summer, and the sulphur smells stronger as compared in winter. Then we went back to change into the yukata provided by the hotel and went for the hot spring! That was the place where we indulged in the most hot spring, as we spent almost two hours in the water!
Entrance to Hell Valley
Birds of Ill Omen?
Snow and Steam all in one!
Doraemon in the lobby!After that, we went for dinner, which was a big buffet spread. We took everything we saw, sashimi, sushi, soba, udon, tempura, even dessert! After dinner, we played games and the winner had to use a lipstick (mine) to draw on the hand of the loser. I was unlucky that I happened to lose the most number of times, so my hands got drawn the most! By the time they finished with my hands, I could hardly recognize the figures they drew!
Me on the tatami floor of the hotel room
Bowing the Japanese way
End of the game - guess whose hands had the most drawings?
Me the loser :-(Still, we all had a ball of a time and slept soundly until the next morning when we had to catch the nine o-clock train to Sapporo. That day (Boxing Day), it was snowing heavily on the way to Sapporo. All around me, I could see layers and layers of snow! I have never seen that much snow in my life before! But then again, I have never seen snow in the tropics, so perhaps that amount of snow was pretty normal for a place like Hokkaido?
Because of the snow, we were caught in a massive jam, thus the journey to Sapporo took longer than usual. Where it would take two hours to reach Sapporo, the journey took almost four hours that day, with a rest stop in between. When we finally reached Sapporo, all of us were dead beat, and we had to lug our luggages across the snow into our hotel, even though the hotel is just above Sapporo Station!
If you think it is so easy to walk in the snow, think again! Most of the snow is slush, so it makes the path rather slippery. Which is why the right kind of shoes are required. I do not mean snow boots or snow shoes, but at least a good pair of walking shoes. No track shoes! I wore my hiking boots, but even then, I still slipped a few times in the snow! Which was why I decided I need to change my shoes!
After checking into our hotel (Hotel Gracery Sapporo), we took a train to Susukino to locate the famous Ramen Alley. It took a while as the street signs were all frosted up so we could hardly read the signs at all. We finally managed to find the shop that started it all – Yorocho Ramen. The place seats only eight, but the ramen is absolutely delicious! I ate up every single thing in my bowl!
Because of the snow, we were caught in a massive jam, thus the journey to Sapporo took longer than usual. Where it would take two hours to reach Sapporo, the journey took almost four hours that day, with a rest stop in between. When we finally reached Sapporo, all of us were dead beat, and we had to lug our luggages across the snow into our hotel, even though the hotel is just above Sapporo Station!
If you think it is so easy to walk in the snow, think again! Most of the snow is slush, so it makes the path rather slippery. Which is why the right kind of shoes are required. I do not mean snow boots or snow shoes, but at least a good pair of walking shoes. No track shoes! I wore my hiking boots, but even then, I still slipped a few times in the snow! Which was why I decided I need to change my shoes!
After checking into our hotel (Hotel Gracery Sapporo), we took a train to Susukino to locate the famous Ramen Alley. It took a while as the street signs were all frosted up so we could hardly read the signs at all. We finally managed to find the shop that started it all – Yorocho Ramen. The place seats only eight, but the ramen is absolutely delicious! I ate up every single thing in my bowl!
Noboribetsu in the morning after a night of snow
En route to Sapporo
A little kid shovelling snow
Snow-covered tree in Sapporo
View of Daimaru from Hotel Gracery Sapporo
Susukino
Then we took a train to the Ishiya White Chocolate Factory. I had been there in summer, but it was even more spectacular in winter! There was a Christmas tree and an ice sculpture of a reindeer. There is even a section for toys! We explored the factory, drank some hot chocolate at the café, then went onto the grounds.There happened to be a blizzard when we went onto the grounds. The snow just came cascading down. We took pictures with some of the fairy tale houses and the reindeer, then left the place. One thing we must do in a blizzard is to get a muffler. The wind and snow just cuts into your face, so we need to wrap up the lower half of our face at least so the cutting effect of the wind and snow would not be that intense!
Grounds of Ishiya White Chocolate Factory
Ishiya White Chocolate
Astroboy!
Darth Vader!
Look at the blizzard!
We went back to Susukino to shop at the rows of alleys. That was where I bought the most things. I bought a black sling bag, as I figured my tote bad is too cumbersome and heavy. I did not want to bring a backpack as that was too troublesome as I had to keep taking it down whenever I needed anything, so I decided to bring along a tote bag.How was I to know a tote bag would also be heavy and cumbersome and strained my shoulders? At least one learns from experience. So a sling bag is the best. Not too big, not too heavy, enough to put all your necessary stuff like passport, wallet, keys, and other important things. I bought a beautiful white chiffon dress on sale.
And I bought my pair of Timberland boots! Perfect for walking in the snow, and I was right! The most comfortable pair of shoes I have, yet I never slip a single time while walking in the snow! We went for a teppanyaki dinner after that before going back to the hotel to play more games and shared ghost stories.
Susukino Alley
My own Timberland!
The room in Hotel Gracery SapporoThe next day, we went on to Otaru. It was another snowy day. Otaru in the summer looks like our own Boat Quay, but Otaru in winter is really nice! Streets full of snow, ice all over. We dropped off at a restaurant for lunch, and that is the best lunch I had in Japan! The tempura is almost perfect, and the sushi is so fresh and good!
Sapporo in the morning
Opposite Otaru Station
The Otaru Channel
Streets of OtaruWe then explored the Otaru Canal. We had our fun trying to shovel the snow, having snowball fights, and even took some pictures together at the canal! The temperature then was about minus five degree Celsius, so I was feeling the effects of the cold! Thermal can really save your life, otherwise I would have frozen to death already!
We had some hot chocolate and ice cream (actually having ice cream in cold weather helps counteract the cold, because your body is cold so when you step outside, you do not feel the cold so much as if your body is hot), went to a glassware studio, went exploring some local food stuff, then went to the Music Box Museum.
We had some hot chocolate and ice cream (actually having ice cream in cold weather helps counteract the cold, because your body is cold so when you step outside, you do not feel the cold so much as if your body is hot), went to a glassware studio, went exploring some local food stuff, then went to the Music Box Museum.
Part of the Otaru Canal
Look at the temperature!
The Otaru Canal
A poor shivering bunny in the cold!
After that, we went back to Sapporo via train. Along the way, we passed by a sportswear shop and I managed to get my ski goggles! Then we went back to Sapporo and did more shopping, this time getting my ski pants! We wanted to go for a Yakitori dinner after that, but the place was closed, so we stumbled onto another restaurant which turned out to have pretty good steamboat! We all slept early that night and checked out the following morning to catch the bus to Niseko. Hence concludes our White Christmas, and on to Winter Wonderland next!
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