2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 6 - Sapporo

>> Saturday, January 23, 2010



The last day of any trip is usually wasted. I reached Sapporo's Shin Chitose Airport before noon. You can actually buy a lot of the Hokkaido snacks here without needing to go to the actual stores.



 

Ha! I found the Hanabatake store again, but there was no milk pudding, so I tried the caramel one. Somehow, I think the milk one still tasted better.

 

From the same store, I also tried the melon pan. Nothing extraordinarily special here.

 

 

My domestic flight was a Bombardier CRJ. It was my first time riding this kind of plane and I was pretty excited. We had to board by bus. Inside, it was just 4 seats across with an aisle in the middle. Actually, it was a little cramped.

 

 

It's been less than 24 hours, but I am already missing Japan, and suffering the withdrawal symptoms once again from the lack of eye candy, sights and sounds, and definitely the friggin' temperature. As before, I returned with renewed fervour to buck up my Japanese skills. Actually, this time round I was able to understand announcements better, but conversing with shop assistants still cries for improvement. The last time I came back, I signed up for extra lessons. I wonder what I will do next this time round. Work?

I still have to cover Japan in spring and autumn. For now, I know I love the place. I want to visit Europe but I know I will be back, and I have decided I shall make Japan an annual pilgrimage destination. I shall and I will make short trips there once a year, at least. This I promise myself.

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2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 5 - Sapporo



This picture was taken the night before. As I mentioned, I was walking the streets in the falling snow. And the snow got heavier as the night went on.



Next morning...

 

The streets were all covered with snow and I woke up to a -3 degrees morning, which eventually went to -8 degrees by night.

 

I had a sandwich I bought the night before as I intended to try a ramen place in a few hours' time. But as I walked out, it was so cold, I decided to hide in Mister Donut at the station.

While I was here, I decided to try the mochi donut my friend raved about. Indeed, it was quite delightful as it was not overly chewy. I also had this bitter chocolate donut which I think was sensational. Inside, was a gooey filling of chocolate pudding. Mind you, that's pure chocolate goodness and not the whipped cream kind we get at JCo. Overall, I think Mister Donut's great. Their donuts do not have that oily feel and smell like our local shops.

 

I decided to walk to the ramen shop which was actually quite far as I was still early. The streets are really covered with snow.

 

This ramen had better be good too, because I fell along the way crossing the streets, because of the slippery snow...so malu. I landed on my butt and spectacles literally flew. It was so cold I had to duck into convenience shops when I could, and I saw these cans along the way.

 

Finally, I found Ramen Gojyogen which was located in a really quiet neighbourhood, as it was pretty far from the bustling side of town. I knew about this shop not from books, but from some Taiwanese blogs.

 

Being so early, I was the first customer. I even had to wait a while as they were not quite ready yet.

 

Char-siu Onigiri as recommended by what I read.

 

I ordered a pork and salt flavoured ramen. Overall, I think it was not too bad in its own right. The egg was runny enough. The char-siu was well seasoned, and the little fats went well with the ramen.

 

However, therein lies my new resolution with regards to ramen: it no longer excites me. Apart from Marutama's Seven Nuts soup stock, every ramen place is usually salt, miso, tonkotsu or shoyu. Ramen no longer surprises any more in terms of taste or texture. It has, for me, simply become a case of "nice" or "not nice". I conclude henceforth ramen is no longer my priority and I will not make an effort to try it unless I'm in the mood.

It was snowing again and was freezing, but in the end I decided to make my way to the next stop: Sapporo Beer Factory. How could I possibly miss the birthplace of my favorite beer.

 

  

They have a museum inside on the history of the beer. Here are some old signages from 1900s.

 

 

A small gallery of their different bottles and cans.

 

Old advertisement posters.

 

At the lounge, I ordered their beer sampler set. The one of the left is the usual cans you see in Singapore. The one in the center had a stronger flavour. The one on the right is the one I like best. It was very light and refreshing. I wonder if they sell it in Singapore.




 

A complimentary pack of crackers.

 

Next to the beer factory was a large shopping mall.

 

There was a huge supermarket here and it was a delight walking through it looking at all the local produce. It was also the first supermarket in Japan that I came across that stocks everything from raw foods to tidbits, as the ones in the city usually stock only raw foods.

 

Next, I headed back to city center. Sapporo also has a tram system, but here, it costs a flat fee of 170yen.

 

Sweet innocent love trudging in front of me as I walked to my next destination after getting off the tram.

 

I was headed up Mt. Moiwa. As usual, you ride a ropeway up the mountain. A cemetery along the way.

 

But surprise surprise. I still have not reached the summit. I had to ride this mini bus which was modified with snow tracks.

 

 

 

From the summit, you get the view of Sapporo city. It was freezing and very windy. I had to hide indoors until night fell and the city was lit up.

 

Sapporo by night. Once again, I became a photographer for a Hong Kong couple who were on the deck as well.

 

Definitely not as breathtaking as Hakodate's view.

 

I returned to the Sapporo station area again. Remembering I saw an ad for restaurants above the Tokyu departmental store building, I headed there to check it out. In the end, I chose this tonkatsu restaurant.

 

 

I orderd the kurobuta hire katsu set. The sauce was a little different from the usual tonkatsu sauce. This was a little sharp and sweet, and went very well with the tender pork.

 

Since it was my last night, I decided to indulge in some desserts. At Daimaru's basement, I bought this snack from Morimoto. Morimoto also sells tomato jelly which looked to be pretty delicious, but as it came in a pack, I did not try it.

This item is actually like butterless egg cake; somewhat like our "huat kueh", and you can even taste the egg flavour. Sandwiched in between was white chocolate cream. Eaten cold, the combination was something different. Perhaps I shall try baking this some time.

 

 

The night does not end with a visit to the well-stocked convenience stores of Japan. I bought this red bean man ju. The outer layer was flavoured with shiso and the red bean paste on the inside was not overly sweet.

 

 

Finally, the finale. The one that dethroned the convenience store's milk pudding which I once adored. I came across this store in the station a few times. All I can say is I hate myself for not stepping in earlier. The store is called Hanabatake Bokujyo. It sells products made from Hokkaido milk, such as cheeses, jams, bread etc.

I bought this milk pudding. It had a strong mik taste to it. Texturally, the cross between a viscous liquid and mousse was simply pure heaven. The end result was a light and frothy pudding packed full of milk flavour!

 

 

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2010 Winter Hokkaido Day 4 - Otaru



Otaru is a coastal port town once flourishing with commerce. As that declined, the people turn towards glass-making. It houses glassware shops and is home to the oruguru or musical boxes, as well as the main shops of chocolatiers and confectioneries.

This is the view from Tengu-yama. Actually, there was pretty much nothing up there, save for this view and I was down within half an hour. However, Tengu-yama has a popular ski resort and you can see skiers along the way. I also saw a really cute little girl all wrapped up in ski gear and learning snowboarding.



 

A train once ran through the town, and its tracks are preserved for historical significance.

 

I was hunting for this shop which sells T-shirts and ice cream, and finally found it behind a corner.

 

 

One free ice cream per T-shirt bought. I wanted to try this at Hakodate but it was too cold then. This is ika sumi or squid ink ice cream. It was very creamy and sticky. Actually, I could not taste anything else besides its creaminess.

 

The Otaru canal, which once ferried boats along but no longer in use now. The warehouses were storage facilities in the past, but now houses some restaurants. During the winter festival, this place is lit with candles, and I am sure it would be beautiful at night. No worries though, as I am sure I will be back again!

 

 

 

A small area of eateries.

 

Had lunch at this tenpura shop.

 

Again, a small shop that seats less than 10.

 

I took the Hokkaido Ten-don. There was a mixture of crab, salmon, prawn and vegetables. The sauce was quite tasty. At the end of the meal, the owner asked if it was delicious. I guess I must have been too quiet eating again -_-"

 

 

Next to it was this shop that sold huge takoyaki, but I did not try as I was too full.

 

 

Next, I was making my way to the confectioneries. Along the way, there are many shops selling glassware. You can pay to experience making your own glass.

 

 

 

 

This is LeTao. There were many Hongkongers and Taiwanese snapping up the goodies. I bought my chocolates and I was served by a sweet smiling girl who turned out to be a Taiwanese working there. How I wish I could speak as fluently as her! Argh!

 

Opposite is the Oruguru museum. In front is a clock powered by steam. You can see a little steam coming out from the top of it.

 

Inside, they sell many glass souvenirs and musical boxes. I did not buy anything as I did not manage to find anything I fancied.

 

They also had on display a collection of antique musical boxes.

 

 

 

I had one last place I wanted to visited. Located inside what is Hall No. 3 is a really cool cafe.

 

 

 

Voila! The lights you see are actually all kerosene lamps. The lamps were pretty warm - good for a cold day.

 

I ordered a Matcha au liat. It was quite nice; not too sweet, but you can taste the milk.

 

I returned to Sapporo city, deposited my spoils of the day and walked the streets just with my jacket on. It had been a rainy day all day, and the rain subsequently turn into falling snow. I walked the streets under the falling snow, hands in pocket and hood up. A truly great experience.

 

No idea what to eat, so I decided to visit the food halls under the department stores. Here's a brand Singapore once had.

 

Bought an assortment of sushi. Better than my eki-bento at Hakodate, but this was too much rice.

 

The dumplings looked appetizing as I walked by, but this was a wrong order. I wanted some round shaped ones, but I guess I ordered wrongly. Still, they were pretty tasty.

 

Walked past this small stall at the station that sold grilled potatoes. This was amazing. Very sweet and moist. Right in the centre it is so soft you almost feel like you are eating mashed potatoes.

 

Devoid of fruits for the past day, I bought strawberries. Not the sweetest Japanese strawberries I ever eaten, but definitely sweet enough and better than our local ones.

 

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