(7) Hokkaido Trip: 11 - 14 June 2015 Sapporo / Bangkok / Singapore

___________________________

11-June-2015

___________________________

Rise and shine! We had breakfast at the hotel before we set off towards Sapporo.

Before entering Sapporo, we stopped over at Mitsui Outlet Park for lunch and shopping.

After that we drove into Sapporo and first stop was the Ishiya Chocolate Factory.

We bought some souvenirs and ate soft-serve ice-cream.

We contacted the AirBnb host that we would be arriving in 10 mins from Ishiya Chocolate Factory. It has a parking lot for our car and next to Seicomart, convenient to purchase foodstuff and drinks. However we stayed on the Level 4 of the apartment and there was no elevator. We had lots of stuff to carry up to our apartment.

We bought foodstuff from Seicomart and cooked dinner in the apartment. After that we tried to drive up to Mount Moiwa but a thick fog had forced the entrance to be closed. Hence, we had to turn back and rest early for the evening.

___________________________

12-June-2015

___________________________

We set off today to explore around Sapporo.

We drove south-eastern direction and came to Takino Suzuran Hillside Park

国営滝野すずらん丘陵公園

After that, we drove up to Mount Moiwa but would need to take a ropeway tram up to the summit.

It was lunch time. We settled on western food at the restaurant up at the summit's observation station.

Landscape view of Sapporo.

We headed back to Sapporo town centre and went to Sapporo Factory

サッポロファクトリー. It was a shopping mall.

The Sapporo Factory (サッポロファクトリー Sapporo Fakutorī) is a complex that includes a shopping mall, office, multiplex movie theatres, and museum. The building was formerly a brewery that belonged to the Kaitakushi, the old government of Hokkaidō prefecture, and later owned by the Sapporo Beer Company, the predecessor of the Sapporo Brewery. Currently, the Sapporo Factory is run by the Yebisu Garden Place, a subsidiary of Sapporo Holdings Ltd., and a real estate company. The original brewery building was built in 1876, and after the brewery ceased to function in beer production, the operations were moved to a new location in Eniwa, in 1993.

A 100-yen shop. We proceeded to Sapporo Beer Museum, which is north of Sapporo Factory.

At the end of the museum tour, there was a hallway where they allowed us to sample fresh brew of different Sapporo beer types.

After the visit to Sapporo Beer Museum, we proceeded to a nearby Ario shopping centre to kill some time as it was still too early for dinner.

Soon it was 6pm and we proceeded back to Sapporo Beer Garden (just beside the Sapporo Beer Museum) to have dinner.

We ordered the Genghis Khan BBQ set meals.

It was back to our apartment after dinner. And it was time to do laundry at a nearby laundry shop.

They even had washer and dryer for sneakers.

___________________________

13-June-2015

___________________________

This morning we went to visit the Hokkaido Shrine.

The Hokkaidō Shrine (北海道神宮 Hokkaidō Jingū) is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chuo-ku, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four kami including the soul of the Emperor Meiji.

The area of the Hokkaido Shrine is 180,000 m². From June 14 to 16 in every year, the Main festival of Hokkaido Shrine, also called "Sapporo Festival" (Sapporo Matsuri), is held, and the line of people bearing Mikoshi parades down the street which leads to the shrine.

We proceeded to Sapporo central and visited the places around Sapporo Station and Odori Park.

We were famished when we arrived, we proceed to have breakfast at a cafe.

We went to visit the underground malls (Aurora Town and Pole Town) linking between Sapporo Station and Odori Park

We stopped over at this Japanese Curry Shop to have lunch.

After lunch, we walked to Odori Park.

While at the Odori Park, we saw there were many people dressed in various costumes. There was a street performance celebrating the Yosakoi Soran Festival.

The Yosakoi Soran Festival is an energetic dancing event based on the Yosakoi Festival of Kochi Prefecture, featuring naruko clappers and Hokkaido’s Soran Bushi folk melodies. Launched in 1992 with 10 teams and 1,000 dancers, it has developed into a major international event attracting some 30,000 dancers from Japan and abroad and approximately 200 million visitors. The main venue is Odori Park, where dances are performed both on stage and as a parade. Visitors can join in the dancing at Waodori Square and visit stalls serving dishes from around the country. Performances are also held at various other parts of Sapporo. Besides the energetic choreography, vibrant costumes and make-up are part of the festival’s attractions.

There were also many street vendors selling food and merchandise.

We walked on to the Sapporo Clock Tower.

Next was the Hokkaido Government Office.

Grand red-brick former government building from the 1880s, with exhibits on Hokkaido history.

We took a stroll at a lake beside the Sapporo Government Office.

More street performance at the Sapporo Government Office.

We concluded our Sapporo tour today. Dinner was a simple meal bought from Seicomart near our apartment.

___________________________

14-June-2015

___________________________

This morning we drove the car back to Chitose International Airport and returned the car to the car rental company. We had our breakfast at the airport while waiting to board the flight. It was time to say good bye to Hokkaido. We had a flight to catch.

We took the flight back to Singapore via Bangkok.