The Sapporo Charm
July 01, 2016I wanted to catch the tail of Japan's winter and so what a better way to do that is fly to the island of Hokkaido. It is already spring in Tokyo (in fact almost about to end) but in Hokkaido, I could still get a taste of its winter season.
Hokkaido is the second largest, northernmost and said to be least developed of Japan's four main islands. Temperature on winter can be unforgiving with lots of snowfall, below zero temperatures and even frozen seas (Let it go, Elsa), while in summer it does not get as hot and humid as in other parts of Japan.
I landed in a city called Sapporo after flying from Tokyo on the same day. Sapporo is where most journeys of travelers begin. From here, they can get to Niseko and other places to play winter sports such as snowboarding or skiing.
I decided to stay only in Sapporo as I don't have extra days to explore. I wanted to stay for few nights in Tokyo to see my friend Khim and check out other places I missed on my first trip back in January.
While there were no more snow in the city, on my way boarding the train, I saw some snow near the mountains and even near the houses. It was still cold with temperature between 7-10 degrees.
The cold breeze was even hard to swallow but my H&M heavy duty scarf was a good idea after all.
It also took me a while to find my hotel which is a good 10-minute walk from the nearest metro. But, I had to pay the price of not emailing my hotel for complete instructions thus I ended up asking few locals who were more than happy to point me its location.
One local woman even had to walk with me to make sure I find it even if it meant she would need to go back as her apartment was on the opposite side. What a gracious woman! Bless her!
It was already 6pm, tired and hungry so after checking in, I decided to check out a convenience store to grab something to eat.
The night is young, I thought.
Then I said to myself: "Tomorrow is another day."
Love,
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