Wednesday 28th December
Attending school during the winter holidays is made so much
more bearable when your get-away driver whisks you away to the airport at
11.30am. Sitting at Akita airport, it felt like the holiday was truly
beginning.
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| The Atrium |
We watched the snow blanketed land soar past underneath us
and landed in an even whiter, colder Sapporo. Lugging suitcases through cities
is never fun - there is however an added sense of adventure when the footpaths
are capped with half a foot of ice. Despite the countless slips – there was
only one TKO en route to the hotel.
We spent the evening braving the iced over streets of
Susukino, the “nightlife district” of Sapporo. With a population of nearly 2
million people, Sapporo felt large enough to have everything on offer, but
still small enough to have an sense of intimate character and ample footpath
space.
Taking to building top Ferris wheel we caught the now dark
city (as it was mid-winter the sun set at around 4pm) and we eventually managed
to scavenge a local ramen shop for dinner – indulging in a Sapporo beer to
celebrate our first night there. I had wanted to visit Hokkaido ever since I was
16, so this was quite a chuffed moment.
Thursday 29th December
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| Former Government Offices |
Armed with polyprops, gloves and beanies in face of the sub-zero
temperatures, we ventured out for our first full day in the city. Stops included
the Former Government Office (aka the Red Brick Building), constructed in 1888
it bears the red star of the Hokkaido Development Commission or, for fellow plebeians
– the Red Star of Sapporo Beer.
The Sapporo Clock tower, known by many as the symbol of the
city.
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| Clock Tower |
Bic camera to keep the camera enthusiasts happy.
The Old Sapporo beer factory – where we wandered through the
various stores in the building, finding a glass bead making shop along the way.
We arrived in the Atrium, a glass roofed area with live music and indoor garden
and decided that our feet could do with a break and our souls with some
caffeine.
The coffee may have been a contributing factor when I agreed
to running (or attempting to do so) through knee deep snow as Henry thought it
would be funny to film.
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| Sapporo Beer Museum |
As the sun was starting to sink in the sky we followed the
brick chimney emblazoned with red star to arrive at the Sapporo beer museum.
The grounds were covered in snow and the trees with fairy light – never had a
makeshift pub looked so goddamn cosy. The weary travellers rested their aching
feet with a taster tray of beers sitting in front of them.
It seemed that even in a city that spends a good few months
of the year under snow and ice, people never really find their feet. The amount
of slips and falls we witnessed and the amount of revved engines as (useless)
taxi drivers got themselves stuck in pot holes (generally over manholes where the
snow and ice won’t settle). It put a smile on our faces to witness a bunch of
(probably tipsy) lads on a night out on the town band together and give the
taxi a helpful push. What I don’t understand is why so many women insist on
wearing stilettos when the path is already precarious enough (though I also
understand that anyone would get sick of wearing snow boots eventually).
Friday 30th December
Our second and final day in Sapporo began with a classy combini
breakfast of onigiri and canned coffee being consumed on the footpath out of
the wind (mustn’t eat and walk). We boarded a tram for the Mt Moiwa ropeway.
My thorough (and at times excessive) planning had failed to
pick up that the ropeway did not open until 11 or so that day -which meant we had nearly 2 hours to kill.
After trudging over to check out the water works museum only to discover that this
too was closed (though for the entire season) we went in search of coffee. Possibly
one of the cutest coffee shops I have been in, we sat in the window, looking
over a garden buried in snow with our locally brewed (read” hipster) coffees.
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| View from Mt Moiwa |
One ropeway and a mini cable car later we stood atop Mt
Moiwa looking over a city completely shrouded in white. I seem to be doing a
very good job of reminding people that I come from a place that doesn’t have
snow. Having lived in a city surrounded by hills for most of my life – it’s
always a strange and almost eerie sensation to look over a city or landscape that
sprawls for as far as the eye can see.
That afternoon we caught a bus to Moerenuma Park. After discovering
that the entrances along one side of the park would involve trekking through knee
deep snow, we backtracked and found the main entrance which was groomed (thank
god). A conical hill was being utilised as a sledge run for kids and their
families. We experienced the strange sensation of having to stick to an invisible
path. The snow had been packed hard by the many wanderers and so was stable to
walk on – veer slightly to other side and you sunk to your knees. We stayed in the
park till after sunset.
Disaster was narrowly avoided at dinner when Henry told me
not to being my wallet – he would pay, and promptly discovered at the
restaurant that he only had 2000 yen on him ($25NZ). After consulting with the
waitress we were assured that the prices on the menu did in fact include tax
(something that sneaks up on you here) which meant that we could afford dinner
(with 30 yen to spare).
Saturday 31st December
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| Daisetsuzan National Park |
Loaded into our little Toyota Paso rental car, we departed
for the coldest part of Japan. Even on days spent almost entirely in a car – it
feels like you’ve achieved something. The scenery was incredible – bare trees
completely white – winding mountain roads completely deserted.
We arrived in
Daisetsuzan National Park to -19 degrees C. It was here that I reverted
instantly to being a 5 year-old. The reason? At the age of 23, I discovered
that, when it is cold enough,
snowflakes actually look like the ones that you
see in pictures. It turns out that there is a silver lining to sub-zero
temperatures.
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| Asahidake Ropeway |
We boarded the ropeway with a number of skiers and snowboarders
and took off over the slopes and trees, climbing from 1100m to 1600m. Unfortunately
the “playground of the gods” was shrouded in cloud on the day we went, though
the ride up the mountainside was enough to be worth it and after trudging
through the fluffy snow at the top of the ropeway we retreated inside for a
vending machine hot chocolate. The cold really started to sink into our bones
while we were taking photos back down at the base – even through snow boots and
gloves my hands and toes were painful and not overly functional.
The next stop and second dud of the day was the Shirogane blue
pond in Biei. I had added it to the itinerary
after seeing pictures of a beautiful turquoise pond, speckled with trees. The pond
was built as an erosion control system to protect the town of Biei from
eruptions of Mt. Tokachidake. The colour is a result of the natural minerals dissolved
in the water. Given its proximity to an onsen village I assume that it would
not be frozen over.
Lol woops.
While it was a lovely snow covered field with trees – it closely
resembled the many other snowy fields we had driven past. Would recommend visiting
during the warmer months.
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| Shirahige Falls |
The visit did prove fruitful. We had stopped at a hotel in
search of a mixed onsen (which as we have discovered are few and very far in
between) Henry spotted a sign to a waterfall. This turned out to be one of the
best views of the trip.
The Shirohige waterfall earns its name from grounds water
seeping through cracks in the rocks, appearing as a white beard. The waterfall
splashes into a cobalt blue stream and parts of the fall were frozen into baby blue
icicles, the valley was stunning.
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| Asahikawa |
We travelled north to Asahikawa, Hokkaido’s second biggest
city, for the night. Our $50 hotel turned out to be an absolute steal. We
ventured out into the quiet streets; along the main drag snow had been cleared
from the footpaths leaving runs in the middle of the streets covered in white –
an natural decoration. The fairy lights and snow certainly had a festive feel
to it and the last hours of 2016 drew nearer.
Drawn to the siren song of a 980 yen nomihoudai deal we slipped into an Izakaya for dinner. The tapas style dinner (favourite dish being the
pickled plum covered chicken skewers) was accompanied by multiple beers, mojitos
and finished with a pourer of sake…each. Feeling worn at 10.30pm we stopped in
at a Lawson to pick up more sake (of the sparkling variety) and Hokkaido butter
flavour crisps (which we had developed a taste for along the many drives) and
returned to the hotel for a bit of r&r before the new year ticked over. We
decided to have a short nap; I set my alarm for 11.30pm and woke up at 2am. Woops.
Despite missing the turnover our short stay in Asahikawa proved to be an
enjoyable one.
Sunday 1st January 2017
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| Jikokudani, Noboribetsu |
My intoxicated self had taken pity on my hungover self and
allowed us a small sleep in when she re-set her alarm at 2am. Feeling slightly
dishevelled we sought out a breakfast at Lawson – the brisk air doing wonders
to blow the worst of the hangover away- before looking on with mild (but
somewhat subdued) entertainment as our came into view on the hotel car park
merry go round. The aim of the day was to head south to Koizumi where we would
be staying for the next couple of days. What I failed to tell Henry was that we
would be stopping at a geothermal valley along the way – there may have been a
little confusion when we turned up to a carpark that did not appear to be near
any hotels…
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| Oyunuma pond |
Jikokudani (Hell Valley) of Shikotsu Toya National park and
Noboribetsu onsen is home to hot steam vents and sulphurous streams. The array
of colours through the valley was spectacular, from the red and orange rock, to
the grey muddy creaks and pure white snow-capped peaks. A precarious walk over
ice covered paths (at one point we found if easier to slide down the path
clinging to the bannister rather than drying to descend normally) we reached
the lookout for Oyunuma pond, sulphurous and with a surface temperature of 50
degrees. Back in the township, the geyser which went active every 3 hours or so
– was indeed active. Nestled in a cave in a small amphitheatre the sounds and steam
that the spitting water produced certainly hinted at demonic activity.
Continuing our journey we stopped to lookout over Toya and
then again on its shores. Wandering through the quiet streets of Koizumi, we
stumbled across a small ramen bar for dinner, run by a jii-chan and his wife.
2nd & 3rd of January
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| Lake Toya |
After waiting for the local petrol station to open, we set
off for what had been one of Henry’s only requests for the trip: Niseko. I had
imagined the village at the base of the ski field as a quaint one, how wrong I was.
A modern, built up hub for tourists, both in the town and on the mountain it
was often a struggle to remember that you were in Japan and not Australia (or
America). Coming from a country where you have to drive half way up a mountain to
get to snow, it was an incredibly bizarre experience to see a town only metres
away from chairlifts and the bottom of runs.
Despite locals and regulars complaining that this was the worst
season in years – Henry said it was some of the best snow he had ever seen. My
limited experience skiing kept me from the harder slopes (not to mention the
off piste areas where Henry spent most of the 2 days) but it was still enough
to appreciate how good the soft fluffy snow was compared to the icy runs on Ruapehu.
Standing at the top of the run and looking out onto the snow covered landscape
was quite spectacular. We also got to experience night skiing – when the runs
are flood lit.
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| Niseko |
Our first day was
spent on the slopes of Grand Hirafu and Hanazono and our second on Annupuri,
where in the afternoon Henry caught the chairlifts to the top of Annupuri and
came down the off piste areas and black runs of Niseko village where I drove
around to meet him at the bottom (it was a strange experience driving through
tunnels that were built under the runs and had people shooting over them on
skis and snowboards.
We returned to Sapporo to drop off the rental car then once
again dragged our suitcases through the icy streets to catch a train to Chitose
for the night. After wandering for a while we found a yakitori bar for dinner
where the locals were impressed by Henry braving the streets in sneakers rather
than snow boots ( I initially had my doubts but as it turns out water-proofing
spray works wonders) not to mention his height and the fact that he was ‘good
looking’ (Henry seemed rather chuffed at this). We wandered back through the snow
to our hotel for our last night in Hokkaido.
Next stop: Yamanashi.
It may come as no
surprise that by the time we finally made it to our hotel; we were graced with
a view of the sun setting over the buildings from our window. Having gone from
a city of 26,000 to 400,000 people we took the liberty of strolling through the
city streets and stores. Here our dilemma wasn’t so much what was open, as
which one of the many inns and restaurants did we feel like eating at. We
settled on an Izakaya, indulging in a
beer after the cross country trek.
The second of Henry’s requests for the trip was to see the
famous snow monkeys. One bus ride with a group of incredibly hungover
Australians and we were winding our way through the trees over an ice covered
path to Jigokudani (yet another “Hell Valley”). 
