The Great Japan Pilgrimage: Hokkaido

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.

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 29^th December

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.

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.

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 30^th 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.

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 31^st December

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. 

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.

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.

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 1^st January 2017

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…

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 

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.

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.