It was our first trip together since dating for almost 4 years. Finally. =)
If I were to use one word to describe my trip, it would be “wonderful”. Although I left for this trip with much apprehension, everything turned out better than expected. The place is awesomely beautiful and the trip was well-planned. Hokkaido is such a captivating place, away from all the buzz of the city. Beautiful flowers, beautiful streets, warm-hearted people and so many more…
The tour package by five star was also very well-planned. All thanks to our Japan tour guide who helped to make this trip so awesomely memorable.
Here’s a snapshot of my beautiful trip to the land of the rising sun.
DAY 1
Day 1 was spent mostly travelling. A good whole day was spent on board the plane and by the time we reached our hotel at 10pm, we were totally famished. We had not taken our dinner and we were totally regretting not grabbing a bite before our domestic flight.
Well, but lady luck was on our side. We found a nice little restaurant right beside the hotel that we stayed that night. After dropping our luggage, we charged towards the restaurant, praying really hard that it will still be opened. Hooray, it was! Tonden saved our stomach! =)
Stomach Saviour - Tonden!!!
Yumz.... =P
Our first sushi meal at Hokkaido...
These calamari and onion rings are BIG and very NICE!
DAY 2
Our first destination was a nearby market. Typical of the Japanese, even their market is tidy and clean. The market was selling a lot of seafood, fruits and all… Nice place to catch a glimpse of where typical Japanese shop for their groceries…
You will rarely see me standing at the market.. hahaha.. =P
Giant Crab!
Lotsa crabs!
Seafood...
Melons... Yummy!
Then, we headed towards Ishiya chocolate factory. This is the place that sells the infamous Hokkaido shiroi koibito. The place is dolled up like a kiddy palace where we got to see many happy children prancing around the deamland.
Beautiful right???
So cute..
chu chu train...
The entrance into the retail shop.
3 little pigs
Love this shot... =)
Oh... The ice-cream there is really nice...
Afterwhich, we travelled to Okurayama Observatory. Sapporo was home to the 1972 winter Olympics. This ski-jump venue overlooks the city and till today, it is still in use. We took a ride up to the top of the observatory to catch a glimpse of Sapporo. That ride up got me bruised… hahaha.. Shall not share this embarrassing event on a public domain… =P
Mt Okura
Up we went...
The Olympic Rings
Bird's eye view from the observation deck...
At the top...
The day ended with shopping at the Sappora Underground shopping mall. We also took a sneak peek at the Ramen street that is said to be where Ramen was first introduced in Japan.
Ramen Street
The very narrow alley houses quite a number of ramen stalls
This stall is said to be nice.. But we were too full to have a bowl... =(
DAY 3 (–> Sounkyo)
After 2 days in Sapporo, we gradually moved towards Sounkyo. This day, we visited the Asahimaya Zoo that boasts unique enclosures of animals. This is the first time I have visited a zoo overseas. Although similar to our Singapore Zoological Garden, this zoo has a couple of rarer breeds of animals that can only be found in Hokkaido.
With this very cute sign post, off we went!
White Owl... Btw, the Japanese love owls...
I told you they love owls...
The penguins enclosure... We travelled on a travellator like those in underwater world... Nice touch to the experience.. =)
Don't ask me what breed of monkey is this because to me, they are simply monkeys... =P
I had to visit my friend... hahaha... So handsome!
My favourite animal of all time... Horse!
I bought this from the Zoo. It was irresistably adorable.. It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die... Officially, this seal soft-toy is called Fluffy...
The day ended with a visit to beautiful Sounkyo Gorge. I was mesmerised by the picturesque view of the waterfall. So silky and smooth, the waterfall was simply breathtaking.
Mt Daisetsu-zan
So beautiful...Postcard perfect!
Silky waterfall...
Then, we headed for a night stay at a ‘on-sen’ hot spring hotel. That night was exceptionally special as we were lucky to be there for the Japan’s summer festival. In celebration of the festival, fireworks were blasted into the air for a good 25 mins and being where we were, the fireworks were seemingly bursting right into our faces. So beautiful. Oh, I have to mention this. I finally went for on-sen after much persuasion from my bf. hahaha..
The on-sen hotel we stayed for the night..
Nice room...
Traditional performance in celebration of Japan's Summer Festival.
Fireworks!!
Sea of flowers... Pretty!
More flowers...
Nice big sunflowers... Some are almost my height...
This sunflower looks mickey-mouse like..
Sea of lavenders...
A close up shot of lavenders...
I am simply in love with flowers...
Pinku flowers
More pinku flowers
Marigorudo
We had to take a shot!
Then, we headed for Farm Tomita for more flowers. However, there weren’t as many flowers but the place is still very nice to shop around for Lavender products.
Farm Tomita
Nice hor..
We then headed for Furano Wine Winery for a tour of the place. Being a non-fan of wine, here are some shots of my visit there…
Furano Wine Winery
Wine cellar
100 years wine
Wine shop...
Next, we were off to Anpanman museum…
Anpanman shop!
Wanted to sit next to Anpanman but it was raining... =(
Anpanman museum...
Kawaii desu..
Bf posing with the baddy...
Anpanman at Mt. Fuji
I suppose this is the founder of Anpanman...
DAY 5 (–> Otaru)
Day 5 was spent at Otaru, my favourite town of the lot. Otaru is said to be the first few industrial zones in Hokkaido and boasts to romantic town in Japan. This place has its own unique appeal that is indescribable. Nestled in this little town are age-old factories, nice long canals , shops that sell glassware and many more. A really nice place..
First stop, we visited a cherry farm for cherry picking. Nice experience plucking cherries directly from the trees and eating them. =)
Nice cottage looking house where we cherry pick
Cherries... Not very sweet though
Posing with a cherry tree...
Yumz...
Nice cherries...
After cherry picking, we headed for Otaru Music Box Museum. It’s like a dreamland for everything pretty and cute. Upon stepping in there, you will feel that you have been transported back to the 18th century. Rustic looking buildings with nice little shopping outlets. If only I could spend more time at this place.
Totally love the street...
The bus is so old school...
Otaru Music Museum
My heart melted with the volume of Winnie The Pooh Music Teddies...
My favourite Pooh!
Aww.. I bought 2 of them in there...
Beautiful glass musical ornaments...
Sparkling beautiful
From the 2nd floor of Otaru Music Museum...
Brought one of these angels for my grandma...
Haha... Winnie the Pooh working hard...
For lunch, we ordered a 12,000Yen crab. We were taken aback by the size of our 1kg crab but we totally savoured the taste of freshness of this fresh catch. Yummilicious.. I think I will miss the taste of it really soon.
Our 1kg crab...
This sums up the chapter at Hokkaido… Day 6 was spent at Tokyo…
DAY 6 (–> Tokyo)
Since I have been to Tokyo before, I didn’t take many photographs. Well, the one thing that is worth mentioning is that I bought myself a Burberry Blue Label handbag from Ginza… =P Heart my new bag..
Me and my happy purchase...
Also, worth mentioning is the nicest unagi rice I have ever had… Yumz… This was our last meal in Tokyo…
oishi desu!
We topped up a plate of sashimi...
This shot is a little blur... We took a picture with the owners of this oishi unagi rice restaurant...
That’s all! Happy days often pass by too quickly. It was an enjoyable and memorable trip and I am totally in love with Hokkaido. I would love to visit this place again. Really. Well, all good things got to come to an end. As I close this Hokkaido chapter, I am looking forward to some exciting months at work with new campaigns rolling out. Feeling re-energised and ready for whatever that comes.
As I type this entry, I am looking forward to my next trip already. Where and when shall it be? =)
HAPPY 45th BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!!
