2014.09.29 | 有獎問答

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1947]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014: Giveaway Contest

大家請放心, 稍安無躁呀!! 我應承過大家北海道遊記系列經已完畢, 我亦唔會再多寫遊記嚟到轟炸大家, 講得到就做得到嘛.. 或者大家應該已經唔記得上一輪嘅讀者回饋, 我有手信送俾留言最多嘅讀者.. 當時仲話會有第二論, 仲有冇印象?? 好喇, 遊記系列既然完畢, 當然要嚟多一輪讀者回饋啦.. 不過呢一次唔睇留言喇, 因為我知道大家已經幾度厭倦, 以致留言數目急降(嗚嗚嗚!!), 況且無謂強迫人哋要我啲嘢嘅又.. 所以第二輪就公開俾所有讀者, 大家公平競爭.. 只需要回答三條非常之簡單嘅問題, 就有機會應取心意手信喇!! 如果閣下有意參加, 唔好猶疑喇, 因為我每次嘅有獎問答都反應慘淡的, 所以得獎機會好高㗎, 呵呵!! 問答已於2014年10月5日星期日晚上11:59截止, 請㩒此處查看更新消息..

oh oh, calm down and don't panic!! i promised this series was over and i will no longer bombard you with my travelogue posts, said and done, okay?? just thought you may have forgotten about the previous souvenirs giveaway to the top commenters, where i said there will be another round when the series is done.. recall now?? so here we are, Round 2 of my Hokkaido Trip souvenirs giveaway!! but for this round, we shall do away with top commenters, because everyone was already exhausted and comments become drastically less (sobs sobs!!), moreover not good to force others to take my stuffs right?? hence, this round shall be an open round where everyone stands equal chance of winning.. just answer three simple questions and you are on your way to winning some special souvenirs!! if you wish to participate, don't hesitate, because my giveaway contests are always not laku, so you stand a high chance, hehe!! contest ended 11:59pm Sunday 5th October 2014, click here for updates..

2014.09.26 | 北海道夏(8)

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1946]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 8 of 8 City-Hopping: Sapporo (札幌) > Nagoya (名古屋) > Kuala Lumpur

中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒..

the final day of the trip was nothing more than just "city hopping" i would say.. not that we went exploring cities on leisure, but rather just taking flights and transiting until we finally got back home in Kuala Lumpur.. it was a very loooooong day and i'm lazy to find anything to share here, i guess you have had enough for the previous 13 posts in the series also, haha!! so it's Friday huh?? let's go back to my "scripteasing", ah, my favorite!! haha~~ :D

Click "Start" to show activities in each of the "time-capsule" below.. START

these are Day 8's activities in time order (of course the time are approximate lah), starting from 05:30 until 04:00(+1), a continuous and tiring 22½ hours!! maybe i can say that my trip was 9 days instead of 8 huh?? :D 05:30 Wake up and last minute luggage packing 06:30 Beef rice for breakfast at Matsuya (松屋) [Photo] why beef rice (牛丼 gyūdon) so early?? because this shop opens 24 hours and was the only place we could get something to eat at this wee hour.. 07:21 Depart for New Chitose Airport (新千歲空港) by train 09:50 Flight GK180 take-off for Nagoya (名古屋) 11:35 Arrived at Chūbu Centrair (中部国際空港) Airport [Photo] the city of Takoname (常滑) where the Central Airport is located, produces about 80% of all cat figurines (招き猫 maneki-neko) in Japan.. 12:00 Lunch and last-minute souvenirs shopping in airport [Photo] lunch in one of the restaurant in the airport and *finally* a place we did not find quite nice for the trip, what a disgraceful ending huh?? haha~~ 17:35 Flight D7543 take-off for Kuala Lumpur 23:45 Arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 00:45 (+1) After immigration and baggage, left KLIA2 for KL 01:45 (+1) Arrived in KL city, supper as late dinner for the famined 03:00 (+1) Home sweet home after many days 04:00 (+1) Sweet dreams after a nice shower and a bit of unpacking Replay

alright, so that was the end of my trip and this series of travelogue posts also comes to an end.. my conclusion is, THIS WAS A GREAT TRIP I LOVE, simple comment but meant a lot!! now, i guess everyone must be super-duper happy here.. for me, no more sitting in front of the PC for hours to write just one post.. for you, no more being exhausted by "long-winded" posts!! now everyone can have more sleep, let's celebrate!! :D travelogue posts in this series:

2014.09.24 | 北海道夏(7B)

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1945]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 7B of 8 One Final Evening in Sapporo (札幌)

中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒..

we left Sapporo (札幌) since day 3 of the trip to set foot on different cities in Hokkaido, with most of the places being rather laid-back and peaceful.. on the afternoon of day 7, after our half-day excursion to Otaru (小樽) [Day 7A], we were finally back to Sapporo (札幌) again, back to the hustle and bustle of a city again which has been absent from our trip for many days.. :p

Back in Sapporo (札幌) the bustling city after being away for many days.. :p Last minute sight-seeing in Sapporo (札幌): the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, Sapporo Clock Tower, Odori Park and Sapporo Tower, Tanukikoji Shopping Street Heaty but delicious grilled and fried food for dinner: grilled ham, sausages, dumplings (gyoza) and stuffed chicken wings (wings gyoza).. nom nom!!

Click the numbered buttons to the right of the photo to browse between photos. we reached Sapporo (札幌) at 4:10pm and the first thing we did was to check-in at our hotel since we left our luggage with the concierge in the morning before leaving.. yes, we moved to another hotel because the previous night stay was an impromptu change of plan while the stay this night was booked much earlier.. our final night was at Nest Hotel Sapporo Ekimae (ネストホテル札幌駅前 Nesuto Hoteru Sapporo Ekimae) [website] just few minutes walk from Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo Eki), at ¥8900 per double room.. along the walk to our hotel, finally we were back to feel the hustle and bustle of a busy city, after missing (no pun intended) this for many days while we were away at other smaller cities.. i mentioned an impromptu change huh?? okay, here is the story.. initially, Hakodate (函館) wasn't in our itinerary until we slot it in two weeks before the trip.. at that time, we planned to travel to and from Hakodate (函館) by night train, so we could sleep in the train, arrive at the next city the next morning and save on accommodation.. few days to the trip, we reviewed the itinerary and thought it would be tiring for us to travel such way.. the major issue was, we knew we are no more young people, worrying not able to take the hassle and fell sick and cannot enjoy the trip, we finally decided to ditch the idea.. hence extra night in both Asahikawa (旭川) and Sapporo (札幌), rather save less than be sorry, right?? but if you think you are strong enough, this idea can be an alternative :) hoping to see more of the city, me and another friend ditched the other two who opted to rest in the hotel before we met up again for dinner later.. our first stop, the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building (北海道庁旧本庁舎 Hokkaidōchō kyūhonchōsha) which is also known as the "Red Brick Office Building" (赤れんが庁舎 Aka renga chōsha).. it now houses a tourist information office as well as a few historical exhibition rooms and libraries, all for free admission.. we didn't get in as it closes at 6:00pm, but just lingering outside looking at the red building as well as the flowers in the compound landscaping was not a loss too.. dated back to its first built in 1873, the design of this building was influenced by the American neo-baroque architecture style back then.. legendarily, the building has gone through two times fire destroys and rebuilt, finally in 1968 which is the 100th anniversary of the Government of Hokkaido Prefecture (北海道庁 Hokkaidōchō), the building was listed as one of the historical properties to be preserved permanently.. as we stayed near the Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo Eki), attractions are all within walking distance.. about 10-minutes from the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, we were there at the Sapporo Clock Tower (札幌市時計台 Sapporo-shi Tokeidai).. on the first floor is an exhibition room of its history, admission at ¥200 but we were there way past its closing time at 5:00pm.. BTW, remember the "Free Wifi" we got when we landed in New Chitose Airport (新千歲空港 Shin Chitose Kūkō) days earlier [refresh memory]?? free wifi was available here, so besides busy taking photos, we were also busy getting connected online, haha!! :D built in 1878 as one of the theatrical halls of the then Sapporo Agricultural School (札幌農学校 Sapporo Nō Gakkō), now Hokkaido University (北海道大学 Hokkaidō Daigaku), it is currently the oldest building in Sapporo.. this building is another one influenced by American design and was the idea of the school's first vice president.. the clock however, was only installed 3 years later in July 1881 and in 1970, listed under one of the important cultural properties of Japan.. our next stop was Odori Park (大通公園 Ōdōri Kōen), just across the street, but what you are seeing here is just a part of this huge park.. the park runs for 1.5km from east to west, dividing the city of Sapporo (札幌) into the north and south.. we were at the 3rd block (西3丁目 Nishi 3 chōme) which is directly south of Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo Eki), of course it wasn't possible for us to cover the whole park, because after some walking we were a bit tired.. so tired that we had to sit down on a bench in the park to enjoy some very juicy grilled sweet corn (¥150) [#7B.4.3], muahaha!! Odori means "large street" and it was originally a street in Sapporo that split the public servants and offices to the north, and residential areas to the south.. besides, this street also acted as a firebreak (火防線 Kabō-sen) to prevent the spread of fire back then.. streets of the north-south direction intersect with Odori and formed 13 "blocks" from east to west, each with a standard area of 65m by 110m.. in 1876, flower gardens were built in the 3rd and 4th blocks (西3丁目 Nishi 3 chōme and 西4丁目 Nishi 4 chōme), and in 1909 the street was made a walking area, which started the origin of the entire Odori Park.. since then Odori Park was slowly developed across all the 13 blocks, built with facilities for the public and became an oasis of the city as well as a popular venue for many kinds of festivals.. [reference] there seems to be one tower in every major city in Japan, do you think the same?? of course Sapporo isn't excluded.. so here you are, the Sapporo TV Tower (札幌テレビ塔 Sapporo Terebi-tō) built in 1957 and standing 147.2m tall, with digital clocks installed at 65m on four sides of the tower in 1961.. if you are at where i were, go nowhere but just turn back facing east and you can see the tower clearly, because it was built on the 1st block of Odori Park (西1丁目 Nishi 1 chōme), haha!! i believe the view from the 3rd block (西3丁目 Nishi 3 chōme) is good enough, as you can see the whole structure together with flowers, sculptures and fountains.. too near and i actually think it's tougher to get a view, unless you wish to pay ¥720 to go up to the observatory deck at 90.38m.. both of us just did a brief explore, probably 2 hours the maximum, and return back to hotel to meet up with the other two friends for dinner.. guess everyone was hungry and we just settled our dinner at a small eatery a block away from our hotel.. a very long name again, Naniwa hitokuchi gyōza Chaochao Sapporo Tokeidai-ten (浪花ひとくち餃子チャオチャオ札幌時計台店 Naniwa Dumplings Chaochao Sapporo Clock Tower Shop) where we had fried and grilled food [#7B.6.2], heaty i know but very delicious woh, could not resist to eat less!! i especially love the grilled ham (昔ながらの明宝ハム ¥500 for 4 pcs) and stuffed chicken wings which they called it "wings gyoza" (手羽先餃子 ¥850 for 4 pcs), of course the gyoza (dumplings) and sausages were nice too.. an ALL MEAT meal surely makes me happy!! haha~~ :p after a satisfying dinner, we went to the famous Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade (狸小路商店街 Tanukikoji Shōtengai).. literally "Raccoon Alley", this shopping arcade is more than 140 years old today, where one can find food and knick-knacks ideal for souvenirs.. too bad, most of the shops were closed or were closing by the time we were there.. anyway, it was actually more interesting to look up at the decorations on the roof, each section comes with decorations of different themes, very beautiful indeed.. we strolled along the entire 900m of this shopping arcade, it was indeed an evening with good food for both our stomachs as well as our eyes~~ :p why "raccoon"?? some said there are real raccoons appearing in the place.. some said that refers to women who gather at the place at night to lure men for "business" (you know what i mean), behaving discreetly just like raccoons.. as we walked back to our hotel from Tanukikoji (狸小路), i was able to see the Sapporo Clock Tower (札幌市時計台 Sapporo-shi Tokeidai), Odori Park (大通公園 Ōdōri Kōen) and Sapporo TV Tower (札幌テレビ塔 Sapporo Terebi-tō) once again, but this time very different view at night.. all i can say is, the day and night has each got their own beauty.. back to hotel, we had a little supper, a supper to "clear stock" the snacks [#7B.8.2] we bought along the trip and not able to packed into our luggage.. sweets to call it a day, did i have a sweet dream that night too?? hehe~~ :p

so, that was how the final evening of this trip to Hokkaido has been spent.. and seemed like our time spent in Sapporo (札幌) added to just one day, not seeing much but at least seen some of the must see.. the next day would be the last day of the trip which we spent most of the time in the plane, yet still a bit to blog about in order to complete this series.. stay tuned!! :) travelogue posts in this series:

2014.09.22 | 北海道夏(7A)

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1944]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 7A of 8 Half-day Excursion to Beautiful Otaru (小樽)

中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒..

the previous two days in Hakodate (函館) [Day 5A, 5B and 6] let us experience a "not-so-Japan" Japanese city which is quite influenced by the western culture.. on day 7, we went on a half-day excursion to Otaru (小樽), a small harbour city northwest of Sapporo (札幌), in which we enjoyed another beautiful blend of Japanese and Western, as well as the co-existence of the old and the new..

The famous Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) you must not miss, very beautiful and serene Beautiful buildings and shops around Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) that are converted from warehouses A nice stroll along Sakaimachi Street (堺町通り Sakaimachi Dōri) enjoying the very uniquely designed and built shops Scrumptious seafood lunch, so fresh and delicious, followed by cheesecakes for desserts

Click the numbered buttons to the right of the photo to browse between photos. Otaru (小樽) is about 40-minute train ride from Sapporo (札幌), and throughout our trip travelling between cities in Hokkaido, such a short train ride away was considered as just a "nearby" place - something like you travel from KL to Klang.. another early day, we took the 7:34am train from Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo-eki) and arrived at Otaru (小樽) at 8:23am, the fare was ¥640 for each of us.. nope, no ekiben (駅弁 "station lunchbox") for breakfast this time, but some onigiri (おにぎり rice balls) bought from a convenience store in the station.. [Tip #1] trains to Otaru (小樽) before 9am are all local trains, meaning the train stops at every station along the route.. as such there are likely more passengers and you will not have a seat.. that was why we didn't bother to get any ekiben (駅弁 "station lunchbox") since we won't be sitting comfortably to enjoy, furthermore it's just a short ride, so forget about it.. [Tip #2] you may consider buying a "Sapporo-Otaru Welcome Pass" at ¥1530 which entitles you to unlimited rides on JR Hokkaido trains between Sapporo and Otaru as well as on all subway lines in Sapporo for one day [website].. since a single trip ticket between Sapporo and Otaru is already ¥640, it would be worth to get this pass if you are making stops in between as well as taking subway rides in Sapporo on the same day.. did i get this pass, you asked?? nope, because we just travelled between the two cities, and while in Sapporo since we stayed near the Sapporo Station, we did most by walking.. so, plan your trip and do your maths~~ :p we were not lucky to get a seat this time (but no big deal for a short journey), hence we only consumed our onigiri (おにぎり rice balls) upon arrival at Otaru (小樽).. maybe we should have forgotten about getting anything from Sapporo (札幌) since there were a convenience store and a bakery inside the Otaru Station (小樽駅 Otaru-eki) which i saw selling very delectable snacks, aahh, mistake for being too kancheong!!! anyway, after our "breakfast" we took some maps from the tourist information center and started our walking tour.. in case you will be doing the same thing, i recommend the blue route [#7A.2.2], which covers the major attractions.. one of them is the old Temiya Line (旧手宮線 Kyū Temiya-sen) rail [#7A.2.4] constructed as part of Hokkaido's very first railway but defunct since 1985, which i happily stepped on to pose for photos, haha!! :p the next stop and also the if-you-missed-that-you-have-not-been-to-Oratu attraction, is the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga).. it was a nice stroll along the pedestrian pavement by the canal (though can be packed with tourists), enjoying the blended views of old warehouses [#7A.3.2] on one side and new modern buildings [#7A.3.3] on the other side with the calm water of the canal.. you may not want to miss art crafts along the canal too, and no worries the local artists are definitely not the touting type like those you find in many other places of the world.. in fact, i found some very nice hand-drawn postcards that were not expensive at all and i almost bought them.. or you may be interested in hiring a jinrikisha (人力車 rickshaw) and let the licensed puller guide you around the city [#7A.3.5], but of course, we were more into walking on our own.. :p this 1140m long and 40m wide Otaru Canal was built in 1914 and completed in 1923, played an important role for ships to transport goods (mainly coals and marine products) unloaded from large vessels at the port to warehouses along the canal.. however, as modern docks were built at the Otaru Port (小樽港 Otaru Minato) allowing direct loading of goods to trucks, the canal slowly went into disuse and the water became stale.. there was initially a plan to fill the canal and build a road over it, but thanks to the voices of the citizens, in 1986 it was agreed that the Otaru Canal was to be preserved.. only part of the canal was filled but mostly intact, the current pedestrian pavement was built, 63 Victorian-style street lamps were installed and the old warehouses converted into eateries shops and museums.. the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) is now an prominent attraction of the city.. [Reference] while modern buildings are to the west of Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) and to the east the old warehouses, i actually realized something more interesting than this blend of modern and ancient.. the warehouses facing the canal are preserved to look as what they originally were, the other sides behind were all given touch-up with modern elements [#7A.4.2], the interiors slightly renovated to remain a warehouse feel [#7A.4.5].. if you could visualize, it is something like ancient sandwiched between modern, and wrapped inside both old and new.. errr, don't know what i'm talking about?? forget it, just look at the photos~~ :D our stroll along the Otaru Canal (小樽運河 Otaru Unga) started from the Chūōbashi (中央橋 Central Bridge) and about 250m away south was the Asakusabashi (浅草橋 Asakusa Bridge) where the canal makes a 90° turn into the Sakaimachi (堺町) Area.. i believe this part of the canal was filled since it was way narrower (like a big drain), giving more space to the pavement outside these shops belonging to Taisho Glass Museum (大正硝子館 Taishō Garasukan).. Otaru (小樽) is famous for glass (硝子 garasu) and if you love glass, you will probably go crazy over what you can get here, haha.. yes, this stretch of shops and more, where you can find very beautiful glass crafts in all kinds of colors and shapes [#7A.5.2], and if you are keen to make one for your own, they have workshops [#7A.5.3] you can pay to join too.. ok, you know whether we joined, haha!! :) more shops appearing down the Sakaimachi Street (堺町通り Sakaimachi Dōri) towards the center of Sakaimachi (堺町) Area.. most selling glass crafts and music boxes, the more popular one in this "section" is the Kitaichi Glass (北一硝子 Kitaichi Garasu).. you know me well of course, i spent more time enjoying myself in gazing at the very nicely built shop buildings on both sides of the street.. some traditional Japanese some European influence, one thing in common is that all shops looks old but very well preserved, that was the best part to be frank, that makes the place so beautiful.. :) and i know, i just know what you are looking forward to, haha!! okay, come to Otaru (小樽) and you must not miss sushi and seafood.. i guess it needs no more description but you probably can already "taste" the freshness and goodness from the photo huh?? kaisendon (海鮮丼 seafood rice) at ¥2000 average, kanijiru (かに汁 crab soup) at ¥580 and akaebi no shioyaki (赤えびの塩焼き grilled red prawns with salt) at ¥1200 for 5 big ones - all these at an eatery named "Kita no Ryōba" (北の漁場) [website].. for desserts, we had cheese tart and the top favorite "double fromage" cheesecake (¥380) from LeTAO [website], as well as milk pudding (¥140) and dehydrated potato fries we bought earlier from the convenience store in Otaru Station (小樽駅 Otaru-eki).. "wah, this SK ate so much!!" you said?? hehe.. wait, i actually also wanted to try the legendary 6-layer soft-serve ice-cream (slurps!!), but my stomach had no more space for it, regret but no choice.. well, i'll leave you to google about this yourself.. besides glass art, sushi, seafood, cheesecake, chocolates, ice-cream and whatnot, another famous thing from Otaru (小樽) has to be music box (オルゴール orugōru - from the German word "orgel" which means musical organ).. like their famous glass crafts, there are many big and small shops selling music box in Otaru (小樽).. among them the most popular is the Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 Otaru orugōru-dō) [website] built in 1912, where you can find thousands of music boxes of different shapes and tunes under one roof, probably take you half a day to decide, and if you couldn't find any you like, personalize one!! seeing my friends all bought some, i also could not tahan and joined the team to buy myself a music box photo frame [#7A.8.4] which cost me ¥1140, not my first choice but the one with Doraemon theme song that i wanted was not available!! hmph!! before you get in to or when you get out from the Otaru Music Box Museum (小樽オルゴール堂 Otaru orugōru-dō), stop to take a look at the Otaru Steam Clock (小樽蒸気時計 Otaru jōkidokei) standing right in front of the entrance.. this is another attraction of Otaru (小樽), installed in 1993 with a twin in Vancouver, this steam clock chimes every 15 minutes and the steam that runs the clock whistles hourly.. so what was it like when the steam shoots up?? how would i know?? we were not at a good timing to wait to see that happen, but walked to the Minami-Otaru Station (南小樽駅 Minami-Otaru-eki) to catch the 3:34pm train back to Sapporo (札幌), haha!! but can't blame us, you see the time?? we have spent like 7 hours there since morning, and the tired uncle need some rest~~ :D

alright, that's our half-day excursion to Otaru (小樽) covering major attractions in the Central Area.. despite some imperfections (no 6-layer ice-cream and Doraemon music box, haha!!), i actually enjoyed myself very much in this rather laid-back small city that somehow gave me a little nostalgic feeling, which i especially love.. next, we were back to Sapporo (札幌) to spend our final night of the trip, stay tuned for the coming up post!! :) travelogue posts in this series: