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:

2014.09.12 | 北海道夏(6)

[Volume 9 Issue 9, #1941]

Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 6 of 8 Hakodate (函館) by the Sea and on the Slope

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..

day 5 in Hakodate was spent on the "ground" and then later on the "mountain top".. on day 6 we had half a day to further explore the city before heading back to Sapporo (札幌), where else could we hang out then?? hmmm, how about the "sea"?? i guarantee you are going to see lots of sea's today, i warn you, haha!! :D

i am always an early bird when i go travel, and going to local markets is definitely one activity i love.. the Hakodate Morning Market (函館朝市 Hakodate Asaichi) is just probably 50 steps away from the Hakodate Station (函館駅 Hakodate Eki) and remember we stayed in a hotel just opposite the station?? so, this was surely a must-go (actually also already in our itinerary).. look at the stalls and shops, the fresh produce and seafood, i would say one word: eye-opening!! surprise was that we could get free Wi-Fi inside this Ekini Market (駅二市場 Ekini Ichiba)!! that explains how tourists centered this particular section of the market is.. and tourists centered means commercial hence you see how modern and tidy the place was.. and of course that implies things were not actually as cheap if you do not know the place well.. anyway, still a nice place to go for a "sight-seeing" purpose, if you are buying anything, probably compare prices first.. :) we were there 9-ish in the morning and what's the better breakfast to have in a market with many fresh seafood?? seafood rice (海鮮丼 kaisendon) of course!! there were many nice shops in the "rice alley" (どんぶり横丁 donburi yokocho) section, and when i said nice, there's of course some cost to pay for.. the price there started from ¥1000, which wasn't that "attractive" to us.. we explored the place a bit and lucky to have found this canteen (食堂 shokudou) called Hakodate Shokudou (函館食堂), it was on the floor above Ekini Market (駅二市場 Ekini Ichiba), not significantly seen, and one can easily missed the stairs leading to this eatery.. the squid rice, seafood rice and grilled squid we ordered each cost ¥500, though the portion was way smaller [#6.2.2] and "not the best i have had", i found that just nice for breakfast.. and the money we saved?? "donated" to the white sweet corn (¥150) eaten raw and squid ink ice-cream (¥315) later [#6.2.4], haha!! :p come to Hakodate (函館) and you must not miss squid (イカ ika)!! the squid we had may not be the freshest, but if you want real freshness, go into the market, pay to catch one yourself at the seasonal price (about ¥600) and then have it sashimi-ed right away for your palate!! see what the people were catching and eating?? fresh ones from the sea (water) would be translucent if not transparent, unlike those we had on the rice, probably cooked a little by the heat from the rice and turned white.. did i try you asked?? errr, i was worried about the "thing" still moving down my throat, but i would recommend you to go for it, haha!! :D after some seafood rice for breakfast, we gained full-bar energy to continue to our next stop on the itinerary - the Hakodate Bay Area (函館ベイエリア Hakodate Bei Eria).. a nice place to chill out, where you can have a beautiful view of mountain and sea, Mount Hakodate (函館山 Hakodateyama) and Hakodate Bay (函館湾 Hakodatewan), which i would believe is a good combination in fengshui.. plus a nice sunny day, i felt very comfortable hanging out here, though it was warm (temperature on par KL).. the Morning Market (函館朝市 Hakodate Asaichi), Bay Area (ベイエリア Bei Eria and later the Motomachi Area (元町地区 Motomachi Chiku) are all within walking distances from Hakodate Station (函館駅 Hakodate Eki), and remember our hotel was just opposite the station?? of course you can take trams to travel between, but don't expect the tram to stop right in front of these places, so still a little walking needed.. thus, we have lumped these few places altogether on the second day when we did not have the tram pass to travel.. the only place you probably can't go on foot is Goryokaku (五稜郭) if you are staying near Hakodate Station.. the landmark of Hakodate Bay Area (函館ベイエリア Hakodate Bei Eria) would be this Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse (金森赤レンガ倉庫 Kanemori-aka-renga-sōko).. built in 1909 as the first commercial warehouse in Hakodate, it has now been converted to house a number of restaurants and shops including complexes like Hakodate Meijikan (函館明治館) [#6.5.3] and Hakodate Seafood Market (函館海鮮市場 Hakodate Kaisen Ichiba) [website].. didn't take photo inside the shops, lots of stuffs to buy but obviously this Uncle wasn't quite into except one thing he would ask for more - the very delectable cheesecakes from Pastry Snaffle's (a box of 8 two-mouthfuls-and-done cakes for ¥1080) [#6.5.6].. i know what you're thinking, why this Uncle was like eating non-stop the whole morning everywhere he went?? muahaha.. okay okay, but luckily we did, because there was a lot of walking and now look, we were at the slopes of the Motomachi Area (元町地区 Motomachi Chiku).. slopes!! burning energy double-speed!! haha.. but i have to admit, it is such a nice neighbourhood which is a nice blend of Japanese and Western, looking down to the sea below, that we did not actually felt (too) tired climbing the slopes.. in this photo, the Hachimansaka-dori (八幡坂通 - literally "slope of eight flags") was where i found with the best view amongst the many slopes.. how influenced by western and overseas culture you thought?? the houses?? they probably are just modern designs over time.. until we saw the church, to be exact, not one church but a few churches.. from the Hakodate Church (函館教会 Hakodate Kyōkai) built in 1877 [#6.7.1] to the Hakodate Orthodox Church (函館ハリストス正教会 Hakodate Harisutosu Seikyōkai) built in 1860 [#6.7.2] to the Hakodate St John's Church (函館聖ヨハネ教会 Hakodate Seiyohane Kyōkai) built in 1878 [#6.7.3], all over 100 year-old and still beautifully preserved.. and to be more "pro-American", another Statue of Liberty [#6.7.4] spotted, haha!! :p so that was quite about it exploring Hakodate (函館) on foot.. before we catch our 3:13pm train to Sapporo (札幌), we were here for our lunch.. Hakodate's very own, famous and ubiquitous fast food chain Lucky Pierrot (ラッキーピエロ Rakkī Piero) which sells nice burgers as well as Japanese curry rice.. choices were vast and there were also some creative yet interesting burgers to choose from, i had a pork-bacon-egg burger (¥480, image on their menu here) and fries with sea salt, so yummy it went straight into my stomach before my camera "eats" it, ooppss!! must-try~~ :p fast-forward the 3½-hour train ride (we took the limited express (特急 tokkyū) this time hence 30min faster) from Hakodate (函館) and then the 15min taxi ride from Sapporo Station (札幌駅), we were at International Hostel Khaosan Sapporo (インターナショナルホステルカオサン札幌 Intānashonaru Hosuteru Kaosan Sapporo) in Susukino (すすきの), which is quite catered for backpackers.. still remember on day 2 we stayed in this area also, but in a capsule hotel?? this time, we had a tatami (畳) room (¥15000 per room per night) instead, all slept on futons (布団) on the floor except Fing-Fing, who (pretended to have) suffered from nausea on the train, got the bed all by himself.. no wonder he was smiling so cheekily.. :p are you always referring the mattress as tatami (畳)?? ah, mistaken!! tatami (畳) is actually the flooring with mat made of rice straw (of course nowadays all kinds of synthetic materials used), while the bedding that includes mattress and quilt is what they call futon (布団).. don't mixed up~~ :) dinner that night was at an izakaya (居酒屋 Japanese style tavern) in Tanukikoji (狸小路) about 10-minutes walk from our hostel, with a very long name: 豪快居酒屋舟盛屋別邸炙り茶屋 (Gōkai Izakaya Funamoriya Bettei Aburi Chaya), and i sound like i am reading some Korean lyrics instead, muahaha.. food was good and here is the menu on their official website, see if you can find and match what we ordered [#6.10.2]?? hehe.. didn't hang out after dinner since shops were mostly closed after dinner, hence we just got back to hotel, enjoyed some seasonal "desserts" [#6.10.3] and then off to bed calling it a day.. :) okay, i know you don't bother to go find and match what we ordered, so let me just tell you here.. clockwise from top-left:- 昔風じゃがバター Mukashifū jaga batā (¥510) - old style grilled buttered potatoes 魚介たっぷり和風グラタン Gyokai tappuri wafū guratan (¥840) Japanese style seafood gratin 串揚げ盛り合わせKushi-age moriawase(¥840) Assorted deep fried skewers 海鮮あんかけ焼きそば Kaisen ankake yakisoba (¥730) Soba cooked in seafood gravy and not in the photo above:- 鮭茶漬け Sake chazuke (¥510) Rice in green tea with salmon ざるそば zaru soba (¥550) Cold soba

so that was day 6 wrapping up Hakodate (函館), started flat on the ground then climbed up the mountain and lastly by the sea and slopes, then finally back to Sapporo (札幌).. did i promised you that you are going to see a lot of sea's in this post?? did you count how many?? haha.. next day, we went on an excursion to a place i really enjoyed, stay tuned for the coming post.. :) travelogue posts in this series: