| [Volume 9 Issue 8, #1932] |
| Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 3 of 8 Sapporo (札幌) and A Rainy Day in Asahikawa (旭川) |
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.. |
| after a rather "brief" rest as my virgin experience in a capsule hotel the previous night, we rose rather early on day 3 to catch a train to Asahikawa (旭川).. both Nagoya (名古屋) and Sapporo (札幌) in the previous days were just some kind of stopover, and i would rather say our plan for the trip actually started "more officially" after this day.. |
Show me: Image & Text Image Only Text Only |
we woke up at 6am on this sunday morning as we wanted to catch the 7:48am train to Asahikawa (旭川).. packed and checked-out, we took a cab from Susukino (すすきの) to Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo-eki).. it was merely a 5-minute ride and we paid ¥980 for it, a wiser choice since we were with luggage and it would be so troublesome to walk to the subway station and take a subway ride that would cost us ¥200 each.. travel tips no need to freak out thinking about taking taxi in Japan, it is not necessarily as expensive as you think, especially if you are in a group to share a car, why not that little bit extra for more comfort and convenience?? but of course, not all the time taxi lah..  #3-1 ■ ■ wait!! what are all these Doraemon thingy again?? weren't we (rushing) to take a train to Asahikawa (旭川)?? yes, we indeed were, and this was actually another roadshow for the Doraemon movie "Stand by Me" inside the Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo eki)!! oh boy, what a thrilling surprise as we got out of the taxi and entered the station..  #3-2 ■ ■ you know what?? i wanted so much to visit the Doraemon Waku-Waku Skypark (ドラえもん わくわくスカイパーク Doraemon Waku-Waku Sukai Pāko) which is inside the New Chitose Airport (新千歲空港 Shin Chitose Kūkō), but unfortunately both our arrival and departure flights were beyond its opening hours, disappointed but have to miss that.. so when i saw this, i thought God wasn't that mean to me, at least something Doraemon seen out of surprise in Japan, hihi!! we put catching the train aside (since there is always another train to take later if we miss this one) and quickly took some photos with Doraemon like kids.. okay, actually many others were doing the same lah, haha!!  #3-3 ■ ■ okay, after some photos we were still in time to catch the train, and indeed we were even able to catch an earlier train that departs at 7:21am (lucky!!) though many was already queuing up at the platform.. we didn't buy tickets with reserved seats but just the normal ones at ¥4500, that explained why we actually buffered some time to arrive earlier, in order to queue up at the platform to (hunt and) secure a seat in the free-seating coach.. you may ask if we used the JR Pass?? we did not, as our fares for the trip did not add up to justify the price of the JR Pass.. travel tips the Japan Rail Pass (or simply JR Pass) would definitely be the first option you would consider while planning a trip to Japan.. find out the fares, do the maths, or probably re-arrange your itinerary to fit in, then make a justification.. :)  #3-4 ■ ■ we skipped breakfast provided by the hotel, but bought "station lunchbox" (駅弁 ekiben) to be eaten in the train while traveling.. this was bought from the guy with a cart in the platform as seen in photo #3, something like people selling Ramlee Burger in basket here (hehe!!), convenient huh?? my ekiben as shown is at ¥800, so nicely packed right?? and printed on the packaging are some landmarks of Sapporo (札幌).. okay okay, i know you sure ask me to show what's inside!! just click on the ekiben itself above to unveil the luxury inside, haha~~ :D  #3-5 ■ ■ after a 109-minutes ride, we arrived at Asahikawa (旭川) at 9:00am, right on the dot as per the train schedule, punctual!! so unlike the style of Keretapi Terlalu Melampau huh?? hahaha.. at the station, we were welcomed (ようこそ yōkoso) by this mascot of Asahikawa (旭川), but can anyone enlighten us what this cute animal could be?? i actually noticed many cities in Japan has their own mascot and all are so cute.. i personally think this is way more fun and lively than representing the city by boring flags or emblem.. besides the mascot, we were of course welcomed by our friend who picked us up at the station.. since it was still early to check-in our hotel, he fetched us back to his home to meet his family as well as his newborn baby boy (who was just 10-day-old)..  #3-6 ■ ■ the friend then casually asked what our plans were, and i showed him our very detailed plan which probably impressed him a lot, haha!! but somehow it was also quite embarrassing when the family tried to accommodate our wish-list.. and so, this bowl of ramen was one of the many items on the list.. for lunch, we were brought to the "Asahikawa HQ" of the famous Hachiya (蜂屋旭川本店 Hachiya Asahikawa honten) to savor the Asahikawa (旭川) style soy sauce ramen (醤油ラーメン shōyu ramen), with extra rolled pork (チャーシュー chāshū) at ¥900.. another variation of ramen for the trip, somehow very different as the noodles was not that curly, and the soup was fish based instead of pork.. i found the taste a little heavy compared to those we had in previous days, don't get me wrong, it was nice though i would not place this as first choice.. we briefly concluded that the more northern the heavier the taste, in order to keep warm under the colder weather.. despite that, come to Asahikawa (旭川) and you gotta taste the soy sauce ramen (醤油ラーメン shōyu ramen)!! and one more thing, it seems like Asahikawa (旭川) is the "city of ramen" because i actually noticed a lot of ramen shops around, but too bad was that, so many ramen so little time!! haha..  #3-7 ■ ■ it was raining the whole day in Asahikawa (旭川) on day 3 (!!!), so we had no choice but to postpone some plans and hoped for nice weather the next day.. anyway, we did hang out around downtown to settle our train tickets, went to an electronic mall and the retail shop of a local bakery.. no photos taken as those were just brief stays, but this was where we spent most of our time that day.. the photo above shows the dining and part of the living room of our friend's house, though i cannot understand and speak Japanese, i still joined in the fun with universal body language.. well, not typically a "touristy" day but definitely a "homey" one~~ :p  #3-8 ■ ■ of course, we stayed in for dinner with the family that day.. i'm not showing off, but just look at how scrumptious (some of) the dishes were, and we can surely feel how hospitable they are!! clockwise from top left the delicious dishes we had, very fresh raw fish (刺し身 sashimi) to be eaten with rice and seaweed wraps, fish (cooked the Japanese style - i know this is a very generic description but i really have no idea, hihi!!), oden (おでん - i do not know how to explain this, please refer here yourself) and egg (卵 tamago).. of course these were not all, somehow being a guest, i was not comfortable (and also it was not courteous) to keep taking photos of food, you get what i mean right?? :)  #3-9 ■ ■ it was an incredibly rich and warm dinner, i may say, and such an honour to be invited and included.. and now you are seeing the same set of food but in a different setting?? yes, in Cantonese we call this "eat and still take away" (又食又拎 yau sik yau ling), maybe the host was happy enough to let us tapao the leftover back to our hotel, but we definitely felt a little bashful, haha!! what's more, they actually paid for our accommodation (¥12000 per twin room) in this Asahikawa Washington Hotel (旭川ワシントンホテル Asahikawa Washinton Hoteru), that's amazingly wholehearted!! what else more could i say?? it was certainly a night of good sleep after a wonderful dinner in a comfortable room.. |
| so this is a just very brief day 3 since it was raining and we did nothing much but more like having a precious opportunity to blend into the life of a Japanese family.. was it a day with good weather the following day as we hoped for?? stay tuned for day 4 and read about one of the highlights of the trip!! :) travelogue posts in this series: |
2014.08.20 | 北海道夏(3)
2014.08.18 | 自助旅行
2014.08.15 | 北海道夏(2B)
| [Volume 9 Issue 8, #1930] |
| Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 2B of 8 Half A Night in Bustling 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.. |
| this post is a continuation from the previous post on the same day, after we left Nagoya (名古屋) and landed in Sapporo (札幌).. we took a late afternoon domestic flight and by the time we get to the city, it was already all dark.. looks like we were quite "nocturnal" huh?? :p |
Show me: Image & Text Image Only Text Only |
 #2B-1 ■ ■ we took the Jetstar flight GK183 at 1700 from Chubu Centrair International Airport (中部国際空港 Chūbu Kokusai Kūkō) and arrived at New Chitose Airport (新千歲空港 Shin Chitose Kūkō) at 1845 (return flight at ¥21060).. the first thing we needed to do once touched down, was to get free Wifi access for our stay in Hokkaidō, you know lah, Malaysians can't live without free Wifi, haha!!  #2B-2 ■ ■ we opted to take a coach (¥1030 per trip, at Bus Stop #14 or #22 at the domestic terminal) to downtown Sapporo (札幌) since we were carrying our luggage and changing trains may be a little troublesome.. if we were to go by train (¥1040 per trip), it stops at Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo eki) and we needed to take another subway ride to Susukino Station (すすきの駅 Susukino eki) where our hotel is located, and that's another ¥200 to spend.. the ride took us more than an hour, about twice the time needed for the train to get to the city.. time, cost or convenience?? your choice, but if you are staying around Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo eki), train would of course be the best option..  #2B-3 ■ ■ and so after that hour-plus coach ride, we alighted at the Susukino (すすきの) district in downtown Sapporo (札幌), welcomed by the colorful neon lights and bustling city life.. Sapporo (札幌) is relatively a new city in Japan and therefore developed under a modern city planning, where you find straight roads intersecting each other to form areas in squares named after directions and running numbers (for instance, south 3 west 2 road).. the Susukino (すすきの) district, or sometimes noted as "zebra grass field" (薄野 susuki-no) is a red-light district in Sapporo (札幌) and is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels and adult-entertainment establishments [Reference].. do photos #2 and #3 give you that impression?? :p  #2B-4 ■ ■ anyway, we were just staying (in a hotel) there for a few hours before we headed to another place again the next morning.. i was rather fascinated by the beautiful neon lights of the place, and here i spotted another "statue of liberty" like what i had seen in some other Japanese cities.. so we have the statue of liberty, and Marilyn Monroe beside her, and also a very traditional looking street lamp all at one place, interesting huh?? that is exactly what i love about Japan, though a very advanced country, they also preserve their very own history, culture, heritage and tradition so well.. Bolehland is so unlike, anything old will surely be scrapped off and replaced..  #2B-5 ■ ■ so we were putting up a night at this Spa Hotel Sole Susukino (スパホテルソーレすすきの Supa Hoteru Sōre Susukino).. this is our "room" and you wonder why it looks very weird?? well, this is a capsule hotel and what you are seeing are the individual bunks.. if you suddenly recall our luggage, they were kept in designated lockers in another section.. generally, only your bunk and locker are private, while all other facilities are shared, which include one public bath where everyone strips naked to shower or bathe.. and you gulped as you read public bath?? haha.. i had no issue with that at all, and indeed it was comfortable and relaxing, and please don't ask me to show photo as cameras are not allowed in there!! at ¥3000 per person, this hotel accepts only male guests and seems to be popular among the locals for a short freshen-up rest..  #2B-6 ■ ■ reading too much and start to feel hungry?? haha, i bet not as hungry as us as we touched down at 1845 but dilly-dally until past 2100 before we could go find something to eat.. something simple for the famished while saving more time for rest, ramen seems to be a good choice.. and here we were after check-in, the first Sapporo Ramen Alley (元祖さっぽろラーメン横丁 Ganzo sapporo rāmen yokochō) in Susukino (すすきの) housing 17 ramen shops which are still operating in the traditional way.. of course, you may opt to go to the more modern style Ramen Republic (ラーメン共和国 Ramen Kyowakoku) inside ESTA next to the JR Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo eki), but i would definitely prefer the Ramen Alley (ラーメン横丁 rāmen yokochō) which is way more nostalgic and organic.. probably that is why it has become more of a tourist attraction already?? :p  #2B-7 ■ ■ expecting to see a bowl of ramen now?? haha, hold on, let me show you another photo taken in the Ramen Alley (ラーメン横丁 rāmen yokochō) first.. this billboard shows the history of the first Sapporo Ramen Alley (元祖さっぽろラーメン横丁 Ganzo sapporo rāmen yokochō), if you could even see, hahaha!! briefly, it all started in the year of Taishō 10 (大正十) which is 1921 at a canteen (食堂 shokudō) in front of the Hokkaidō University (北海道大学 Hokkaidō Daigaku), and all the way to the year of Shōwa 26 (昭和二六) which is 1951 in which this current Ramen Alley (ラーメン横丁 rāmen yokochō), with its initial 8 shops, was finally established at the present location at South 5 West 3-8 (南5条西3丁目-8 minami 5 jōnishi 3 chome-8)..  #2B-8 ■ ■ okay, i know i'm boring you with too much factual info but forgot what you're waiting for.. so, here comes the ramen we had, bloggers!! basically we did not know which shop among the 17 to choose (like some other Japanese tourists from other places we bumped into), but in the end one that had empty seats for us as majority of the shops are small and can only house less than 10 people at once, very stall (屋台 yatai) style that is.. we went into toraya eatery of the fourth generation (四代目とらや食堂 yondaime toraya shokudō) and ordered the popular (人気 ninki) "burnt miso ramen" (こがし味噌ラーメ kogashi miso ramen) at ¥800.. flavorfully tasty!! a totally different kind of taste from the pork marrow base soup (豚骨 tonkotsu) we had yesterday, and look at how "luxurious" those stuffs that topped the bowl.. TIPS: The Ramen Conundrum when you are in Sapporo (札幌), you can of course choose to order any type of ramen, but why must you not miss miso ramen (味噌ラーメ)?? because Sapporo is where miso ramen was originated!! :)  #2B-9 ■ ■ okay, had dinner and it's time to get back to the hotel for a bath and then call it a night.. sorry for the quality of photo on the left, as we had to quietly snap photos without using flash, else we would be disturbing the other guys who were already snoring in there.. so, some of you may be curious how it feels like sleeping inside a capsule?? this was my first experience staying in a capsule hotel, but this hotel in Sapporo (札幌) looks just like a dormitory to me, except each bunk has their own "private cubicle".. |
| so, day 2 that's it.. a brief half day in Nogoya (名古屋) and a brief half night in Sapporo (札幌).. it was less than 12 hours in Sapporo (札幌) for we were heading to Asahikawa (旭川) early next morning after a few hours of sleep.. no worries, we were getting back to Sapporo (札幌) again to catch a flight days later.. stay tuned for the next post on day 3 in Asahikawa (旭川) where we paid visit to our friend.. :) travelogue posts in this series: |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)