hiTTing hoKKaidO

Here is a map of Hokkaido-aimed at 4 year olds. So the southern most city marked is Sapporo and the northern most Asahikawa. Our onsen was 2 hours north of Asahikawa in the Daisetsuzan National Park.

This was one of the many shopping districts in Sapporo. It was crazy...we must have walked at least 8 city blocks in this covered strip mall of sorts. Tons of retail-the Japanese are shopaholics! Loved the colors around every corner!

This is the Clock Tower. The oldest building in Sapporo. Not spectacular, just a piece of history nonetheless.

This is the Sapporo TV Tower, modeled after the Eiffel Tower. Uhm, didn't really seem to compare, but it did provide great nite views when we took the elevator up to its observation deck. From the deck, Sapporo seemed to stretch for miles-but was also encircled by mountains. Sapporo is the biggest city in Hokkaido (1.5 million), but very navigable and clean!

This is Susukino. The largest enterntainment district north of Tokyo. It streches for blocks and blocks and blocks...over 4500 restraunts, pachinko palaces, karaoke bars and hostess clubs. Probably the safest-feeling seedy red light district I have seen. Not like I seek out those parts of town....o get your mind out of the gutter!

Sapporo Brewery

Daisetsuzan National Forest

Nearing the top of Mt. Kurodake....just a little farther!

A bit cloudy at the top--but well worth the sweat!

Sounkyo Gorge: Our lovely onsen resort!

Here, Laura and I are sporting our Yukatas. These comfy robes became our outfit for 3 days. The Japanese really do know how to relax and kick back!

What a view! Hokkaido is so..uninhabited. Great to see how they have preserved a part of their country!

The layout on Blogger is pretty crappy...sorry the pics are all over the place. The first photos are from Sapporo--mainly the infamous Brewery and towers. These last section are pics are from The Daisetsuzan National Park-the largest park in Japan.
We hiked up Mt. Kurodake and snapped some pics from its peak.

But here is how it all began...Got back from Hokkaido last nite. After 3 grueling days of planning, Zach (his wife Laura) and myself set off on our first semi-solo journey!
Our journey began with an 8 hour overnite ferry from Hachinohe to Tomakomai. The ferry was pretty trippy, we were pushed on and herded like cattle into corrals. There were no chairs---just "fenced" in pieces of carpet. Suprisingly, we all slept quite well in our cages and awoke to the new land of Hokkaido! We took a couple of trains north to Asahikawa and then caught a bus to our onsen in the Sounkyo Gorge. We arrived at our onsen pretty exhausted as we had been traveling from 7pm wed nite to 3pm thurs afternoon! The onsen oroved THEY place to kick back and unwind. It was the most amazing escape ever! It is like a spa/resort and set in the most idealic, pristine Daisetzuan National Park (the largest park in Japan). It was dreamy--pics will do the talking for me! We pretty much lived like celebrities and treated like royalty. The whole concept of the onsen is all about self-indulgence and relaxation. We ate amazing Japanese food--these were buffet style and included in our hotel package. The food was to die for...makes places like Old Country Buffet look hideous..wait a minute, that doesn't take much, just trust me--this buffet was like a super fresh, Red Lobster times 1000!
So this was my first onsen experience! The onsens are natural hot springs...our hotel had both indoor and outdoor tubs. Each tub was a different temperature--and HOT HOT HOT. I somehow managed to completely submerge myself in 43`C water! OUCH! For you Fahreheit freaks out there...that is almost 110`F! So there is more to the whole onsen experience--for the rookies out there--.......uhm, so there are separate onsens for men and women (because you go in naked).

Yep, stark naked.

It was incredibly liberating, I didn't feel violated or embarassed in any way. Being the only foreigners in the place is sure to draw a few stares (and glares as this is a pretty traditional Japanese experience reserved for Japanese....maybe?) but everyone kept to themselves and let me enjoy it peacefully! So getting back to how it works, before tub-hopping you must bathe. This consists of scrubbing yourself silly in locker room style showers. Upon cleaning up, you are free to venture into another tub and relax until the heat is so oppressive that your skin turns deep purple (remember, this is ALL natural water---NO chlorine or nasty chemicals that would destroy your skin)....then you hop back out and douse yourself in freezing cold water-trying your best to make your skin return to its normal color...and then its off to the next tub etc. A MOST AWESOME EXPERIENCE! can't wait to do it again!

We also unintentionally climbed Mt. Kuradake. A semi-painful lesson learned in the importance of being able to read and speak Japanese. We took a gondola ride up and over this gorge, then caught a chair lift to one of the top stages of the mountain. Next, we noticed some people with camping gear heading up a sketchy path....so, we followed along..never mind the large signs (in Kanji) that must have had some warnings about the terrain that lie ahead.
Well, an hour or so later of climbing up a "path" of large boulders, small rocks and loose pebbles....I arrived at the top...about 2000M...and saw the breathtaking views that made it all worth it! I snapped some quick pics, before the fog rolled in and it became difficult to see from one end of the top of the mtn to the other! Can't wait to share them with you! The trip down the mountain was a bit rough on the old knees, but if I am going to do Fuji --I best be practicing!

Upon leaving the spectacular gorge and onsen behind, we trained and bused our way back to Sapporo. The shorter travel day was great--as we attacked Sapporo and saw most of what we had planned to see in just a few short hours. Sapporo was painfully logical...it is a relatively new city and is built on the grid system. Large, wide streets with grassy boulevards ---quite European in looks! We played the tourist game and were surprised with how easy it was to navigate in and around town. We saw the Clock Tower(the oldest building in Sapporo--and nothing more than a snapshot really), went up the TV Tower for some panoramic nite views of the city, strolled through the Botanical Gardens (more of a research institute, but quiet and peaceful nonetheless), enjoyed several drinks at the Sapporo Brewery and wrapped things up with some strolls through Odori Park.

Side note: The Brewery was my favorite part! Maybe that is the Parry in me, but it was so fun to see another culture's appreciation for beer! It really is the universal beverage! The museum was so clean and quiet, (just like the rest of Sapporo), it was actually kinda strange drinking beers with blaring classical music in the background. We had the opportunity to taste a few of Sapporo's best selling brews. I am no beer conniseur, but it was mighty tasty and filling! Definitely not low-cal liek I am used to and I still have not mastered the phrase: "How many carbs does this beer have?"

Odori Park is a 12-block long park that runs right down the middle of the city. It is refreshing to see a city put that much emphasis on relaxing and enjoying nature! The park was always filled with people catching a quick nap, kids playing in the beautiful fountains and street vendors selling corn on the cob (of all things...)! Unfortunately, we were a day or two early for their Annual Obon Festival. That would have been really amazing to see, but all we were able to take in was a pre-festival dance around the park's square. Note: During this dance, half of the dancers were in kimono and half just joined from the sidelines, wearing street clothes. Refreshing to see the way they include everyone...this is a relatively new concept to us foreigners! So they did this dance over and Over and OVer and OVEr and OVER again...finally, I couldn't stand it. I had to leave after about 30 minutes of the SAME song, same tempo, same dance, same people....my ADHD had gotten the better of me once more. Anyways, it was a lovely evening and great place to relax and chat with the locals. I also especially appreciated the bands that were warming up for the Pacific Music Festival (also beginning NEXT week..buMMer!) Apparently, reggae is HUGE in Japan! Their taiko skills come in handy for those bongos!

We really treated ourselves to exceptional food in Sapporo...finally, tastes from back home!!! I found a sub shop, a Mr. Donut, a Starbucks, a great coffee house that served tasty Italian dishes and an AMAZING hole-in-the-wall joint that had delectable japanese food! Allow me to elaborate on the latter....this teeny place had NO english speakers and/or menus...so in the most broken of Japanese I started rattling off what I was hungry for and then had the audacity to ask for a discounted price. It was one of those small crawl-spaces-of-a-place, where the smoke from the grill was so thick we could barely see one another, really dimly lit and everyone drinking and stuffing their faces! It ended up being the most delicious food I have yet to have. [I know I keep saying that...but really, this stuff was the BEST!] They gave us a nice discount to-- the Japanese are somethin' else, let me tell you!


I am sure I am forgetting lots and lots, but hope this provides enough for you to kinda say you traveled to Hokkaido---albeit vicariously!