Hokkaido Trip: Of Snowmen and Zoos

Day 3, part 2

(Austin)

After we finished looking at the Ice Sculptures at Susukino site we went to the Sapporo Zoo. The closest subway stop was a 30 minute walk away from the zoo, so after getting off the train we had a long way to walk.

Unlike the central parts of Sapporo, the snow was stacked up along the sides of the road here. You can tell just how much snow had fallen here recently.

Along the way we walked through a park literally covered in snow. In the middle of the park there was a large snow covered hill that many kids were playing on and sledding down. We started making snowballs and had an impromptu snowball fight. Suffice to say: Ryosuke is not good at snowball fights.

Continuing towards the zoo I decided to make a snowman beside the road. We stopped for a while and I rolled some massive snowballs into the parts for a snowman.  someone had lost a red winter cap nearby so after I finished the snowman I out the red cap on it. While I had been making it many people had passed behind me. I wonder if they thought I was odd Haha.

Finally we were close enough that we could see the zoo and along the final path we saw some smaller snowmen. It is interesting to see the differences between mine and a Japanese person's snowmen. Theirs were much cuter and had a difference face type with the eyes and mouth. I thought the contrast was actually really cool.

Arriving at the front gate of the zoo, we paid a small fee and went in. It was on now that it dawned on us that some of the animals may not be out due to the snow. Luckily it wasn't really a problem as a good portion of the animals were out and any warm-loving animals were viewable in indoor facilities. They also had a polar bear.

After spending time at the zoo, kidding around and playing in the snow more than looking at the animals, we were hungry so we went to the food place that was in the zoo. We ate lunch and then left. We had a long trek back to the subway station. On the way back we came across the snowman that I made. Someone had taken the winter cap. Perhaps they were the ones who lost it? I'm not sure. However, they didn't just take it and leave, in replacement they created some interesting...bunny ears? They also gave it a little more flair with a a small leafy branch acting as a kind of flower near the neck. Pretty cool.

Near the park Ryosuke decided to uh...die in the snow? We partly covered him up and left him :D

After a lot of walking we made it back to the subway station. It had been a lot of fun but it was time to head to the airport. 

Hokkaido Trip: Sapporo Factory

Day 2, Part 2.

(Austin)

    After buying stuff, taking pictures and freezing my hands off at the Yuki Matsuri Odor Site, we headed towards a mall called Sapporo Factory. I wanted to go to Sapporo Factory because I read on the internet that there was a special event being held there related to Snow Miku stuff. Snow Miku is my favorite Hatsune Miku variant, so I was excited to go.

    After taking a train and walking through the snow covered sidewalk we finally arrived at the mall. Good thing too because I was FREEZING. We went inside and started looking

for the event. The mall was huge and had many different shops. We briefly stopped in a puzzle shop to look around. I really want to get an anime puzzle however I Dont think it will look good hanging up. The ridges between thepieces make it look...kinda bad.

    After exploring the puzzle shop we continued our search. We looked through a lot of the mall before I decided that maybe it was in the building beside the mall. We walked over there and DID find something similar but it wasnt what we were looking for. The event we found was an anniversary party for a company called Shaft; They make high quality anime.

    Not to be detered we wandered back to the mall. In the middle of the mall was a wide open space with a few restaurants and shrubbery. Sadly I didn't really get any pictures but I've not really seen anything like it in the US. Ryosuke called the Mall help line to see where the event was and that is when we were told... the event was over. It had ended the previous day before we had even arrived in Hokkaido. "Well.. that sucks" is basically all I could say. 

    Luckily some of the restaurants were still doing their Snow Miku themed promotions so we went and had a small snack at one. I got a delicious drink that came with a free drink coaster. Something is better than nothing, right?

    It was starting to get late so we decided to head back, but before we left a small singing talent show started on a little stage. We were on the top floor above it, so we could only barely see it but we listened the whole time. Two girls sang Romeo and Cinderella, one of my favorite Miku songs. The people in Japan are really good at singing.

    We headed back towards our hotel. On the way there we stopped at a tiny ramen shop. It could only hold about 7 people in the whole shop. I had miso ramen again. It was extremely good. We parted ways with Ryosuke after dinner but agreed to meet at the McDonalds in the morning.

    Finally back at the hotel we relaxed and settled in. I finally took some pictures of my capsule. These capsules were much nicer than the ones in Tokyo. They had a TV, headphones, a radio and Elijah's favorite part: cushion. While I didn't have any problems with the beds in the pods in Tokyo, Elijah said they were really uncomfortable to sleep on. Suffice to say these were much better.

Hokkaido Trip: Yuki Matsuri, Odori Site

Day 2, Part 1

(Austin)

    As a note: If you are on mobile and you AREN'T currently using Wifi, I would recommend looking at this post later. It contains a TON of pictures and will easily eat a good portion of your monthly data plan. Now, with the disclaimer out of the way, shall we continue?

    After waking up Elijah and I got dressed and left the hotel. Before we left the hotel desk gave us vouchers for the free breakfast at McDonald's. The restaurant was right beside the exit of the subway station that we had come out of last night, so it was simple to find it. We got our small biscuits and went upstairs (because almost every McDonald's in Japan is 2 stories) and ate our breakfast. While we were up there I took a picture of the intersection that was brightly lit the night before. The morning sun had melted a good portion of the snow.  It was interesting to look at the same scene again in the daytime.

    Our hotel was located in Susukino which is one of the sites of the Yuki Matsuri festival. It deals with ice sculptures. Today we were going to go to the Odori site which is the snow sculptures. We decided that we would visit the Susukino site the next day.

    After breakfast Elijah and I went back down into the Susukino subway station and met with Ryosuke. We then traveled to the Odori station where the main site for Yuki Matsuri was. After a bit of walking from the station we found the Yuki Matsuri site. Saying there was a lot of snow sculptures seriously doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately, the sun causing a bit of melting the previous day followed by the snow that we encountered the previous night had messed up the fine details of some of the snow sculptures, so keep that in mind when viewing some of the smaller ones.

    There isn't much more to say for this post. The day isn't over, the rest will be covered in part 2. Please enjoy the pictures! I only lost feeling in my hands like.. 3 times while taking all of these pictures. Well.. maybe 4 times.

Enjoy!