Sapporo is a small town compared to Tokyo, but is still quite large. It is the capital city of Hokkaido, the northern island and province of Japan. I was there for the 60th Anniversary Snow Festival and it was awesome. I arrived on a Monday night and, after checking into my hostel, I linked up with a fellow traveller from Vienna to wonder through Odori Park to see some of the Snow Sculptures. They were similar to the pictures I had seen of previous festivals but much more impressive in person. The crowd was decent, but not huge as I had expected and we were able to see about half of the sculptures before they began shutting the lights off around ten to indicate we should head home.
The next day I went to see the rest of the snow sculptures in Odori park, which stretches about eight city blocks and is tucked between two one way roads like a highway median. I think the sculptures we had missed the first night were more impressive the the ones I had seen, and largest sculpture was easily four stories tall. Then I went a few blocks south to see the ice sculptures which were much smaller but still pretty impressive. The most interesting ones had fish and crabs frozen into the blocks of ice advertising a fish market I imagine and another that was a bar complete with stools and a stock of local whiskey bottles frozen in the cabinets.
To finish off the ice festival I took an hour bus ride to the last site where they had various slides built of ice and snow that kids and adults were going down on tubes or their butts. There was also an area where kids were trying their luck on little bamboo skis about the length of their feet and most of them were ending up on their backs in short order. It was fun to watch the crowd, but not really worth the bus ride. Inside the stadium there was a small train ride for kids and I think the look of shear defeat and boredom on the 'conductors' face really summed up the anti-climatic scene for the adult audience. On the way out to the site, I sat next to a young American couple on the bus with two little kids of their own. The youngest was probably two and she began to cry as soon as the bus started moving and didn't stop until just before we arrived. Despite the attractions for kids at the park, I would imagine they didn't think it was worth the trip either.
After lunch I headed for the Sapporo Brewery and Museum, where I met several Australians on holiday that I travelled with the rest of the day. We probably spend more time in the Museum Bar, than the Museum display section, and although this was a beer museum, I think more museums should have bars. After the Museum we headed for Ramen Alley which is an alley two blocks long and no wider than a household hallway. It is lined with Ramen shops and packed with tourists and locals peering through steam covered windows for open seats to stop for a bite to eat. On the way there, several giddy school girls were convinced that one of the Aussie girls was Nicole Kidman and were giggling, chatting amongst themselves and telling her she was beautiful in broken English. It was quite amuzing and I was flattered to be in the company of such notariety.
My second full day I went to a Japanese bath, which are popular in Hokkaido and Sapporo. It was both enjoyable and relaxing. However, I spent more time traveling and waiting/looking for transportation than I did in the bath. I had heard rumors that they destroy the sculptures on the last night of the festival, which sounded unfortunate since they had to take days to construct, but I wasn't going to miss the show. I headed for Odori park once I got back from the Bathes and found they weren't destroying them, but their was a huge crowd and lots of shows going on in front of the various sculptures, so I was glad I stopped in.
That evening I spent my first night at Jesi's, my couchsurfing host. She has been hosting various friends and surfers throughout the snow festival and still had a fellow English teacher staying with her for the night. Fortunately for me, her friend was heading toward Otaru in the morning, and she gave me a lift and dropped me off at a train station two stops away from Otaru.
One of the things that stuck me about Sapporo, which I was warned about before my arrival was the women's willingness to sacrifice good sense for good fashion. There we women running around the icy streets in high heels and skirts in the wind and snow. And they were literally running at times. I guess the spiked heels could serve duel purpose in the ice for traction, but it is still a site to behold. Some at least wore stockings to keep their legs warm but others had nothing to protect them from the cold and wind, which I'm sure was an added incentive to run.
The next day I went to see the rest of the snow sculptures in Odori park, which stretches about eight city blocks and is tucked between two one way roads like a highway median. I think the sculptures we had missed the first night were more impressive the the ones I had seen, and largest sculpture was easily four stories tall. Then I went a few blocks south to see the ice sculptures which were much smaller but still pretty impressive. The most interesting ones had fish and crabs frozen into the blocks of ice advertising a fish market I imagine and another that was a bar complete with stools and a stock of local whiskey bottles frozen in the cabinets.
To finish off the ice festival I took an hour bus ride to the last site where they had various slides built of ice and snow that kids and adults were going down on tubes or their butts. There was also an area where kids were trying their luck on little bamboo skis about the length of their feet and most of them were ending up on their backs in short order. It was fun to watch the crowd, but not really worth the bus ride. Inside the stadium there was a small train ride for kids and I think the look of shear defeat and boredom on the 'conductors' face really summed up the anti-climatic scene for the adult audience. On the way out to the site, I sat next to a young American couple on the bus with two little kids of their own. The youngest was probably two and she began to cry as soon as the bus started moving and didn't stop until just before we arrived. Despite the attractions for kids at the park, I would imagine they didn't think it was worth the trip either.
After lunch I headed for the Sapporo Brewery and Museum, where I met several Australians on holiday that I travelled with the rest of the day. We probably spend more time in the Museum Bar, than the Museum display section, and although this was a beer museum, I think more museums should have bars. After the Museum we headed for Ramen Alley which is an alley two blocks long and no wider than a household hallway. It is lined with Ramen shops and packed with tourists and locals peering through steam covered windows for open seats to stop for a bite to eat. On the way there, several giddy school girls were convinced that one of the Aussie girls was Nicole Kidman and were giggling, chatting amongst themselves and telling her she was beautiful in broken English. It was quite amuzing and I was flattered to be in the company of such notariety.
My second full day I went to a Japanese bath, which are popular in Hokkaido and Sapporo. It was both enjoyable and relaxing. However, I spent more time traveling and waiting/looking for transportation than I did in the bath. I had heard rumors that they destroy the sculptures on the last night of the festival, which sounded unfortunate since they had to take days to construct, but I wasn't going to miss the show. I headed for Odori park once I got back from the Bathes and found they weren't destroying them, but their was a huge crowd and lots of shows going on in front of the various sculptures, so I was glad I stopped in.
That evening I spent my first night at Jesi's, my couchsurfing host. She has been hosting various friends and surfers throughout the snow festival and still had a fellow English teacher staying with her for the night. Fortunately for me, her friend was heading toward Otaru in the morning, and she gave me a lift and dropped me off at a train station two stops away from Otaru.
One of the things that stuck me about Sapporo, which I was warned about before my arrival was the women's willingness to sacrifice good sense for good fashion. There we women running around the icy streets in high heels and skirts in the wind and snow. And they were literally running at times. I guess the spiked heels could serve duel purpose in the ice for traction, but it is still a site to behold. Some at least wore stockings to keep their legs warm but others had nothing to protect them from the cold and wind, which I'm sure was an added incentive to run.
Glad to hear that things are going well, sounds like you are having a good time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posts we will continue to check for them. Beto & Erin