Day One - February 1st - Sapporo, Hokkaido

To sum day one up in a few words I would say ‘Not as I expected.’

And I don’t by any means say that in a bad way, no Sapporo certainly surprised me. And I suppose that comes from not really being able to grasp things until you have experienced it for yourself.

I for one spent months online researching everything I could possibly think of to do with Sapporo as well as this trip as a whole (my exposure to anime certainly doesn’t paint a clear picture into the makings of the real world apparently – there’s no world leaders that are animals? What’s up with that?). Yet I could have researched forever and I still wouldn’t have been prepared for Sapporo. Not that the city it’s self is anything grand or out of the ordinary, but it is so different to anything that I had ever seen back in Australia.

For one, the snow piled high on the roads, on the top of cars, on tree branches, is something that I had only seen at Ski slopes in places like Perisher and Thredbo. Not in a city that is used for commuting and everyday life. There was an old Japanese lady struggling to push her walker along the uneven snow that has only been cleared from a select few streets. I had the thought that it was not a place where I would want to live when I’m older, seems too much of an inconvenience to just get around, in the winter at least.

I’m still trying to figure out which side they prefer to walk on here. Though I found that they drive on the left side, I’m finding that when walking most will go to your left… They have a crossing the road system that combines a cross walk, traffic lights and a bird sound. The system is quite effective in helping you know where to cross when everything is covered in snow… black ice… in some places there is black ice… and when you finally figure out just where that bird sound is coming from, you’re good to go.

(The traffic lights make a bird whistle when it’s right for you to cross. There are no birds stalking you… apparently.)

Second, as you walk along the street there are speakers shoved into the snow, which proceed to shout out words in Japanese that are honestly quite terrifying. I’m still trying to figure out what their purpose is…

I stumbled upon a shopping mall that has a ぐでたま café on the top floor and am hoping to visit it before I leave… I’m sure it’s going to be hell expensive, and if that’s the case it might unfortunately be a miss.

Third, すすきの (Susukino) is actually quite amazing. For anyone that does not know Susukino is a red light entertainment district in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, and the largest entertainment district north of Tokyo. The streets are lined with bars and karaoke and snow… there is so much snow…

The buildings reminds me of something you see out of Times Square, billboards shining bright all the way from the bottom to the tops of buildings, displaying everything from cute café advertisements, to medicines and skin care. The fact that I can’t read half of it doesn’t dampen the fact that it is quite amazing.

Though with all the choices of ramen and dumplings in front of me I stopped by a handy convenience store and picked up a noodle set for about $5 and a large melon pan bread (for breakfast the next morning) for $1. Not too bad on the old budget.

Tomorrow I think I’ll walk down to Odori Park where they hold the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri every year. It doesn’t open officially until the 5th, but everyone is welcome to walk along the 1.5km stretch.

Until next time,

ごきげんよう!