[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 23 April 2017]
Day 8 – 14 December 2016, Wednesday
Rise and shine, it’s our last day in Hokkaido. We would be departing our hotel at 1:30pm to go to the airport, so we had some free and easy time in the morning to do some shopping. However, as the shops only open at 10am, our time was rather limited. After a relaxing breakfast at 8am, we checked out of our rooms and brought our luggage to the lobby to be stored for a few hours while we shop.
Our Sapporo Prince Hotel is located at 11 Chome Minami. It is very near Odori Park and within walking distance of Tankukikoji shopping arcade and the main thoroughfare at 3 Chome. Sapporo is laid out in a grid system, so that means the main thoroughfare at 3 Chome is 8 blocks away from our hotel. We walked in an easterly direction towards the start of Tankukikoji shopping arcade at 7 Chome. It wasn’t far but we walked at a very slow pace because of the icy ground. The whole road was like a giant skating rink. The snow had compacted and as the sun came out, the snow started to melt, making it very slippery. Uncle J slipped and fell but thankfully he wasn’t hurt.
When we reached 3 Chome, we orientated ourselves to our surroundings and split up for our own free and easy activities. There wasn’t much time so I had to strategise and pick the shops that I wanted to go. Last night, I had already checked out the addresses of the shops I wanted to visit and plotted the on the map, so I knew where to head to.
I first popped in to Don Quijote for a quick look since it was right here at 3 Chome. I have visited the outlet in Tokyo before. Don Quijote, otherwise known as Donki, sells lots of quirky stuff and also everyday items like snacks, handphone accessories, toiletries and more. It is open 24 hours and it is like the Japanese version of Mustafa Shopping Centre in Singapore. If you’re stuck outside in the middle of the night with nowhere to go, you can pass time here at Don Quijote.
Next, I went to the Book Off shop at 1 Chome, located opposite the huge, 5-level Daiso store. Book Off is one of my favourite shops because it sells a huge range of secondhand CDs, DVD and books. Even though the CDs are secondhand, they are almost always in pristine condition. The titles are also catalogued neatly and the aisles are wide, making it very pleasant to browse through. The CDs are also very cheap. Some of the older titles go for only ¥250 (S$3.25) and they are good albums. I bought only four albums this time – two Green Day titles at ¥500 (S$6.50) each, The Beatles Anthology 3 at ¥950 (S$12.35) and the Michael Jackson Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection 3-disc SHM-CD box set at ¥2,450 (S$31.85). If I had more time, I’m sure I could have picked out more.
Next, I went to Tower Records at 4 Chome. It wasn’t very big but it did the job. I only bought three albums here so it wasn’t a very big haul, compared to my previous jaunts in Tokyo. It was too rushed and I didn’t have time to look properly. I didn’t even have time to go to the HMV outlet. Before I knew it, it was time to head back.
I went back to our meeting place at Pole Town, which is one of the two underground shopping malls in Sapporo, the other being Aurora Town. Both originate at Odori Station, with the 400m long Pole Town extending south (below the main thoroughfare on the ground level) and 312m long Aurora Town extending east towards Sapporo TV Tower. There are many shops here and it is much busier here underground than on street level. If the streets appear deserted, it is because most people are here underground to hide from the bitter cold above.
Mum told me that there was a shop selling baked cheese tarts here, so I followed my nose and went looking for it. It was not the famous BAKE shop that we have in Singapore but another one called Kinotoya Bake. It smelled just as good and there was a short queue so I figured it should be quite good. The baked cheese tart was selling at ¥183 (S$2.40) each, or ¥1,080 (S$14) for 6 pieces, which was cheaper than in Singapore (S$2.90 a piece, S$19.50 for 6 pieces). I bought 6 pieces for the five of us to share. After that, it was really time to go, and we reluctantly made our way back to the hotel, reaching at 1pm. We then feasted on the cheese tarts, which were so yummy. I could seriously eat it every day.
In all, after taking into account the walking time to and from the hotel, we had less than 3 hours to shop. It was definitely not enough. For this Dynasty Travel tour package, it would have been good if they had offered another day of free and easy in Sapporo. No tour guide would be needed because it was so easy to get around, and our hotel location was very good. In hindsight, we should have requested to extend another night at Sapporo, like how we did when we joined the Chan Brothers tour package to Tokyo/Osaka in 2010. That’s the thing about tour packages – there is always insufficient time.
At 1:30pm, we departed from our hotel and made our way to New Chitose Airport. Our flight was only at 6pm but Reiko wanted us to leave early, in case we were caught in bad traffic. Having experienced the traffic jams during the past two days, I agreed it was wise to do so. Fortunately, the traffic was smooth today and we arrived at the airport at 2:50pm.
After checking in our luggage, we had time to eat and shop around at the airport. It was a very nice airport with many shops. We had ramen for lunch and it was really good. I also took the opportunity to buy some more LeTAO cookies.
At 6pm, we departed Hokkaido and arrived at Tokyo Haneda airport at 7:50pm. Here, we bade farewell to Reiko and thanked her for her hospitality and companionship for the past 7 days.
At 12:05am, our flight departed Tokyo and we arrived in Singapore at 6:43am on 15 December 2016. Home sweet home! Coming from a land of snow back to a land of warm sunshine took some adjusting. It was surreal to experience a temperature difference of around 30 degrees Celsius in a matter of hours. But despite complaining about it all the time, I actually love Singapore’s humidity because it keeps my skin moist and supple. My skin just doesn’t fare too well in cold countries, where it gets very dry.
Closing thoughts on the trip: I have always wanted to visit Hokkaido and I am glad it finally happened. I also wanted to experience winter snow and I got it, though it may have been slightly more than I bargained for. I especially loved the winter scenery as we drove past the countryside. All the Christmas trees and white powdery snow created a beautiful landscape and it was nice change from the urban scenery here in Singapore. Luckily the weather was kind to us and our flights were not affected. About a week after we returned, another bout of snowstorms in Hokkaido created havoc yet again, stranding thousands of visitors who had to sleep on the floor at the airport.
The thing I enjoyed the least was the extreme cold. It was cold to the point of being unbearable and it was really brutal. I think the comfortable threshold will be around 0 degrees Celsius. Anything in negative territory is too cold.
Food wise, being in a tour group, we got to eat a lot of food that we normally would not try on our own. I’m not a big fan of hot pots so I would usually avoid that, but we had a lot of hot pot meals during the trip. I would probably have chosen curry rice, ramen and sushi for most of my meals. So in a way, it was good because I got to try something different. And most of the meals were good. But I still like my curry rice and ramen. J
I will probably not come back to Hokkaido in winter because it is way too cold, but if you’re okay with the cold and you’re looking for nice winter scenery, it will be ideal for you. If I were to return, it will probably be in spring or autumn, to see a different view of Hokkaido. The trees will be green or yellow, and the waterfalls would be in full flow. I imagine it will be really pretty. Reiko said that because of global warming, summer has become warmer than before, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. So summer is not a good time to visit.
Shopping wise, I think I will stick with Tokyo, maybe because I am more familiar with Tokyo and I know where all my favourite record stores are located at. Maybe it’s also because we didn’t get to spend much time in Sapporo so we don’t know the true extent of the shopping scene here. But I think Tokyo has more interesting stores and shopping areas.
Overall, I enjoyed the trip because it is Japan after all. Being in a tour group, I can just focus on relaxing and enjoying the moment without worrying about logistics and the nitty gritty details. But I think I still prefer free and easy, where I have things within my control and I can choose the places I want to go and how much time I spend at each place. And of course, the food that I want to eat. But it’s all good. Being able to travel is a luxury that I don’t take for granted and I try to enjoy each trip as much as I can. I never forget that. Till the next visit, sayonara!