after spending almost every minute of the past 5 weeks together, its time for laurel and i to each be on our own for the next 5 days. laurel will be at kodojuku taiko workshop back on sado island. i wish i could go with her, but i attended in 2006 and cannot attend again. i am excited for the experience she will have there. i have decided to venture up to the northern island of hokkaido to visit sapporo city. home of sapporo beer, cooler weather and many oishii ramen noodle shops!! what more could i ask for? i also look forward to some time alone. to relax and not do too much.
its a long journey to hokkaido by train, i end up staying up all night in order to catch a train at 6am. i wake laurel up at 5am to give our hugs and kisses goodbye and then head off to the train station. 5 trains, a bus, a 10 minute walk and a little over 12 hours later, i have made it to ino's place hostel in sapporo city (5th largest city in japan). what a nice place. very homey and inviting. i am also relieved that the weather is cooler here... much cooler, that i actually feel cold. i am ecstatic to feel cold air. i love the cold. if i didn't have 70lbs of weight in my backpacks, i would have done a "happy" dance.
after the long journey, i am tired. i need to get some food. ramen!! right beside the hostel. its good and cheap and tastes even better with a couple of pints of beer. did i mention that beer is available everywhere and at anytime in japan? they have vending machines on all street corners (even in rural areas!) that you can buy beer, cigarettes and any drink imaginable from. the incredible thing is that the machines are all clean, they all work and they get restocked regularly. imagine cigarette and beer vending machines on street corners in north america? they'd be vandalized, destroyed and stolen from on a regular basis! its not the case here. the legal drinking age in japan is 20, but with vending machines all over, they can't really control who buys the beer and cigarettes. but this is japan, if you aren't suppose to drink until you are 20, then you don't drink until you are 20! there's always exceptions, but i think this is true in most cases. anyways, the night is still young (9pm). i decide to hop on a subway and find my way to downtown sapporo to wander the streets at night. its lively and vibrant, much like any other big city in japan. the sidewalks are filled with people going about their business. i admire the changing lights of the sapporo tv tower from odori park. the heart of downtown sapporo. the park, which is 13 city blocks long, is filled with teenagers hanging and practicing their dance moves. couple holding hands. cuddling. families wandering home. businessmen taking a break on a bench. dogs playing in fountains. i enjoy the breeze of the cool air and soak it all in. i wander a little farther and into susukino. this is where the nightlife is. brightly lit flashing signs adorn both sides of massive shopping streets. full of busy restaurants, bars, shops, hostess clubs. you name it, its here. its a little too chaotic for me and i find some quieter alley ways and side streets to wander through and get lost in. what do i happen to stumble across? ramen alley!!! i was going to come here tomorrow to eat. atleast i know where it is now. i wander through to have a look. its crowded. line ups out the doors of these tiny establishments. sadly, one place is empty except for the owner. an older gentleman. he calls out to passers by to come in for some ramen. as i pass by, i feel for him as i always do. thats what happens growing up with parents who have run their own restaurant for such a long time. you learn to appreciate the work and dedication that goes into running your own restaurant. so when i see an empty one, when the ones around it are all crowded, i do feel for the people inside. i wish i hadn't eaten already this evening. but now i know where to come back to tomorrow. i wander some more, but its getting late and i'm still exhausted from the long journey. time to head back.
the next day, i am undecided as to what to do. just stay in the hostel and chill or go out and see some sites? after lazily making a mid afternoon breakfast, i decide its a day to go for a walk. today will be a day of great heights. i map out my course. back to downtown area. sapporo tv tower. odori park. then onto mount moiwa for sunset. in total i figure about 2 hours of walking. a brisk 45 minute walk from the hostel and i am at sapporo tv tower. i decide to pay and go up to see the 360° view of sapporo city from 90m above street level. the view is spectacular, except for the scratchy, dirty, plexi glass windows encasing the observation deck. i noticed an exterior stairwell on my elevator ride up. can i go out there? can i walk down to the bottom of the tower from the stairs? that would be a much better view and enjoyable experience then the claustrophobic crowded observation deck. i find the door to the stairwell. hmmm? i decide to ask an attendant if its alright to go outside and down the stairs. sadly, i am refused. apparently the stairwell is only open to the public about 3 or 4 times a year. oh well, didn't hurt to ask. the sun is slowly starting to set behind odori park. i will have to make my way to mount moiwa soon as it is atleast an hour walk from here. i decide to snap some photos from the observation deck before i leave. i run around the whole perimeter and snap photos to hopefully stitch a full 360° view of the city. if it worked, you'll see it in the photos below. i leave the tower satisfied with the time spent up there. i slowly stroll through odori park on my way to ramen alley for some food before heading to mount moiwa. i get caught up in all the excitement thats happening in the park and spend much longer in the park then intended. now i must really hurry.
to view the full size of stitched sapporo skyline image click here
i could have easily made sunset at mt moiwa had i hopped on one of the numerous trams that drove by me on my walk here, but being stubborn as i am, i was not going to give in on my day of walking and walked there as fast as i could. an hour later, i get to the base of mt moiwa with the sun light barely visible in the sky. i line up with many others to take the cable car up to the top of the mountain. 531m high. suspended only by a thick cable. the ride up is in darkness. the night view of the city is stunning. the city is vast. lights go on seemingly forever in the distance. its windy and quite cold up here. everyone else in jackets and sweaters. me in a t-shirt!! i like the cold. remember. i can hack it. well, i lasted about 30 minutes or so and it was time to head back down and rush back to the hostel to call laurel on sado. my day was complete. many beautiful views from high above.
i get a late start on my last day in sapporo. which isn't even in sapporo! i decide to head to near by otaru city in the late afternoon. its a 30 minute train ride from sapporo. i didn't know much about otaru. port city for the north. a large marina. glass blowing artisans. and a beautiful canal that runs through the heart of the city. the culture here is quite different. there is much influence from russia and northern china. not quite the japan i know, but a pleasant change and experience. the city is quaint. small. rustic. i am drawn towards this old stone building and to my surprise, i find a small calligraphy exhibit inside one of the main rooms. the brushwork is beautiful. graceful. expressive. i am mesmerized by the space and the artwork and find myself in there for almost an hour. i speak with a couple of the staff. not sure if they were the actual artists. they are surprised but happy that someone from canada had made it to see the exhibit. i am very happy to have seen the exhibit!
a stroll along the calm and peaceful canal. passing artisans. buskers. painters. carriages. photographers. all getting ready to pack it in for the day. the water perfectly reflects the old stone buildings across the way. i make my way to the marina and pier area. if i could see far enough, i think that would be russia in the distance. i find a local micro brewery near the marina and decide to have dinner at their pub before heading back to sapporo. of course this was an excuse to try the local otaru beer.
only a few pleasant hours in otaru, but its time to catch my train back to sapporo.
that night was another all nighter. a 7am train the next morning to tokyo to meet back up with laurel in the evening. i will miss the cooler weather in sapporo, the hospitality of ino's place and the many oishii ramen shops, but am looking forward to being in tokyo again and meeting up with laurel to hear about her kodojuku experience.
1 comment:
man, I'm jealous of your trip! sounds like you guys are having a great time! Happy belated birthday!
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