So where was I, oh yeah, Hokkaido! In my previous post I actually forgot to mention I ran into some shrines near my hotel, which had some cool statues, and I actually found “the sweeper” (read Discworld if you have now idea what I’m talking about).

Anyway, once I visited the university, it was time for some more Hokkaido culture and visit the original Sapporo beer factory. Sapporo beer has brewed for over a hundred years now, and the first factory has, of course, been turned into a museum. Here you find the history of Sapporo beer, all clearly explained in Japanese…

It was fun to see that, since the founder of Sapporo beer got into beer making after a visit to Germany, all Sapporo beer bottles have German written on them since the beginning of the brand.

Also, apparently Sapporo beer is made my small elves/angels or something…

Having witnessed this miraculous process, it was of course time to taste the final product, so I sat down in the empty beer hall and had myself a nice cold Sapporo classic (only available in Hokkaido…).

After visiting the factory, it was time to do some studying again, so I found myself a nice place to study until it was time to get some dinner. After dinner I went to one of the bars mentioned in my lonely planet, Hall Stairs Espresso Bar, which was a very dark, atmospheric, interesting, but mostly empty bar. I clearly picked the wrong night to go to this place, so I left the place after a few drinks, ready to go back to my hotel early.

On my way back to the hotel, I walked past another bar mentioned in my guide, so I decided to just give it a go and check it out. Blues Alley is a large bar, divided into several areas, which gives a homely feel to the place. As I was alone I got a spot at the bar and there I quickly started a conversation with the bartenders, Yuki-san and Makoto-san (I think… kinda lost their business cards, gomen ne!).

As they couldn’t speak a word of English, all our conversations were in Japanese only. Needless to say, this helped improve my Japanese a lot, and it was very very fun to talk to these guys. They told me were the best onsen were, and where I could eat the best Jingus Kahn, fried lamb meat. I told them about Holland and we spoke about lots of other stuff as well. I left the place around three in the morning, drunk as hell and very happy, thanks guys!

The next day it was finally time to visit an onsen area. Time to chill in the hot springs! I went to Jozankei Onsen, about an hours drive by bus from Sapporo. When I arrived there, I was immediately treated with an excellent view of the Jozankei area.

Snowy peaks, hotels and the river running between them, quite impressive. I walked around town a bit, following the map around to find locations of interest, while deciding which onsen to visit here. I ran into many interesting things, like eggs being boiled (I think) in the hot water and the god of the river.

While walking around, I reached the river edge where I located a bridge in the distance, which I just hád to go and check out.

Once I reached the bridge, I found the snowy hill on the other side quite interesting, so I decided to climb it to see what was up there. Climbing it proved a bit of a challenge, since the snow was quite deep, so I kept on sinking away in it. Even in the footsteps created before me, I sank deeper. Obviously a bit heavier than the average Japanese person. Still, it was very fun to do, and once I got to the top, I finally found an onsen! So it was finally relaxation time…

I spent about two hours soaking in the various baths found inside, until it was time to head back to Sapporo. I dozed all the way back to the city, so I arrived quite relaxed back at the city. There I quickly located the Jingus Kahn restaurant, recommended by Yuki and went in for the tabehoudai/nomihoudai, or all you can eat and drink! For about 25 Euro, I got to stuff my face with a shitload of lamb meat, vegetables, rice and of course some beers.

After dinner, I was so stuffed, I couldn’t do anything but go home and sleep the night away. On my last day, I decided to visit Hokkaido Jingu, Hokkaido’s first Shinto Shrine. It is situated inside a forest/park on the edge of town, and once you’re there, you immediately forgot you’re really still in an urban area. All you find, is the peace and serenity of the shrine and nature around it.

As is normal with shrines, at the entrance was the place where you wash your hands and can drink some of the water as well. However, this was the first time I could understand the sign above it, so I have to share that with you of course. The sign says (loosely translated): Since a lot of people use these ladles, please don’t use your mouth directly to drink the water.

At night I visited the Blues Alley again, to thank the bartenders and have a final nice night out in Sapporo. The next day, I started my long train ride back to Tokyo around 12:30 and arrived back home around 11 at night. Along the way I did come across this 1337 wagon though… (for geeks only)

Hokkaido, it was a blast!

It’s about time I continued telling about Hokkaido isn’t it? After my wonderful experiences in Morioka, I was very excited to continue with my journey to Sapporo in the Hokkaido region. Traveling to Sapporo, my destructive lifestyle of the couple of days before finally kicked in, so I pretty much slept all the way. Therefore, when I got to Sapporo I was nice and rested and fit to start looking for a hotel. The hotel I found was called Marks Inn, conveniently located near the city center and walking distance from several restaurants, bars, clubs and of course the metro. The staff was nice and the price included free breakfast, which I managed to be in time for twice .

After checking in, I went into town to find the famous Ramen alley, which is one of the most famous and best Ramen spots in Japan. I quickly found out why, it’s an immensely narrow ally, crammed with Ramen shops only, each shop boasting its own special kind of Ramen. I went into one at random and got served the best Miso Ramen I had in my life. Truly, Sapporo Ramen is one of a kind, which is kind of strange come to think of it, since it is basically just noodle soup…

I went to bed early, so I could wake up in time the next day to start doing the tourist thing. I grabbed my Lonely Planet and decided on which tourist spots I wanted to visit, picking only spots in town for my first day, so I could do everything on foot. I quickly located the television tower (called Terebi Tousan: Television daddy) but decided not to go up there, until after dusk because city views are usually better at night .

Leaving the TV tower for what it was, I bumped into the clock tower. This small wooden tower really stands out between the large building surrounding it, creating a nice contrast between the high tech concrete age we are living in now, versus the simpler, wooden habits of old (or something like that). Supposedly the clock never missed a beat for about 130 years now. Which is of course more than enough to merit a must see status in Japan.

After the clock tower I wanted to visit some museums and gardens, so I started of for those. After walking around for about an hour I found the garden I wanted to check out, only to find that it was closed until Spring. The only part of it that was open, was the greenhouse area next to it, featuring “100s of plants from all over the world.” As I was freezing by then (still snow in Sapporo!) and the entry was only 100 Yen (0,60 Euro) I decided to check out the greenhouse to see what the fuss was about.

I must say, being from Aalsmeer, Holland, where the primary source of income is growing plants in greenhouses, I wasn’t very impressed by this particular greenhouse. Sure they had a lot of different plants, but they were spread throughout the place in a haphazard way, and most of them showing signs of decay. Still it was warm, and I managed to take some nice shots anyway. So I can only conclude, 100 Yen well spent.

Having warmed up a bit at the greenhouse, I walked around some more looking for the museums mentioned in my travel guide. I found some of them, but unfortunately all were closed on Mondays. So though luck for me, I just had to settle for an outside view of the places. I did, however, run into the cutest police car ever.

Since I was very cold and done with walking for hours, I decided it was time to get some study on. So I went into the first coffee house I encountered and hit the books until it was time to get some dinner. I didn’t feel like going for anything fancy for dinner, so just had some curry, after which I made my way back to the TV tower, to get those much coveted nighttime shots of the city.

Although it was raining a bit, the view was still spectacular. You can even see the Olympic Ski jump looming on the mountainside in the distance… Well, ok, It’s just a gray dot in the distance, but still. Oh, apparently some of the buildings in Hokkaido aren’t as solid as they would seem, when seen from street level.

Since university roots never let you go, I went to check out Hokkaido University. And boy, I must say, quite the difference from my university back home (Vrije Universiteit). Instead of a dull gray campus, this university features a full on park, several traditional buildings and even a museum detailing the history and accomplishments of the university and its students since it was founded in 1876.

I even managed to find where they created Godzilla!

Oh and… How about this for a Faculty of Sciences. Although of course, all Universities look the same on the inside.

Being at the university, I simply had to do a “cross country cafeteria check” and see what the food’s like in a Japanese university. My only conclusion can be that the food at Hokkaido University is truly very good. For less than 2 Euro you can eat an excellent meal, which actually tastes like a true meal, instead of the warmed up leftovers taste they always seem to manage at the VU.

That’s it for now, I gotta prepare for a party in Ebisu. Tomorrow I’ll finish the story of my Hokkaido trip, barring any severe hangovers. Stay tuned for: Onsen, beer factories and awesome Japanese bartenders…

Anybody curious about how my date with the Brazilian girl went? Currently I’m trying to stay awake to catch my train and head off toward Hokkaido (the Northern region of Japan) , so I just as well update my blog a little. However, writing a full fledged story is a little bit hard in my current state. So I’ll just stick with the basics:

Karaoke rocks!!!

This is what karaoke was meant for, go Robin!

Today I’m off to Hokkaido and will finally take some time off everything. I’m leaving my laptop behind in Tokyo, so I won’t work, I am going alone, so I won’t be obliged to do anything for anybody, and I have got some study books with me, to finally catch up with my Japanese language course!

I am gonna check out the quieter side of Japan; Onsen (hotsprings), National parks and temples, that’s what it’s gonna be (probably).

mata ne!