A weekend in Sapporo and Otaru, Hokkaido

This last weekend I had three days off so I took a short solo trip to Sapporo and Otaru, the capital of Japan’s northernmost prefecture Hokkaido and its nearby tourist port city, respectively.

Sapporo is famous for its snow festival at the peak of winter, and the rest of Hokkaido is known for its beautiful, blooming late springs. The prefecture is otherwise known for just being cold, at least from what I’d gathered.

March is in between seasons for Hokkaido– no longer winter, yet still a couple months off from the flowering spring time. Not the best time to go; however, Hokkaido is a little too far out for me to travel to on a regular two-day weekend, so I decided I had to go regardless of the season.

Saturday Morning: putting the “pro” in procrastination

Anyone who knows me knows that I have the worst timing, so of course I would arrive at the airport about 20 minutes before boarding. Even though my inner, more put together and responsible self was pounding a lecture in my head about being on time, my vacation-mode self figured it’d be fine as this had happened last year and for an international flight, no less.

And fine everything was. I forgot how much simpler it was to go through security in Japan: I just dropped my backpack on the conveyor belt and passed through a metal detector frame. None of this “unpack your bag, undress, and stand in an x-ray capsule” business like the States.

A short while later, I was off to my first stop: Sapporo.

Saturday Afternoon: good eats and clock rants

About an hour after landing, I’d finally made it to Sapporo Station where I immediately headed to the restaurant floor. I hadn’t eaten much that morning, so I stopped at the first place that caught my eyes and stomach: a sushi eatery.

I was pleasantly surprised when the host guided me to the back of the restaurant where there was a bar-like table in front of the windows with a view over the station entrance and plaza. My three-fish mini set lunch was equally as delightful.

Unfortunately, the rest of my afternoon wasn’t as great as I’d hoped. I went to Odori Park, and for some reason I decided to go to the observation deck of the TV tower. There’s an almost identical TV tower in Nagoya and I’ve never had the desire to visit the top of it in my sixteen months here. Anyway, I went to the top of the Odori Park TV tower, and it was disappointing.

Whoever keeps telling people that’s the thing to do in Sapporo needs to stop.

The same goes for the Clock Tower. I understand that it’s the city’s oldest building and that it keeps time and stuff, but beyond that I don’t understand the excitement.

When I walked by the clock, I felt like Ben from Parks and Rec when he’s first introduced to Li’l Sebastian. So many tourists so excited to take a picture with it, and this was me:

While we’re on the subject of clocks and not understanding local idiosyncrasies, what is with all the clocks outside of buildings in Sapporo? Nearly every main building I saw in the downtown area had giant clocks on them. Just everywhere. Want to look up at the sky? Not allowed, unless you look at a clock first to remind you that time is a-ticking and so is your life and oh, look at the time– it’s GONE. Seriously, why? It’s never crossed my mind that I might have chronomentrophobia (fear of clocks) but I’m starting to think it’s an unfortunate possibility. Although to be fair, I’d probably be on time to more things if I lived there…

Saturday Evening: the hunt for ramen alley

That evening I went on a hunt for the famous ramen alley I’d heard so much about, situated in Susukino and my word, was I not remotely prepared for that city within a city. Had I done more research ahead of time, I’d have found out that Susukino is the largest entertainment district north of Tokyo. The night was well alive when I arrived trying to find the tiny ramen alley among the wash of lights and noise.

The ramen gods smiled upon me as I miraculously found the small restaurant street within five minutes.

Say what you will about touristy eateries, but I’ll happily go back to this alley any day for what I can only describe as the best ramen I’ve ever had.

Sunday Morning: I’ve been eating breakfast wrong my whole life

The next morning I headed to Sapporo’s Nijo Market, a public market for local and fresh seafood, where I heard was the best place for breakfast. I ordered the basic breakfast set that included fresh tuna, crab, shrimp, and salmon.

Sunday Afternoon: wander, eat, repeat in Otaru

I took a 40-minute train ride to the nearby port city, Otaru. The last ten minutes of the ride were oceanside, and I immediately knew I’d love the town. Otaru is much smaller than Sapporo but so much more refreshing.

I walked down to the canal and wandered around the nearby area where I stopped at a small fried potato shop. Intrigued, I bought a caramel potato churro which was just as good as it sounds.

After walking by the canal I headed to Sakaimachi Street, a famous merchant street lined with eateries, fresh seafood, and museums.

The first museum I visited was the Venetian Art Museum which was opened by a local glass producer. The museum features glasswork as well as other art displays from Venice. I had no intention of actually going to the exhibits with an admission fee, but somehow I ended up with a college student discounted ticket in hand (the upside to still looking relatively the same as the ID photo you took six years ago) and all alone in the three floors of exhibits. The only other person in the old, creaky building was a museum staff who would check on me ever so subtly by “adjusting” the pieces and description plates.

I won’t lie, the Victorian exhibits were creepy, and the fact that I was the only visitor in an 18th century styled edifice did not calm my nerves. There was a room set up to look like a Victorian masquerade ball complete with mannequins dressed in fancy wear and masks. I died just a little bit when I walked into the room, said “NOPE” rather loudly, and immediately exited to the next exhibit. So add to the growing list of things I’m scared of: clocks and life-size mannequins dressed in Victorian masquerade wear. Especially those masks that look like a giant bird’s beak.

The exhibits in the floors above were a lot less frightening and a ton more enjoyable. My favorite was the floor with glasswork and sculptures of animals and their habitats. I was mesmerized by the level of detail in each piece, and how the artists used it together with color, texture, and even light to create the exhibits.

After wandering around the nearby glass shops, I stopped at LeTao, which is probably the most famous cafe in the town. The cheesecake was definitely worth every yen, no matter how small the piece.

My final stop in Otaru was the Music Box Museum. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much but my inner kid came out and I had to contain myself from winding all the beautiful trinkets.

Sunday Evening: Shameless for sushi

I headed back to Sapporo where I have no problem admitting that I waited over an hour for conveyor belt sushi. I have no shame.

I was, moreover, proud that I got through a wait list/reservation machine that was all in Japanese. I saw the kanji character for “person,” so I was 99% sure that screen was asking about the party number. In the next section there were about three lines of text, but all I could make out was “telephone.” I think it was asking if I called to make a prior reservation? The answer choices were “I have” and “I don’t have,” so I clicked the latter. I’m about 30% sure the next question asked if I preferred a counter or table seat. I took my chances and clicked the kanji for “next,” hoping that would mean “I’ll take whatever’s available next, just give me all the sushi now, please and thanks.”

The sushi was delicious, I ate a lot, and I will not be eating any more at least for the next month.

Monday Morning: Nakajima Park

On my last morning, I walked about a mile from my hostel to Nakajima Park. Most of the images I’d seen online of the park were taken during a more picturesque season, so I didn’t know what to expect. It turns out the park was quite lovely covered in the season-changing, end of winter slush and snow.

Monday Afternoon: homeward bound

After wandering around for the next couple hours, I walked back to Sapporo Station and headed off to the airport. Surprise ending: I actually arrived at the airport a whole hour and a half before my flight. I guess all those clocks scared me into some good after all.