After we separated with our friend, we decided to walk around Sapporo without any specific itinerary. By that time, a lot of snow on the street became slush and it was getting difficult to walk around in my Emu boots. They were not waterproof, technically.
We walked through Tanuki-koji Shopping Arcade but we didn't find anything interesting there. Miss Kiki and DH played all the way there and back and more. I'm absolutely sure that the trip was exponentially more fun for Miss Kiki because DH was there to play with her :) The snowball maker we bought in Sakaimachi in Otaru was still the main entertainment for them.
We passed a large Daiso (100 yen store) near Odori Park, but didn't enter. I figured that if I want to shop I should do that in Tokyo.
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| Choppa fence holder (from One Piece) |
We passed this sign on the sidewalk, and we thought that this is their development plan for the city. Maybe a bike parking on top of subway channel? What a great idea! I am still not sure how it's going to be in Jakarta with all the MRT being built but with no plans for people on how to get to the stations.
We also spotted these stands on the sidewalks, mostly in intersections. Anyone can access the sand and salt bags inside, to spread in case of snow and slippery conditions.
We reached Sapporo Tower, but didn't go up. Instead, we took pictures with the poinsettia display right across from the tower.
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| Police station |
After walking around for a while, we decided to go to Sapporo Factory, a large shopping centre in Sapporo. DH navigated, accidentally took a detour, but we got there anyway. :D We passed the theatre where Lion King was performing and we also spotted a Quickly shop on the way.
By the time we got to Sapporo Factory, my socks were soaked. Water from the snow puddles had seeped through my boots. It wasn't a big deal though, I simply bought new socks and my problem was fixed :)
The Sapporo Factory was a large mall that was not so easy to navigate around. In the main atrium, they had a large Christmas tree and other christmas decorations. At the outdoor atrium, they had a big santa climbing up their chimney. There, they also had a large Seria Store, a 100 yen store that in my opinion is better than Daiso because they don't stamp their brand on everything.
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| Inside Sapporo Factory |
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| Pikachu Bath Bomb from Seria Store |
After the sun had set, we set out to have dinner. Before we left, someone from Jakarta had recommended Tamura Yakiniku restaurant so we decided to try it out. It wasn't too far so we walked to the building where it was located, and found that it was actually very near the Red Brick Building, officially known as the Former Hokkaido Government building.
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| Building near Sapporo Factory |
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This is a view of the Red Brick building and the Sapporo Flower Carpet, Though, in the winter there weren't any flowers in sight.
Finally we arrived at Yakiniku Bar Tamura, a small but fancy bar serving various wagyu. We decided to try their best yakiniku platter. The meat they served was good, but we had forgotten that we don't usually eat much rice, thus the serving wasn't really enough nor satisfactory. Well, at least we can say we've tried it. I think that wagyu should be eaten as steaks, just like our kobe beef lunch we had in 2016.
After our Yakiniku dinner, we walked around the area and decided to try another dish that Sapporo is famous for: the Genghis Khan. It is a grilled lamb dish, similar to yakiniku. Our friend had gone to a restaurant called Daruma and he recommended it. Daruma had several different locations, so we went to one not too far from our hotel. To be honest, I am not a big fan of lamb because of the smell, so I hesitantly went along with DH who wanted to try, because well, I thought that I should at least give it a try.
When we entered, there was a long lineup for seats. The restaurant was packed really tightly and they provided lockers for our belongings. We waited for about half an hour before we got our seats. Don't go there hungry!
On the menu was four different types of meat cuts, all lamb, and we chose three out of the four. As we ate, we could order more but don't wait too long because the popular cuts run out very quickly! Surprisingly, it was very very good, tender, and with minimal lamb smell. Some cuts have some smell and others don't smell at all! I have to say, this dinner was much more satisfying than our previous one!
Before we went back to the hotel, DH and Miss Kiki stopped at a Mister Donut and had one each. Mister Donut seems to be really popular in Japan.
The next morning, it was time for us to go to the airport and fly to Tokyo. We took the airport limousine bus from across the hotel to the airport. We had breakfast at the airport, and I still had the chance to walk around to see their souvenir stores. At the airport, a lot of the souvenir shops sell dried or frozen food products from Hokkaido. I guess Hokkaido is famous for their food even amongst the Japanese people.
Our flight was almost empty, but they didn't cancel or delay it. Gotta appreciate the Japanese airline companies on how they keep their schedules. Unlike some local airlines here that most of us already knew about that was notorious for flight delays and cancellations :D
It was a smooth journey but unexpectedly, as we landed and ready to disembark Miss Kiki threw up all over her pants, the seats, and carpet! My, my there's always a first. The plane staff was very helpful they quickly brought her wet towels as well as bottles of drinking water. They were worried about her. They gave us garbage bags to take her dirty clothes off the plane and we made a stop at the airport family toilet to clean up. All and all it was a very memorable experience for me... hahahah. Though I think Miss Kiki would be embarrassed and a bit upset at me that I wrote about this incident on the blog. Well, Kiki, if you are reading this...., please understand that I am not trying to embarrass you, I just want to read back to it and remember this because none of it is bad :)
After we cleaned her up, I gave her Digestzen oil to rub on her tummy. That made her gas came out and she said she felt much better after. :D
Up next: Tokyo!!
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