A Snow Festival

Friday, February 8
We flew out to Chitose International from Kobe Airport in the afternoon, part of a large group of Hyogo JETs. Vacation planning is easy when it's done by someone else. Once in Hokkaido, we were bused to our hotel, Gateau Kingdom, located about forty-five minutes in suburban Sapporo.

For dinner, we crowded into the bus again and enjoyed a smoky Genghis Khan dinner at the Kirin Beer Hall. The location looked more like an auditorium than a restaurant.

"Genghis Khan" consists of mutton and nutrition-less vegetables. Dip in assorted sauces and wash down with large mugs of beer.

Saturday, February 9
Our group left early for snowboarding at KIRORO. We newbies took lessons for the first few hours. After lunches of スープカレー (curry soup), our instructor Mika sent us down the beginner slope, which was much longer than I thought it would be. A few of the others made their way down quickly, but I wound up tumbling for most of the way. Occasionally I fell because I lost my balance, but I often lost control of the board and dropped into the snow to avoid plowing into a skier/boarder or into the advanced course. Still, when I could get a grasp of gliding down, the rush of cold air into my face, paired with the exhilarating view of white mountains and trees couldn't be beat. And falling into pillowy powder snow is none too bad.

We returned to the hotel for showers then caught a shuttle into downtown, where Chris and I met up with Clay, Sarah, and Dan (Team Kasai stayed at a 旅館 in the city) for ramen along the famous ラーメン横丁（Ramen Alley）.

Sunday, February 10
Chris and I woke with pain surging throughout our bodies. As we had only signed up for one day of snowboarding, though, we skipped the slopes and caught the sights of Sapporo.

Even the statues wear earmuffs here.

Our first stop was 北海道大学 (Hokkaido University), which oddly enough, is a tourist attraction.

Can you imagine trekking to class through the snow?

After the university, checked out 札幌駅 (Sapporo Station). At an information booth for the upcoming G8 summit that will be held in Hokkaido, we drank free pumpkin soup and warmed our hands.


I loved Sapporo, with its wide sidewalks, neatly laid streets, and assortment of international shops. It felt as though we were abroad and not in Japan at all.

In typical Chris and Kristine fashion, we discovered a bookstore and spent a few hours browsing. I picked out several novels then fell asleep on a bench, my new finds on my lap; warm, cozy, and surrounded by literature, who could blame me? Chris woke me up for lunch, and we ate at the hotel next door.

Chinese food buffet! (The restaurant was called Tiffany.) We ate until we were sick. The meal closed with a vanilla soft serve cone for each of us.

We walked off lunch at the old government building, where I met an enormous snowman. Below the snowman read the words "WE <3 HOKKAIDO!"

The building is famous for its Western-style architecture and use of red brick materials. Its spacious rooms are now used to house exhibits on the history of Hokkaido. The exhibits included translations into Russian, Chinese, Korean, and English, done by students at the nearby university.

Ouch!

Another famous Sapporo landmark is a famous old clock housed in a former Hokkaido University drill hall. Today it houses a small museum and gift shop.

We finally caught the famous Sapporo Snow Festival in the early evening. We walked through the Snow Festival for hours, slipping along the ice as we took in the enormous displays. The sculptures were beautiful. The event was truly put on festival style, with food booths selling grilled corn on the cob, crab dishes, and candies crowding the sides.

I'm sorry that I have no pictures up, but in addition to being a horrible photographer, I'm a klutz on the ice. I took zero photos that day, and if I can borrow some from Chris, I'll put them up later.

After hours of walking in the cold, my feet were numb, and I begged Chris to take a break. We stopped at Bad Ass Coffee Company for steamy Kona coffees. I drank the "Hula Pie," a blend of macadamia nut, vanilla, and chocolate-flavored coffees. It sounds scrumptious, but it was only ho-hum.

Team Kasai met us at the coffee shop, and with a tummy full of hot caffeine, I was prepared to once more head out into the night. This time, we trekked to Susukino, where we took in the Ice Festival. The glistening ice sculptures were smaller than the ones done in snow, but still impressive.

We walked past the sculptures to the popular Bailey's Ice Bar, where the drinks are served hot. Alcohol and a warm beverage sure beat the chill. Shortly after, the lovely Mrs. Munoz treated me to champagne at the Moet Chandon Champagne Bar. The server tucked thin slivers of lime peel into the glasses, and we sipped our fab drinks seated on ice chairs in a mini igloo. How posh. We drank Nectar Orientale, which cost 900 yen a glass. The Dom Perignon went for 3000 yen. Sip slowly.

Bubbly.

Unfortunately, on champagne alone a woman cannot live, and we headed to Habana, a Cuban restaurant, for more drinks and actual food. I ordered a chicken taco and a gin and tonic, neither of which wound up being enough for me, but oh well.

Sarah and Matt.

With plans to ride a ferris wheel that we had spotted earlier, we went to Norvesa, an entertainment complex of sorts. There, in the print club room, I ran into Jamie! We'd planned to meet up in Hokkaido, but somehow never did. It was short, but I was thankful that I had the chance to briefly see her.

Monday, February 11
A smaller group of us went into the mountains today. We drove for what felt like hours to drop off boarders at Rusutsu Resort then to Snow Land for snowmobiling! We practiced riding in circles for ten minutes, then set out onto a scenic tour. I was the third to set out, and I somehow lost sight of the two speed demons ahead of me. I wound up blazing my own trail through the woods, leading the others behind me into new territory . . . until I was stopped by one of the operators.

After snowmobiling, we returned to the city, where a group of us ate at a sushi shop. I had crab soup, my only taste of the stuff in the season and city for which crustaceans are famous.

In the evening, Dan, Chris, and I went to Otaru, a thirty-minute train ride outside of Sapporo. The small town celebrates winter in its own way, with glass art and lanterns set outside in the snow.

In the midst of our search for dinner, we ran into Wendy and friends (yet another coincidence), who recommended a restaurant further down the street. We thanked them for the suggestion and found a warm, dimly lit restaurant where the wait staff wore European-style garb and the nightly entertainment consisted of a man and his dulcimer.

I drank one of the house beers. Umm . . . caramel?

Two of my greatest loves: roast chicken and whole grain mustard.

A balloon artist made rounds through the restaurant, and I spent longer considering what I would ask him to make than on choosing my dinner. In the hour that we were there, however, he never made it to our table, and I was heartbroken. (Really.) Yet as we were leaving, a miracle occurred! A waitress saw that I was empty-handed, and she gave me the giant octopus hat off her head.

Sadly, sweet Tako-chan was confiscated by airport security before boarding the plane back to Kobe.

Tuesday, February 12
We began the day with the breakfast buffet at our hotel. And then we went home.