Start off our journey with a photo... of the luggage.
9:38am 特急電車
We're all here - Carly, Katie, Sonia, Eddy, and I, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We have so much luggage, so hopefully we can get to the airport without any dramas. Got to get to Kyobashi first...
10:05am 大阪環状線
We're on the Osaka loop line, switching over at Tennoji and then Hineno. I'm so excited; it feels like we're going to another country.
10:20am 天王寺
We're in Tennoji and have less than 10 minutes before the rapid express to the airport.
10:30am 特急電車
Apparently, we're on a train that will "uncouple" - the front 4 cars are going to disconnect from the last 4, and continue from Hineno to the airport. Luckily, we got in the 4th car so we get to see how it disconnects; so cool...
11:37am 関西国際空港
We're in the aeroplaza now, enjoying Sonia's Okaasan's sandwiches, and kitkats; it's a very flashy place. It's really quite at the moment. The plane flies out at 1:10, so we're going to go check in shortly.
1:26pm 飛行機We're about to take off... the TV's are displaying a camera at the front of the plane, so we get to watch the take off. The weather is warm and sunny. We're right at the back of the plane and I got the window seat, Carly's sitting next to me. Here we go...
3:38pm バス
We're on the coach to Susukino station, and then we have to walk from there to the hotel. It's raining and, wow, it's cold. As soon as we got out of the airport, it hit us and our breath was clearly visible. A whole new adventure is about to begin...
4:33pm バス
We've been on the bus for over an hour and we're still at least 30 mins away. It's such a change of scenery here, and not just because all the trees are brown or leafless. I have but one word to describe Hokkaido; spacious. In this way, it reminds me a lot of Australia. We're in 札幌 (Sapporo) and yet, it doesn't feel like a Japanese city. Things are spread out, the roads are wide, and people are driving regular sized cars. It's not as built up as you'd expect a Japanese capital city to be. The buildings are of modest proportions; no skyscrapers in sight. It's kinda cool though; it's nice to have a change. We've only got three stops left. That's another thing; taking the bus, rather than the train. There's just not enough infrastructure in place; all the trains are underground. I think the bus is pretty cheap though considering how far we've come.
4:52pm 札幌
Okay, now I feel like I'm in Japan again; the buildings have grown tall. We're here, and it's raining. I'm warm in my jacket though.
9:23pm ホテル
Tonight was great... we found the hotel easily enough; it was only a couple of block down from the bus stop. After checking in we dropped our stuff off in the rooms and planned what to do next. Eddy and I are sharing a twin bed room, and the girls have three beds; we got a couch and sink, they didn't! We're right next to each other on the 5th floor. We decided that, even though it was raining, we'd go out and find the illuminations.
10:20pm ホテル
We just went out hoping to do some karaoke. However, since free time didn't start till 11, we decided it would be better to go tomorrow night and make the most of it. We want to try to get up early tomorrow and
get out to 定山渓 (Jozankei) for hot springs and hiking. The trip was not completely wasted however; we stopped at a sushi bar for ice cream. So yeah, back at the hotel now just chilling. Earlier on though… We found the Sapporo White Illumination a couple of blocks down in Odori park and it was spectacular; shame it was raining. We’re going to go again tomorrow night. The TV tower is all lit up at the end of the park, there are a number of displays, and heaps of the trees were covered in lights. Near the tower, there is a German market set up for the event. There are some great items there. So since it was raining, and we were hungry, we walked over to the shopping street and got dinner and this great ramen place. The broth was… amazing!With warm and happy stomachs, we had a good look around the street and stopped by some great souvenir shops. Among the memorable products were – beautiful wooden carvings of bears, owls, foxes, and wolves; so many different flavours of caramel, including lavender; a species of ball-shaped algae that you can keep as a pet and best of all; まりもっこり (Marimokkori). This is a portmanteau of marimo (the algae) and mokkori, a slang word meaning the “tent” an erection makes against pants or bed sheets; no joke. This green character sports a sizeable bulge in his pants, and has a very naughty expression on his face. Only in Japan, or more correctly, only in Hokkaido; I think it’s hilarious. So yeah, that was a heap of fun. We’re going to figure out how to get to Jozankei, watch some vids, and then get some sleep…
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