As I pulled back the curtains in my train compartment, I was blinded by the radiant sun, magnified by endless fresh snow. We were ripping through the coast of Hokkaido - small fishing villages, mountains, forests, all covered in a newly fallen powder measuring several feet high.
For breakfast I had some red bean daifuku that I had bought the night before in Ueno.
We got to Sapporo thirty minutes late, thanks to a snowstorm. The first time anything in Japan was not precisely on time. But hey, this is Hokkaido. Anything goes.
I stored my bag in the train station, went to the Pokemon Center and Uniqlo, then walked to the Sapporo Factory - the birthplace of Sapporo, now a shopping mall. If you think consumerism in America is intense, go to Japan. These folks LOVE to shop. Every major train station, and nearly every large subway station is connected to several shopping malls. Huge ones. Shopping is one of Japan's greatest pastimes.
The city seems to have gotten about three feet of snow last night, and all the roads and sidewalks are covered in ice that's six inches thick. Despite tons of salt, people and vehicles were slipping and sliding, but no one was deterred from going about their business. Impressive!
A tourist bus took me to the Sapporo Beer Garden, where I stocked up on pointless cutesy things. The museum was closed, and all there was else to do was go to one of the four large restaurants converted from original factory buildings. I ordered a stein of Sapporo classic and 'jingisukan,' a dish named ever Genghis Khan, which is just raw lamb that you cook on a hot plate. The beer was great and the food was good, but was neither worth the price nor the trip over. I was severely disappointed, the first time I've been disappointed in Japan. Oh well. Not everything can be absolutely freakin' awesome.
Can you see all that snow??
I took the bus back to the Station and, still hungry, got a bowl of miso ramen - made with butter in Hokkaido. Body warmed and spirits lifted, I got my bag and headed for Jimmyz Backpackers Hostel.
I'm sharing a room with two Americans - Kate and JD - and a Canadian - Chris - all of whom are very nice.
I invited them all to go get soup curry for dinner - a Sapporo delicacy. They agreed, and after a bit of relaxation, we all headed over to a place suggested by our hostel's namesake - Jimmy. On the way to the restaurant, we got some "walkie talkie" beers, as Kate calls them.
Garaku was a happenin' joint - with a wait and a crowd excited to practice their English. Several people chatted with us as we waited for a table. Dinner consisted of delicious soup curry - I got lamb and vegetables - as well as beer and Japanese lemon liquor. Everything was delicious. We stayed until closing and then wandered into a zombie pirate themed karaoke. After one and a half hours of singing, if you could call it that, we went into a Japanese arcade and took ridiculous pictures in the hilarious Japanese photo booths.
Oh and we passed this chick...
Annnnnd now I'm calling it a night. Peace.
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