Another long mini trip report-Sapporo.

[drron]

Forgot to thank Markis10 for fixing some of the videos at the beginning of this thread.
On the Sunday we were exhausted after our long day in Sapporo itself so after breakfast we had another snooze so got up late for our trip to the Historical village.This is not far from the Sheraton.There is a bus that goes from Shin sapporo station to the village but it only goes every hour so we took a taxi there-Y1100.Coming back we timed our exit so as to catch the bus back-Y200 each.It is easy in Japan because if the bus leaves 15 minutes past the hour that is exactly when it leaves.
It was a cold,overcast day but only began to rain as we left.It was a nice relaxed day that we needed and enjoyed.It is a collection of buildings from all over the island of Hokkaido.Some were moved here,others reconstructed from original plans.Not many there.The most enjoyable part was a corner devoted to the herring fishery that was important to early Hokkaido.We were escorted around by a lovely older Japanese fellow.Afterwards he and i had a long chat.He kept apologising for his poor english.His English however was better than some people you hear back in Australia.He asked if he was saying things correctly.We then had a chat about Hokkaido's history.The herring fishery began a rapid decline in the 1910s,finally disappearing in the 20s due to warming of the waters.So here are some pictures,first the living quarters of the workers-

The last picture is of the workers lunch boxes.
At the other end of the building the boss and his family lived.quite a contrast-

and yes the boss wore a bear skin coat.
The bathroom facilities were not to my liking-

To be continued.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Excellent guys, thanks. I've never made it to Sapporo. It's on my list now and will form part of a CX SC run before the music stops.

The skiers in my circle say that part of the world has the best snow.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[Princess Fiona]

Loved the videos
Interesting to also watch the passers-bye hurrying across the road.
If that dancer is eighty years old then I'm turning Japanese
Thanks dr and mrs.drron

 

[drron]

Here is an explanation of the herring factory and the Japanese gentleman who acted as our personal guide-

In the owners section there were also bear skin rugs,bears are in short supply round these parts-

Just down the road they had a demonstration of the repairing of the nets.The fellow standing was in charge here.when i walked over he apologised saying he didn't speak enough English to be able to explain to me what was going on.So as I do in this situation I murdered a couple of sentences in japanese getting just enough right so he knew what I was asking.Again as usually happens he now knew I was going to be more embarrassed than he.his English turned out to be quite reasonable.We then had a 3 way conversation with the older fellow at the nets.When he learnt how much of japan we had seen he concluded I had too much money.

The view from the nets back to the factory-

and the reverse-

Along with one of the herring boats-

And the typical Japanese scenery-

Next-some more of the village.

 

[drron]

So here is the entrance of the village-

Inside there are examples of large government buildings,commercial buidings large and old to schools,ordinary houses and rural buildings-

And the interiors of temples and homes-

And here is another Japanese gentleman we talked to-

His job was to halt the traffic for the tram-

yes just a one horsepower motor.
We enjoyed the day but this is probably not for those who prefer excitement.
Still a little more of sapporo to go.

 

[Dudditz]

Nice to see your TR and photos of Sapporo, definitely one of my favourite places in Japan.

A highlight for me was visiting the Sapporo Brewery/Museum and enjoying the Mongolian BBQ with unlimited beer and meat!

It is such a great town to eat, drink and mingle with the locals in one of the many festivals around town.

 

[drron]

Another area we explored was around the old Government building.We were going to explore the Botanic Gardens but didn't do our homework and it is closed Mondays.The old government building though has character and the gardens around it are a great escape from the city.

Fluttering over the building was the Hokkaido flag which also was present in garden beds-

Over the road outside a typical modern building with some very typical Japanese touches-

Buildings overlook the gardens-

But the gardens still are an oasis-that next.

 

[drron]

This tree is said to be over 200 years old-

But in parts of the garden you can lose yourself and contemplate the meaning of life-

But other creatures also were at peace-

Of course mrsdrron loves her waterlilies-
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7xJ6aPvnr64/UDyIBomQ5II/AAAAAAAA4KY/exx_3Jm9uYY/s400/black%2520sea%2520434.jpg

There are some man made points of interest-

Next-the final chapter.

 

[drron]

We did do a couple of other things in Sapporo.Well you didn't think mrsdrron would forgo shopping or that I would not concentrate on eating.
mrsdrron enjoyed the shopping arcades of Sapporo and there are many small shops and restaurants in the buildings above Shin Sapporo.It included a 100 yen shop with a difference.We now know where Campbell Newman got his election slogan-

The first night we had dinner in a small restaurant on the fifth floor of the Duo-1 building above Shin Sapporo station-chicken Karaage,seafood tempura and a ramen soup with chicken and mushrooms,with a beer-2100Y ~ $26.We had another evening meal in the Esta building at Sapporo station-there was meant to be an Okonomiyaki restaurant but we couldn't find it so settled for sushi.The other meals were take aways from the local supermarket.

In conclusion we had a ball in Sapporo.There really appeared to be something for everyone and there was a whole lot we didn't see.So we will be back.The number of festivals around Hokkaido is amazing-one list we saw had 96 festivals around Hokkaido just for August and September.
Although the Sheraton is a good way out of town we enjoyed the stay there and it was easy getting anywhere.Winter may certainly be different but then the subway gets you from Shin Sapporo to Odori Park so really not too bad.

Final advice-consider a trip to Sapporo.Not only the festivals but the people of Sapporo were amongst the friendliest we have met in Japan.