Japan in winter…yes, again

[Justinf]

My room backed right onto the JR line.
fortunately my earplugs worked a treat and I suspect the window is double glazed.

 

[Justinf]

Headed out to the Odori site for the snow festival.
Lots of tourists, but absolutely amazing.
Lots of food and drinks and entertainment and activities for the kids.
Great vibe.
And for @cjd600 i hope the Red Sox beanie is at least better than Richmond or spurs.
It was lovely and sunny but chilly. Around -2 degrees.

 

[Justinf]

Some more.

 

[Justinf]

And more.

 

[Justinf]

I’ll go to the Susukino site tomorrow where it focuses on ice sculptures rather than snow.
But after that I decided to do some shopping.
I have been following Hokkaido Sapporo Consadole in the J-League and they had a shop at a nearby shopping centre.
It was the poorest excuse for a merchandise shop I have ever seen, but I bought a beanie and a cap.



Also I am a massive fan of Onitsuka Tiger shoes and there was a store nearby so I got these and with the tax free discount they were about $130.

 

[Justinf]

I then tried about five soup curry places but with the massive influx of tourists they all either had waiting lists for over an hour or a massive line up at the door.
Decided on some curry at Sapporo station.
I have found that in Japan the food courts at stations and department stores are just as good as a lot of places.
This was delicious. ¥980 for a fried chicken, curry and rice with a coke. It was 3pm and my feet were killing me after doing 15,000 steps.

 

[Justinf]

I managed to catch a glimpse of what I was going to see tomorrow at Susukino and stopped in at St Johns Wood pub for a pint of Guinness.
At ¥1500 a pint it was a brief stop.




Way too many gaijins here.
I like being a big fish in a small pond.
Heaps of Aussies. I’d hoped to escape them but at a festival like this i realise it’s impossible.

 

[Justinf]

Deciding to call it quits, but famished, I made the best ‘mistake’ of my entire trip.
i exited at the wrong exit at Sapporo station and stumbled across an eatery that had no gaijins.
I went in, was welcomed and ordered a plum wine with soda and a goyoza type of set menu that came out with a self heating pot with rice, noodles and it was labelled as a spicy curry sauce.
well [redacted] me.
it was delicious. And at only ¥1770.



I couldn’t finish it all.
and to top it off, it was only 100 metres from my hotel and guess what is only three doors down in the ‘wrong’ way that people probably wouldn’t go?



There were probably only a handful of people in there, but fingers crossed I can get in tomorrow at some stage.
the things that surprise you hey?
what a great day.
nearly 20,000 steps and feeling every bit of it.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Loving this TR. I am due off to Tokyo next week but planned precisely nothing. Sticking south (Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Hiroshima probably) as I've not booked anything but still great to get some ideas. And can symathise with your knee issue, I badly strained my lower back last week so it's a race against time to be fit enough for the 30,000 steps plus a day I know I want to do!

 

[Justinf]

Loving this TR. I am due off to Tokyo next week but planned precisely nothing. Sticking south (Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka/Hiroshima probably) as I've not booked anything but still great to get some ideas. And can symathise with your knee issue, I badly strained my lower back last week so it's a race against time to be fit enough for the 30,000 steps plus a day I know I want to do!

soldier on. I am getting through with anti-inflammatories and ice baths up to my knee.

 

[Must...Fly!]

soldier on. I am getting through with anti-inflammatories and ice baths up to my knee.

Good point, I may take my heat pack as microwaves are not uncommon in Japanese hotels, from memory.

 

[jastel]

Nice pix.

Went to the festival 10 years ago, dont remember that many foreigners at all...actually do remember eating at McDonalds (not a fan of noodles and rice etc) and being surrounded by schoolgirls practicing English on us.

It seems the secrets of Hokkaido are out, you the third person this year who has mentioned there are too many Aussies there. I suggest you dont go to Niseko then...

 

[love_the_life]

And more.

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We were there in 2018 - cold but lovely.

 

[Hvr]

It seems the secrets of Hokkaido are out, you the third person this year who has mentioned there are too many Aussies there. I suggest you dont go to Niseko then...

I've been to the Snow and Ice Festival a few times. I have a friend from our uni days together (last millennium) who came to Australia to study. I went for the first time in 2006 and there were lots of Australians there even then.

I went to Kut Chen one year, they had Vegemite for sale in the supermarket.

I was taken to the ramen shops where you needed to speak Japanese to get served. It was simply too busy to spend a few minutes with one customer. The ramen was simply superb.

Am enjoying the photos, they bring back many good memories.

 

[elanshin]

Good point, I may take my heat pack as microwaves are not uncommon in Japanese hotels, from memory.

Take ibuprofen from home. Don't rely on any painkillers in Japan. They're weak and they question why you want to buy them


For Sapporo and the snow festival, I would say when i went in 2012 i heard more english than Japanese. Koreans were in full force last year as well. Chinese tourists have returned this year. It'll be packed.


In other news, posting this from the long HND immigration line, just landed in Tokyo.

 

[Justinf]

Good point, I may take my heat pack as microwaves are not uncommon in Japanese hotels, from memory.

They have been nonexistent in the ones I am staying at but there are always one or two on each floor. You won’t miss out.

 

[Justinf]

Take ibuprofen from home. Don't rely on any painkillers in Japan. They're weak and they question why you want to buy them


For Sapporo and the snow festival, I would say when i went in 2012 i heard more english than Japanese. Koreans were in full force last year as well. Chinese tourists have returned this year. It'll be packed.


In other news, posting this from the long HND immigration line, just landed in Tokyo.

Yes. For every pill of iboprofen it’s less than half of what you get at home. So if you take two at home, you need to take four here.
i have never had a problem getting it in Japan though. No questions asked.

 

[Justinf]

Slept in big time.
woke at 11am and decided to check out the ice sculpture display.
gotta say it was small, but did the job (that’s what she said).

 

[Justinf]

More pics

 

[Justinf]

And a few more.