Belated Hokkaido Post

And finally, after a whole 1 month break, I'm blogging about Hokkaido. I suppose this is goo, because only the best things would stay within my memories for me to share with you. For those of you who want to go to Hokkaido in the winter months, here's my 2 cents of what is good and bad.

The Good

Snow
Nothing beats the Hokkaido snow. Its so fine that you can hardly feel it through the clothing. In fact, its just like powder. And it also doesn't get you wet even if you flop right into it. And I know that cos the whole bunch of us had a mini snow fight somewhere in Niseko Ski Resort (though we didnt see a ski resort there..)

It snowed when we were out of Sapporo and away from the coast at Nobori-betsu, and temperature-wise was negative 3 deg celcius, which is extremely cold to be out for long periods of time. For 30 minutes or so is fine, but a few hours (like our zoo trip) was pure agony.

Nonetheless, a great first experience with snow.

Kobe Beef
The best beef I have ever tasted. Suddenly made Tajimaya Wagyu second-grade beef. And the huge slab of beef that my family of 3 shared just made it so much better. Mouth-watering, juicy, absolutely delicious.

Well food in general was ok, though extremely pricy (Ramen at 800+ yen). In many places I suppose it was better than most Singaporean standards, yet not delicious enough for the price they commanded. Crab was overrated, though the cold crab Kuishinbo style was superb. And the live abalone that we cooked over the flame tasted decent and different from the usual ones we eat in Chinese restaurants. The common comment unfortunately, was that it tasted like rubber. I thought it was nice though.

Hot Springs
Our daily ritual of hot springs was perhaps the best way to end the day. While I suppose they were not as good as I thought they would be (due in part to exaggerated reactions from the people on TV), it was indeed very relaxing and rejuvenating. And the outdoor baths were even better. The heat of the water totally made it such that even the exposed body in sub-zero temperature felt warm.

And yes, there was nothing but a single small towel. Away with modesty indeed. But all embarrassment soon went out the window when it was apparent that no one was interested in looking anyway. Pity it would be hard to replicate this in Singapore.

Pastry
Japanese cakes, pastries and sweets are just so beautiful! Its just like a work of art! Though we only ate some custard puffs (which were heavenly), just looking at them made me think that even Canele had to catch up.

Chocolates
Okay, I don't think its that good, but Hokkaido is famous for a certain brand of White Chocolate Biscuits called Shiroi Koibito, which translates to "White Lovers" if i'm not wrong. Pretty much a must buy for friends and family, but as I said, I don't think its that nice haha..

The Bad

Shopping
Shopping was horrible. Apart from dear old Daiso (100 yen only!), everything else was quite expensive, and fashion was restricted to winter season, so there was little to buy, even at the factory outlet that we went at Chitose. Perhaps come back in the Summer and you may find really good stuff?

Not to mention, shops close at 8pm. Eee.. no night life. Oh well.. Back to the hot springs.

Little to Do
Perhaps its due to the fact that we were on a package tour, but much time was spent doing boring stuff like travelling to factories, and also a weird village to preserve the old "Ainu" culture, which so happens to be all but erased. Totally boring stuff.



Well of course this post doesn't really do seven days justice, cos the company was pretty good. Of course, the generation gap prevails, but somehow I think I'm also catching up in age. For pictures, do look to Facebook.