Ready, Set, Sapporo!

You join me on my 4th full day in Sapporo. Here’s what I’ve been up to. I left Cardiff on a very delayed National Express coach, arriving at Gatwick around 11pm to chaos in the Hampton by Hilton hotel. A crowd of disgruntled Americans and Brits who had a flight cancelled had arrived there en masse about 30 mintes before me, all without reservations. It took a while but eventually I reached the front of the queue and made into my room for a decent nights sleep ahead of a day of travel to get to Japan.

My first flight was around 12 hours, and took me to Shanghai, where, disorientated and dehydrated, I stumbled through a seemingly endless labyrinth of queues, ticket checks, passport checks and security checks to get to my transfer. I only sat down for about 15 minutes before I was called to board my second flight.

This one was only 3 hours or so and after a packed plane from Gatwick, the aviation gods smiled on me at last, gifting me a mythical free middle seat in my row.

I arrived to Japan and after a really painless immigration and customs check – thank you Japanese efficiency and organisation – I took the opportunity to freshen up in one of the hi-tech bathrooms before taking half and hour in the airport lobby to recuperate, hydrate and steel myself for the last push to get to my appartment. I was in no hurry as I’d arrived a couple of hours ahead of check-in time.

I opted to take the Chou Bus, the cheapest transfer at £7 which conveniently had a stop 10 minites walk from my appartment block.

I arrived and after a brief struggle with the ipad check in system I made it into my home for the next three weeks. The apartment is tiny, but comfortable and well equipped.

After a miraculous shower (aren’t they always incredible after a day of travelling?) and a bit of unpacking, I enacted step 1 of my let’s-beat-jetlag-for-once plan, which was to have a nap. I fell asleep instantly upon getting into bed and thankfully I’d set my alarm before lying down and woke up 2 hours later.

Step 2 of the plan was to go for a walk to elimate the last of the stiffness from being on planes for 15 hours, and tire myself out enough to sleep through the night.

I popped out to see some of my immediate surroundings, and made my first convenience store stop of the trip to get some essentials.

My local shop is called Seicomart and is a chain exclusive to Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Their USP is hot meals cooked on site, but they also have all the standard japanese conveience products (think egg mayo sandwiches on the fluffiest white bread, a healthy selection of ramen and every flavour conceivable of onigiri rice balls).

I slept like a log that night and the next day I headed into the city centre.

The Toyohira river separates the more residential area where I am staying from the city centre of Sapporo. The river itself is beautiful and from my closest bridge there is an amazing view of the mountains.

Sapporo is under snow for about 4 months of the year and is the skiing capital of Japan. The weather in summer however is hot and humid. Luckily my appartment has air conditioning and the UK having a heatwave has helped me to pre-acclimatise!

I walked past the Nikka Whisky bilboard, an iconic stop for tourists which has been in olace since 1969, then further down the street I found Tanukikoji shopping street, a covered arcade which runs across the city like an artery, spanning about 10 city blocks. It’s full of eateries, bars, souvenir shops and more. There’s even an entrance to popular shop Don Quixote, a shop where you can buy literally anything, from groceries, to appliances, to terrifying plushie mascots (see photos below).

Deeply overstimulated after about half an hour exploring the first floor, I retreated home for some ramen and recuperation.

The next morning, feeling fully cured of my jetlag, I headed out for a run, I’d spotted an ideal track passing alongside the river. While a little warm for me even at 6am, it felt good to be in the sun! I then opted for a more zen outing to Nakajima Park later that day.

The sprawling park hosts lots of interesting sights, including a concert venue, an athletics centre, an observatory, and Hōhei Kan, a historic clapboard hotel, now preserved as a museum. The park also has a huge pond called the Iris Pond. While we’re just past the season for my eponymous blooms, I did manage to track down the last one of the season – surely a good omen!

I enjoyed a humble dinner of rice with local Hokkaido butter and soy sauce (influenced by reading Asuko Yuzuki’s novel ‘Butter’) with a piece of mackerel and pickled aubergine. All from my local shop – it was delicious!

Yesterday I headed back into the city for some of its other famous sights including a wooden clocktower building. Erected in 1878, it’s the oldest building in the city. I also wandered up to the central station, past the Sapporo TV tower, which I plan to come back to and ascend later in my trip. I also went by the Aka Renga building, a red brick museum about the Ainu people, an indiginous ethnic group form this part of Japan.