Hokkaido - The Winter Wonderland

Well... with a "solid-packed" itinerary, time really flies! It was the end of a short 8 days Hokkaido Winter Tour. After breakfast, it was time to lug our luggage again walking on the snow-covered and sometime ice-covered road/path to get to the Sapporo JR station. It was just a short 5 to 7 mins walk depending on how fast one walks. With luggage, it actually makes sense to reserved seat (+300 yen) on the train even though it is just a short 30 minutes or so to get to the airport. We did not quite expect the train to be so "popular" so we didn't reserve seat and ended up standing in the aisle all the way to the airport. It was quite crowded and many travelers similarly also stand with the luggage filling up the aisle. As we were "busy" jostling (maybe a little bit only lah) for standing space, so did not take any picture until we were at the airport domestic departure hall, when we are more at ease.

Be prepared with lots of cash (or credit card also can :) when there are so many shops "crying" for your cash...... :) Shop Shop Shop .... but actually many shops sell pretty much the same things that tourists want to buy; all the usual biscuits and stuffs from Shiroi-Koibito, Rokkatei, LeTao, etc

Even one seafood store selling all the famous Hokkaido seafood. They will get it packed properly for you to cart home! Fancy any king crab leg? Before you buy, check the price at our Sheng Shong or NTUC supermarket first, to make it worthwhile carrying it all the way from Sapporo to Singapore! Remembered seeing Sheng Siong advertising one whole king crab (about 1.2-1.5kg each) selling like S$68 during some special, but it was frozen alaskan king crab not hokkaido king crab (anyway not sure if there is any difference)

Saw an EVA Air plane with Hello Kitty painting while waiting for our ANA domestic flight to Narita.

This was the ANA plane we took to Narita.

As the plane was slightly delayed and it took longer time to touch down and move to a parking lot before we were fetched by bus to the terminal building, we were left with not much time to run (sprint if i may say so) to return the rental phone on a different floor and then quickly sprint back to the International departure gate to clear immigration and get to the boarding gate, we were pretty much the last few to board the plane! We really sprint all the way from the minute we touch down from the domestic flight right to the point when we board the international flight! It was an unbelievable mad rush in order not to miss the flight and at the same time to be able to return the rental phone! So please don't ask me how the shopping is like in the Narita Airport!!! We never get the chance to take a good glance of what is available in the international departure hall. My legs were literally like jelly after sitting down on my seat in the plane and was sweating so badly! Just for your reference in case you are considering a similar flight connection from Sapporo-Narita-Singapore, do ensure you have at least 2 to 3 hours between connection to avoid the mad rush we been through! Our connection time was only 1 hr 15 mins which is risky considering that if there is a slight delay due to unforeseen circumstances like weather, airport congestion, etc, you could potentially miss your connection flight. We were booked with ANA throughout, so not sure if they will do their best to ensure we will not miss our connection international flight if their domestic flight was delayed, so i will rather not take the risk!

Frankly, I don't really like the food served on the ANA flights! It just doesn't look appetizing to me!

All the stuffs carried back home. Those melon jelly seems to be raved about frequently by forummers but it seems none in the family actually said it is great and must buy more the next time. The biscuits from Shiroi-Koibito and Rokkatei are definitely must buy on the next trip though ;)

It was a long day spent on traveling on bus and train all the way from Utoro, Shiretoko back to Sapporo yesterday, so we were really tired and had a good night rest sleeping till about 8am today. By the time we were down at the restaurant for the breakfast, there were already many people. As you can see from the following pictures, it is not a big restaurant and the buffet spread was not that big in varieties but i guess it is sufficient for most people. My favorite has to be the bread (rectangular shape) in the first picture below. I think it was a milky bread, tasted very nice even when not applying anything on it.

After a quick breakfast, we had to walk quickly to the bus station in the ESTA building for our reserved free tour of Hokkaido Shrine, Shiroi Koibito biscuit factory and Sapporo Central Wholesale Market. The meeting point for this free tour was at the following Sightseeing Bus Counter. At 9am, the tour guide lead us down to the bus bay to board a tour bus. There were about 14 persons in this free tour.

First stop at the Hokkaido Shrine. Personally i don't think this is the highlight of the tour, the shrine looks pretty ordinary, didn't have that "wow" factor.

Second stop was the Shiroi-Koibito Biscuit factory (otherwise formally known as the Ishiya Chocolate Factory). We were only given 1 hour to tour this factory so it was a rather rush tour. Ticket was 500 yen (i think), just 100 yen cheaper than when we go there ourselves. It was like a whirlwind tour, throwing in a very short 10 mins buying some cakes and coffee to eat in the cafe. Ideally, this tour should be longer (maybe 2 hours) so that we can eat our cake, drink our coffee more leisurely, and then shop leisurely for the Shiroi Koibito biscuits and souvenirs. Do note that the biscuits can be found everywhere in Sapporo and even in the airport. The price is standard, so it may make sense to get it at the airport.

Last stop is the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market, just a short distance from the Shiroi Koibito Factory. This is interesting simply because we get to see the live king crabs, lots of them, and many food stuffs to see and buy. Just note that the price may not necessary be any cheaper since we are "tourist".

At the end of the tour, we were given the option to alight at the Sapporo Clock House, instead of returning back to the Sapporo bus station. This is near the Sapporo Snow Festival venue at Odori Park.

Due to the warmer weather this year, this "Snow Miku" snow sculpture actually collapsed just after we visited it! We didn't witness it collapsed but heard over the TV news that night.