It's Always Sunny in Sapporo

Our first stop in Japan was to its northernmost island, Hokkaido, and its most well-known city Sapporo. The primary goal of this route, heading north first and then traveling south, was to catch the autumn leaves at peak in each area. The Japanese, they actually have a word for this: "momijigari", which literally means "autumn leaf hunting".

To get to Sapporo, we booked a separate flight from Narita, enjoying an airport lounge as we waited a couple hours between flights. Despite a very long day of travel; when you factor in train to airport in Seoul, flight to Tokyo, wait between, flight to Chitose, and train / bus to the city, it was nearly midnight by the time we made it into town. Still, we were excited to arrive and immediately felt the energy in this buzzing metropolis of > 2 million. Our walk from the main station to our hotel (~15 min) felt, despite the late hour, like a stroll through Times Square or the Vegas Strip in terms of luminescence and activity. We opted to go out for ramen and were delighted to find numerous options open and busy well past midnight! Over the coming days, we came to realize we were in a bit of redlight district, although it was always safe and not particularly seedy.

The next day, we enjoyed a luxurious morning of sleeping in and a well appointed hotel breakfast before starting a city-wide run taking us to many of the recommended sights around town. We made our way through Odori park near Sapporo Tower, past the Government Building and Clock Tower, through the local botanic garden, and onto the campus of Hokkaido University where we jogged down it's famed Gingko Avenue, that pictures showed as an alley of gold in the fall. Unfortunately, we were still a bit early for the full effect of fall foliage at this location. We meandered near campus, enjoying an outdoor goods store similar to REI and with fascinating Japanese versions of some of our favorite gear. Our afternoon highlight was undoubtedly SOUP CURRY which we enjoyed at Cocoro restaurant near campus. We got the daily special which featured a plethora of seafood, chicken, and root vegetables, rivaling a paella in terms of variety. Dana thinks this may take the prize for favorite meal on the whole trip (thus far)!

Our afternoon included a casual stroll through the Sapporo Beer Museum. It was small, but free and full of fun facts about the beer and the original and beautiful brick building it was originally brewed in. Afterward, before walking home along the river. Our evening adventures included a stop at a local brewery - North Beer something, and a local Okinomiyaki chain. This street snack, among my favorite Japanese foods from childhood, is a savory pancake dish with a batter combining cabbage, seafood (usually octopus), and other toppings and slathered in several types of sauce. It was tasty!

Day two was equally packed. We walked to Mt. Moiwa and hiked to the observatory, enjoying pork and cheese buns while overlooking the neighboring mountains. We returned to town along another trail and actively wondered why everyone wore bells while they hiked, only to find warning signs about encounters with the Japanese brown bears in the area. Oops. Back in the city, we enjoyed risotto from a shop with >80 different types of risotto to choose from (V-overwhelming) allowing Dana to start sampling some of Hokkaido’s famed dairy products.

On the third day, we rested. Mostly. We spent time planning ahead (the amount of time needed to plan our trip and book things is no joke!). We also went on a lovely run along the river and through Nakajima park and ate an extra fresh sashimi meal near the Nijo fish market at a food hall we both found delightful with it’s autumn and Halloween decorations.

Our next day was an outdoor adventure to Jozanki, a nature jump-off point and hot spring town about an hour outside of the city. Dana had booked us a canoe tour (helpful given our upcoming multi day canoe trek in New Zealand). Getting there turned out to be quite stressful. We had booked a bus ahead online with some confusion to begin with (Dana wants me to note she's working on a Korea v Japan transit post to drop soon) with the intent of arriving about 30 minutes early and getting our bearings before meeting the canoe folks at a planned pick-up spot. We successful found this bus but we ended up in horrendous traffic that made our bus nealry a full hour late. We rushed to the pick-up spot only to find no one there, and then rushed to the main meet up spot and were frantically looking about, and only after scrolling through the booking email did we find a day of telephone number to call. All turned out well in the end as we shuttled a short 10 minutes to the canoe put-in, where luckily the group was finishing up some safety talks. From there, Dana and I tried to revve up our canoe navigation skills (we have a much more rigorous multi-day canoe trip planned for New Zeland) and made our way down an absolutely stunning waterway full of fall leaves in hues of green, yellow, or orange red and crystal clear water. Several photos later, we returned to town where we wandered aimlessly for some time trying to find lunch. As was a theme for the entire day, we appeared to be running behind schedule and most places were out of food! We ended up eating ice cream for lunch (tragedy, I know) before entering an onsen (local hot spring). Onsens are extremely popular and culturally important throughout Japan, but are especially present in the volcanically active north island. Dana and I had to separate from each other as we nakedly entered the gender-separated spa area.1 I prioritized the outdoor spas giving me a perfect view of the mountains and fall colors, while Dana balanced her time between the hotter indoor options and outdoor scenic views.

The next brought more hot waters. We made our way the next day to Noboribetsu where we had booked a luxury stay at a very large Ryokan. Ryokans are basically hotsprings that are also combined with a hotel stay, so you never have to leave the building between bathing experiences! Our walk through this small mountain town exposed us to local culture and folklore embodied in vibrant demon statues, which may have been inspired by the volcanic hot springs nearby. We took and afternoon walk (and a morning walk the next day) along a lovely wooded trail giving us perfect close-ups of these majestic geysers one of the only hot lakes in the world. The views of these misty steaming waters in front the changing leaves was absolutely stunning and exactly what we had dreamed up for our momijigari-ing. Along this casual hike there was even a designated spot for foot bathing in the stream, where the water was just the right temperature to pop your tired feet in.

Our evening quickly turned into the equivalent of a date night from my high school days - we went to a Parfait shop, Gaku, where we had the most elaborate ice cream dish either of us has ever experienced! We loved it so much we planned to stop by their sister shops in Osaka and Tokyo. Side note - their house barrel whisky was also delightful. Our night ended at Round 1 - a multi-story arcade, karaoke, and activity complex which was a focal point in my childhood. We had one outside of the military base where I grew up and it was among our favorite places to go as teenagers. Dana and I played many rounds of air hockey, some House of the Dead, a first person shooter game (in 4D!), and walked around to check out the magnificence that is, and continues to be, Round 1. Dana swooned in her love for me on this perfect date.

We retreated to the Ryokan onsen for the evening, where we had an ‘eastern’ style room (rolled mats, no elevated bed or mattress), which proved perfectly comfortable and a rather spacious room. The room was equiped with special robes, vests and waist saches to wear while traipsing to and from the Grand Bathing Hall of the hotel. The onsens here were far less crowded than in Jozanki, providing a serene outdoor view of the geysers, mountains, and night sky. The next day, we made our way to the airport only to discover some type of mall / food hall / seafood market extravaganza. Truly, this airport must have had a hundred restaurants and sold live fish on-site, including packaging for bringing aboard. Our return trip by bus, train, plane, train, and final bus brought us to our next destination - Osaka, where we arrived late in the evening.

Footnote:

1) Like with many customs and activities in Japan, there are a lot of rules and behavioral norms related to onsens. We were a bit confused and nervous about these going in. However, to politely inform foreigners' behavior, rules are posted in English at the entrance of most onsens and public baths so we started to get the hang of it. Rules include never wearing a swimsuit or towel into the waters (this is considered as dirtying the waters). Similarly, one should thoroughly wash before entering, and never submerge head or hair as these too are considered as dirtying the waters. There are other more general rules about being loud and splashing about that I think would apply at any nice hot springs in the US. The other big one, though, is that tattoos are generally strictly prohibited in the onsens. We've been told that tattoos are associated with the Yakuza (essentially Japanese mafia) and criminals. Dana ended up covering her small ankle tattoo with her watch band or a hair thing and one ever brought it up.

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The Botanic Gardens were actually built in the 1880's and are maintained by the University

Grinning in front of the clocktower in Odori Park

Above:  we try out the free footbaths in the hot springs stream.  Below:  with its steaming geysers and sharp volcanic rocks, it's easy to see why this area is called Hell Valley.

Nothing is better than midnight ramen

There were definitely some sketchy sights in redlight district of Sapporo

Above, a menu describing the elaborate parfaits. Below the real life delicacy. So many flavors and textures.

Playing air hockey at Round 1. Wait for it... they take it up a notch with the small pucks drop.

Historic poster advertisements for Sapporo Beer on display at the museum. The Geisha really enjoy their cheap beer!

Winnie Stand-up and I enjoy the traditional floor mattresses and tatami mats in our Ryokan hotel room.