Day 4 - First day in Sapporo

SAPPORO ON A WINTER NIGHT

Waking up at 6.30am, we will wash up, do some final packing before we head down for our complimentary breakfast at our hotel - Hotel Yumoto Noboribetsu. We will then check out of the hotel after breakfast which should be about 8.30am by then to make our way to Noboribetsu Onsen Bus Terminal.

We have two ways to reach Sapporo, either by bus or by train. If we take the bus, we can leave directly from Noboribetsu Onsen Bus Terminal but if we take the train, we will have to take the 15 minutes feeder bus to the JR Noboribetsu Train station. By train, the journey from Noboribetsu will take 1 hour and 10 minutes. By bus, it will take 2hours and 30 minutes. Bus is definitely much cheaper at ¥1,900 (SGD$16) for single trip while the single train ticket costs ¥3,850 ($32) for an unreserved seat. So which we take depends on timing , schedule and our budget at that point.

Most likely ,we may take the JR Limited Express train to Sapporo which departs at 9.30am since it arrives at Sapporo by 10.40am which will allow us to gain some extra time. On arrival at Sapporo, we will head for the tourist information centre to get maps and information. It is located within the North 6 West 4 - West Concourse(Food & Sightseeing Hall) of the JR Sapporo Train Station building. It is opened from 8.30am – 8.00pm daily. Staff are able to converse in English and Mandarin which will be of great help. We will also check with them on information for the purchase of tickets for the JR Rapid Airport Express from Sapporo to New Chitose airport which we will need when we leave Sapporo for Tokyo in 3 days time.

After getting what we need from the tourist information centre, we will take a walk around JR Sapporo train Station shopping mall which comprises of main department stores like Stellar and Daimaru. As we may be too early to check into out hotel, we may grab a bite and have a short rest at Toppii, a traditional sushi bar that is located on the 10th floor of the shopping mall(access by elevator near Bic camera shop). The sushi plates are colour coded in price bands and are circled around on a conveyor belt. The complimentary hot green tea served here would be most welcomed by us in this winter. Good thing about Toppi is that they have menus in English which makes ordering and dish identification easier. Each plate cost an average ¥110(SGD$1.45). This place is recommended for it’s mouth-watering sushi. It is opened from 10am to 11pm and is crowded at peak hours.

SKY J RESTAURANT
We will also check out Sky J, a recommended restaurant located on the 35th storey of JR Sapporo Nikko Hotel, which is located in the same building complex as JR Sapporo station. We will make a reservation there as I heard the view and dinner buffet there is worth a splurge.

KEIO PLAZA HOTEL SAPPORO

We will then walk out onto the street North 4 in the direction where North 4 intersects with West 7 street where our hotel – Keio Plaza is located. Sapporo streets are designed in an interlocking grid layout which makes for easy map reading. We chose the Keio Plaza hotel as it is located in the heart of Sapporo where the main shopping and entertainment belt is within close vicinity. It is also within walking distance from JR Sapporo railway station and tourist attractions.

Sapporo has the particularity that addresses are described as cardinal point from the official city center (near the TV Tower). Odori-koen Park (大通り公園) divides the city in "North" and "South", while the Sousei-kawa Canal (創成川) divides it in "East" and "West". The major avenues further divide each block by number (North 1, North 2, North 3, etc.). Each block can be found by its geographic location on the grid (eg. North 3, West 5), making Sapporo one of the easiest city in Japan to navigate ( See below).

We will see if we can do a check in and if not, we will ask to leave our bags in storage with the hotel and maybe explore the Botanic gardens(below) diagonally opposite our hotel to take some scenic shots. This 13-hectare (32-acre) park with its entrance at North 3 West 8 contains some virgin forest and more than 4,000 varieties of plants gathered from all over Hokkaido and arranged in marshland, herb, alpine, and other gardens.

Of greater interest, perhaps, is the section devoted to plants used by the Ainu,one of Japan’s tribal group whose extensive knowledge of plants includes not only edible ones but also those with medicinal use and other properties, including organic poison used for arrows to kill bears and other game.We are told that it is a popular spot for an afternoon picnic in the summer, due to it’s large expanse of trees and grassy lawns. Other attractions within the park includes Japan's oldest natural science museum, founded in 1882 to document the wildlife of Hokkaido and housed in a turn-of-the-20th-century, Western-style building. Admission to the park is ¥110 (SGD$1.05) per person.
After looking at the park, we will then head back to the hotel and check in at the allowed time. We will probably take a short rest, probably till 3pm before heading out to take a walk towards the vicinity of the JR Sapporo train station where we first arrived to visit the major departmental stores there such as Daimaru, Stellar, Seibu and Tokyu.

Along the way to the shopping at JR Sapporo station, we will pass a Victorian era building along the way known as the Docho Red Brick building(above), previously used as an administration building but which is now used as the Hokkaido archives office which showcases Hokkaido’s colonial past and it’s fairy tale like setting in winter is good for photo taking.

At JR Sapporo station shopping mall district which comprises of shopping complexes and underground malls plus rows of discount shops, shopaholics will have a good time there. Most of the shopping complexes there are connected via the underground train station pedestrian connector. First stop would be Sapporo Tokyu. Of interest is the sale of Japanese foodstuff and snacks at the basement. Next stop would be at Sapporo Seibu which is comprised of 2 buildings: a main red-brick building with a lot of clothing sections, and its unique annex loft aiming at younger generation which has rows of boutiques and shops of different variety. There are also underground shopping belts such as Apia and Paseo.
Another one is Esta(above) which features various kinds of foodstuffs and delicatessens on the basement flour. On the upper floor, there are different kinds of shops and a big area dedicated to electrical appliances. Another complex is Bic Camera which is located at the south side of Sapporo station, accessible via JR Sapporo Station. There is a food hall here besides the general range of clothing, accessories, general items and restaurants on the upper floors. Of interest here are the 100 yen shops, supposedly better than Daiso at the basement floors. For those interested in Japanese anime books, you can source them at three book stores in the area – Sanseido located on the 8th floor of the Daimaru Departmental Store which has a cafe where you can bring new books inside it’s cafe to browse. Now that’s what we call customer service. There is also Asahiya on the 5th floor of Stellar Place East Shopping mall and Kinokuniya on the West side of Daimaru which also has a cafe on the 2nd floor. For food, we may go to Sato Suisan located South side of Sapporo station which specializes in many kinds of sea food such as crabs(below) and local delicacies.

We will shop till the shops close and thenl head for dinner. Most shops in Sapporo usually open on a daily basis, although the smaller shops may not open on Sundays and open from 09:00 and 17:00 during the rest of the week. The largest department stores often open from 10:00 until as late as 19:00, while supermarkets generally open seven days a week, from 09:00 or 10:00 until 17:00. Some department stores do choose to close for one of two days each Monday.
I plan to bring Gayle to Sky J restaurant, for which we made reservation earlier that morning (tel:011-251-6377) for a romantic dinner at the top of Sapporo’s tallest building – The JR Sapporo Nikko Tower on the 35th floor. The food is pan-Asian buffet style, plus Western and some Japanese. From here, we will be able to see the evening skyline from north to Ishikari Bay and south and west to the mountains. The buffet is less crowded after 1PM. I’m told that the staff can understand basic limited English but they make up for it with their friendly service to customers, especially tourists. For an extra 500 yen, the buffet includes all the wine you can drink. Dishes are marked with signs in Japanese and English.
After a good dinner and some good scenic shots, we will take a nice winter walk back to our hotel to have a good rest, consolidate our shopping buys and plan for the next day activities.