Hey you can soon make visa runs to Sapporo as MOFA is going to open up an office there.
Usually it’s a 7-11 run for Sapporo.
HG
Strangely enough thats my fav Japanese beer too. Though the others are pretty similar…Kirin…Asahi… cant really tell em apart.
Sounds like a nice alternative to Hong Kong although I assume the flights won’t be as numerous or as cheap.
Yeah, but if you’re lucky, you might get the Hello Kitty plane!
HG
and in winter, you can tie that in to a skiing trip. Why would you ever ski anywhere else than Niseko?
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Yeah, but if you’re lucky, you might get the Hello Kitty plane!
HG[/quote] Hahaha, in fact I was lucky enough to get one of those to Tokyo. EVERYTHING you can imagine on the plane has little Hello Kitties on it. It’s not for the faint of heart - if your ke-ai tolerance is not off the charts you may suffer itching, cold sweats, claustrophobia, or other side effects.
[quote=“TaipeiDawg”][quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Yeah, but if you’re lucky, you might get the Hello Kitty plane!
HG[/quote] Hahaha, in fact I was lucky enough to get one of those to Tokyo. EVERYTHING you can imagine on the plane has little Hello Kitties on it. It’s not for the faint of heart - if your ke-ai tolerance is not off the charts you may suffer itching, cold sweats, claustrophobia, or other side effects.[/quote]
Didnt EVA and Hello Kitty part ways recently> Seems EVA lost over 300 million dollars in 2008 and are looking to cut costs? So the little pussy had to go. Sad ! (not)
They still have a lot of little pussies there…
Now, back to Sapporo, has anyone noticed how the “Hokkaido Limited” Sapporo tastes even better than the normal one? Gotta hate them for that…
Depending on the time you have for the jump I would recommend:
weekend jump
- Jozankei Onsen
- Sapporo Beer Museum
- Snow Brand Parlor (for some of the best ice cream in the area, not mentioning their 4K giant parfait)
- Odori for Shopping
- Otaru for Sushi/Seafood
- Aji no Tokedai (http://www.ajino-tokeidai.co.jp for some of the best Ramen in Japan (and then go to take the “been there” photo at the clock house
- SkiJump for night scene
- Sapporo for king crab
Week Jump
- Ryounkaku Onsen (Kamifurano, beautiful, specially when there is snow)
- Biei/Furano if it is lavender season
- Asahikawa (they have some of the best soya ramen there also) and surrounding areas (Daisetsuzan National Park, Sounkyo, Kamikawa, Asahidake)
- Kamuiwakka Falls, in Shiretoko National Park, a waterfall+hotspring that is the ultimate spot for hikers…
- Kawayuonsen (this one you need to loose one full day to get there… but people say it is worth every minute)
- Abashiri, specially on winter
- Noboribetsu (for the Hell Valley) or the KumaYama, if you have some pleasure to see bears on cages…
- Toya (for onsen and the lake)
- Nagareyamaonsen, for a “design onsen”, and a strange Shikansen 200 series rotting next to the local train line
- Onuma (favourite spot for cycling)
- Hakodate (for a million dollar night scene, as they say it), and some of the best unidomburi in Japan (just go to Hakodate market), Yunokawa for onsen
Wow… you do know Hokkaido… now for the top secret, best rotenburo in Japan
… drum roll …
Iwa no Betsu, in Shiretoko Hanto (extreme NE peninsula of Hokkaido)
5 waterfalls of thermal water
cascading serially into 5 pools
very hot to hot to lukewarm
reentrant forest bathing
Iwanobetsu is good, but Kamuiwakka Falls is the most known and hard to get to. Many people who go to the Shiretoko only do the Iwanobetsu onsen, because of the fairly easy access to it.
I’ve been to Hokkaido only once, but spent 7 days with a rentaca so I did most of the island. Seriously, a place where I would see myself retiring.