Spring 2007 > Hokkaido > Part II

BOARD STUPID
Wednesday 7th February - time to hit the slopes! Repeatedly, with a hearty thud (or thunk). The trains took Dan, Thom, Jona, Josh and myself out to Teine and then a bus trip up to the Olympia ski area. It was a virtual white-out through the windows, and when we disembarked, we plunged straight into thick, deep, beautiful snow. It was the perfect soft powdery kind that was ideal for falling into, like a marshmallow pillow canvas, or something. We were here for the night-time ski session and it was getting dark as we ventured off to rent our gear. Jona and Thom opted to ski, as they had had previous experience when younger, while Josh and I decided on snowboarding, because we're cool. Also, we figured that, while we may fall over more often than if we were skiing, it would hurt less when we inevitably did so. Dan joined us snowboarding, kindly acting as our mentor; though he'd only been a few times before, his advice and encouragement saw us through. After getting suited and booted, strapped and frapped (that word choice is actually cleverer than anticipated), we made our unstable advance to the ski-lift.

Being hoisted up on the ski-lift was a very relaxing experience, looking down at the genuinely glistening snow while more of the stuff gently lands on you from above. But once I get to the top, it's time to make the quicker journey back down. At first, I fell over a lot. Sometimes on my back, sometimes on my face, sometimes after multiple rotations. With my thickening facial hair, the snow would cling to the whole of my visage, and my hair started to freeze (it was the closest thing to a shower I'd had for days, and when the hat came back on, it froze onto the fabric). The trick was not to head straight, as you bomb down at a dangerous pace, but to weave side-to-side across the slope. I didn't manage to attain the perfect line a la 1080° (which, let's be honest, was the driving force behind me picking snowboarding over skiing - as was Ski or Die), sticking to a far safer to-and-fro stance-switch falling-leaf motion, but I got pretty good at it, and towards the end I was falling over only a couple of times a run. Over the course of the four hour session, I probably clocked up about 15 runs, some through very thick snow, with only one brief moment when the weather cleared to allow a beautiful view towards Sapporo. Frozen and exhausted, I called it quits a bit earlier than the others, so I could take a few snaps and eat a spicy frankfurter. But soon after, we were all back in Teine looking for something more nourishing, and, after a Mexican restaurant apologised for not having any tacos, we dined at the next door yakinikku. All kinds of animal parts devoured, from pig ear to chicken heart to beef something - but all good.

SNOWFEST '07

The following day was time to take in the wonders of the Sapporo Snow Festival, with a whole bunch of classmates as well. We decided to go in the evening for the more dramatic lighting, and while we didn't get round to visiting Satoland (a mini snowpark a bus ride away), the fabulous sculptures on offer across the whole length of Odori Park was breath-taking (well, not literally, that would be a severe health risk for any public gathering). The sculptures themselves ranged from giant corporate-sponsored constructions to local citizens' efforts to replicate well-known cartoon characters and the like. It was also absolutely freezing. Highlights included...

• Danpa - the inverse Panda and Hokkaido mascot, though no-one really knows why. He was at the foot of TV Tower entertaining (annoying) the crowd (people queueing for the Tower).
• The Hall of Supreme Harmony Ice Stage - I was due to see the real thing in Beijing at the Forbidden City, but was more impressive (also the real thing was closed when I went there). Included live music and some ridiculous girl and boy bands.
• Genki-kun the Cow appearing on the Milk Land Hokkaido stage to a ditty with the lyrics "Ushi! Ushi! Ushi!" ("Cow! Cow! Cow!").
• L'Art De Fumer - an old-fashioned bus converted into a portable smoke den.
• The wonderful replica of Hikone Castle (pictured - behind Chris and Jona, that is).
• Ainosato Kyoikudai's own effort - a deformed Winnie-the-Pooh clasping a globe (with a not-to-scale giant Japan) towards his groin. It seemed unsightly bulges from the crotch region was something of a running theme.
• Posters and stalls demanding the return of the Northern Territories to Japan - made all the more amusing by the huge influx of Russian tourists in town for the festival.

I could mention more, but it's probably just worth taking a look at my pictures yourself. I'm not going to do all the bloody work. Or take a virtual 3D CG trip of the festival area at the official site.

THE LAMB BARON VS. COUNT DRACULA

The next day saw a return to Saporro city centre for a brief spell of shopping - predominantly on the search for souvenirs. Much of the shop we visited seemed to be taken up with limited edition regional variations of Kit Kat - one of the only predominant British foods in Japan and also insanely popular (there's currently a cherry blossom seasonal Kit Kat doing the rounds). While the sealion, sea-urchin and bear curries were tempting (me to be sick and cry), I stuck with a neat Ezo Brown Bear tin case, covered in all kinds of bizarre slogans like "Mother nature is always dangerous and merciless for human being. But it's just a harmony for the nature itself. Enjoy four seasons as the season is" and "Firestorm is misterious (sic). It shines in the dark and on your mind and captures everything." The official site for all the merchandise can be found here.
Once the rest of the SOAS Hokkaidoites had gathered, along with Cassie who'd popped up from Tokyo, we headed off to Sapporo Beer Garden, home to Sapporo Beer, in Sapporo. Sapporo. It's a fun town name to say, isn't it? Better than LON-DON, anyway. There we had two hours of all we could eat sizzle-your-own-lamb and vegetables and all we could drink beer. It was the first time that a Baikingu Sutairu (Viking Style - Japanese name for all-you-can-eat) meal felt like a Scandanavian banquet of old, with grand tables, a wonderful setting (inside an old factory building), and endless booze and baby sheep flesh. We even got bibs - which were more like paper aprons (or paprons) than anything. As I liked my lamb quite well-done, the others kept taking the meat I was preparing, so, in response to my whinging, I had a whole sizzle section to myself, earning me the title of Lamb Baron - nice.
Reeking of meat and beer, it was back into town for a brief spell of karaoke. But this was going to be karaoke like no other (is that now a trademark of Sony or can I still use it?). This was Surira (Thriller) Karaoke. Taking its cues from the Michael Jackson classic, the exterior and entrance hall was decked in full spooky decor; a giant Dracula face outside, classic horror film posters indoors, a coffin, skeletons, crosses, decapitated monster heads, cobwebs - it was as if some guy owned a karaoke box and his friend had all these unwanted Halloween decorations to shift, and the idea was born. Even the staff were dressed in blood red shirts and black ties (but maybe they all just really dug Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine). And what's even better is that this isn't a one-off, but a chain (though sadly limited to Hokkaido). As we walked down the dungeon corridors, the room was something of a disappointment, with nothing horrific about it (well, except the drab brown wallpaper). Nevertheless, it was still a short but sweet karaoke burst before the last train home.

END OF ONE JOURNEY, PRELUDE TO ANOTHER
We reached Otaru in the evening before our ferry trip home, and were pleased to find another snow festival had just gotten underway. Named the 'Snow Gleaming Festival', the streets of the city that went along the old train track and the surrounds were covered in snow and dotted with candles and fire-cups, stacked up in various formations with snow balls, pots, cylinders and all sorts of shapes. There were snow tunnels, igloos and pyramids too. It was a nice surprise, although with all our luggage in tow we weren't exactly in the right gear for it. Still, we headed down to Otaru canal for a look at the light displays there, passing a wonderful old bank building, some large fish emporiums, a pony-drawn carriage and another Thriller Karaoke (this one with a giant bat on the roof). It seemed like a nice town to spend a day in, but we had a ferry to catch, and after some dinner and Mister Donuts (natch), we were off to the port.

Thankfully the journey was far calmer than our first trip. The vessel was of a slightly different layout, but had similar amenities (plus Hyper Bishi Bashi Champ in the arcade). For some reason, the various areas and rooms were all space-themed, with Cafe Galaxy, Astronaut Smoking Room (probably not safe in an all-oxygen environment), Jupiter Restaurant and Milky Way Forward Saloon. This time round, the cinema was operational, so we bought snacks and drinks and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Japanese with English subtitles. Then it was time for Josh and I to take the plunge for our first sento experience - getting nekkid in a room full of strangers, having a wash, a dip and a sauna trip. I'm not going to lie - it was awkward at first. Of course, your average Japanese person has been brought up to just shed their kit in public whenever necessary, but my career of public exposure consists almost entirely of swift swimming pool changing rooms keks-droppage. However, if you don't dwell on it, any nerves soon dissipitate and you just get on with it as if it's perfectly natural (which it is, I guess). And at least we got a nice view out towards the ocean.

We arrived on time this time, but we had expected a bus service in the direction of Maizuru; instead there was only one headed to Shin-Osaka. So a taxi to the station followed by the last train to Kyoto (changing twice) had to do instead. Josh got off at Nijo, but by the time I got to Kyoto, the underground had closed, so one more taxi journey back to Mukaijima. I had to keep the driver waiting as I was 200 yen short, so Baptiste had to come out round the corner (they're never able to actually park outside the halls, they always miss the entrance or go round in circles and drop me elsewhere) and lend me the remaining fee. But I was back. I was home. And I was off to China in a day.

Remember to check up on all my glorious Hokkaido piccurs nyah.

Coming soon: Beijing! Shanghai! Xi'an!