Japan

Let's Take It From the Top

OG

30 Sep 2016 • 4 min read

Usually the English translations are pretty good but sometimes they hit them out of the park, way out of the park... (Toilets are generally a treasure trove. My favorite so far: "Please turn a handle after using -- water comes out.")

As BabyPaw so rightly mentioned in his post last night, we've fallen quite a bit behind here on the blog and so much is happening every day that we really need to get our act together and put things up before it becomes too much and we fold in submission. Never submit!

So we flew into Sapporo which is the main city on the most northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. Besides their famous beer they're big on snow festivals, sea food and hot springs but it's not quite snow festival time so we had to make do with the latter two. Poor us.

Luckily on the first morning we stumbled upon a food festival in Odori park and literally ate our way through the city. But first, meet & greet.

The first of many photo shoots with "Kawaii!!!" screaming school-girls. We're thinking about getting her some cat ears to up the ante.

If only his hair on the other side stuck out as well, he'd be the spitting image. Also who'd have though that soft ice with chips could be so delicious?!

I know, I know, but seriously - it was so good.

This was just one of the many plazas full of food stalls. We were all stuffed to the gills at the end. Delicious.

The next day we took a bus to Moerenuma Park to enjoy the sun and bike around the playgrounds.

He was too small for the baby seat but apparently biking while baby-bjorning is perfectly acceptable in Japan.

Something like hide-and-seek but it involves mice and dragons. It's complicated.

For once it's SmallPaw smiling and BabyPaw pensive. And I caught it!

"Ladies with an attitude/Fellows that were in the mood/Don't just stand there, let's get to it/Strike a pose, there's nothing to it. VOGUE."

If you squint, you can see BabyPaw being carried up half-way there somewhere.

This romantic little bridge and canal was right outside our apartment building in Sapporo. Full of big koi and ducks just waiting to be fed bread crumbs.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore...

It was also a major Pokemon hang-out because they spawned there (??) so people would just stand around, silently staring and tapping at their phones. While playing a game together with millions of other people.

A couple of days later we hit the road to see a bit more of Hokkaido.

The absolute coolest thing about Japanese GPSs? They work with phone numbers. Put in the phone number of any business or hotel and bam, the GPS maps your route there. GENIUS!

On our way out of the city - excellent driving from Fa who luckily had plenty of practice for left-hand driving in the UK just now - we stopped by the Sapporo Art Park to get some culture into these rascals.

The leaves are slowly starting to turn red. We've come at a good time.

Just gold leaf encrusted but still oh-so-shiny.

Hold up BabyPaw, I'm the one with the map!

A tiny little canal with a very quick water flow wound its way around the curves down to the cone. Numerous games of pooh-sticks were played. Obviously.

The posters in the shop all had the same line: No Ramen, No Life. Couldn't agree more.

It was all about Onsens for the next few days but that'll have to wait for the next post. Now it's time for some 7-11 cookies (deliciously crisp yet moist - HOW DO THEY DO IT?!?!) before we hit the futons. We're staying in a great little place in Hakodate that has a tatami room with futons so we all sleep together in one big bundle. SmallPaw calls it our hamster nest and she's not far off really.