Entries about shopping

Tonight will be our free and easy night. We are free to roam about Sapporo, provided we do not get lost.

After loading our luggage, we have to rush down to meet our tour guide. Most of us went out, except the other young couple (they have their own plans).

This hotel has a rather square structure. All the rooms are at the sides, and at the centre of the building, it is empty (except some Christmas deco). Here is a photo of the building, taken from the bottom.

Inner design of SAPPORO KORAKUEN HOTEL

Lighting along the building

Our hotel group name

Plaza 109

Night Street ard Sapporo

Tonight, the weather is not as cold as the previous one. It could be due to various reasons such as 1) this is a city area, 2) haven't reach the real winter period, 3) it happened to be warmer for tonight.

Our tour guide drop us somewhere at the departmental store streets where we had our dinner in the first night. After that, we are free to roam about the city at our own pace. I can't remember where is this location where I found the Hello Kitty, but I supposed should be the departmental store.

Kawaii Hello Kitty Undergarment

Don't ask how come no photo during our shopping. Hahaha..

For our dinner, we went back to 狸小路 to eat the recommended ramen by our tour guide.

Our dinning location

Two bowls of ramen

Small appetizer

We found a shop that sell fish pan cake. And since we are unable to communicate with the seller, we just get the white one. It turn out to be milk flavour, which not to his preference. So, I have the full fish to myself. Ho Ho Ho!

Eating a fish shape pan cake at 狸小路商店街

And since he is not eating the pan cake, he decided to have an ice cream. Cold cold cold.

Ice cream eater spotted!

Finally, it is time to sleep...

Our bedroom

Resting Point (For Lunch)
After Sounkyo Ropeway, we proceed to a resting point for lunch. Today we will have to pay our own lunch. We have to purchase a food ticket at the entrance, and then pass the ticket to the staff inside. They will serve the food shortly.

"Layout of the Restaurant"

"Tempura Ramen"

"Curry, his favourite"

"At the entrance of the building"

Otaru (小樽)
Otaru (nickname : the town of hills) is situated in the western part of Hokkaido, facing Ishikari Bay.

IMG_3888

IMG_3891

Everyone took a shot at the famous canal. Nice weather that day. There is a water spot that we found near the place. However, we do not dare to drink the water from it.

IMG_3897

IMG_3913

IMG_3915

Places we went in Otaru: 梦藏人, 小樽音樂盒堂本館 , 銀の鐘

梦藏人
All the things inside are selling at 1050 Yen. We only managed to see this type of 1050 Yen shop in Hokkaido. So visit them for some stuffs if possible to grab some deals.

小樽音樂盒堂本館
A lot of nice music box are housed inside. There are a lot more, but I have shopped too long in this place until I do not have the time to visit the rest. In total, there are 7 of them, and all sell different types of music box.

銀の鐘
You can take a tea break there and enjoy the scenery of the town. After your drink, you can bring the cup home.

IMG_3928

The famous steam clock made by Canadian.

IMG_3917

A 3D cat clinging on the building. (forgot to post the photo)

Ring the bell! And yes, it really made very noise!

IMG_3922

We are supposed to return to our bus by 4.15pm. Before we board the bus, we bought 2 Hokkaido Ice Cream. He bought the chocolate flavour, while I have the 3 mixture flavour (Lavendar, Vanlina, Melon). Nice!

Final stop would be Hilton Niseko Village Hotel where we will spent a night there. They also have Onsen. But nobody knows the environment well, including tour guide and leader, as this is also their first time in a luxury hotel stay! We are not allowed to wear the Yukata and walk around the reception area. This hotel is more for business stay rather than leisure stay.

IMG_0102

IMG_0103

IMG_0120

These are the food provided in the hotel. It is serving more towards Western style. Food is not as nice as expected.

IMG_0123

IMG_0122

I shall ended my writing here. Shall post the photos once I got the time to make a complete diary. Next post will be for Day 4!

Finally after an hour plus flight, we had reached Hokkaido!!!!! We have landed on a white land. Merry Christmas~~ Oops, a bit early i guess... hahaha

Our first stop: LUNCH! It is around 1pm plus by the time we reached there. We are starving!!! They arranged us in a long bench, and served us a mini pot with a fish, raw seasoned octopus, and miso soup. The fish is rather hard and slightly salty (maybe because I don't take salty food?). They actually prepared the food for us before we arrived, so it could be the reason why the fish is hard on surface.

At Chitose Outlet Mall Rera
After our lunch, Billy took us to the Chitose Outlet Mall Rera, after an hour plus journey, for shopping. He gave us 1 hour to shop, as the night fall at around 4pm. There are a lot of branded stuffs there, and selling at a lower price. Reason? Out of season or trying to clear stock. As I was looking for a nicer coat, I scouted around to get a cheap but yet nice coat... and I managed to get a Enraciné coat at 7900 Yen (approximately SG$122)! What a deal! On average, a reasonable coat will cost a minimum of 10000 Yen. The shops inside changes every time. You might be able to find Nike (for example) today, and next week another brand replaces it. So, always check out before going there. The website is http://www.outlet-rera.com/foreigin/english/

Chitose Outlet Mall Rera Orange Gate

A shot in Chitose Outlet Mall Rera

Shots from Chitose Outlet Mall Rera

Shots taken from Chitose Outlet Mall Rera

At Chitose Outlet Mall Rera

We took some shops inside the outlet. Yes, it is a opened outlet, so snow still can come into the building. It is like, walking on a street that have all the branded goods in one row. Cool isn't it? Shop till your pocket burns~ wahaha. Got to beware of the "shiny" spots, as it indicates a danger of slipping! There is a little girl who just slip and fall while walking. So got to be very careful when walking.

At Aurora Town
After shopping around for an hour, we proceed to our bus. Before boarding the bus, we bought 2 buns. One "red bean" bun and chocolate bun. HOT! Nice to have some warm food in a cold place. At 4pm onwards, the sky turns dark... and by the time we reached the Sapporo City, it is a dark already. From the Sapporo TV Tower, you can see that at 5pm onwards, we are officially in night time.

Sapporo Tower

Underpass to shopping

We took a walk around Sapporo City, Aurora Town, a underground shopping centre at train station. Billy took us to the food area and let us look around. He give us some time to shop around before proceeding for our dinner in the hotel at 7pm.

Sushi Set

Food Display

Crowd in food area

Cigarette Vending Machine

We bought a cream puff and tried. The moment I bite it, the cream overwhelm the mouth. Full of cream, and spilling all over. Messy indeed, but nice. People around us were staring at us as they walk. LOL "How clumsy can one get?" they must be thinking in this way.

Cream Puff

We went out of the shopping area to capture some photos. Look at the number in the photo. It indicates the temperature. Almost zero degree~ COLD!!! Some shots on the streets too.

Sapporo Street

Temperature in Sapporo

We also visited the famous Ramen Street. Along this street, all the shops are selling Ramen!

Ramen Street

Bitten by Bear

• Ouch* A bear "bites" my head!!!

We have our dinner at (forgot the departmental store name, update again soon). This is our dinner. Nice?

IMG_0016

IMG_0017

At APA Hotel & Resort Sapporo
Finally, we proceed for our dinner. We checked in our luggage before going for the dinner. This is the photo of the hotel room we will be spending a night.

IMG_0023

We stayed in APA Hotel & Resort where there is an Onsen and SPA for guests. I didn't go for the Onsen for some particular reason and hence unable to provide the details on how it is like. Instead, I asked him to try the Onsen and tell me how it is like. He don't like the smell. In Japan, their culture is that nobody will wear anything when they are in the Onsen. Nothing at all. So, every part is exposed. When he is in the hot spring, he saw a little girl with his daddy. BTW, male go to male area, female go to female area. There is no trespassing to each other place. But the little girl should be less than 6 year old. But it is kind of strange that a young little girl is being "exposed" to male since young age.

After his Onsen, he came out to the room. Usually after soaking in the hot spring, people will wash themselves before going to bed. (According to what he saw in the Onsen). So he did the same. But bathe again when he is in the room. Strange? He say he feels hot after soaking, so want to bathe again. ***speechless***

We went down to the reception to check out the area below.

IMG_3274

The address for the hotel:
APA Hotel & Resort Sapporo
4-2 Kawazoe, Minami-ku, Sapporo-shi 005-0804
Fax: +81-11-572-3461
e-mail:[email protected]