HOKKAIDO [A Travelogue] - limwhow & SereneXMM

[limwhow]

Day 3: Sapporo to Otaru

Detour:- Ishiya Chocolate Factory at Miyanosawa


Wow. It's Day three already.
We were just beginning to enjoy the hotel in Sapporo and we had to uproot ourselves and start travelling again.
The next four days will see us travelling from city to city. Thus we dumped a great deal of our stuffs in the Sapporo hotel and brought just the essentials on the roads.

It's all because of my sister lor. I told her that the factory is out of the way. But she insisted.
She told us: "哥, you all have got to go to that Ishiya Chocolate Factory outside of Sapporo! You all must! The children will love it, and the chocolate are fabulous!"

Ok lor. She said until like that... how can we not go.
But honestly, this Ishiya Chocolate factory is a little out of the way, without a tour bus.
But heck, since we are on a Free and Easy, let's just rough it out a little lah.

So we lugged all the stuff, walked to the Sapporo Subway Station to take a Subway train (MRT. Not train.) to Odori Station.

... waiting for MRT... looking so poor thing, all these poor little old and young Singaporeans...

Took a MRT to Odori.
Their MRT are very similar to our Singapore's MRT system. I guess it's pretty internationally universal, these MRT layouts and diagrams.

Alight the MRT, change another MRT to Miyanosawa (宫の&#27810.
I kept looking at this photo here. I couldn't tell which drew more of my attention - the lovely young man with the wrinkle in the photo, or the two lovely Japanese ladies...

The MRT trip took about 35 minutes. And it cost only around 200 yen per person.
Of course, the children prices are cheaper - Half price.

 

[limwhow]

Ishiya Chocolate Factory

Those good CS members who remembered the trip to the chocolate factory during their trip would surely recall that the journey was nothing special.
Got on the tour bus, sat down for less than half an hour. And wala! Arrived at the chocolate factory.

Those who have chosen the more tedious and much less luxurious way of travelling would certainly remember themselves carrying all their luggage climbing up the long flight of steps up the Miyanosawa MRT station, reached the outside, looked around struggling to find their directions, and walked left and right, up and down to search for the small lane leading to the chocolate factory.
Provided, of course, if you have a GPS with you. Aaahhh... that would change the whole picture.
With the little gadget - one straight road, one left turn followed by one right turn, and we arrived.
But still, not without much walking...

Here... just outside the Miyanosawa MRT (Subway) Station - all these wicked fellows were there enjoying the snow while the poor tour guide sweat like crazy to find his bearing...

... and the children - wah lau eh - they really knew what to do with snow!
They seem to have an intrinsic creativity in them when it comes to all things snow...
even if it was the very first time they come into contact with the fluffy white stuff...

... and of course, what else than the usual snow-balling that served nothing but delay the poor tour guide in arriving at his destination...

.. and the usual mischievous no goods that the girls would indulge in...

[sorry, this picture PP-ed a little more, cos the original was a little too dark...]

And finally we stumbled upon the fabled Ishiya Chocolate Factory...
.. wow, looking up at the architecture in awe...

 

[limwhow]

What was so special about the Ishiya Chocolate Factory.

• Well for one, it had that cute little Shiroi Koibito (白い恋&#20154 Park just beside it. A theme park made for children to play.
• Secondly, its whole architecture was made like that of a chocolate factory in a fairy land story. So it catered to children and those who were young at heart.
• Thirdly, there was a a section in the factory where one could view through the glass panels the automated conveyor belt system that manufactured their famous Shiroi Koibito (白い恋&#20154 chocolate biscuits.

So there we have it.

Here are some shots from SereneXMM's Nex5 with her Fish eye here..

 

[limwhow]

Some more shots by SereneXMM (in addition to all her other shots shown in the previous sections) of the interiors of the Chocolate Factory.
She was very intrigued by the use of Fish eye inside the building... went a little crazy with it.. haha...

... and right inside, there was a self-playing piano which attracted the attention of the family so much...

[Translation: "Grandpa, this piano can played itself. It's so special! It's the first time I'm seeing this" said AhLiXMM]
... indeed, it was.

... and just across the piano, was a display of all their lovely pastries.
The Japanese are really deeply in love with all things colourful and kawaii...

 

[limwhow]

It was quite interesting walking through the chocolate factory.
Every time we turned a corner, there would be something interesting on display.
Just that it ranged from one theme to another. And out of a sudden you would have a magnificent exhibit of Gramophones...
I was feeling a little confused... haha...

... and we had to ask our way around to finally arrive at the famed glass window over-looking the actual process of automated Shiroi Koibito Chocolate biscuit production.
Apparently this item was all the rage in both Japan and outside of Japan...

... and SereneXMM at it again with her Fish eye on the Nex5...

... and again with the Fish eye on Nex5..

... and AhLiXMM finally could not tahan, and asked permission to buy her own box of Shiroi Kobito chocolate...

 

[Canto]

upzzz for limwhow & Serene!!

 

[limwhow]

Day 3: From Sapporo to Otaru

It is one thing about reading on paper how to travel.
But it is another thing about actually doing it on the ground.
The distance from the Ishiya Chocolate Factory to the JR Station that I initially wanted to use to take a train to Otaru was, about 1.8km away.
Not a great distance.
But with the old folks and the children dragging some lousy luggage that cannot move in snow, it was turning out to be a little bit of nightmare.
So I had to execute a change of plan before a mutiny started...
We took a bus from a few blocks down from the chocolate factory instead.

The bus was much cheaper. Only about 300 yen an adult person. And it took about 45 minutes.
But it took a nice, winding, scenic, costal road to Otaru... a sight that we would have missed had we taken the train.

 

[limwhow]

Otaru 小樽

Otaru is a well know port town on the northern shore of Hokkaido.
Famous for its picturesque street scene with Vicrtorian style street lamps and buildings lining its streets, not to mention its canal that was previously buzzling with life and commerce within and without the warehouses.

Some have said that Otaru is a touristy town.
I beg to differ, for I personally find a charm that was only unique to Otaru.
My memories of Otaru were all positive and favourable ones and Otaru could easily be labelled as one of my favourite cities.

Alighting the bus from Miyanosawa, we found ourselves standing in the middle of the town, just beside the JR Otaru Station.
A family of seven, carrying and holding on to luggage big and small, staring out to the street and buildings...
... and then turning towards the tour guide in the desperate hope that he will guide them out of this.

... and the Garmin Oregon 450 GPS kicked into action.
It guided us up an over head bridge directly opposite the bus station...

... and led us along pedestrian paths lined with strange green fences and posts...

... it made us trudge through thick snow-padded pavements strewn with bicycles..

... and it showed us a side of Otaru that could only be seen by walking along its sidewalks...

... and it brought us past historical buildings that called out to us, wanting to tell us their stories...

 

[limwhow]

With blind faith, this tour guide followed the arrow on the GPS and just walked and walked while his whole team behind KBKB-ed (meaning, complained).

[Translation: "Aiyoh Aiyoh.. it is so difficult to drag this lousy luggage on the snow..
You want to take my life!" complained the Grandfather.]

... a blind faith that finally rewarded us the fruit of success - arrival at the hotel right on the front step.

[Translation: "Luckily, we walked not more than 1km to arrive at the hotel.." said the Grandfather.]

 

[limwhow]

Day 3: Otaru - Lunch at 斩拉面 (斩ラメ&#12531


This poor little newbie tour guide's life is dang tough.
Really.
Why? Other tour guides have the privilege of recce-ing their destinations way before bringing their customers on a trip.
But this guide, he is as new to the places as his travellers. And what's worse, he is learning on the job!

So faced with a pack of 6 hungry people, his mind had to turn fast... and his attention was drawn across the road to a little enclosure...

A quaint little set up of eateries within which he stumbled upon a traditional teeny-weeny little stall called 斩拉面 (Zhan Ramen).

Manned by a sole receptionist-cum-cook-cum-waiter-cum-cleaner-cum-cashier, this team of hungry Singaporeans found, much to their delights
one of the BEST ramen they have ever tasted!

​

 

[limwhow]

... there was something for every one... a special taste for every palate...

... and this handsome Japanese man certainly did not disappoint when it came to the crunch:
Miso Char Siew Ramen!
Phew-weeeee! Mama Mia! The full-bodies fragrance just floated through the steamed air!

... to emerge fully satisfied, completely energized... and totally readed for further walk down the long long road...

 

[blurb]

Very nice heart warming family photos!

Sure brings back lots of memories when I was honeymooning with my wife in 2008. Back then when we reach Sapporo it was completely covered with thick snow. It's very dangerous to walk coz we can't even see the drainage or the roads...Due to time constraints, we didn't cover much of sapporo city itself as we mainly travel to the suburb areas like Noribetsu (lovely landscapes) and ski resorts like Niseko. We skip Otaru...:cry: Quite suprising enough, the elderly folks in Noribetsu speaks quite good English.:what:

Just last Oct, we went back again to tokyo. This time round i went without any maps as i roughly have an idea of the orientation when i reach there. All thanks to google map. It is very useful.:thumbsup:

 

[oceantoofar]

Really a fantastic travelogue! I am also planning a trip to Hokkaido and this is really useful! :thumbsup:

Can I ask you a quick question? How much is the airticket from Singapore to China to Hokkaido and which airline is it? Is this route cheaper than the Singapore to Tokyo to Hokkaido route?

Thanks for your help! Cant wait to see the rest of your trip being documented here...

 

[Virgo]

Great travelogue. Makes me want to bring my family to Hokkaido! :thumbsup:

Bro, on average, how much did you spend per person for the entire trip?

 

[limwhow]

Very nice heart warming family photos!

Sure brings back lots of memories when I was honeymooning with my wife in 2008. Back then when we reach Sapporo it was completely covered with thick snow. It's very dangerous to walk coz we can't even see the drainage or the roads...Due to time constraints, we didn't cover much of sapporo city itself as we mainly travel to the suburb areas like Noribetsu (lovely landscapes) and ski resorts like Niseko. We skip Otaru...:cry: Quite suprising enough, the elderly folks in Noribetsu speaks quite good English.

Just last Oct, we went back again to tokyo. This time round i went without any maps as i roughly have an idea of the orientation when i reach there. All thanks to google map. It is very useful.:thumbsup:

blurb, thank you for coming onto my thread and sharing with us your memories of yours.
Noboribetsu was lovely.
I hope to be able to go to Tokyo one day.
Thank you very very much!

Really a fantastic travelogue! I am also planning a trip to Hokkaido and this is really useful! :thumbsup:

Can I ask you a quick question? How much is the airticket from Singapore to China to Hokkaido and which airline is it? Is this route cheaper than the Singapore to Tokyo to Hokkaido route?

Thanks for your help! Cant wait to see the rest of your trip being documented here...

oceantoofar, thank you for giving me your compliments too.
As you would have received my PM by now, my air tickets are actually pretty reasonable.
I am sure you will enjoy your trip end of this year!

Great travelogue. Makes me want to bring my family to Hokkaido! :thumbsup:

Bro, on average, how much did you spend per person for the entire trip?

Virgo, many many thanks for coming by and giving me your encouragement.
I personally think Hokkaido is a lovely, traveller-friendly destination.
The people are very courteous and everything is orderly.
Don't really need to know much Japanese, although being able to communicate a little does go a long way.

My average cost per person for this 9 day trip -

• S$1950 (air ticket, hotel, all meals, snowmobile, all transport, all sight-seeing tickets).
• With buying of souvenirs and gifts - it comes up to $2200 per person.

Hope this helps.

 

[uncertain]

Day 1: Sapporo

JR Tower T38

So many guide books, travel books and those who have been there have stated and re-stated time and again the beauty of viewing the whole Sapporo cityscape from the 38th floor of JR Tower 173m from above.
Our original intention was to reach JR Tower just before sunset and stay on until nightfall so as to view both the day and night scene.
But like all trips, sometimes things don't happen the way we wanted them to.
So at 7:30pm, with barely half an hour left in the opening hours, we paid 750yen per adult and 450yen per teenager to go up.



The night scenes were spectacular.

"Hey, we can see our hotel there... at the lower right hand corner!" exclaimed the Grandfather.
And true enough... Toyoko Inn was there.

​

I have always imagined, before we arrived in Sapporo, seeing a whole scene of misty white looking from high above, with snow-paved roof tops and roads...
But I guess colourful night scenes like these were part of the wintry landscape of Sapporo too...

hi bro, what lense and setting were you using? v nice

 

[limwhow]

hi bro, what lense and setting were you using? v nice

Thank you very much uncertain!
I was using my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 lens with the following settings:

Focal length 16mm
ISO 3200
f/5.0
shutter speed 1/10 - 1/13 sec

No choice - I didn't have my tripod at all. So had to bump up the ISO and under-expose by 1/3 to achieve some respectable shutter speed.

 

[kuantoh]

Camping for delicious ramen pics and family warmth! lol...

Got spot any snow fox or see the grizzly bears? Hot springs most shiok in winter!

 

[acpical]

My average cost per person for this 9 day trip -

• S$1950 (air ticket, hotel, all meals, snowmobile, all transport, all sight-seeing tickets).
• With buying of souvenirs and gifts - it comes up to $2200 per person.

Hope this helps.

That's very cheap! Esp considering the big crab meal you all had!

 

[limwhow]

Camping for delicious ramen pics and family warmth! lol...

Got spot any snow fox or see the grizzly bears? Hot springs most shiok in winter!

Thank you very much, kauntoh!
Haha... well yes, plenty of delicious Japanese food which we love!
And waahh... the onsen (hot spring) in Noborobetsu was magical - we were lucky to lie in the outdoor hot spring one evening and then snow flakes started floating down from the sky!
It was truly an experience of a life time.
As for snow fox or bear - eh... bo leh... hehehe...

That's very cheap! Esp considering the big crab meal you all had!

Yes, acpical!
Honestly, we really spent and really ate.
The expensive crab meal that night - one set meal ranged from about 6000 - 8000 yen (S$94 - $125) per person.
And we spent about S$150 per adult for the 1 hour Snowmobile ride.
And as usual, the typical one night stay in the Onsen hotel in Noboribetsu was S$200 per person.
But yet, at the end of the day, when we did the calculation, we were surprised that we only spent about $2000 per person for a 9 day trip! In Hokkaido some more!