New Chitose Airport is more than an hour's drive from Sapporo, so I changed to JRPASS after arriving (you can take reserved seats in Hokkaido, which is very cost-effective)

The next morning, after going to Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, we went directly to the hotel to check in.

After putting down the luggage, we started walking around. Naturally, the first place that bore the brunt was Tanukikoji, the nearest one, but once we passed by...the Chinese characters all over the streets made me think that I might have returned to China.

Well, shopping is not for me, so I went looking for food, and naturally I came to Ramen Yokocho. Ramen Yokocho is actually an alley that two people passed through, with ramen shops on both sides. After wandering around for a few times, I chose a shop owner, and the uncle clasped his hands and stared at the ramen outside the shop to enjoy his meal.

 

This shop, which was founded in Showa 47, is not big, and is run by the owner’s uncle. I ordered the miso miso ramen recommended by the owner, drank ice water and waited calmly, but when the uncle turned around, the words "男はっ" on the back of his T-shirt "てサッポロラーメン" printed on it almost turned me into a humanoid spray, it really fits the character setting; the ramen tastes a bit like soybean noodles, but this time I tried it and left a lasting impression.

Of course I felt full after eating, so I took the tram and wandered slowly to the vicinity of Odori Park. Trams in Hokkaido (Sapporo and Hakodate) have heating ducts under the seats, so the ground is slightly damp but not uncomfortable, and the seats are also warm. Odori Park is like a dotted line on the road across Sapporo City. Most of it is closed for construction in preparation for the Ice and Snow Festival. Only the area near the TV Tower remains open.

Speaking of the TV Tower, it is naturally a color-changing light show that tells the time. There are also many people under the tower waiting to watch in Odori Park in the snow, which feels pretty good. Now that we are all at the bottom of the tower, we naturally have to adhere to the famous saying "Idiots like heights" and climb the tower. The choice to go up is the stairs. The relatively spacious corridors and interesting signs on the road make climbing the stairs a good experience. There is a souvenir shop in the middle, which starts the journey of Hokkaido's attractions that inevitably include Snow Miku.

After buying a tower climbing ticket (700 yen) and taking the sightseeing elevator to the top of the tower, I thought I had climbed the Oriental Pearl Tower and walked through the glass walkway, but I was frightened by the shaking from time to time and still grabbed the handrail. The night view from the top of the tower allows you to see the light show of the main thoroughfares in Sapporo, and the tilted glass that overlooks the bottom of the tower makes you feel relieved from the fear of heights. The TV Tower Shrine on the tower made me realize the Japanese custom of deification starting from the Shinto religion of eight million gods.

After getting off the tower, we walked to the nearby bell tower. The short bell tower formed a sharp contrast with the nearby high-rise buildings; the bell tower also set up a photo booth for tourists to take photos. After that, we slowly moved to the closed Nijo Market and the river in front of the market. A quiet riverside walk at night is more pleasant. By the way, the hotel had heaters for drying clothes that night, which was a good comment.

However, on the way back, I didn’t realize that south of Ramen Yokocho is the red light district... Although I saw the boy soliciting people and the advertisement of vanilla, it was only when I glanced at the bunny girl bar that I realized that this place was something special, and there were social animals with the door open to accompany them. He was cheering his companions and singing loudly.

Sapporo casual shooting

At this time, I didn't realize there was anything special about this Ferris wheel.

Thermometer Building

Tanuki Xiaolu is really lively.

dryer heater

After that, I passed by Sapporo several times without stopping, and didn’t stop again until the end of my trip to Hokkaido.

The next time I stayed in Sapporo was when I came back from Muroran. Snowflakes were already falling when we got on the train from Muroran, and it turned into heavy snow when we got out of Sapporo station. As a southerner who rarely sees such snowflakes, I walked to the hotel in high spirits. We passed the Bell Tower and the TV Tower on the way. The landscape in the snow was very interesting and I had a great time walking. I had to go skiing the next day so I went to bed early. It was already night when we returned from skiing the next day, so we rested early in the capsule hotel.

Sapporo in the snow

(To be continued...)

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