At the beginning of February I was lucky enough to get a few days off school to head to a literal winter wonderland. My destination: the "Yuki Matsuri" or Snow Festival, located in Japan's 4th largest city, Sapporo. Sapporo is a long way from Fukui, waaaaay up in Japan's largest and most Northernly prefecture, Hokkaido. Hokkaido is a separate island, and was once something like the wild west in America, as it was only settled and developed by the Japanese in the 19th century (keep in mind they've been on the mainland for thousands of years). Thus it is known as a vast expanse of relatively undisturbed land in an otherwise crowded and overdeveloped country, and is a bit different from the rest of Japan.
The city of Sapporo is a great illustration of the uniqueness of Hokkaido. The city was only founded in 1866 (Compare that with 794AD for Kyoto). What makes this city even more special is that the layout of the streets and parks was designed by an American. Because of this, Sapporo is probably the only major city in Japan with entirely square-grid style streets and a central park. I have a feeling that this subconsciously made this American a little more comfortable on his vacation!
Anyways, enough background info. Here's my trip report:
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We got to the island by ferry. Our e-mail described our ride as a poor man's cruise ship, so we planned accordingly with snacks, drinks and poker chips as our supplies. Little did we know we had just boarded the Japanese Titanic. As soon as we stepped on the boat we were slapped across the face with some awful news: 15+ foot waves the whole way. We're talking about a 17 hour trip here. You know it's bad when the chairs are strapped to the wall, and the baths are closed because sitting in warm water is too dangerous. Upon hearing the dire predicament we were about to endure for the better part of the next day, 90% of our group of around 30 bailed to the bunks and nary a peep was heard from them again (besides the occasional groan or retch). A few brave souls, along with Yours Truly, said screw it and popped open some chocolate flavored beers, daring the sea to make us pay. Captain Ahab would've been proud.
Miraculously, I was one of about 3 people who didn't puke on the entire boat trip. No Dramamine pills either. Although, I did decide to call it a night when I took a trip to the restroom and saw one of our squad ralphing in the toilet, then went to the second stall and his brother was doing the same thing. I walked back to my bunk past yet a third person upchucking into a trash can and went to sleep, only to wake up periodically with a strange weightless feeling until our boat would come crashing back down to the waves. No, seriously, our gazillion-pound ferry which was big enough to have an automobile cargo hold for semi-trucks was catching air! A short 17 hours plus a four hour delay later, we stepped into the blinding white night in Hokkaido. We got into our Ryokan (traditional Japanese motel) at about 8:30pm and called it an early night in preparation for the main event: the Yuki Matsuri!
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Here's why the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri is so famous:
... giant, impeccably detailed snow sculptures! The city is filled for a week each winter with hundreds and hundreds of snow creations, each one painstakingly carved by an army of artisans. They are absolutely breathtaking in their scope, creativity and detail.
For the rest of my pictures from the Yuki Matsuri, check out my Picasa Web Album:
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| Sapporo Yuki Matsuri |
Of course, the sculptures weren't the only reason I braved the ferry ride from hell to get to Sapporo. The region is also known for its many delicious foods. Probably the most famous Hokkaido regional delicacy is ramen. Makes sense seeing how it stays below freezing all winter. I believe I ate ramen no less than 5 times on the trip. In fact, there is a place literally called "Ramen Alley" which is filled with nothing but ramen shops. I gave in and bought the $20.00 crab ramen, but I think my favorite kind was buttercorn. Our trip also included a stop at the Sapporo Brewery, where Sapporo Beer is made. The brewery had a massive dining hall where for around $45.00 U.S. you got 2 hours of all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink. The food served there is called "Jengis Khan" after the Japanese name for the Mongolian tyrant. Jengis Khan is basically cook-your-own lamb on a big skillet with various vegetables and some great dipping sauce included as well. This is pretty special since its the only place in Japan where I've seen lamb so far.
Other highlights: a snowboarding big air competition in the center of the city; $20.00 all-you-can-drink German-style beer in giant 1L mugs at Otaru Breweries' "Leibspace" restaruant; tubing down a huge snow slide; watching the Super Bowl at 9am in the attic of a foreigner bar called "Jerseys". Pics of all this and more on my Picasa site.
Great trip and pretty reasonably priced all things considered. Oh, and on the ride home the Sea of Japan was as smooth as glass. :)
-Brett
