Hokkaido, I heard, is beautiful every season. Riots of colour in Spring, swathes of lavender in Summer, patches of gold in Autumn and deep, deep snow in Winter. This time around, we focused on its capital Sapporo, saving some room for future ventures. I did not read about the town at all, to keep my eyes and my heart wide open for the unknown.
When the different Gods take charge: Aerial view of Sapporo's Odori Park in the different seasons, and when night falls. (Photos sourced from Sapporo travel sites)
Sapporo is an impressive sprawling city but with a small town touch. It is free from the mad rush and high tension of its counterparts, yet it is well equipped with all the necessary services and facilities. It has wide roads and concrete rows, yet they are void of the suffocating human and motor traffic. I was welcomed with a kind of ease, a touch of mystery as it is kind of far from home, and a dash of fairy tale as they always associate Sapporo with stars - as though time can be frozen here and stars take their break. Anyways, many of the landmark brands and buildings sport the Red Star, which I found out later to be the logo of Hokkaido Development Commission. What a romantic emblem for a local board, ours are always bloody stuffs like tigers, keris and shields for some reason.
Touch down: The New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, simple and complete.
Upon reaching, our backs sore and eyes puffed due to the long hours on board, aunt asked us a very pertinent question: "You think we should save the much anticipated outlet shopping at Rera till our last day here, or should we go there now since there is free shuttle service from the airport?" Need we think more? There's free shuttle so let's go! There we were, with baggage measuring a good 35kg still in tow, we headed straight to Rera that was only about 15 minutes away.
Indeed it was a huge outlet shopping park featuring 400 over brands, it was advised to explore with a map in your hand. I ran straight to the few brands I targeted, but sorry to say, there was nothing to shout about. The merchandise were offered at a mere 10% to 20% discount. Some friends said they grabbed many things from this outlet mall at unbelievable bargain but we just did not have the luck. Our verdict? Thank God that we did not spend extra money to come here.
The sky began to turn dark at about 4pm ++. We made our way to our guesthouse in Susukino, yeah, the ultimate entertainment centre a.k.a red light district in Sapporo but it was not intimidating. I liked the place for it allowed me to see more - guys in long black winter coats who solicit business in the cold nights, girls handing out free tissues with juicy advertisement, some of them were carrying a box and would show the content to potential customers... I wonder what was inside..
Susukino: The centre of bars, restaurants and entertainment centres that keep the neon signs flickering all night long. It is also the seafood centre!
Good zzzzzz: Our humble little guesthouse in Susukino - Weekly Sapporo 2000 - at 23,260yen for three pax, four nights. Each person pays only about RM78 per night. I love this place, it has everything, down to the details such as fabric freshener, floor roller and hair band. I miss how we tucked into the Sapporo crabs in this cozy space. And no, you will not accidentally click into adult channels on the TV.
Just enjoy the stroll: The walking streets around Susukino. Sapporo should be relatively difficult to lose your way as the streets are mostly laid out in grid system, like a giant chess board. It was late October, the weather hovered around 10c.
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