Pieces of Japan: Day 4 - A (mis)Step Away from Christmas

22nd December 2009
Sapporo | Hokkaido | Japan

Standing still, I looked down at the process I subjected myself to. The soft, fresh and fluffly whites crumbled under my feet and weight, as my feet sank slowly into the ankle-high snow. The reality sank in almost as slowly and gradually as well, as my mind drifted off to the morning's panic.

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Daylight Savings

Exiting from the shower as casually as the morning before, I proceeded to put on my wristwatch only to turn pale in the face of the face staring back at me.

"6.15" read the time, as I let out an uncontainable, "Fuck!"

In 3 seconds, I explained to her that we had made a major mistake and forgot to adjust our morning alarms with the 1-hour time difference taken into account. In short, we were an hour late and had less than another to get on our plane to Hokkaido.

Within 5 minutes, I had put on my clothes, sat on my overflowing luggage to lock it, and was already dragging it out of the door in a hurry.

Stepping out into the morning winter breeze with only my long-sleeve-tee was the least of my worries, as sweat continued to drip from my brow despite the freezing cold, as I shivered with fear from the panic and anxiety that I was experiencing more so than the bitter wind.

Shuffling up and down the deserted morning street like madmen with suitcases full of vengence, we circled our vicinity frantically for a saviour.

"I think maybe we can still  try to catch the train," she said.

I looked my watch and looked back at her and shook my head disapprovingly.

Finding two cabs by the junction, we locked and loaded.

"Which terminal of Haneda Airport?" the cab driver asked in his native tongue.

Moving my index finger frantically up and down the sheet with the flight details, I realised that it was not printed. Communcation breakdown ensued as I tried to explain that we were taking the Japan Airlines flight, but apparently, they literally read "JAL" as it "Je-ru" over there, little to our knowledge.

The clock continued ticking down as the fare meter ticked up at an insane rate.

Numbers and more numbers clouded my mind as I calculated the potential loss should we miss the flight, the cost of additional tickets versus the cost of forgoing our accomodation in Hokkaido.

The normal heart would cringe at the 4,000 yen cab-fare upon arrival at the airport, but with 20-minutes to spare, we had little room for such aching and only room for the anxiety that threatened to engulf us.

Sparks flying from the wheels of our suitcases and the frantic shuffling of feet got us into the flight with less than 10-minutes to spare.

Sunlight streamed into the window as the plane turned and took its bearing on the runway.

The warm morning sunlight hit my face and evaporated the sweat on my brow as I continued to stare out of the window, body still highly-tensed and staring out in a state of shock and disbelief - the disbelief of coming so close to missing out wonders of the island of Hokkaido.

Daylight

Sapporo's Grid Layout from the Air

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Odori Park : Snow,White.

Chuckles of laughter drew me out of my dream-like state and back to reality, as the feet and stopped sinking and firmly made contact with the ground below.

It's been a long time since I've felt the fluffiness of snow under my feet, and succumbing to temptation, I bent over and picked some up with my hand, rolling it into a small snow ball below crushing and letting the white powder filter through the gaps between my fingers and back to the ground. Like a child to a toy, I bent over and repeated the process again.

In a distance, she was amusing herself as she treaded through the snow looking at her footprints and making circles as she went along. It was her first encounter, and without the need for explicity, I'm pretty sure she was mesmerized to say the least.

Snow, White. Nothing but and stretching on as far as the eye could see.

Odori Park was completely engulfed in a white blanket of snow; Winter was definitely already in her full bloom in Hokkaido, and the scene had been set for a White Christmas with the accompanying illumination that would further bring out this point at night.

But for now, we had the entire Odori Park to ourselves, marvelling at the little things like footprints in the snow, snowball fights and pigeons; as the rest of Sapporo marched on by the park in indifference.

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Nijo Fish Market: The Legend of the Invincible Snow Crab of Freshness

The mandatory meal of Legendary Hokkaido seafood and Snow Crab at Nijo Fish Market proved the legends to be true and made for the best meal over the entire trip. The combination of the sweet Salmon roe, fresh Salmon Sashimi-don, coupled with the even fresher and sweeter Snow Crab left us with many mouth-watering memories long after the meal.

Mother and Child = Awesome

Otoro and Maguro Don

Hokkaido Snow Crab

The Store-owner totally blind-sided us when he offered the Crab for posing

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Sapporo Tower: Night and Day

By Day

By Night

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Sapporo Clock Tower: Nihon-no-Gekkai

 

 

Voted one of the 3 most disappointing sights in Japan, the Sapporo Clock Tower hardly proved to be that bad.

What was questionable however? The choice of the eerie green lighting.

Icicles that Kill

Ghouls of Winter

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Sapporo Beer Garden: Genghis Khan

5-by-2 squares on the grid-map from the nearest station, the night winter-walk proved to be enjoyable and all the more fulfilling when the meal that awaited was sizzling-hot Genghis Khan, a Hokkaido-trademark dish of Barbeque Lamb coupled with the beer that made Sapporo famous.

Sapporo means "Beer" for Good Reason

Genghis Khan - Lamb Chop Fry Along

Hobo at the Garden

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Odori Park: Sapporo White Illumination

Flash after flash fired off, as we moved from one illumination to the next, making the best of our time and trying to capture all the beautiful sights that lined the way back to the hotel.

It was a different Odori Park, one still white-washed with snow, but now the white serving as a beautiful backdrop for the bright lights that blinded us.

A green praying mantis stood alongside a green dragon, both towering majestically over us.

Christmas had come early for sure, as the joy and atmosphere filled the air pockets between the different illuminated structures. At least until the lights went off, and the peace of Silent Night fell upon us for the rest of the walk back.

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- Her Words: ddoodles -

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