Sapporo Winter Fantasy

There are two schools of thought about Hokkaido, the Northern region of Japan: the first says that you should avoid going in winter. Too cold. Freezing. It's better to wait for the sunny season when it turns pleasantly refreshing. The second answers : don't you think that you would miss the spirit if you don't go in winter ? How could you ever say "I've seen Hokkaido" if you've never seen it under the snow ?...

I was hesitating about going or not going before spring when I heard of the Snow Festival in Sapporo, the capital of the North. The Snow Festival. Just the name made me daydream. So here I go, with my warmest clothes and wintery expectations, pretending to be the Snow Queen and enjoying the whiteness of life in Sapporo ! Let it snow !

For the travellers' information : I used Skymark to fly from Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo New Chitose airport (18 000 yen, go and back, with webwari). From the aiport, it takes about 30 minutes by Express train to Sapporo station (about 1200yen). There is a good "welcome pass" for the tourists (2500 yen, including the transportation between the airport and sapporo, plus illimited subway) but nothing special for the residents like me. By the way, the subway is not a must : the main spots of the city are easy to reach by foot (even  on snowy days !).

I arrived under the sunshine early in the morning but quickly, the sky turned white. From the street,  I could see 30 to 40 centimeters of snow on the roofs, and even more on the floor ! But it was less freezing than I expected, and I wasn't cold at all. Maybe too excited for that...

Everywhere in the city, you can see the star as a symbol of the "pioneer spirit".

The White City

The classiest smoking area ever

Of course, the main attraction of Sapporo, in February, is the Snow Festival at Odori Koen. Pure and fleeting beauty. Foreigners, don't be surprised if the kids jump on you to practice their English sentences (just as in Kyoto...). It happened to me at least 20 times in two hours. Fortunately they were cute enough. I also got interviewed by a local TV about the shape of snowmen in my country. I am afraid to say that it is exactly the same than Japanese ones... Fail.

Masterpieces

Kawaii Snow Art

I really think that actually, Sapporo is more beautiful under the snow. Except the ancient buildings, the city's architecture is commonly modern, not especially charming. However, the historic buildings smell like Russia and UK. It is totally different from the atmosphere of the rest of Japan.

Tokei-Dai, the symbol pf the city

Sapporo City Hall

Sapporo Brewery

Most of the sidewalks in Sapporo are heated from below, in order to prevent the snow to invade the way; I have serious concerns about the ecologic cost of this system, but I have to admit that at least, it's amazingly effective...

With heating system

Without heating system

Lunchbreak : impossible for me not to have a Sapporo beer ! No way ! And the best place to enjoy this proud beverage was the Sapporo Beer Garden. Warm, cosy and affordable place where I got Hokkaido potatoes, tasty sausages and the most delicious king crab balls. (bus ticket from the station : 200yen)

Itadakimasu !

Sapporo Beer Bear

 Bye-bye Sapporo; on the afternnon, I took the train to go to Otaru Snow Lights Path Festival (小樽雪あかりの路). The small town is situated at 30 minutes by train from Sapporo station and it really worth it ! I am afraid that my pictures can not reflect the magic of the place. It was... wow. I was enchanted.

Into the white

Magic in the air

Waiting for the night to fall, I had a delicious "gouter" at a French-style coffee shop with an amazing view on the canal. Cake and coffee set for 700 yen. This lemon and chocolate pastry was amazing... not even mentioning that RFI was braodcasted in the place (sister !!) and that the program was about Mali... My little world is following me wherever I go !

5 o'clock break

And then I was ready for the snow storm... and the most magical snow and fire scenary ever. Enjoy !

Fire under the Ice

 

But beauty doesn't make you feel warm. I still had to taste the region's king crabs and sushi...

I didn't regret my choice even one second : Hokkaido in winter, it rocks !Thank you for reading, and don't miss next year's Snow Festival in Sapporo and Otaru !

With love,

Comments

[Noemi]

En effet le Happy feet déchire ! XD



Pour RFI, la file du café m'a dit qu'ils avaient acheté un pack de radios musicales et étrangères et ça en faisait partie. Mais je ne sais pas si ça se passe par internet. En tout cas ce n'était pas un vieux poste de radio avec une antenne, ça c'est sûr !

Et sinon j'ai déjà entendu RFI dans la librairie de l'Institut Franco-japonais, par exemple.



"Comme si nous avions pratiqué / dans des piscines parallèles / la natation synchronisée"

[Mogusa]

Je suis fan de l'armée de pingouins du concours de sculptures de neige/glace ! Je suis curieuse pour RFI : je suppose qu'ils le diffusaient depuis Internet ? car normalement nos ondes ne vont pas jusqu'au Japon (j'ai déjà demandé)



Sinon on dirait moi à Strasbourg ce week-end. "l'Ill est gelé mais c'est beauuuuuu... bon, on mange ?"

... on est pas génétiquement liées pour rien.

[Noemi]

Beau, hein ?

Oui, c'est sûr qu'en vrai, derrière les belles photos je me galérais avec mon parapluie, les flocons tombant sur l'objectif de la caméra, les gants empêchant d'attraper le tout, etc... les expéditions hivernales, c'est moyennement glamour ! Mais ça valait le coup...

Hi hi hi mon plan diabolique fonctionne donc... je vais te bombarder de belles photos !! XD

[kawai mummy]

J'adore! Et j'ai de plus en plus envie de revenir...hiver, printemps, automne...Quel superbe dépaysement! C'est une superbe idée que ces festival de la neige.C'est moi qu suis en train de m'extasier ainsi? Alors que j'hiberne et me calfeutre comme une bonne vielle oursonne , dans mon antre frileuses des bords de Marne, depuis huit jours? tss tss!