Hokkaido Day 1 - 千里迢迢

Summary of itinerary: SIN -> KIX, KIX -> CTS, CTS -> Furano, Check-in Apartment, Dinner, Sleep

06:30 - Breakfast time
All that noise. Wakey wakey, time for breakfast with sun-rise. But the sky was clear and the rays were piercingly-glaring, so the passenger at the window shut the blinds. Aww.

Top L: Vegetable frittata with grilled veal sausage, tomato and potatoes
R: Japanese breakfast of grilled teriyaki fish, Japanese omelette, seasonal vegetable and steamed rice

Both came with fruits, cake, bread roll, butter, jam and beverage. Juice for me as usual as I intended to attempt sleeping again.

I picked the frittata despite having no idea what it is. This is when I wish I have internet. I was delighted that it tasted rather nice. An eggy thing. The hash brown felt cold and soft. Ah well, they couldn't possibly make it crispy without scorching the rest ba. Finished the fruits and cake.

I couldn't bring myself to order the Japanese set when I firmly believe frozen and microwaved rice can't taste good. Also not a big fan of grilled fish. Not much appetite at this hour. How I wished I had a clean bag to dapao the bread and cake. Feeling so guilty to leave the bread roll untouched. It was so warm and inviting.

Sister said the jam was nice, so I was determined to kop dapao them. And since I was at it, the butter and milk capsules too. Nobody can understand why I would want the them, but take first, think later I say! Made Sister squeeze them into the refreshment pouch distributed to the passengers :D

Not allowed to go back to sleep after breakfast. Fill up the immigration cards and declaration forms.

Going overseas without a dime.

I tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn't very satisfying as we were landing in another hour.


After 09:00 - 関西国際空港 Kansai International Airport, 31°C
In just 6hrs, we arrived at Osaka.

The entertainment system

09:37 - The plane has cleared out and I'm waiting for my aisle chair.

It came and I bade goodbye to the CAs. It was a pleasure travelling with SIA!

My wheelchair was waiting for me right outside the plane yay! I still hate this aisle chair. An airport staff was here to guide us to the baggage collections. He offered to push me.

Walking along a corridor above the gates, I could see the blazing sun through those floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Should I experience for myself the legendary Japanese summer? How does it compare to Singapore? Brother said I'm crazy :|

A nondescript control tower. Now I see how important aesthetics is to transform a regular airport fixture into an icon. Our plane there!

The staff took us on the LRT.

Frankly, I didn't know about this LRT. Since when? So troublesome need to take LRT to immigration meh?

He saw us to the immigration. There, I was temporarily separated from my siblings. They should be here with me, no queue :P Aiyah the queues at the regular counters were short also, probably because we took so long to come out. The guy took my photo like last time. Got to scan index the fingerprints of both my index fingers too. Luckily it's index fingers, easier for me than thumbs. After clearing immigration, we proceeded to collect our luggage. The same staff literally cleared hurdles to grab our bags. 年轻真好! His service ends here. Thanks!

We used the toilet within the restricted area, in the hope that it's cleaner with lower human traffic. The design looks dated with the white tiles, but it's still spacious and clean. Reminded of the pain of single-ply toilet paper!

Built for voyeurs. Noticed a few similarly-designed gents during the trip

I turned on my phone and got a missed call alert SMS from my colleague! I think I know what he wants, but I don't care. I found out there was free WiFi when I received a WhatsApp message from the same colleague asking me to call him for discussion... Huh what's there to discuss? I have already given step by step simulation proving that it's a bug mah. I replied saying WiFi is unstable now.

The domestic terminal is just round the corner. We checked in our luggage as well as my wheelchair :( I kept my back cushion to make the aisle chair more comfortable.

20min more for some shopping. There's a short food street, but unfortunately, I don't have the appetite although I'm really hesitant to leave Osaka without having some takopachi.

We decided to enter the Departure Hall to check out the shops there too. The security let a trainee check me. She said what she was going to do, followed by please and thank you when she's done. Quite a SOP feel.

Frozen dimsum and roll cakes seem to be the in-thing.

I am really tempted to buy one right there and wolf it all down.

Didn't know there's Osaka Banana. Everything looks so delectable, but we it will make better sense to get them on our way back. Promise!

Going to hang out near the gate since we have to be there 20min in advance.

What a pity that there isn't a chance to use the airport access bridge to perhaps visit Rinku Outlet. One day, one day.

Ample natural light and seats. I can't help feeling that the green seats are out of place though.

Still bleary-eyed from the lack of sleep. It's a surreal feeling to be at an airport overseas.

We were to board first. View from the aerobridge while waiting for the plane door to open. Warm ley. Not like Singapore's, aircon machiam free.

Leg 2 to destination, start! First transit and domestic flight of my life, check!

We were stunned when we were led to our seats in the first row! OMG the one with extra leg room and unblocked window view! 受宠若惊! I didn't realized they helped us change our seats! I love ANA!

Hey I realized there's no tv! Is it because we are in the first row? *Looks around* O it's standard. Fine then, not short-changed. There's a magazine pouch mounted on the wall. Now, this feels like a budget airline. ANA is full-service right?! Or domestic flights are like that? So got food or not?

The plane is quite small. 2 rows of 3 seats with a centre aisle. Yup, the flight looks full. So many people are going to Sapporo? For fun like us? :D

A tiny screen flipped open and started screening the flight-safety video. Wa don't even have live-demo, really budget! Don't tell me it's going to be communal entertainment on this screen?

There are a few business class seats, segregated from economy by just a tiny galley and a curtain. The seats look nothing like SQ's. Just a wider seat, more leg space, which is still not much roomier than my first row economy. No personal in-flight entertainment seen. However, according to Seatguru, Business class passengers are offered Portable Media Players with video and audio selections.


11:10 - Up & Away @ NH1713
The screen slowly folded itself away. The plane began to roll. Ground staff were waving goodbye at the plane with enthusiasm lor! OMG I really don't think I can 1, wave goodbye at a plane, and 2, still do it with enthusiasm after m times a day, n years at it.

Simple drinks are complimentary, making the flight feel less budget. I think there were coffee, green tea and beef broth. I picked the beef broth just to try it out plus I have no confidence in the coffee and tea. Like MSG soup lor haha. Not like Bovril, in case you are wondering. Snacks are chargeable. I couldn't find our table -_-;; nothing mounted on the wall. First row don't have tables?? I looked at our neighbor. O, table is folded in the armrest. Damn suakoo can?

The tv screened some program which I didn't watch because it was in Japanese. There's something better with no language barrier - the day-time scenery from up above!

What a joy watching the fluffy clouds and patches of greens! Plenty of farmland here. I fly in the dark so much that I can't remember whether it's normal to see cars from the plane.

As much as I wished to spend my whole flight marvelling the sights, I figured I should catch up on some sleep.

When it was announced that we would be landing soon, I tried spotting Lake Toya. As if I know how it looks like!


13:05 - 新千歳空港 New Chitose Airport, 21°C
1h 55min later, we landed at the highest latitude we have ever been to. This time, I watched out for the ground staff waving hello to the plane haha! By the way, New Chitose Airport DOES have airbridges lah!

An airport staff member was there to receive us. He walked us to the luggage carousel, where our luggage was waiting already! LIKE! I changed to my wheelchair and he offered to show us to where we were going. I was thinking, how hard could it be to find our own way around an airport? Well, he insisted, so we gladly took up his offer.

He took us to the lift leading to the JR Hokkaido Visitor's Information Desk, which was erm, quite well-hidden in a dark corner, which I doubt we would have been able to locate by ourselves ^_^;; He told us to continue down this corridor.

What an atmosphere shock when you exit the lift and suddenly the place is unairport-ish. Looks more like an underpass.

We have 40min to buy train tickets and dapao lunch. No time to sit and savor. We got to RUN! We came across a cafe that sells takeout.

I bought a hotdog set, which came with a cup of tea. Expensive at ¥550! We bought some fries too.

The shops opposite the cafe and people resting. Looks like a good choice. Not much human traffic despite it being lunch time.

Passed by the JR train station gate. Hmm escalator?? But I remember seeing a lift on the map... got to look around.

No queue at the JR Hokkaido Visitor's Information Desk, good! My order:

• New Chitose Airport to Sapporo train, ¥1,040. Got to buy a separate ticket because I was told the ticket is valid only for starting and ending at the same place :\
• Furano Biei Round Tour Ticket, ¥5,400
• Sapporo-Takikawa train reservation, ¥510
• Norokko Train reservation, ¥300
• Biei-Sapporo train reservation, ¥710

Shelled out ¥20,760 for the stack of tickets to be used for 3 days. The CSO gave us a sleeve to manage them.

The next train is coming like now! The CSO showed us to a backdoor, where the lift was. A staff grabbed a ramp on the way. Taking a backdoor to the lift now! Hokkaido likes to hide the lift at weird places?! The walkway outside the lift is very narrow.

When we emerged from the lift, our train has already arrived. Chiong ah! The train door has 2 steps I think? Thank the staff for the ramp! The door is rather narrow too. If my wheelchair were any wider, it will definitely get stuck. The wheelchair bay is right at the entrance. The staff helped us to return the luggage trolley. Really appreciate their help!

So far so good. Managed to adhere to my itinerary to the T :D


14:04 - Train From New Chitose Airport to Sapporo @ Rapid Airport 141
Leg 3 to destination, start!

Our luggage

The tea was spilling! Drink that first.

Discovered an unanswered WhatApp message from my colleague asking me to call him using Line when I get WiFi. Instinctively, I replied, saying I can only when I get to my hotel (and had dinner and settled down which will be like 10pm probably). Then I realized there's no WiFi on the train and the message will get sent out when I reach the apartment... Then I got calls from M from AiHiss, twice! Seriously! Surely he can hear that my ringtone is different? Or is there no difference...? I just ignored him. Don't even know got signal or not while the train is moving.

Enjoy the scenery! The photos are whitish from the glass window.

From nothing much...

To hypermart! I want!

House under construction

So many bicycles

BEER

Farmland

First hint of the bloom ahead

14:40 - 札幌 Sapporo, 24°C
36min later, we arrived the naturally-ventilated Sapporo JR station.

When summer is still this cool, no wonder you don't need to even install a fan. But will it be freezing in winter?

The station staff was there to assist us. O cannot take photos then, better hurry up. He checked our tickets and led us to the correct platform, which took quite a walk.

A queue quickly grew for the unreserved seats and I was convinced the reservation was money well-spent. While waiting, we bought some drinks. No straws. Heng I insisted that we bring our own stash. The train pulled in and the staff gave it a quick clean-up, turned the seats around and the boarding began. After we have settled down, Brother jumped off to grab a bento. He'd better be back on time! Disaster if he doesn't!


15:08 - Train From Sapporo to Takikawa @ LTD. EXP OKHOTSK 5
Final leg to destination, Leg 4 start!

Weird service name. I did a double take while doing my research. Okhotsk? Is that Russian or what?

Phew. We have 1hr of peace before we have to get off our butts again. Time to have lunch. All to be shared among the 3 of us.

Top: Fries and hotdog from the airport cafe.
Bottom: Salmon and salmon roe bento from Sapporo JR Station

The mustard and ketchup hotdog was normal lor. Not bad considering that it's 1.5hrs old. The bento was delicious! Freshly-prepared and packed into the box before selling. I have always imagined the food to be standing there the whole day like those in 7-11 and microwaved upon selling. Having low expectations help haha!

Eat train bento, check!


16:03 - Transfer at 滝川 Takikawa, 21°C
Honestly, I assume when a station is used for transfers, it should look quite modern. Hence I was taken aback at how lok kok Takikawa looks.

Ok, so we need to transfer here. The staff led us to the lift (thank goodness they installed a lift), crossed the tracks and towards to the station exit... WAIT!! We quickly stopped the guy. He was stunned. No need to cross tracks actually; the correct platform is just by the side. Ah train is here, RUN! Heng one of the trolley bags was empty. OMG why the trip just started only so 刺激 already? >_< Actually no need to be so kan jiong lor. The train wasn't going to move immediately. Still got so much time. Take photos.

Lok kok, right?

16:18 - Train From Takikawa to Furano @ Nemuro Line 根室本線
And we were on our way.

Wa this train, damn retro can? No aircon, fan only. Windows are the old TIBS bus style. Luckily it was rather windy with the train moving quickly and the wind was cool. Seats face each other so they have an excuse not to turn them around.

They could read our minds...

An even simpler station without shelter. At least the overhead bridge is sheltered.

School kids going home. Men with a fetish for sailor uniform-clad school girls' dream come true

Rust everywhere

Lots of scenery to keep us from sleeping while the train rolls along slowly.

The school kids started alighting one after another. When they were gone, we noticed a bag was left on the overhead rack. Somebody forgot his bag! Shall we claim it? Or could it be a... parting gift? *shudders*

At the next stop, a staff ran in to retrieve it. Just some stinky sportswear, luckily never claim it!

A modern-looking station

Looks totally like a shed

What a contrasting train!

A great, white 观音 statue

Today's beer inspiration - purine-free beer!

There was a section where we went through a mountain. I thought it would be warm, but no, the wind was chilly, probably due to the absence of sunlight. Brr!


17:30 - 富良野 Furano, 21°C
1hr 12min later, we have FINALLY arrived at Furano!!!

6,200km to get here! Equivalent to 12,400里!

Tim and the station staff were already waiting for me with the caterpillar. Tim very kindly offered to assist us with our luggage, but we really don't need any help. He insisted, so Sister gave him the empty trolley bag. Now you see.

Pretty overhead bridge. There's a lift but I think it's for the bicycle park.

I used the caterpillar to clear the overhead bridge very, very slowly zzz... don't Furano, as a touristy area, warrant the need for a lift? Or is it still not qualified enough?

Tim asked me if this was the first time I'm using the caterpillar. Nope! First time was at Miyajimaguchi :)

Tim made us take a photo with the statue on the bottom left coz it's a "must-do". Err... we don't really fancy taking cheesy-must-do photos, but he insisted. Btw the photos all came out blurry. Camera too chim for him lol.

Feels kind of weird to exit a train station and see less than 10 people and no bumper-to-bumper traffic in broad day light. Where's everybody?

While travelling in Tim's SUV towards the apartment, he introduced the areas of the town. Right at the train station is downtown. It stretches for a few streets before tapering off. He pointed out the numerous attractions, most of which we wouldn't be visiting, rather sadly. We passed by an exciting-looking supermarket and nearer the apartment, a 7-11. Tim took us on a spin in the immediate vicinity to show us the wealth of eateries. Looks fantastic!


18:10 - Fresh Powder Apartments Furano Check-in
Here the apartment! The door on the left leads to the reception, while the door on the right is the ground-level entrance to the ski locker room. And that's the SUV that got us here safely.

Brother's wallet was relieved of ¥58,000. Feeling the pinch~ The tentative check-out plan is to leave the luggage here and return to pick them up in the afternoon. Although I hadn't figured out if this round-trip is actually feasible. Tim advised against it in view of the anticipated traffic jam in the afternoon.

The reception has blu-ray movies and PS3 games for loan. Tim gave us the access code to the ski locker room. Impressive security! We cleared the ski locker room with ease but my wheelchair was scraping the doorframe of the path to the room. The L-shaped stairs was challenging though. Too narrow for comfort. Brother lifted me out of the chair and directly into the room's sofa.

Tim gave us a walkthrough of the apartment. TV with cable channels (yeah to English programmes!), PS3, sofabed. Kitchenette with oven! How sexy is that! There's a cabinet dedicated to recycling; we were required to deposit our rubbish into the correct receptacle according to type. And we have to wash and dry each article first, not just simply toss it in. Washing your rubbish?? That's somewhat illogical and probably not cost-effective in Singapore where water is so expensive, not to mention dedicating precious living space to the discarded. Before you think that is all, it's not. Tim said the staff would have to further sort the trash later into 14 categories later :O Somehow glad that Singapore is not so environment-conscious!

We were provided with Ito En instant cold water soluble green tea powder, Blendy instant black coffee powder and Lipton teabags.

Air-con and heaters are available :DD But with the windows open, we might not need any of them. Tim then warned us about insects entering in the morning if we leave the windows open. He showed us the secrets of the curtains; I think there's a screen which will keep the bugs out.

And the most important of all - the WiFi password! Admittedly, the availability of free WiFi was a plus. Since when has WiFi become an influential factor?

With that, we were left to our own devices. Pictures before we mess up the place.

The living, dining area and sofabed

No view from this room. No big deal, since we will only be back to sleep.

Kitchenette

TV and consoles

Bedroom

Soak tub and shower

Check out the huge wardrobe! Not enough clothes to hang! And even a vacuum cleaner!

Wash area and toilet

Nice right!!! Super impressed with what I saw. True to the pictures online. I feel so much bliss already. However, it's a pity that none of the basins are wheelchair-accessible.

Water parade time. I didn't want to wait for water to boil and cool, so I had it from the tap. OMG OMG! You should taste for yourself how AMAZING the tap water tastes! It's tastes like mineral water! Free-flow mineral water from the tap, how's that! Who will ever buy bottled water here then?

How warming it was (literally) to find that even the toilet seat was heated. Very much appreciated in a cold place. The toilet paper was single-ply again. I was hoping for double-ply since the rental is so expensive :P


18:40 - Dinner
We headed out to look for dinner. There's still plenty of daylight at this hour. The weather is so cool. Shiok!

A small bundle of lavender right at the driveway

Really shiny

Bell Hills, a hotel we couldn't afford to stay in

We are staying on higher ground. No fear of floods.

Budget accommodation for backpackers

Food choices in the vicinity, out of which 2 are closed now... and they sell beer...

Daylight was falling off rapidly. We decided on 正直村. Cold puts me in the mood for ramen. Too bad there was no barrier-free entrance and the doorway was rather narrow. The friendly service made up for the shortcomings.

正直村

Our drinks.
LHS: Self-explanatory.
RHS: Grape JUICE, not wine ok!

Potato ramen with butter

It's not the tonkotsu ramen that I usually eat. It's more like soup noodles. There's something different about the potato. It tastes light and not mushy. Is it because their local potato tastes like this?

Pumpkin ramen

Miso local pumpkin soup base. Tastes somewhat like Mother's pumpkin soup.

Curry omu rice with milk for quenching the spice.

We were surprised when we were presented with a bottle of milk. Wow is the curry so powderful? Look down on Singaporeans ah!

The rice was really yummy, and the milk was delicious! The level of spiciness is of no match to the one we had at Osaka.

So this concludes our first meal of the day that we got to savor at a proper setting. Total cost: ¥3,760.


20:30 - Supper/Breakfast Shopping, 17°C
The night is still young. We cannot retreat without getting some supper, breakfast and booze. We decided to try to walk to the supermarket although we had no idea how far it was.

The temperature has plummeted and there's a constant breeze. Too much for me! I hid beneath my windbreaker, pulled the hood over and stuffed my hands deep in the pockets. I wished I brought something more hardcore.

Other eateries along the way.

It's dark outside. Street lamps are sparse.

We realized the supermarket was in fact very far away. Venture aborted. Turn back to 7-11 instead. Not bad there. Lots of cheap booze. They even have a section of house-brand desserts and chilled food. Unfortunately the shelves were rather bare by this hour.

How could I leave without trying a limited edition Haagen Daz? It's so cold that holding the cup was sweet torture.

Vanilla cookies Haagen Daz. Too high expectations -> let-down

I have to eat my words about buying mineral water. We bought a bottle from one of the vending machines because we wanted a water bottle. After that, it's a long uphill walk home.


21:30 - Back in the Apartment
I connected to the WiFi and replied to a long-overdue WhatsApp message to my colleague. I was wondering if it's too late already, but realized that it's not, coz I'm 1hr ahead.

The PS3 was not functioning.

Never did I expect that it will be cold to bathe in summer. I decided to try my friend's trick for bathing in winter - fill the bathroom with steam. Fancy using a winter trick in summer *facepalm* That's where the 2 showerheads come into handy. Sorry for wasting so much water... we plugged the soak tub in case we wanted to use the water later.

O o we can now hao lian that we bathed in mineral water lol!

Don't know what super shower cream that was! Just a small pump was sufficient for the whole body. And it wasn't harsh at all.

I thought it would be hot in summer, so I brought my usual home clothes. There was a constant chilly breeze that made me tremble - I thought Brother turned on the air-con. Turned out that he simply left the windows open! Wow natural air-con! Brr...

We explored the kitchenette and found gems! There's aluminium foil, salt and pepper. OMG there's so many utensils to choose from! Serving plates, drinking cups, even wine glasses! Perfect for a classy supper. Check it out!

Project Fill-the-Fridge

Pan-fried bananas in Hokkaido milk

Bananas paired with umeshu and shinluchu (apricot honey wine)

I don't eat bananas but I made an exception this time because it's cooked and there's Hokkaido milk! 

The umeshu was sweet while the shinluchu was even sweeter. Almost forgot they contain alcohol.

Sapporo beer and chilled 正油 ramen

Hokkaido cream rollcake

Due to a lack of ang kong preparation instruction, we weren't sure how what to do with the ramen. To add water or not? Looks dry. Ended up it's like soy sauce soup noodles where the soup has dried up. Not very nice.


That is my 7-11 birthday rollcake. The cream is not very smooth, but nevertheless, fresher than the average Bengawan Solo cream. I was deciding between a chestnut cream cake, which looked highly appealing and this. I don't know what possessed me to choose this. Maybe because the chestnut cream cake was slightly out of shape.

We ate our fill with the cable news playing in the background and bombardment of "Visit Columbia" during commercials. Images of drug cartels still fill my mind when I think of Columbia. The image of a land lush nature and spectacular wonders that the commercial was trying to portray couldn't gel. No thanks.

Had to brush my teeth at the table and spit into the water scoop for showering.

Sister loaded the dishes into the dish washer (YES THERE'S A DISH WASHER!!) and the clothes into the washing machine. They started working their magic while Brother move the sofabed into the bedroom and we slept. Boy the blanket was so heavy that I couldn't move.

And that marks the end of my birthday, where 3/4 of the day was spent travelling and cake was a 7-11 slice. And got shortened by 1hr coz it's GMT+7.