Hokkaido Day 4 - 札幌一日

Summary of itinerary: Check-out, Nijo Market, Tanukikoji Shopping Street, Underground shopping street, Sapporo Ramen Republic, Airport

09:00 - Rise & Shine, 23°C
Wished I could sleep more, but got to check out again today. And we only have 1hr to get our asses out, which from experience, I know wasn't enough. Gonna be late again~

Rare event! No cup noodles breakfast today! Because we were going out for brunch and I wanna save appetite! We still had the strawberries from yesterday. Eat them already! Can't bring them back to Singapore. I was dismayed to discover that some of them were already bruised. Some had to be thrown out :( So fast! Why is it that those in back home seems to last longer?

The cute strawberries from Marche

O my! These strawberries 不光长得可爱，还很美味! Subtle sweetness with no sourness.

09:54 and we were still eating strawberries tsk tsk!

View from our room

What view? Like some forsaken carpark. This time, all our rooms have no view, sigh.

Sister drank more milk before we left. How I wished I could :( But I can't afford any violent stomach upsets.


10:40 - Check-out of Hotel Sunroute Sapporo
Now then I get to visit the reception. Nothing very special about it also lah. There's sofas and newspapers. The cafeteria is also on the level. We could pay to have breakfast here, but... no thanks!! I am drooling over my mental picture of brunch of seafood don already! This hotel is budget one lor... everything extra is not free. There's a vending machine for umbrellas. Nope! No free umbrella for you when it's raining!

We deposited our luggage with the reception, which they kept in a room behind the reception. Mmm looked secured. Nothing can beat our experience at Taipei's Neijiang Hotel, where our luggage was left at the lobby secured with a string.


10:50 - Walking to Nijo Market Cum Sight-seeing, 27°C
We have decided to walk again, so that we could see take in more sights with our very limited time here. Time for Google Maps to 大显身手! Eh...? It's been updated? Updated nevermind, but update until our homework (the pins we created for our destinations) were all GONE? WTF? No way to get the stuff back? So irritating! To think we have been praising it for the whole trip! Now it has to let us down on the last day, the day we were going to be the most dependent on it.

What to do? Search the place again lor. Sibei waste time.

Quite warm now. No jacket needed.

Sapporo ESTA

Which houses the Ramen Republic. From the banners, it seems like a great place to shop. Alas, no time for shopping at all! Photo to help ourselves recognize the building later.

Teisen Bowl, the giant white bowling pin building

Such a distinguished landmark, yet it's only a bowling alley. I wonder what that red chimney is, though.

High-class-looking restaurant

The only Japanese restaurant I have been to, with an inconvenient entrance is Ikoi, but more homey than high-class.

The ubiquitous pachinko outlet

What a fresh breath of air to use a muscleman in the main poster, instead of a sexy lady! Does it make the male players feel like him? RARRHH!

Pachinko, Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, Pachinko.
Well done

Promotional balloon by Metlife Alico

I thought it's an entertainment company since the balloon looked so cartoon, but it turned out to be an insurance company.

Hydrant in Sapporo

Why not in shiny metal like Furano? In case people might want to sit on it?

Wa wa grand-looking pachinko outlet!

Ok this one uses sexy cartoon characters. Maybe the public objectifying of women is frowned upon.

Close-up of ESTA

Hotel Monterey Sapporo, kind of posh vs ours

Of so many things in this view, the first thing that caught my eye was かに

Nope, no distractions. Destination still Nijo Market.

Closing down sale, Japanese style

Shopping time? Took a glance from outside. Like nothing very special. Give it a miss.

Pedestrian crossing with countdown. We should have this too

Street floral arrangement. How cool is that!

I guess the Singapore's 人民素质 is not up to mark yet. The bush will be botak before the end of the day.

Boring-looking office buildings

Wonder if this is Sapporo's CBD? News center, trade union meeting centre, economics centre? The office workers must be glad that not one, but two (and possibly more) pachinko outlets are not too far away *sniggers*

The central bus terminal

Doesn't look like a bus terminal. Didn't see any bus.

創成川 Sōsei River

Sōsei River is a man-made river. Kind of pricked my fantasy bubble about here being more natural than Singapore.

Kind of resembles Bishan Park

Relationship between guarana and polar bear...?

Speaking of which, I need a caffeine boost, but I'll tahan and see what I can get at the market. Saving my lovin' for it~ Or it could just be an excuse not to try guarana. Somehow I am of the impression that it will taste gross, like Red Bull.

The must-have for every city - Sapporo TV Tower

Ok, been there. Checked.


11:20 - 二条市場 Nijo Market, 28°C
We knew it would be far, but didn't realize it would be 30min of walking! The most direct route would have beem to follow the river, but as you can see, we didn't quite do that. I blame Google Maps.

1.78km!

Doesn't quite fit my mental picture of a market. My first thought was: This is it? Looks commercialized... all they have to do is to install a marquee along that blue part to complete the look.

So many cabs, and does not resember Tsukiji at all.

Hmm... not a lot of people around. Too late in the day?

Definitely less busy and much neater than Tsukiji.

Almost all of the shops offer to cook their seafood on the spot and you can savour them in their premises. Choose your own still-swimming seafood, super fresh! Unfortunately, we could see that most of the shops are not setup with dine-in in mind. The shop premises are wet, as what you would expect of a market. A lone table and stool or two is where you eat, if you could get past the exterior wares display, which reduced the entrance to a 1m-wide max path. No-no for me. Besides, I'm not really sure how the deal goes. Afraid that I will overspend if I build my own meal.

Most of the merchants were warm and smiley. A few offered samplers, where sampling is possible (can't expect sashimi sampling right... XD) Felt kind of bad having to smile at the merchants and walk away without buying anything.

I wonder if the locals have lost a market to the tourists?

Definitely tourists-oriented! English sign spotted

Drooling at the crabs! I was calculating mentally... how much if we were to buy it? Must buy the WHOLE crab? Will it be so ex that all 3 of us will be left with no choice, but to eat crab only? And those scallops on the box, looks huge and juicy! I wanna buy back~

Why must they put PET bottles in the water?

Weird seeing melon jelly displayed alongside seafood

Seafood miso soup mix! CORN! Ah, those white balls in the centre are not octopus balls. They are in fact, octopus mouths, and seems to be a delicacy. Octopus mouths??? Seriously? *scratch head*

Capturing the menu for our consideration

Salmon roe and sea urchin must be immensely popular with tourists. Look at those prices! You would only get a couple of sushi shelling out the same moolah in Singapore, yet you get a bowl covered completely with the coveted star here!

Dilapidated shop

How about a crab feast?

Ran into a family of Singaporeans! We are everywhere!

There's also fresh fruits and vegetables for sale. Melons sold here are primarily Yubari King melons 夕張メロン. They look the same as Furano melons, but I think they are not the same. Yubari melons are supposedly the best-tasting. O? If Furano's is already heavenly, Yubari is... ? I WANT!! But I don't think we can handle another melon :(

Marinated salmon roe!!

I would have bought a bottle, if we had the means to keep it cool :(

Instant food and snacks

The shopping street we will be heading to later

Fish selections, yes, including whale

Cafe that looks out of place

Snacks that look out of place

Shiroi Koibito?? Can sell here??? Looks less authentic when it's sold in a market :X Didn't buy since I'm not a fan of it. Am I the first to leave Hokkaido without buying a box?

Another menu for comparison

This one looks somewhat more appetizing. Must be the variety.

I choose you?

The darker interior, with no ventilation. Stuffy if not for the occasional cool draft

Outside also have. Very attracted by the uni bowl. Kept loitering lol!

Getting a closer look

Antique or boneware shop?

Ok, I'm taking far too long to decide. We stepped back into the shade to think. Choices overload! I will just pick the next decent-looking restaurant that has what I want!


12:05 - 海鮮丼の店 どんぶり茶屋 Donburi Cha-ya
As fate would have it, Donburi Cha-ya appeared at the right place, at the right time. We decided on this shop on the interior because they have clean, accessible seats. Pampered~ Even though the restaurant was largely empty save for the counter seats, I placed my faith in my instinct.

OMG they actually have a website?? I told ya we got taste!

OMG THEY ALL LOOK GOOD!!

Eat what eat what~

Can't make up my mind!

Order ALL, can? :(

They even have mini bowls for kids and people with small appetite. How thoughtful.

Here comes our cholesterol bowls! We all upgraded our uni. Must-do, since we are here already! ¥500 more for better-tasting gonads, hmm...

Siblings' 丸鮮丼 Marusen-don, ¥2,880

かにのお味噌汁 Crab miso soup - I can taste fresh crab! No fishy smell. Miso is not overpowering.
いくらとサーモンの親子丼 Salmon and salmon roe with rice - I tried a few balls of roe. Mmm~ I don't know how to describe, but it's just different in a nice way. Because it's not too salty, not fishy, tastes fresh and is firm? I wished I had ordered a set with them so I could have more!
生うにほたて丼 Sea urchin and scallop with rice - Took a bite of the scallop. Yum yum I miss good raw scallop!
ぼたんえびとまぐろ丼 Jumbo fresh shrimp and tuna with rice - Didn't try, mine have :D
かに棒肉の入った特撰かに丼 Crab leg and special crab with rice - Didn't try, mine have :D

My 究極の至宝丼 Kyuukyokuno-shihou-don~, ¥2,980

I almost wanted to get the Zenbunokke-don, because it has everything that I'm looking for! But blowing ¥6,980 sounds insane... so I settled for this. Moreover, I can kop a few balls of salmon roe from Brother :D Which I later learned that a few balls were not enough D:

生うに Sea urchin - Ah~ how relieving it is to finally taste quality sea urchin, that's firm and fresh, unlike those served in Itacho and Sushi Tei, watery and disintegrating!
毛がに身カニ味噌和え Horsehair crab's meat with crab miso served on shell - O how luxurious to eat crab meat fuss-free! It's just all meat without any shell attached. No soup ley, so what's crab miso? Is the crab meat stirred in crab-flavored miso? Nahh who cares?
毛がに足 Horsehair crab leg - that hairy thing on the RHS of the shell! I have waited so long to taste its sweet meat again!
たらばがに棒肉 King crab leg - Those free-flow king crab buffets cannot measure up to these 2 plump chunks of pure crustacean goodness.
Thank goodness that the chef left the prawns' heads on so that I can identify them.
ぶどうえび Purple shrimp 葡萄虾 - That prawn with a purple head lor~
ぼたんえび Botan shrimp 牡丹虾 - Wa really jumbo can? But the sweetness isn't diluted with size.
甘エビ Pink shrimp 甘虾 - Reminiscing the taste I first experienced on the last meal of my previous holiday...

I sucked the heads too :P Actually... it's not very nice. Maybe because I ate it quite late, when it's not cold anymore. A bit fishy.

Tried to eat as much rice as I can. Really good rice, but have to be mindful of dinner in a couple of hours.

Upon googling, apparently crab miso is not as innocent as its literal name. It turned out to be quite sinister - it's whatever's left on the inside of the crab shell after the meat has been extracted, which is mostly the internal organs! :O Artery-clogging goodness! SINFUL!

Doesn't cholesterol taste good? *yeah!!* Best of all, it's not pricey at all! Just think, will you be able to get 7 pieces of high quality sushi for $45 in Singapore?? Nevaaa!

3 satisfied and happy people!

Something note-worthy, the restaurant became almost full while we were tucking on. We attract patrons for restaurants!


12:57 - 小樽ビール 狸二条ビアガーデン 2013 Otaru Beer Beer Garden, 29°C
Let's check out this beer place since it's on the way. It's an outdoor beer garden specializing in Otaru beer. I have no idea if Otaru beer is any special though.

Selfie, DSLR-style

Brave souls braving the heat

Sailor uniform-clad schoolgirls soaking their feet at the river, - a scene right out of doramas

Patrons all congregating on the side with canopies

Not exactly cheap...

The kitchen

We left after siblings paid a visit to the washroom nearby. Didn't try anything. Too full also.


13:00 - 狸小路商店街 Tanukikoji Shopping Street, 29°C
Shopping time! Tanukikoji Shopping Street is a wide, sheltered street with two rows of shops, one at each side. Think Osaka's Shinsaibashi-suji. Except this one is quieter.

Starting with 狸小路 1.

Seemingly endless street

The ceiling was drenched in colorful banners about some raccoon celebration. Not sure if it's in honor of the real animal, or some promotion for this shopping street. Didn't see any steep discount (my idea of a promotion).

Door telling you it's not the entrance and map to show you the location of the actual entrance

Sister checked out the real entrance. Yeah it exists.

Life-size bears

The closest that I can get to a bear!

Chops

It's traditional stamps bearing Japanese family names, some with multiple designs. The kind that you have to use with an inkpad. The kind that my primary school teacher said my father couldn't use to sign my stuff pffft.

黑糖!

Very tempted to buy a bag to suck on, but is it for sucking or not? Not sure if Hokkaido is known for brown sugar or not, so I didn't buy. On hindsight, should have bought anyway...

There were shops selling clothes, but they seemed to be more youth-oriented.

狸小路 2

狸小路 3

Just walking along. Nothing much on my radar, especially when tummy's still full from the satisfying lunch and didn't feel like overwriting the taste in my mouth yet haha! Ok actually, I'm looking to buy some snacks back and also to buy Mother the melon candy that she praised to the sky. Tasted like the real thing, she said.

Video arcade

Mostly UFO catchers at the entrance. Really like their elaborate shopfront signs.

Slot machines mounted on the wall

First you examine the figurines collection, then you put a coin into the slot machine, then you follow the colorful steps up so you could read them... oops...

I have no idea what's upstairs.

When I saw this, I had the urge to get one. Although I rarely drink bubble tea now. I had to get this one because it has Hokkaido milk! But funny that "tapioca" is now a selling point? Thought people call them "pearls" because tapioca is cheap and sounds low-class.

Drink time!

Need 2 people to man 1 shop?

Matcha milk, ¥300

Not bad ley. And it's not because I'm biased! Really not bad! Not too sweet.

狸小路 4

Came across a souvenir shop selling everything Hokkaido, even marimo. It is found naturally in Lake Akan.

Cute, fluffy moss balls, marimo

Noticed that a grilled corn snack and a variety of Jagabee called Jaga Pokkuru are sold everywhere. The grilled corn is not fresh ley, nice meh? And fries as souvenir? What's the difference from the regular Jagabee?

Walked away without buying. Wished I had the time to do some homework before the trip, coz I have not bought anything yet!

狸小路 5

Wa this one wins! Asking to be poked!

狸小路 6

By the time we got to 6, it got kind of boring. The place is also rather quiet now. Many shops are not opened. Some of the happening-looking ones are upstairs. However, we went on with it because it's on the way to the underground shopping street.

Sister saw this and promptly went in.

新倉屋　Nii kura ya

This shop sells traditional Japanese sticky rice sweets. Surprisingly affordable. Wow they have muah chee! Should be fresh, I hope?

We bought!

After looking for so long in the shop, we came out with... one 大福. That was after an old lady before us bought a box of stuff. Damn paiseh, hahaha!

Comes with expiry date. But we are gonna eat it now now now!

Daifuku, ¥126

Ehh the skin is not as soft and chewy as the Hualien one? Like totally uncomparable lor. Not nice. Whyyy :( Disappointed.

Hotel Dormy Inn

Anything is possible here, including a hotel. Looks nice. And it is. Too expensive, so didn't stay here.

Saw an animation school at the end of 6 also. Got people go and learn one?

Cafe with eye-catching deco

The one shop that all Singaporeans will notice.

The color scheme, font, Tiger plastered all over and of course the shop name, do exude a Singapore feel. But the deco inside... hmm dunno, maybe more like a pub? Pub that sells kopitiam food, calls itself a kopitiam, but Chinese name is 酒楼? What a mish-mash!

Pwetty drain cover~

Somewhere along, Sister bought a pair of socks. Brother said she must buy socks on every holiday -_-;;

Ok, we are nearly at the end of 7 segments of shopping street and yet we have not bought any snacks. This cannot go on. Since we noticed that the snacks on sale are mostly the same, we walked into the next one.

Found in Singapore, so not buying. And Sister said her friend said it's not nice.

The giant million yen note snack! Didn't buy as it's more expensive than last time and it didn't say that it's dory. Now we sound hard to please.

While paying for our purchases, the boss was punching the calculator really fast and showed us the figure to pay. Don't even know correct or not?? I think must have some trickery somewhere. Whatever...

I made up my mind to buy the Jaga Pokkuru, but somehow it's nowhere to be found now? Not in the next shop, and next next shop either?? Why no more when you want it!!! Grabbed melon sweets, one hard and one soft, coz dunno which kind Mother was talking about. Should be the hard one lah.


14:18 - Finding the Sapporo Underground Shopping Mall, 29°C
O gosh the heat! It's true that cities are warmer. Now we must get under the ground, doubly quick!

Ferris wheel among buildings. Reminds me of HEP Five in Osaka, where the ferris wheel actually passes through the building.

What an elaborate building facade!

We couldn't fathom what Runners Curry could be

Found the entrance! But stairs only :( Continue...

A young lady taking her promotion job very seriously. She was shouting loud enough to be heard by all, non-stop, with unwavering enthusiasm although every single person walked by as if she wasn't there. Respect! How does she keep her spirits up when it's so paiseh, and the weather is so freaking hot? In Singapore, the promoter would have shriveled away and disappeared within a minute, provided somebody actually accepted the job in the first place.

Dolly Cafe Chocolat, for ages 18 and above, no high school students allowed! Kinky!

We have passed by several entrances to the underground mall, but none of them have wheelchair access. Made worse when Google Maps is broken and even if it were working, it wouldn't show which entrance is accessible. Our best bet would be a building with an underground link. Checked out one potential candidate, no luck. In the worst case scenario, we could walk the stretch above ground instead, as long as we make it to Ramen Republic later...


14:50 - さっぽろ地下街 Sapporo Underground Shopping Mall
Ok found it!! Jackpot after 30min. So glad to see this!!! (And enjoy aircon)

1.61km of walking

For people who are interested, the life-saver building is 4pla.

Coffeebean shop. Looks atas wor.

We walked in the direction of Sapporo station.

Lots of shops and people

But... I'm not in a shopping mood, especially when the stuff are not screaming cheap and we don't have time. Just see see look look!

Candy Labo, hand-made candies

Very pretty to look at. Kids are fascinated with the open-kitchen. So was I. Wondered if it is tasty or not... I have a bad impression of such candies. Good to see but not good to eat.

Ishiya Cafe

Sister said this is a very famous cafe. They have this insanely popular item, an ultra-thick hotcake that almost everybody is having. She wanted to try it. I would be game to try to, if not for the outrageous waiting time.

40min waiting time! You crazy!

No... we don't have 40min to spend on a dessert. Sorry.

Cupcakes in a cylinder to refresh the aging concept?

They look really yummy, but I ought to set aside appetite for dinner now. I wished I could dapao them back to Singapore, but it's a given that they will be unrecognizable before we even board the plane. The bane of having a small stomach!

When I look at the menu now, I realize the items are actually very cheap. If they are indeed as good as raved, it's an icing on the cake. Only now then I realized Ishiya is the same company that makes Shiroi Koibito. That Candy Labo is theirs too. No wonder people are lapping it all up.

Nice lamp

Good idea of "hanging" pictures without actually needing to hang.

Continue walking. Found a farmer's market.

Yellow cherries!

Very intrigued by them. Got such thing? I stuck around because it looks like I could get to sample it. And I did! Very sweet and fresh! But expensive ley, $10 for a box?! Very thoughtful of them to provide wet wipes. Kudos to the little things that do not make people feel like leeches for sampling.

Find it kind of weird to see fresh produce for sale at an underpass. If not for the nicely-setup stalls, I might think they are illegal.

Fruit vinegars

Along the way, we saw some lifts that appeared to connect to the ground level. Plenty of washrooms that are very clean. Saw a person on a wheelchair scooter. This stretch must be very good barrier-free access for him to be out here alone.

See, they must have a mascot for every single thing, known or unknown. And kids simpy go gaga over them.

Unknown mascots

Sister came across this coffeebean stall and proceeded to take a photo. The owners bowed as if they were trying not to be in the picture, but of course it didn't work. Unless they were bowing for real... but never heard of people bowing for a picture? Haiyah and so the photo came out weird.

Pico Coffee

Sister spent a horribly long time chatting with them.

4 aunties walking noisily and swinging their arms wildly like teenagers

15:52 - Finding Ramen Republic, 29°C
So we have come to Subway Sapporo, signalling the end of our shopping street segment.

アピア

A cafe that looked quite popular.

上島珈琲店

Now I know 上島 is Ueshima, which is UCC. So the popular cafes are still those run by large chains.

We need to get to ESTA, which is just opposite JR Sapporo, which is next to Subway Sapporo. Ideally, there should be a link from Subway to JR. We looked at the station map. There is a lift in the station. I thought it would go to the street level, but I was wrong, because it's inside the gates. Looking at the map of the surrounding area, there are links and lifts to other areas, but it doesn't specify a lift to street level. Bummer. Want to say, don't say properly. We decided to try out the link that leads towards the direction we wanted anyway, and started down a long a long underpass which resembles one of the underpasses we took while transferring trains in Osaka. Think in subway Tennoji. After a few metres, I had a premonition that this was not the right way. I insisted that we should go from the ground level. It's shopping malls here... confirm got lift to go up right... The risk of going by street level is that we might be unable to find a proper crossing. There's a possibility that there isn't one, when it's so well-connected underground. Aiyah super troublesome in a wheelchair!

Up to the surface! We took this really cool-looking glass lift up. Bottom is not transparent of course.

Sapporo station in daylight

Hot! Gosh time really flies. Destination ESTA, GOGOGO!

Right in front, hurry!

We are in luck! We found this crossing that has faded stripes and barely enough space for pedestrians to stand on at the kerbs. And wonder why the need for a guy to direct traffic.

Noticed that they really have a lot of signs at a single junction.

Confused yet?

16:05 - 札幌らーめん共和国 (Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku) Ramen Republic @ ESTA
We crossed that road quickly and tried to enter the building. No pretty entrance! We had to walk through what seemed like a rundown version of RWS drop-off point, walls all sooty and big buses driving around. Is this even ESTA or not?? Fortunately there was still a proper pavement leading us to civilization and eventually the lift lobby.

1.22km walk to dinner! *pant pant*

The shop is on the 10th storey. Hard to get into a lift! And when we did, it stopped on so many floors. And each floor was sending subliminal messages to us to come check it out. Resist all!

Found the restaurant! Actually they call it a theme park.

Choices galore!

Ramen Republic houses 8 popular Hokkaido ramen under one roof. Deciding on the stalls that we want to try. Multi-lemma!

Couldn't really decide by just looking at a poster. We decided to see and smell for ourselves.

The layout is very different from the Ramen Champion in Bugis+. First of all, there are deco in an attempt to reflect the theme of the theme park, as if it mattered.

Bad replicas of famous sights around Hokkaido

A reference to Norokko train, maybe?

Secondly, the sprawling grounds are devoid of tables and chairs. The space is used on... erm, those decos. And it's stalls don't do it foodcourt-style - sorry, "stalls" is inappropriate in this sense, because it's more like a congregation of ramen shops, where individual shops are fenced up and patrons eat within the boundary. Darn, that means we got to choose only one shop, no mixing! What's the point of this Ramen Republic then??

Since we are in Sapporo, I decided to go for Sapporo-style ramen, らーめん 空 (Ramen Sora).

Our poison

The kitchen

Sora was rather empty when we came. A guy waiter attended to us and showed us to our corner seat.

Their summer special is a cold noodle. But I would really like some hot, salty soup~ We ordered only 2 bowls to share since we were still full from our lunch. Wasted!

Look at the ultra-authentic ramen, with a layer of oil floating on top!

Butter corn ramen, ¥900

How can we leave without more butter and corn? The corn wasn't very outstanding actually... but the char siew was soo melt-in-your-mouth (because it's so fatty)! Kidney-busting salty soup *slurp slurp*

Miso ramen, ¥750

About the same as the butter corn. Thought the egg was overcooked. Look, not runny at all!

Finished indicator

Done!

Sapporo Beer Jug, ¥450 x 2

And ice-cold beer to wash down the grease.

While we were eating, a couple of teenage girls sat down near us. The waiter was flirting with them lor! Talked so much and laughing sia!

After we were done, Sora filled up immediately. So I say, we bring fortune to flagging businesses :)


16:44 - Split!, 27°C
We are running late. By now, we should have already collected our luggage and heading towards Sapporo train station. Taking the later train to the airport is not recommended as it would mean we have only 1hr before the flight departs and we don't know how bad the lines are. No choice, got to split up and work separately. Brother shall go collect the luggage himself - faster if he did it alone without me. Sister and I shall buy the train tickets. Yes... we didn't book this one. Want to save money mah. We will then meet up at Sapporo station's concourse.

Sights along Brother's walk.

Sprawling paid bicycle parking and bicycle rental service

Pretty station entrance

Umbrella dispenser @ Hotel Sunroute Sapporo

See, this is the umbrella dispenser I was talking about! Expensive right! And the umbrella looks flimsy! *biased*

Meanwhile, Sister and I marched up to the automated ticketing machine. Challenge: Buy 3 17:10 train tickets to New Chitose Airport. Can't remember if English was available, but we had no difficulty buying 3 tickets at one go! *V*

Job done!

Still have some time. I should go empty my bladder first. We went to the nice nice washroom again :D It's the time of the month! *gasp* No time to buy pads now... I used Sister's last piece. Got to buy at the airport then *sigh*

Brother called us while we were still busy in the washroom. Nope, sorry, I can't tell you exactly which gate we will be meeting later because I'm sitting on a toilet bowl right now and I don't have the station layout in my head. My bad for not taking note just now because I didn't expect the toilet trip to take so long. The best I can do right now is to call the meeting place "that big open area with automated ticketing machines beside the gate and shopping nearby". I believe it will be faster if I'm allowed to finish my business first (which is already done, by the way) and just go out and meet him, than to continue with this pointless conversation that will not be going anywhere.

No last last minute shopping :( We found one another easily. Overheard something about the train ticket being sold out already. All in the span of a toilet trip! Faster entered the gate and requested for assistance, if possible, coz so last minute.


17:10 - Train from Sapporo to New Chitose Airport @ Rapid Airport 170
Join the queue for unreserved seats. Wa so long! Hope we will get seats.

How a queue for unreserved seats looks like

The station staff came with the ramp. So touched! We didn't get priority boarding though. They waited till its our turn before laying the ramp :\ The people behind must be kan cheong lor. With the time we were taking to board, passengers boarding from other doors could venture into our car and the train was filling up fast. We made it into the train, but were kind of stuck at the entrance. It took the staff quite some shouting to get the others to make way for us to enter a car proper. Found parking space and that's good enough for us. Siblings were left standing, along with countless others. In fact, every inch was occupied by people standing. Never knew that standing was allowed! O gosh so crowded. Did they sell tickets with this occupancy in mind? The train doors closed and pulled away, with uncleared queues looking forlornly at us from the platform.

This spells the end of our very limited time in Sapporo.

An old man saw Brother still adjusting me, so offered his seat to us, in Chinese, no less! 受宠若惊! Brother declined politely. Nice, but a bit difficult to transfer when the train is moving. So surprised to hear somebody speak Chinese to us in Japan. Is he a tourist too? He doesn't sound Taiwanese. The old man turned his attention back to his friend, conversing in Japanese. Ok no idea.


17:46 - 新千歳空港 New Chitose Airport
By now, Sister was grumpy over Brother being curt and commandeering, luggage case with bad wheels and having to lug 2 melons by hand. Sorry, we can't put it in the luggage case, because melons are not exactly sturdy! Shuddered when I saw photos of my friend's cracked and spilled melons. I will not allow that to happen to mine.

We located the ANA check-in counter. Got queue! It moved pretty fast, fortunately. No priority queue for us :( We presented our passports and got back a stack of paper in return. Ok, not exactly a stack, but more paper than during our check-in at Singapore. What a hassle! The staff asked where we were headed and we replied that we would be transferring to Singapore at KIX. They offered to check-in our luggage all the way to Singapore, no need to collect them at KIX! Really! Got such thing ah! Can tell how n00b we are at transits. Ehh then Changi's service is so bad lor, never offer to us! Or rather, they couldn't because they didn't know we were transiting... but Japan bothered to ask! Tsk tsk!

As usual practice in Japan, I had to check-in my wheelchair now. Transferred to the uncomfortable aisle wheelchair.

I recalled that we didn't have much time left, so we didn't shop again. Why didn't we have much time left?? Couldn't recall where all the time went to. Yeah, the check-in did take some time, and we got to be at the gate 20min in advance (I think). Waited for Sister to come back from whatever she was doing... was that it?

Went for a quick scan at the shops for Jaga Pokkuru, but astonishingly, we couldn't find any!!! WTH! How can airport also don't have??! Fated to leave Hokkaido without any potato T_T

Passed by the other gates. Noticed that most of them were for flights to Tokyo! So many, and all of the gates looked crowded!

Sister bought a guarana drink. Had a sip and wasn't very impressed. Didn't want more coz it's a diuretic and also think I should sleep...


19:25 - Goodbye Hokkaido @ NH1720
We didn't get changed to a front-row seat like last time. I think it's the same row, except that I got the window seat :D No in-flight entertainment as usual zzz. I saw somebody carrying a box of what I suspected to be fresh produce! So 2 melons is not a lot lor! Should hand-carry a box like them!

A China couple were sitting in front of us. The lady dropped something, which Sister picked up and passed back to her. She actually took it without thanking or even attempting to smile. So rude! And she was being mean to her companion. What a bitch! She dropped the thing again shortly after. We just ignored her. She didn't ask us to pick it up anyway. Maybe she really didn't want the thing anymore. I think it was a camera lens cover.

Sit back and enjoy the view.

Mountain tops jutting out from clouds

How fascinating that clouds of the same type remain at the same height in the sky. How does that work?

Half an hour later, refreshments were served. Can't remember what I got. Definitely not coffee or red tea as I need to sleep later. Sister got coffee, although she was sure it would be horrid.

Refreshment - coffee

Sister asked for extra milk, but since the condiments come in a set, she got an extra of everything else.

Unblocked sunset view!
When the sun faded, stars took the stage.

Sunset

Mysterious star in the west sky

The sky fell completely dark. The lit plane interior was not conducive for star-gazing and my neck was really straining. And I'm sleepy. So I napped.


21:35 - 関西国際空港 Kansai International Airport
Back at Osaka in 2h 10min. An ANA staff member came to wheel me. No need to collect luggage! *V* He asked where we would like to go. First and foremost, convenience store!!! Since I wanted to be 100% sure that I could buy my pads, and somebody was here to show us the way, why not? But he wouldn't leave us to shop; because he had to take the wheelchair back to ANA and I had to use SQ's wheelchair -_-;; Walauu 分到这么清楚. Ok fine, Brother and Sister went for some quick shopping while I stayed at the waiting area with the staff member. Thought that they were taking terribly long... or was it just the waiting?

They returned. Sister explained that she looked all over the shop but couldn't find the night pad that I wanted. And this one was pretty expensive. But suckers can't be bargainers. Paiseh ah, kept the guy waiting. But too bad.

Sister said she's hungry and was gonna look for some food at the food street. What! Hungry again? Why always hungry on the trip and at airports? Ok, she can go eat, while I go toilet and do the check-in. We will meet at the gate 30min before take-off.

I went to the washroom, which was roomy and clean. The pad was quite thin ley... dunno can last through the flight or not :\ Good luck to me...

Found the airport rather quiet. We located the SQ counter, manned by ANA staff. A pretty, well-groomed young lady served us. Wow, she's really quite a looker! Noticed the same of the other ladies. Is beauty a requirement for this job?

Just wondering... if they could check-in our luggage from New Chitose, why couldn't they do the same for the passengers? What a hassle to have to check ourselves in. The time could be better spent shopping... the shops were gonna close lor...

I had booked our tickets in 2 different rows of seats due to circumstances. The lady offered to change our seats to a few more rows in front and seat us all in the same row. Ok! She asked if the third person was around and we said no. Then she did something on her computer, and soon she seemed to have run out of things to do, as she started talking to her colleague. Ermmm was she like waiting for Sister to show up?? We asked and got the awful truth - that she couldn't change the seats for us without all of us being present. Sister was uncontactable on her phone, so Brother had to run to get her. The counter lady served the other passengers in the line meanwhile. Oops, sorry for holding everybody up...

Watched the Emirates crew march in in style. Followed by SQ. Hmm never knew that they do this so create an impression.

Felt like an eternity before both siblings returned. Completed the paperwork and got yet more paper. The Japanese really love paper, don't they?

Finally done. Only left a bit of time for walking around. We went to the food street, but it was like almost all closed already :( The shops were closed too. No shopping for Sotong T_T

Sister's food before she had to dapao them and run over.

Takopachi

Gyu don with raw egg...

To be done this way!

Nothing much to do at the airport at this hour. Feeling stoned... tired and so sian now, nothing to perk me up at the final hours of my holiday. We waited at the gate. When it was nearing boarding time, an Indian (I think) couple with an elderly woman were speaking in a very unfriendly manner to the staff. Something about telling them to remember to bring the wheelchair for their mother during disembarkation. How they have forgotten their request the last time round and caused them a lot of inconvenience. What a let-down it was because service was exactly why they had paid so much money to fly SQ.

They suay lor. I'm also paying for service by taking SQ and so far so good for me. This is the first time I have heard of SQ forgetting to bring the wheelchair.


23:30 - Homecoming @ SQ615
Smiling CAs offered us sweets at the door. I declined as I didn't want to be holding on to things while being transferred. Sister took some. Well-done!

Our seats were changed from the 8^th row to 3^rd. Still centre seats though. Padded my seat with cushions. The hot towel came. Yeahh something to clean the stickiness away. Took the earphone pack. Pretty soon, the plane was rolling down the runway and I felt my last ascent for possibly a few years to come. I made myself comfortable and slept. No time to waste!

Part of the booze selection. Didn't get any. I believe I can sleep without any help!