Hokkaido - Day 1 - Sapporo

Finally arrived in Narita Airport at about 7am. Didn't sleep very well on the plane as the man sitting beside me kept fidgeting throughout the flight. After checking in for the domestic flight to Hokkaido, we walked around the airport but felt tired after a while due to our lack of sleep. We then proceeded to the waiting area near the departure lobby and took a nap while waiting for the domestic flight at 10.50am. Was so tired that I fell asleep again during most of the journey to Hokkaido.

We were excited when we finally reached New Chitose Airport and quickly went to the JR center to exchange our Hokkaido Rail Pass and also reserve some tickets. We were very excited to see snow falling on our way to Sapporo station. However, it was rather cold when we reached the station and had to put on additional clothings to protect ourselves from the coldness. We had a little difficulty locating the hotel as everything looked so snowy white, but finally managed to find it.

After checking in and leaving our luggages at the hotel, we went to the nearby shopping mall ESTA for a late lunch. We ordered a bowl of Cha Siew Ramen and a 3-in-1 special set of Yaki Soba, Tako Ball, and Cabbage Pancake to share. All were delicious :) After that, we went to Odori Park to look at the "White Illumination" but sadly it was closed due to the snow festival that would be held in end Jan/early Feb. We also did not have a chance to eat the delicious sweet corn that we had when we were here 4 years ago... hope to be able to eat it again during the rest of our trip.

We were getting a bit cold from the walk so we went to the nearby underground shopping mall instead. There were lots of winter wear on sale. We also proceeded to Li Xiao Lu, where I bought a packet of heat pads for the hands at a drugstore. The stated price was actually 245yen but I only paid 197yen due to a discount... so cheap.... We also stopped by a few souvenir shops selling local goodies to compare the prices as we intend to buy some back for our family and colleagues. Seems like the prices are quite standard so would probably just buy from the one with the widest range of products.

As we didn't want to walk back to our hotel in the cold, we decided to take the subway although it was only 1 stop. We then went to the supermarket to buy chicken karage & a bento set for dinner. We passed by Mister Donut and bought 2 donuts as well.

Tomorrow we will be going to Asahikawa so shall sleep now...　お休みなさい