北海道 Day 3

Rise and Shine!!

First up we went to a park located near the hotel but i forgot the name so i will update when i remember :P That aside, the morning scenery here is quite astounding due to the snow from the previous night.

1/2 water, 1/2 ice =)

Stairway to Heaven...or Hell

All is calm before the storm...

And so the day progresses...and as we travel...we got bored..and decided to munch on strawberries...and now u know why i know like and eat JAPAN strawberries(ichigos)!!!
Behold! the mighty ichigo!

Sheer sweetness n juicyness hahaha

and after a while as we moved away from the eye of the storm into the storm..we hit this

A grand contrast from this morning

But all that was worth it! we braved the storm( in the bus -_-") for about 3 hrs to make it to another sea food market~!

Asa-Ichi

This is one of the sea food markets or maybe one of the best in Hokkaido, and also where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was basically steam boat. It came with a standard set with greens and 1/2 a crab per person

A standard set for 4!

What makes this place special is u can order side dishes from the fresh seafood available downstairs and they will bring it up to you. Ok here is a tip if u r planning to eat this when u go there - When placing your orders for the seafood, regardless of how u wanna eat it, say u wan sashimi. This is beacuse they will de-shell the crab shells n stuff leaving only the meat faciliating you if u wanna cook n eat it too. Although, eating the crab sashimi raw is good, the meat is supple n sweet yummy! Price is a little on the steep side, approx 200SG per crab, but then when u r here, u must at least give it a try yea~

This is considered small...*shrugs*

So after a fulfilling lunch, we proceeded to the next destination, where by then the sky is already in the evening mood.

Heritage Village

Will update the name, but for now this place is where the preserve the heritage of the people of hokkaido and this is where u can see old houses and stuff.. the snow was a added bonus, adding to the serenity of the place.

wahhhhhh
Peeka...
Boo!
Any mail??

With that we moved along to the ladies fav section - Shopping! Located at Sapporo!
But first..some pics on the way and a clock tower..

JR Clock Tower

Hmm basically this tower provides nothing except for you to snap a few shots thats it.

i look toot in this pic hahahaha so see the bg not me

However, along the way to this clock tower, we came across this Eiffel Tower Look alike and mind does it look much better with the night lights! compared to this clock tower. Well we cant get to go up tho...

Beauty~

K for the ladies, shopping time.

Sapporo Underground Shopping

Not a lot of stuff to shop for guys, but well it is more of a ladies land here, selling stuff like necklaces, precious stones in this place know as Stone Market where dear got herself an amethyst necklace and another crystal necklace. Boots are also in abundance there and their bakery sells good food! Cheese with apple buns are yummy!

Ladies- watch the shops
Guys - watch the ladies!

JR Tower 38

As the name implies, u get to watch the night view of sapporo on the 38th floor, the tallest level.
In an earthquake prone area like japan, 38 floors is already considered a feat so we cant really ask for more can we hehe..but then again, night views are always fascinating :P

take 1
nice tree!

Which reminds me, the gents gives u the night view while u r er...settling your business hahaha
Due to the circumstances i am not able to provide a shot lol..
After this...starving people proceeded to dinner..

Ramen Republic

As the name implies, it sells ramen. Supposingly only the top 8 ramen are selected to set up stores here and they undergo voting every 6mths, where inferior stores are eliminated.

Voting form
My ramen

To be honest, i don really like it. The soup base is too salty for my liking...but perhaps the japanese like it. Next - more shopping!
However, one thing to take note in Hokkaido.. shops close at 8pm/9pm...so that leaves you with very little time after dinner...

The outside...

The nights lights may be captivating, but it is actually snowing heavily when i took this shot.
After which we walked back to the hotel.. stopping along the way to shop at Lawson, which is a similar version of 7-11 though 7-11 is also in japan. Bought some crepes and drink before going back :D

Strawberry crepe and milk tea!

k bah, i shall end day 3. Inc day 4!

北海道 Day 2

Snow mobilesIt's cold nuff said =xTime to start the engines with this.

Snow mobiles come in 2 types, single n double. 10000 yen 1hr for single and 15000 1hr for double. So we took a double snow mobile and proceeded to follow the guide. Fyi, navigating the snow mobile requires no special skills what so ever, u just need your thumb to increase n slow down the machine as well some sense of judgement when making turns.
So after driving 1/2 the journey, we stopped atop this huge snow field to take photos.
the snow was abt 6cm deep, so basically we tried to walked in the footsteps others have taken.

You want a snowfight?! here is one!

hmm...where is the snowman?! strangeeee

So after which we took the snowmobile back with dear driving back this time...as she drove down the slope she speed up to my horror and also sped up during the turning points lol.. i was telling her to slow down when turning and after a while i gave up lol its nice to have fun once in a while yea :D

Hakodate Volcano

We took a cable car up this dead volcano and the scenery from a bird eye's view is breath taking. I think even the pictures cannot do justice do what we see.

a bridge seen from above

Another view from the top..

Upon reaching the top we proceeded to take photos :D

Christmas Tree!!
Snow capped Volcano

After which we proceeded to the base of the volcano for lunch, at the same time to do some shopping near the bear ranch located there. some random musings here

Freaking big n juicy apples!!!

I doubt u will find such apples in singapore and at 330 yen they are a steal!
Now comes the pain..4 hours bus journey to our next destination!

random shot along the way :P

Sea food market

As we visited this sea food market at night, the number of people is generally lesser thus allowing us to get some shots in here and there.

Say Cheese!
I am FRESH! BUY ME! 8000000 yen cheep cheep!

Someone should hire her as their spokesperson >_>

After which we settled down for dinner, dinner was salmon set which is yummy!!

Bon appetite!
Big anot lol

Hakodate Night View

Ok la nothing much to say, so i shall just let pictures do justice. It's one word - breathtaking.

After which we proceeded to the hotel for the night. =)
Day 3 coming up!!

北海道 Day 1

i


Some updates from Hokkaido, although it is stated as a 7 days trip, it includes the forward n return trip. so essentially the 2nd day is the start. For simplicity state i will just label it as day 1.

So upon arrival at Osaka Kansai Airport we made our way to change into long johns and winter clothings.
As u can see, warmly clothed people are happy people :P

Sapporo Beer Factory

Our first stop is the Sapporo Beer Factory where we get to appreciate the process of making beer and also a chance to drink free beer. The trip was not particularly interesting to be honest but the free beer and the little kiddies are nice tho.
This is the view from the factory gallery, as u can see, the lake is frozen.
Did i mention kids? u have to admit it, japanese kids are kawaii ne~ but somehow they do not really respond well to me.. i must have look damn intimidating ;o

Ainu Cultural Village

Basically the village allows you to understand the culture of the Ainu ppl, which involves them playing some music n dance.. but i think we were all too cold to appreciate it lol.. all eyes where on the heater in the room tho :P

The Ainu ppl believe in the dogs bears and owls as their spirtual guardians and actually rear them in the village. The bears are surprising tame tho.
That is a real bear, i am not joking.. ._." wonder y i am hiding behind dear :P

The Ainu Village lake is frozen solid as u can see above.
With that i shall end Day 1 of the Hokkaido Trip. As u can see, the days are short in winter and 4pm is actually night and so trips start early and end early naturally.

Hell's Hot Spring

When we reached this area, there was a snow storm going on and we had to use umbrellas to make our way up the small hill.. which is very slippery and hence a lack of pictures.. however..the entire hill is filled with CROWS..yes and they r freaking huge compared to the singapore brethrens which are puny! haha! The reason why the crows are there is because of the sulphur smell.Welcome to Hell

After this we moved back into the hotel room. The first day is always special as they said and we are no exception. We r required to don our Yukata for dinner hence a few candid shots :P

BAKEILO!
BAKEILO! x2!! LOL

And a little anticipation of day 2. Snow..and lots of it

The golden compass

All in all the Golden Compass is not a bad show, kinda interesting to know of parallel worlds n universe :D
Daemons r interesting tho, so i did a test and tadaa this is what i get. Bear in mind that the daemon is in adolescent form and will change according to what feedback u guys do for 12days before it settles down =)
Just a little side story, daemons r actually souls of human in a more corporeal form. As a child, the daemon seeks to shape shift till it finally settles down when the person reaches adult =)

Tifa!!

Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?



Final Fantasy VII

The very *ahem scandalous surveys

I did 2 surveys and here comes the first one,

Well seems correct to me :P

and now *drum rolls* the 2nd survey is the interesting one

LOLOLOL, i didnt know i have that type of charm even though some ppl insist i do >_>

hmm...lets see ar.. maybe i should do a b4 and after photo from my folders

so lets go back to the me a few years back,

hmm..3 yrs ago

now

Hmm..lol.. like no difference whahahah.. my JC pics with dear dear so the real difference cannot be seen :P

K bah i shall end my post with what Ben will describe as a very ZILIAN picture (>^.^)>


ok ok i admit it is lame :P damn i am so thick skinned literally LOL