Fun Times In The Snow - Part 4



Sapporo Shrine

I imagine that, if you live in Hokkaido, you are rather blasé about snow. But in London we might only get snow once every couple of years. So it’s still quite a novelty and I was determined to build a snowman before leaving Sapporo.

First though, there was the matter of breakfast. Today, raw fish was on the menu as we headed down to Nijo Fish Market. Hokkaido is famous for its seafood and the market didn’t disappoint. I have never seen so many crabs. They were piled (still alive) next to the biggest, freshest looking fish I have ever seen. Dotted around the market were counters and stalls where you could stop to taste the produce. We sat at a tiny counter where a gruff man served us hot green tea, along with some of the tastiest sushi I’ve ever had. It turns out that raw fish is quite a refreshing breakfast. The flavour of the fish really hits you when it’s the first thing you eat in the morning.

Nijo Market

Best. Sushi. Ever.

We had a whole afternoon to spare so headed to Hokkaido’s biggest park where we tried and failed to build the aforementioned snowman. It was, to paraphrase the possibly apocryphal British Rail quote, “the wrong kind of snow”. Too icey to hold in any kind of shape, our snowman was a total failure. All the time we were building it, we were watched by a murder of crows who mocked us with their incessant hooting. Yes-I had to look up the collective noun for crows.

It didn't work.

It was fun to wander deep into the park and have a look round Sapporo’s main shrine. It was the first time I have visited a shrine in the snow and it felt like I was ticking another box on my list of “things I must do before leaving Japan”. One of the nice things about snow is that it suppresses outside noise, so the walk was very quiet and peaceful. And because snow is not such a big deal here, there weren’t hordes of kids to get in our way.

We spotted the St John's Wood Irish pub. Hmm.

Sapporo will always have a special place in my heart. I want to return and try more ramen, get to know the nightlife district properly and head out to one of the national parks. That’s my plan for this summer, so I shall get organizing. The next few weeks are full of visits from friends and family. Tomorrow, my parents arrive in Okayama so I will be touring the usual places once more. I hope they haven’t burnt off the turf at Korakuen when we go to visit. I have this vision of us standing there surrounded by a field of black, smouldering grass. Let’s hope it turns out okay.

The snow made everything so peaceful.