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.

Fun Times In The Snow - Part 3

Sapporo is perhaps most famous for its beer. In Japan, “beer” basically means lager. It can be quite difficult to get hold of any other types of beers such as ales and stouts. Personally, I don’t really like lager all that much as I find it a bit fizzy and tasteless but Japanese lagers tend to be better than the norm. There are 4 major beer companies here that compete ruthlessly for the huge Japanese beer market. Sapporo Beer is one of these companies and has its farms and factories spread across Hokkaido. We decided to give the Sapporo Beer Museum a try.

I’d never visited a “Beer Factory” or “Beer Museum” before. I always thought it was one of those crap touristy things that you only do on a stag weekend. But it turned out to be surprisingly interesting. The display was pleasingly short and kept things simple. We learnt how beer is made and read about the history of the Sapporo company. There were lots of old bottle designs on display. I really liked the styles of packaging from 1900-1930, which reminded me of the Museum of Things in Berlin. They also had a section where you could view their adverts in chronological order from 1890 up to the present day. It was interesting to see how the style had evolved over time from an elegant woman just sitting on a chair, to women downing pints and later on to male celebrities gurning for the camera. I was slightly surprised that they used so many images of female drinkers when the campaigns must have been targeted primarily at men. I think I need Don Draper to sit me down and talk me through it.

Toy models showing how beer is made!



A history of Sapporo advertising.

They proudly displayed the chair that the Emperor once sat in. We like to think they secretly take it out of the case at night.

In the final room, you could taste the various lagers which was fun but hey, they're all pretty similar tasting. Nonetheless, it was a relaxing rest-spot and they had people who came round and offered to take your photos, as well as giving away complimentary snacks. Bearing in mind that the only thing you paid for at the museum was the beer, this all felt like great value.

In the evening, we followed the advice of just about everyone, and headed for the nearby city of Otaru. What we found there was perhaps the most special evening of our time in Japan so far. Otaru has its own snow festival which is run by volunteers from the local community. It is mostly based around small snow sculptures lit with candles and lanterns. Much of it takes place alongside a pretty canal, where the lanterns float on the water at night and everyone acts couple-y. We made some good friends on the train and ploughed through the snow together. Minus eight degrees? Pah.

 



Pretty warehouses by the canal.



At this point, the snow started to come down at an alarming rate and the great north wind began blowing it sideways into our faces. It became difficult to walk and we threw ourselves desperately into the nearest bar, plonked ourselves down and ordered lots of hot wine and camembert. Now basically, as long as you have hot wine and camembert, you can survive absolutely any weather phenomenon. Restored, we walked up a massive snow hill, went on a tyre slide, took photos in a heart-shaped tunnel of love, ate bits of grilled potato given out free by locals, climbed up more hills and threw snowballs. Meanwhile, the blizzard continued and whilst it was fun, we decided to head for the station and home.

Icicles!

We didn’t realize it when we booked the trip, but Otaru was what we had come to the snow festival for. It had been fun to look around the Sapporo site the previous day, but there was an overarching tackiness about it all, not to mention that everything took place next to the main roads with huge crowds (this isn’t to say that those sights weren’t amazing, just that they didn’t really meet my expectations). Otaru felt much more intimate and romantic. It also felt like a lot more love and care had gone into the snow designs dotted around the place.

The evening was capped with a bowl of corn butter ramen. We found the restaurant on “Ramen Alley”, a passageway containing tens of stand up ramen counters, all of which were appetizing. Corn butter basically means sweetcorn and butter are added to the broth on top of the normal ingredients. The butter added a richness to the flavour which helped to make up for the dripping ceiling from which drops of moisture fell relentlessly into our food.

I was really happy to have a day that exceeded my (extremely high) expectations of Hokkaido. I know that this kind of evening is why we threw our lives up in the air to come here and why it was so worth it.

I said there’d be three parts to this. In fact there will be four. I hope this series isn’t boring-I sometimes hate blogs that just describe one event after another (“And then this happened. And I was sad. And then this happened. And I was happy…”). But I hope there is stuff of interest here inbetween the waffle. Also, sorry the photos are a bit blurry-turns out the iphone camera isn't that good after all.



I loved these little houses.

The reason all these photos are blurry is because snow confuses iphones.

We stopped for cheese!

Fun Times In The Snow - Part 2

As we made our way to Kansai Airport at 6.30 in the morning, I began to regret the excesses of the night before. I had a sore head, slight nausea and lack of appetite for any of the delicacies that Hokkaido is so famous for. Crab? Sashimi? Butter ramen? I think not.

The plane started its descent into Hokkaido and we began to see the first, spine-tingling glimpses of snow. Meanwhile, we braced ourselves for the cold. I can honestly say that this weekend I wore every single item of clothing that I own. We piled on the jumpers to the point where it became difficult to move. This blogpost was brought to you by the Uniqlo Heat-Tech range.

We suppressed the urge for an immediate snowball fight and made our way to the main festival area in the centre of town. This is a taster of what we saw.

It seems churlish to say this, given that I saw a 4:1 snow-built replica of the Taj Mahal and a castle-sized snow walrus. But I was a little disappointed with this part of the festival. There was a one-way system in place and you walked round past all the attractions, stopping at the various stalls to admire the wide range of Hokkaido foods on display. Every famous Japanese anime or video-game character was represented by a snow statue. We saw Anpanman, Mario, most of One Piece and, of course, Doraemon. Impressive, in a kind of tacky way. But it wasn’t the fairyland of pretty lights that I had imagined. There was a lot of in-your-face corporate sponsorship and a strong sense of the “organized fun” that is so prevalent here. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself. There was a 50ft snow walrus for heaven’s sake! And a replica of a great white shark! You could stick your head in its mouth!

Rather oddly, the festival’s smoking areas were predominantly indoors, with portakabins dotted around the site. But at one end I found an open air smoking area that was encased by a huge wall made of ice blocks. Suitably impressed, I made my way in. An attractive lady walked up to me. “Excuse me, are you over 20 years old?” Um. Yes. “Would you like to take a free sample of the new Regal Cigarettes? They have a smooth, relaxing taste with a slow-burning after-effect.” Okay. I was handed a pack of 20. Promoting smoking by giving away free packs of cigarettes in an enclosure made entirely of ice. Nice. Also, I noticed that they had encased a pack in an ice block as part of their attempt to join in with the festivities. Hmm.

We headed out to explore Sapporo’s nightlife. I was still not at 100% after the rigours of the night before. But it was immediately clear that Sapporo is an awesome city. A lot of people say that Japanese cities tend to be very similar-covered malls, overhead cables, box-like architecture dropped seemingly at random onto the landscape etc. Whilst I think there is some truth in this, I also think that most places have something unique about them once you get to know them better. With its grid system and snow-covered landscape, Sapporo is obviously quite unusual. But what I hadn’t realized was just how fun it was. This was clearly a city where people knew how to have a good time. Not only that, but the walls were properly insulated, so when you stepped inside you were actually warm!

We eventually found a restaurant that did Genghis Khan. This is a dish where you fry thin strips of lamb on a half-dome shaped grill (said to resemble Genghis Khan’s helmet) at the table. Lamb is quite unusual in Japan and many of my Japanese friends say they dislike it because of its supposed “strong smell”. But it felt like a real treat to us and we stuffed ourselves silly. More edamame were consumed.

Genghis Khan-note the bowl of edamame skins...

We went for a wander to see the beautiful ice sculptures that were laid out in the centre of the main nightlife district. .I had never seen such intricate ice sculptures before and it felt like the artists were trying to outdo each other with the scale and attention to detail. We also found a bar made entirely of ice where we stopped for some mulled wine. We sat outside, leaning our drinks on the ice counter whilst the snow began to build up around us. It was quite an evening.

Later, on the way home, we finally got round to that snowball fight. I lost.

Fox in the snow!

Fun Times In The Snow - Part 1

Last weekend I visited Sapporo for the annual Snow Festival. The three days I spent there were so action-packed that I’ve had to break this post into 3 parts. Here’s Part 1, in which I don't quite get as far as talking about the festival itself:

Well!

It started in Osaka. I have a strange relationship with Japan’s second city. The first time I went there was one of the worst evenings I’ve had in Japan. I wandered around on my own in a depressed state, got slightly overwhelmed by the in-your-face sleaziness and then had the most uncomfortable night’s sleep I’ve ever had. Capsule hotels seem like a good idea in theory, but listening to 24 hour pornography and, er, self-pleasuring, from the adjacent booths was not my idea of a restful night’s sleep.

Shinsaibashi at night.

So my memories of Osaka are unkind. Which is unfair really, because it’s not Osaka’s fault that I was a bit low during my visit or that I got lost and couldn’t find the fun stuff. And capsule hotels are still very convenient, even if they can be depressing places that gradually wear down any remaining good feelings you might have about human nature. Hmm.

So this time, I was determined to make the best of it. We knew we had a flight to catch early the next day so it couldn’t be a late evening, but we were still psyched for fun times. First stop was Shinsaibashi for okonomiyaki. I must admit to preferring the Hiroshima version of this dish, but that’s not to say the Osaka kind isn’t awesome. I still get a buzz from watching the fish flakes melt on the surface as they serve it up. We accompanied it with some tasty fried squid, marinated pork and, of course, edamame. I have edamame with almost every meal that I eat in Japan. I am utterly addicted to the stuff.

Edamame - Don't let Pete Doherty try this stuff.

We decided to visit the Amerikamura area to track down somewhere decent for a drink or two. K-Chan dragged me away from a Spanish bar, accusing me of favouring it simple because I like Bradley’s Spanish Bar in London. This was of course true.

In Japan, many of the bars are located out of sight on the 2nd or 3rd floors of buildings. You usually only know they exist because of a sign at ground level. As a result, it is often very difficult to get a proper impression of what a bar is like without actually going in. Couple this with the preponderance of sleazy venues (you’re never quite sure if what you’re entering is a strip club, a speakeasy or a hair salon) and entering these places becomes a kind of pot luck exercise.

On this occasion, we were fortunate. The bar itself was tiny. Eight stools pressed up against a short ledge. I ordered whisky because, to paraphrase Peep Show, this wasn’t the kind of place where you could order a chocolate milkshake. Randomly, the owner had a photo album on the counter of himself and his dogs. Many people would think this weird.

The owner's dog photo album.

We were just about to leave for that early night we had promised ourselves when the two women next to us, who looked to be about 40, turned and introduced themselves. They asked us if we would mind staying and talking to them in English. I’ve noticed that people here will often ask if you mind speaking to them, as if you are doing them a favour. That isn’t really how I feel about it at all-I’m always really pleased to chat to randoms, especially as the people who approach you tend to be quite interesting. I really enjoyed spending the evening with such outgoing people. They had travelled a lot and were both praising and critical about different aspects of their own culture. Equally, they were happy to talk about those things British and American which annoyed them. It was so refreshing to have such an open conversation and it came as a reminder that Okayama, much as I love it, is not the most internationalized city in the world. I hope we will see them again when we visit Osaka in a fortnight’s time.

This is what all photos of nights out looked like before the smoking ban. Yes, that sweater is dreadful. When I bought it I had Stevie Jackson in mind, but I look more like Alan Titchmarsh.

Unfortunately, I got so distracted by the excellent conversation that I forgot to keep an eye on how much I was drinking. Sometimes when you drink too much, there’s something inevitable about how the night goes and the eventual outcome. You know you will ultimately end up wasted but you embrace it and plough ahead anyway. But this was one of those occasions where I had a) No desire to get drunk and b) Did not even realize that I was acting in a way where I would end up drunk. Basically, I downed a medium quantity of alcohol but in a very short period of time. The effect of this was pretty dramatic and ended in me crawling into bed in a sweaty, undignified and doubtless unattractive manner.

I’d just like you to hold that alarming visual image in your head, just for one moment. Remember, I was probably wearing tights. Memorized it? Stored it somewhere safe? Good, then let’s move on…

Part Two to come tomorrow...

100% Germ Free

I am fighting off a virus at the moment. Influenza has been sweeping the Japanese public school system and it’s only a matter of time before it gets me. My main focus right now is to somehow hold it off until I come back from Sapporo.

Helpfully, my co-workers take various steps to prevent the flu spreading. Preventative steps taken include the wearing of those super-effective hygiene masks, regular rinsing of teeth into the kitchen sink and leaving every door in the school open for as long as possible so that the air can circulate. Less effective prevention methods such as not going to work when you obviously have the flu, providing proper soap in the toilets and encouraging your students to wear appropriate clothing (i.e. not shorts) has clearly been written off as the wishy washy, liberal thinking that it so obviously is. Seriously though, I don’t feel like there’s anything original left to say on this issue, so I’ll move on, whilst grinding my teeth in an irritable manner.

Someone asked me recently whether I ever get homesick. I have to admit that so far it hasn’t happened. But it encouraged me to think about those things I do miss.

Friends and family, for example. I have a nephew that I haven’t met. I also became a godfather at the end of last year, but have never seen my godson in person. I do want to see the people who are important to me. And my cat.

Equally, I sometimes miss the dirtiness of the UK. This is something that’s hard to quantify without sounding like Ruth in The Homecoming. But basically, all the cafes and bars I go to here are pretty much spotless and well maintained with everything working perfectly. But I actually like the dirt sometimes, the frayed edges and the dodgy toilets of rundown pubs. I understand that this is irrational. Obviously I don’t miss the social problems that affect the UK, but I do miss the slight sense of chaos that you come across on a night out. You do find that occasionally here, particularly in Tokyo and very late at night in Okayama City. But I really like the idea that city centres should be slightly chaotic places after dark.

The definition of a scuzzy bar.

I miss the independence that I have in the UK, particularly at work. If I have an argument with someone at work in the UK, I can play an active part in resolving it. But here, the language barrier means that I am constantly at the mercy of others for pretty much everything. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to translate what you really mean. Add to this the huge amount of idle time that I have in my job here and I can see why so many people feel like this job is a real blow to their self-esteem.

I think that the reason none of the above has got me down so far, is that for each negative, there is a corresponding positive. Yes, I miss my friends-but not having them around has forced me to put myself out there and make new ones. As for the dirtiness-well it does still exist here in places, and many people would say  that whilst you can romanticize the rough edges, hygienic toilet facilities are actually a good thing. And the idle time means that I can learn Japanese at work, whilst getting paid an awful lot of money for very limited responsibilities.

Sapporo is coming up this weekend. I love snow so much and they’ve built a whole festival around it. Not just that, but we’re talking about a place where the local delicacies are crab, sashimi and lamb. Those are 3 of my favorite food types. This is shaping up to be a very exciting month.