SAPPORO
8TH - 13TH JANUARY
The hostel was fairly empty so although we had a shared dorm, it wasn’t full and the bunk beds were extra specially comfy so we’d had a great sleep and were up handy. Even though we had spent most of the day before on a train we decided to take the train out to a very snowy Forest Park. It was only a short train ride away and took no time at all to get there. There was obviously far more snow than normal as most of the paths were closed so we made our way round the best we could. There were quite a few people out on skis and kids on sledges which was good to see. It was a lovely park and it looked great in the snow, but like I say most of the paths were closed off so I don’t think we got to see it at its true best, and we did have to battle along some paths! After we felt we’d done as much as we could we started heading back to the train station when it really started to snow, it was extreme blizzard conditions by the time we got to the station and it was absolutelyfreezing, every inch of me was numb, even though I had my windstopper and puffer coat on!!! I think I’d forgotten the true realities of really cold weather!!! The wind up in the north is a true bitterly cold affair, I had definitely not been as cold since the Artic Circle!
After thawing out on the train we found ourselves in the shopping area under the station. The stations are mad in Japan they are huge and have loads of shopping and dining parts to them, you could spend a whole day in there just checking out the shops!!! We saw a Scandinavian bakery that looked and smelled rather good, so after checking out the prices we thought we deserved a treat and we went in for coffee and cakes - yum! After our refuelling we were keen to get going. We’d decided that it was only right to check out the famous Sapporo Brewery, where you are supposed to get a few free beers after the guided tour!!! Infact
After thawing out on the train we found ourselves in the shopping area under the station. The stations are mad in Japan they are huge and have loads of shopping and dining parts to them, you could spend a whole day in there just checking out the shops!!! We saw a Scandinavian bakery that looked and smelled rather good, so after checking out the prices we thought we deserved a treat and we went in for coffee and cakes - yum! After our refuelling we were keen to get going. We’d decided that it was only right to check out the famous Sapporo Brewery, where you are supposed to get a few free beers after the guided tour!!! Infact