Sapporo, Japan

Compared to all the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, the hustle and bustle of Sapporo seems quiet and serene. Wandering around the city (as most things are walkable) calms the soul. If we were in a brochure for
Sapporo we’d be doing cheesy poses, pointing at sights with a “woo” look
on our face whilst skipping through Odori park, a green and pleasant
city centre.

It’s more of an historical city than Tokyo, at least comparing what we’ve seen of Tokyo so far. Sapporians are very proud of their Clocktower, built by 3 Americans who came to the town when there were a
mere 2,900 people living here, helping build both a school and relations
between the two countries. Although the Clocktower was moved a few
hundred yards in the early 20th Century to make way for Sapporo’s grid
like street structure, it’s lovingly looked after and the many english
signs in the museum within helped us learn more about the Sapporo of
old.

A stark comparison to the bewildering Japanese only Sapporo Beer Museum. A place the guide book said had English speaking audio to help johnny foreigner understand how Japan’s favourite and world famous beer
is produce. Lack of foreign tourists it seems has removed the need for
any bilingual help but it was still good fun. Both agreeing it’s
actually quite fun to not have to read anything in a museum, you never
remember what anything says anyway. We just enjoyed the pictures, the
rather surreal cartoon like depiction of how the beer is made and the
massive archive of bottles and posters.

There’s no need to catch subways here, you see a lot more on foot, Sapporo like Tokyo is smothered in neon signs, massive LED TVs on buildings and impressive skyscrapers and shopping malls.

The most amazing thing about travelling is when a night just comes together and magical things happen. I came across an advert in a magazine in our hotel room. A photo of the view from a restaurant and
another of the outside, the 8th storey surrounded by neon adverts. We
decided to see if we could find the place. It wasn’t hard to, a quick 15
minute stroll from the hotel and we found it. After putting our tried
and tested point and choose technique into action we soon had a table
full of the most amazing food. An entire crab for Debz, amazing fish and
vegetable Tempura for me and the best view in Sapporo just outside the
window, looking out at the ferris wheel perched on top of a department
store. Amazing.

We thought we’d stop for a quick drink before heading back to the hotel, so popped into the bar next door. The best move we could ever have made, within minutes some friendly Japanese people were talking to
us and the hours rolled by as we compared everything from culture and
food, to language, business and Formula 1 racing. The barman’s
impression of Nigel Mansell was very funny.

We would have left sooner had we known how much our drinks were costing us, but they were worth every Yen! An absolutely amazing evening, fine food and fine company. The kind of moments that stay with
you forever.

As it was a late evening we slept in on our final day in Sapporo, popping out for lunch and taking a trip up the TV tower, a replica of the replica of the Eiffel Tower in Tokyo, in Paris, if that makes sense.
We’re all packed and ready for our 11 hour train journey back to Tokyo,
looking forward to enjoying the sights on the way and getting our teeth
stuck into Tokyo once more.

We’ve mastered Japan now. You soon realise you need only learn about 6 words of Japanese to get by. You’re helped along by the 6 or so words of English the locals can speak. The rest is all gestures, pointing at
pictures and a huge amount guess work.