Hokkaido Day 5: Free and Easy in Sapporo

The evening before, our tour guide had brought us to the JR Station and showed us the best location to meet with family if we planned to go separate ways. We were even given the schedule of the busses which would bring us to and from the station to the hotel:

So early in the morning, we headed to the station and then hopped on another train and headed to another stop Horohira-Bashi Station to get to Chūō-ku just to wander around:

Evan showing that he can reach the holder

Evelyn had her own ticket to use

Daddy holding her tight on the train

We arrived there and found this pretty mural

Walked to a nearby park (Nakajima Park) and saw cute little duckies swimming in the nearly frozen river. 

We then headed back to the Sapporo JR Station and walked to the nearby JR Tower where there was a few dining options. We picked this quaint little shop to have ramen. 

As usual she got a cute little plate

And she was treated to a nice drink

Daddy had his beer

Look at the delicious noodle

And of course, the umpling

Little girl finishing off her drinks

On the way back to the station, we were hanging around and she asked to take a picture with the mannequin:

Look at her funny expression!

We took the bus back to rest at the hotel. Then for dinner, we headed back to JR Tower for dinner. This time we opted to pick another restaurant, but the senior citizens (Ah Kong, Ah Ma, Chek Kong and Chim Poh picked another place).
Great pick, daddy. The food here was amazing!

After dinner, we walked around abit, to enjoy the cold weather. 

Look at this Christmas tree

We decided to take a slow walk back to the hotel and enjoy more of the Christmas decorations which we saw while we rode the bus:

Of course, we had another round of noodles, beer and milk in the room:

Missy fooling around on the floor

The snow was so heavy. We were abit worried about whether our plane will be able to bring us home. After chatting in Ah Kong's room, we headed back to the room. Daddy asked if either of you wanted to go out to play in the snow. The little girl took up the offer. And off went the two of you... to play in the snow in the middle of the night!

Hokkaido Day 4: Okurayama Olympic Ski Resort and Otaru

 The first place we visited was the Okurayama Olympic Ski Resort which is renowned for the ski jump used for the Sapporo Winter Olympic Games in 1972.

Here we are on the ski lift. Again, daddy was with Mei-mei in case she needed help to get onto the ski lift.

See them up ahead?

Nothing much to see, at the top of the ski jump. Just able to appreciate how steep the jump is. There was a stall there, and Chek Kong treated you both to ice-cream. Yup, all "three" kids had ice-cream.

We headed to our next location for lunch. We dined upstairs from a large seafood market. 

After lunch, we wandered around to look at the seafood and take pictures:

Then we hopped on the bus and headed to Otaru. The tour guide gave us instructions on where to go and what time to meet up. And away we went. We had nowhere in particular but ended up in the music box museum. We did not have anything in mind to buy but headed in as we had a free gift to claim. 

Clock outside the museum chimes every hour

Mei-mei posing in the museum. Everything caught her fancy.

This was so adorable

In the end, we did end up buying something(s). Daddy spotted a beautiful ferries wheel (like) photo frame which spins and plays music. And both kids each got a music box. 

We were walking outside again and smelled something lovely... wow.. barbecues squid. Yummy....

We stopped by to buy chocolates and then headed to the Venetian Cafeteria while waiting for the time to board the bus. So as we had time to kill, daddy treated us to the famous 7-layerRainbow Soft Serve ice-cream.

Daddy and the ice-cream

Kids digging in

Kids still digging in.. almost done!

A last minute change in plans (to go to Hakodate) brought us to Shiroi Koibito Park. We just wandered around to enjoy the decorations. Mei-mei was sleeping, so Ah Ma offered to stay on the bus to accompany her:

Mei-mei sleeping in the us

Dinner was barbecue. Yummy.. the food was buffet so we picked what we wanted and cooked them.

And of course, there was ice-cream for dessert. We sure had our fill of ice-cream this holiday, even though the weather was freezing cold!

So ends another long day.

Hokkaido Day3: Freezing Day and Snowmobile Ride

Daddy woke up early to have another go at the onsen which he enjoyed to much the day before. While the rest of us enjoyed our sleep in a little longer. 

We packed then headed to the restaurant to enjoy our buffet breakfast. Somehow Mei-mei kept complaining that she felt itchy and when I checked she had bite marks. I think it was the lavender pillow which we slept on. It may have had bugs. Either that or she was allergic to it. Luckily I had a small container of Tiger Balm (thanks to a friend who recommended that I brought it along). It was a life saver and she stopped scratching after I applied it for her.  

It's another snowy day. And we were all drowsy on the way from the hotel to the Hokkaido Shrine. The bus had to stop a distance away and we trekked our way to the shrine. Here are the both of you playing with a large snowball:

And here we are at the shrine:

Then we trekked back to the bus. We got a little lost on the way and finally made it back to where the bus was waiting for us. Another journey in the bus and it was lunchtime. What a feast!

Salmon

Abalone

Snow crab

As usual, Mei-mei got her special meal served in her special bowl:

Such a cute bowl

All smiles!

Goofing around with Chim Poh in the snow

Look at this bicycle stuck in the snow!

We headed to the next stop which was a snowmobile ride. No pictures of us in our cool gear as we left all our stuff on the bus so that they don't get lost while we are riding around. Daddy rode with Mei-mei as I was afraid that with my slow reaction, I may not be able to catch her if anything happens. So Ko-ko was stuck with me and he was grumbling that I was driving it too slow. Too bad he was underaged to be allowed to ride on his own snowmobile. 

Dinner that night was delicious. We had ordered the Wagyu AAA and AA the day before and that was what was served to us. 

And then we were brought to the hotel which we would stay at for a couple of nights. 

And of course as usual, we visited the nearest convenience store for beer, fresh cold Hokkaido milk and of course cup noodles.

We'd visit Ah Kong's room for drinks and chat and to have supper. Can you imagine that the milk would keep cold just by keeping it by the window?

Then it was time to call it a night after a long, long day.

Hokkaido Day2: Evening in Noboribetsu Onsen

Our day ended with a quick stroll at Jogikudani also known as Hell Valley. Then we hopped back on the bus and headed to the onsen hotel which we would be spending the night in.

Before arriving, our tour guide gave us advice on what we can and cannot do in the onsen. 

And this is our room. There is no bed! Ahaha.. just a table and seats (on the floor). 

As we had a little traveler, we were even given kiddy toothbrush set. 

The Shochu and Whisky which daddy had bought at the ski resort:

We had dinner in the hotel. It was buffet and while it was crowded, the selection was amazing. No time for photos *burp*

We headed back to the room and then got ready to go to the onsen:

The boys went to the men's onsen while us ladies (and girl) headed to the ladies onsen. It was hot and mei-mei refused to get into the warmer onsena, even though there was one salted one which was supposed to be good for her eczema.  

Ended the night with drinks and we all went to bed.