Yuki Matsuri in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Several years ago, I read a short story by Barry Lopez about his experience in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s islands; the story as I remember it described wild land, roamed by bear and fox, which at the time I didn’t realize existed in Japan. It was also the first detailing of Japanese onsen (hot spring baths) that I’d read. The narrative carried a feeling of mystery, as Lopez looked off the northern coast of the island, across Russian waters; needless to say, I have wanted to see Hokkaido for myself for some time now.

I was visiting for the 60th annual Yuki Matsuri, a festival in Sapporo involving giant snow/ice sculptures, entertainment, and activities, so I knew the trip would not parallel Lopez’s whatsoever, but I was still excited. Others along for the trip (a group of English teachers from the Shizuoka area) were even more anxious with anticipation: there were a few people whose hometowns rarely, if ever, saw snow. (They were a bit shocked to hear that when I left home for Japan, there was about a foot of snow on the ground and more falling.)

We flew from Tokyo to Sapporo and went to Odori Park to see the grand snow sculptures:
And what is a festival without food on a stick?

We went to the Sapporo Factory and Bier Garten for dinner:Of course, a snowball fight ensued.

Downtown, one street was lined in ice sculptures...some awesome, some odd:

The next day we walked through a seafood market, then visited the Tsudome (Community Dome) for more snow-stuff:

We also took a bus to a small, nearby resort village, Jozenkai, to visit a rotemburo! It was absolutely awesome to be sitting in an outdoor hot spring pool, with snowflakes gently falling into the tub...there was also a spitfire grandma and her grandson, throwing snowballs over the wall to the men’s side.

Foot onsen by the Jozenkai bus stop!

Fluffy flakes fell every day in Hokkaido, adding to the beauty of this excellent winter vacation. From the snow of Sapporo, I returned to Shizuoka for one whole day before taking off for my next destination, a climate on the opposite end of the scale...

A Challenge to Neenah, Wisconsin

When the weather is cool (in the 50’s on sunny days), the gardens in these parts are logically less than lush. But even on the bleak spring streets there are elements of beauty wherever I walk. My first thought was how original I would be to capture these lovelies in a collection of sorts, but much to my dismay, it’s been done: the web is flooded with Japanese sewer cover tribute sites! Here are a few sightings of mine to add:

I think it's high time we demand more artful sewer covers in the U.S.—are you with me?

Yokohama Day-Trippin'

The sweet deal was this: a one-day pass for unlimited JR local train use for a mere 2300 Yen. Yokohama (just south of Tokyo) is Japan’s largest officially incorporated city, and from Shizuoka, as far as is reasonable to travel in one day and still have a good amount of time to explore before catching the last return train.

The pass was limited to local lines (hence the low price)—the slow, boxy trains that stop in every little town at every little station, and shudder as the sleek Shinkansens sprint past at twice the speed. Nevertheless, with my guidebook detailing the wonders of both the Yokohama Curry Museum and the 7-story Ramen Museum (for real), along with a huge Chinatown and the tallest building in Japan (70 stories), I knew the time in transit would be completely worth it.

During this trip, I decided that the Lonely Planet is great for maps and information on natural features, historical ruins, well-established landmarks, and the like; as far as more current information, however, I could have thrown it in the ocean. The Ramen Museum was closed, the Curry Museum shut down (in its place a Canon store and a KFC)…but yes, there were plenty of other excellent sights:

Chinatown

Cutest kid ever.

Landmark Tower, on the left, is Japan's tallest building.

Oceanside ice-skating rink

A real, live pedi-cab!

"Cosmo World" amusement park

Yokohama was so cool (and my timing not so much) that I stayed a little too late and only made it 2/3 of the way back to Shizuoka before the local trains stopped running. I ended up having to take the Shinkansen the rest of the way home, to avoid sleeping in the Numazu station. It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you that running on a train's schedule and not my own is a challenge :)