Sapporo

Tina, Lauren and I made a special trip to Sapporo so that we could see the snow during the winter period in Japan. This was one thing we were looking forward to all year and were waiting for the right time for it to happen. Just before we left to go back to Australia, the snow in Hokkaido (Japan’s north island) was falling nicely for a perfect ski trip!

When we arrived in Sapporo, we were surprised to feel how cold it actually was as Honshu (the main island) isn't as cold as Hokkaido is, so it came as a bit of a shock to us. The roads were covered in ice right across from one side to the other. The snow was ploughed to the sidewalks so that the cars could get across the main roads without any hassles. It was just bizarre, but really cool to see because I haven’t seen snow for a very long time.


Hokkaido is actually known for its snow. It has some of the best snow in the whole entire world and it is called “powder snow”. There is a very good reason for its name because the snow is so soft that when you walk in it, your foot sinks to the very bottom – just like quick sand. It is magic! I also got really excited to see the snowflakes. I never thought that they would actually be in that star-shape that you see in cartoons and things like that, but each flake of snow is in a beautiful, perfectly executed shape of a star. It was just amazing!

As we were wondering around Sapporo, we stumbled across a semi-frozen lake surrounded by snow. It’s amazing how beautiful snow can make things look!


Another good tourist attraction in Sapporo is the “Tokei Dai” which means “Big Clock”. It looks really pretty at night time when all the lights are shining on it. It doesn’t take long for it to get dark in Sapporo and at around 4’o’clock, the sun starts to go down.

We then went to the city’s main park (Odori Park) to see the Christmas lights. They looked really pretty – especially because of the snow.




Later that night, we went to the most beautiful Italian restaurant where we ate pizza, tomato and cheese salad, lasagne and the best roast steak I have ever eaten! It was so tender and delicious! I definitely won’t forget that meal in a hurry!