It’s back to Hokkaido again, but in the winter season this time round. This was the first real winter that I ever encountered. I have seen and touched snow in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. However, that was just a light snowfall in the day time. In Hokkaido, I got to see the real thing. And there was so much snowfall that the airport was closed on one of the days that I was there.

This was a year-end vacation trip for the extended family. Not a full free and easy trip but more of a private group tour. It’s also the first time that I did not do a self drive trip to Hokkaido. Probably a good choice with the heavy snow conditions. The roads are iced over, and one would be driving on iced over roads within the city. The highways need to be cleared of the snow and ice regularly. And under extreme conditions, the highways could be closed.

Even as a pedestrian roaming the city streets, you would also be crossing very slippery iced roads. Life goes on as normal for the folks here. However, there are many accidents occurring as many do slip and fall on the icy road crossings and walkways.

These were the 4 areas in Central Hokkaido that we visited.

A. Sapporo

Within Sapporo, we visited these 4 places.

1. Nijo Market

Nijo Market (二条市場, Tel: 011-222-5308) is located in the central Sapporo area, roughly 10 to 15 minutes’ walk from Oodori Station.

This market is over 100 years old, having started in the Meiji era by fishermen selling their catch. It has evolved through the times, to its present location and mix of shops and restaurants. Generally, the shops open daily from 7am till 6pm.

This is where you can find great Hokkaido seafood such as salmon, crab, sea urchin, scallop and other shellfish.

This isn’t that big a market to walk around, but do give yourself some time to browse the shops and sample the delicious seafood served here. That fresh seafood in front of you can be cut up into delicious sashimi and served right on the spot.

2. Sapporo Beer Museum

Even if you are not a beer drinker, you would probably have heard of Sapporo Bear as it is one of the oldest and well-known brand in the country. The Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール博物館, tel: 011-748-1876) is located in Sapporo Garden Park. It is the only beer museum in Japan providing visitors with knowledge of beer and the brewing process.

The museum, a brick red building, is part of the legacy from the Meiji era and has been designated as a Hokkaido Heritage site. Within the museum, the exhibition halls tell the history of Sapporo beer and also gives an overview of the beer brewing process.

At the end of the exhibition area, you would be in the beer hall, where you can get some beer and food. There are beer samplers available for order too.

3. Shiroi Koibito Park

Most of you would probably have seen, heard or eaten the famous chocolate biscuits from Hokkaido, widely available throughout Hokkaido, with most visitors picking up a few boxes from the airport before going home. This would be the Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人) famous chocolate biscuits, with specially blended chocolate sandwiched between baked langue de chat biscuits, individually wrapped.

The Shiroi Koibito Park (白い恋人パーク, 2 Chome-13-30 Miyanosawa 2 Jō, Nishi-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 063-0052) houses the Shiroi Koibito Factory, the Cookiecraft Studio, a cafe, a toy exhibition room and the Rose Garden. This is where the famous chocolate biscuits are being produced.

You can take a tour to get some history of this famous biscuit and peer from above, the biscuit manufacturing line.

4. Oodori Park

As this is the Christmas season, there was a light-up in Oodori Park. Along with the lightup, there were stalls setup as well, and some photographic spots too.

When I was there, it was snowing. But the area was quite busy with many visitors.

B. Jozankei

This is the hot spring and ski resort area. While we were here, at the Kiroro Ski Resort. The kids had plenty of fun in the snow as well as playing in the snow park here.

C. Noboribetsu

This is another popular area within Central Hokkaido. We went to a few places here.

1. Shikotsu Toya National Park

The first place was Shikotsu Toya National Park (支笏洞爺国立公園). It’s just a short walk around the boardwalk to look at the hot spring.

Boardwalk at Shikotsu Toya National Park

2. Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura

The second place was Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura (登別伊達時代村, Tel: 0143-83-3311). This is a theme park featuring life in the Edo period. There are different attractions here. You could catch the different shows/performances, play some of the ancient games, take part in dojo throwing or enjoy a photo session in the period costume.

3. Noboribetsu Bear Park

The third place was Noboribetsu Bear Park (のぼりべつクマ牧場, Tel: 0143-84-2225). To get to the actual premises, one would need to take the cable car up to the top of the hill where the bear park is located. Yes, you are allowed to feed the bears.

D. Otaru

Our last stop was in the Otaru area, where we made a trip to both the Otaru Aquarium and the Otaru Glass Museum. It was snowing heavily today. It was kind of uncomfortable walking on the streets with the snow blowing into your eyes.

1. Otaru Aquarium

The first place we visited was the Otaru Aquarium (おたる水族館, Tel: 0134-33-1400). We went to look at the feeding session before proceeding for the live performance.

2. Otaru Glass Museum

Next, we went to the Otaru Glass Museum. It was rather crowded with many people shopping for souvenirs.

Just as I was getting used to the snowy conditions. It was time to depart and take our flight home. I would definitely like to visit again in the winter season and would be better dressed and prepared for the snowy weather.

Ja
KL

As we are still in Sakura season, I have decided to continue with another edition of “Best Sakura viewing places in Hokkaido”. Previously, I had covered Cherry Blossom viewing in Southern Hokkaido via a free and easy trip.

This time round, I will be covering Sakura or Cherry Blossom viewing in Central Hokkaido. There are 3 great places for you to consider, or you could visit all three in a self drive trip.

1. Murayama Park

The first place would be Maruyama Park, which would be the easiest to get to of the 3 places covered here. Maruyama Park is located in the western part of Sapporo under Maruyama mountain. Here, you will find more than 1,500 Sakura trees in the park. There are also giant elm and cypress trees located within the park grounds.

Maruyama Zoo and Maruyama Baseball Stadium are also in the same vicinity. There is roadside parking around the Zoo or paid parking lots beside the Stadium if you are entering the park from the west end. If you are taking the train, you wold be entering from the east end which is closest to the train station.

I had based my self drive itinerary out of Chitose and drove up north to Sapporo for my day trip using Maruyama Zoo as the target destination in the GPS. However, there was quite a crowd going to the zoo that day, taking up all available roadside parking. I had to park at the stadium instead. As this is a fairly large park, you would probably want to allocate at least half a day so you could take a leisurely stroll, exploring the sights in the area.

My timing was not perfect but I managed to catch the tail end of the Sakura season. The falling Sakura flower petals floating in the air were such a wonderful sight to behold.

Picture of falling Sakura flowers floating in the wind — Falling Sakura flowers floating in the wind

Other than Sakura viewing, you might want to visit the virgin forest to take in the magnificent view of the giant elm and cypress trees. If you are lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of the woodpecker at work.

Following that, you could visit the shrines in the area, the famous one being Hokkaido Shrine. The path to the Shrine is lined with many Cherry trees making for a very scenic view during full bloom. The Hokkaido Shrine was built in 1869, with an area of around 180,000 square meters. The local people visit the shrine on celebratory occasions such as weddings or to receive blessings when they or their children reach certain ages. “Clean” yourself with the purification water at the entrance before making your way in. You can partake in the temple activities here or take a break in the rest area and sip the hot tea provided.

Picture of Hokkaido Shrine in Murayama Park — Hokkaido Shrine in Murayama Park

Picture of purification fountain beside Hokkaido Shrine in Murayama Park — Purification fountain beside Hokkaido Shrine in Murayama Park

If you have some time left, you could drop by the Maruyama Zoo (札幌市円山動物園). Maruyama Zoo is the first zoo in Hokkaido. It was built in 1951. The interesting feature is that they encourage interaction with the animals. There are a few exhibit areas established to support this interaction such as the “Tropical Animal House”, “Kangaroo House” and “Kid’s Zoo”.

2. Shizunai Nijukken (20-Ken) Road

The second place would be Shizunai Nijukken Road (静内二十間道路, 551 264 175), which is south of Sapporo, located in the Shinhidaka (新ひだか) town area. This is one of the places where you would appreciate being able to reach more inaccessible destinations with a self drive trip

There is some historical background to this place. “Ken” is an olden unit of measure. This was a historical route and Sakura trees were planted 20 ken apart on both sides of the road to mark the path. Hence the name of the place. You can find more details of the background at this Japanese site. Today, there are around 3,000 Sakura trees over a 7km stretch of this road.

Although I had the mapcode of this destination, I was a little unsure since your typical destination would usually be some sort of building. Not this place, just roads, farmland, horses and open fields in your view. So I was not really sure that I had reached my destination, an open road. But then the sight of cars parked along both sides of the road and the picturesque view of the Sakura flowers was a better confirmation than the “You have arrived at your destination.” message.

Picture of Shizunai Nijukken (20-Ken) Road — Sakura along Shizunai Nijukken (20-Ken) Road

Shinhidaka is also known as horse country. The many ranches that you see around are horse ranches. It is said that as much as 80% of the horses in Japan can be found here. Please do let me know if you can find more information on this. Most of the horses are bred for racing with the Japan Race House Association conveniently located here too.

Coincidentally, the Sakura season is also foaling time for the horses. As you are enjoying the view of the Sakura bloom, you can also catch a view of these new born foals with their parents.

3. Seidai Dam Park

Next we head north, towards Biei (美瑛) which is north of Sapporo. The third location that we are exploring is Seidai Dam Park (聖台ダム, 389 108 322). The Seidai dam was completed in 1937, as a source for irrigating the rice fields in the region.

Again, this is one of those remote spots where you will need a rental car to get around. This is not a well known area, not the touristy kind of place. However, this is a place where you can enjoy beautiful cherry blossoms in spring, lavenders in early summer and the autumn colours.

This could be a stop over point as you are making your way north towards Biei or Furano. Do come prepared though, bring a picnic basket along as there aren’t really any food establishments here.

And yes, this is a great place to grab nice scenic shots. Be sure to grab this postcard shot before you leave.

Picture of Seidai Dam — Seidai Dam post card shot