Thursday, Oct 10
Finally we are Hokkaido bound!!! I've been waiting forever for this day!
*Little publicity segment* Japan Airlines is one of the most comfortable I've been on so far. Your head nestles in the headrest and there isn't any uncomfortable gap between your neck and the seat that typical airplane seats have, so I didn't have to use my travel pillow. However, bad thing is their inflight entertainment is rubbish. Good thing I had the whole season of Alcatraz and sleep to keep me occupied!
Friday, Oct 11
Because we were on a midnight flight, we were still on the plane in the morning. We woke up to be served our breakfast in bed hahaha!! Breakfast was tomato rice with an omelette, salad, a bun, strawberry yogurt and some fruits! I think airplane food is a love or hate thing. My parents hate it but I absolutely love it. I don't know why I love it so much, maybe it's just how everything fits so nicely into a cute little tray.
After 6.5 hours of flying, we finally landed in Narita International Airport, Tokyo!!! There was a ton of spare time before our connecting flight to Hokkaido, so we just chilled, ate sushi and enjoyed the cool weather.
My mom trying to Instagram -_-
ONE OF THEM UNSWEETENED TEAS……yuck
A flight simulator in the airport
In Japan, I swear you can get anything out of vending machines. Cigarettes are the worst.
MUJItoGO?!?!?!
Mandatory fake food display outside a Japanese restaurant
One of things I was looking forward to is their 7-11. Like Taiwan's, their 7-11s are always filled with pre-cooked food, onigiri, tons and tons of snacks and cool drinks. My heaven.
Nobody leaves Tokyo without some Tokyo Banana :)
We had our lunch in the airport. My dad had a beef patty on rice (which was absolutely divine), my mom and I shared minced raw tuna on rice, and my sister had a miso ramen.
About to board the plane to Hokkaido :)
This was our very first dinner in Hokkaido! We ate at the food court in Mitsui Outlet Park. This has got to be one of the best meals of this holiday. I had a burger with a very unique bun. The fries were delicious too. We shared the omu rice, cold soba and sushi. Dessert was the donuts, that we ate with butter and maple syrup *floats to heaven*.
7-11 ROUND 2! *ding ding ding* During this trip to 7-11, I found out that they have freaking frozen yogurt and frozen soft-serve?!?! I tried the matcha flavoured soft-serve and I have no regrets. The ice-cream was so flavourful and the cone was unlike any cone I've ever eaten. Also, their Nissin cup noodles came in small, regular and large. Cutest country ever.
Saturday, Oct 12
Woke up to the amazing view of a golf course, which my dad kept whining about wanting to play on. After I washed up, I came out of the toilet and I saw a rainbow (which I don't have a clear picture of)!!! Then we went down for breakfast.
At every buffet they have tons of cherry tomatoes. I don't know what miracle soil they use to grow their them but they are so round and juicy and sweet. I usually don't even like cherry tomatoes but I had so many in Hokkaido. They also used plates with many wells in them, which I think are for the different condiments to be eaten with their porridge.
After breakfast, we visited the Hokkaido Shrine. Unfortunately, it started drizzling so we had to carry umbrellas. Just outside the shrine, there was a man selling huge bags of cotton candy!!! Wanted to buy some back for my boobie cause I know she loves them but it was too huge a bag to lug around. In the shrine, we got to witness a traditional Japanese wedding!
HAHAHA my dad (left) + Robert our tour guide (right)
Our next stop was the Shiroi Koibito factory, this is where Hokkaido's famous white chocolate cookies are produced!!! This place was decorated with lots of cute sweet and cookie ornaments. We were given a complimentary slice of biscuit upon entry, which just wasn't quite enough.
By lunch time, it felt like we've already completed a lot. We went to the base of Mt. Tengu for lunch, then took a "gondola" up to the top of the mountain to enjoy a bird's-eye view of Hokkaido. We also got a clear view of the full rainbow that was around since morning :)
Next up was the Otaru Canal, a popular romantic backdrop of many movies and shows! This place will look beautiful in the winter as well. Hopefully I'll get a chance to return during winter in the future. Of course, I needed to get a picture with my imaginary other half.
After visiting the canal, we stopped by a cafe called LeTAO to have coffee and cake. The pumpkin cake was really good, and so was the cheesecake but I don't have a picture of that.
On our way back to the bus, we walked past this roadside stall selling seafood. It was really costly, but everything looked really fresh!
This bag of dried scallops cost SGD $189, not even kidding.
And this cantaloupe costs SGD $23… The fruits in Hokkaido are really sweet though!!!
This is the end of the first three days of my trip! I'll post the next few days when I have the time to sort out the pictures, edit and upload them.
edit | date check: 3 aug 2014 | I didn't find the time to post up the next few days, but I will try to upload those maybe during the holidays... heh heh :/