Sapporo

Greetings from Hokkaido! : D

I flew out on Friday and met up with my friend Kim in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido.

Back in Tokyo, the summer heat is still lingering but up here, the temperature is already lowering to 10-15 degrees, and it gets quite chilly at night. But it feels refreshing to not be constantly hot and sweaty. And it makes me feel a bit at home, because it's about the same temperature in Winnipeg as well.

On Saturday, we visited Sapporo and pretty much all the famous places and landmarks Sapporo is known for.

The Clock Tower: the symbol of the city
(It's actually of American design and is one of the few remaining Western-style buildings in Sapporo)

Sapporo TV Tower

A fountain in Odori Park

Picture taken from the observation deck of the Sapporo TV tower:
This gives a better idea of the size of Odori Park,
 which spans across 13 blocks in the middle of the city

Kim, expertly roasting our lamb
(For lunch, we ate jingisukan, which is a Mongolian style barbecue with cut lamb and vegetables)

A visit of Sapporo would be incomplete without visiting the Sapporo Beer Museum, right? : )

A very, very old beer

For supper, we went to Susukino, the red-light district of Sapporo, and ate Mexican food.

Taking the streetcar (tram) in Susukino

We had also planned to take the ropeway (cable car) up to Mt. Misen, but due to thunder, the ropeway was closed. Instead, we rode a ferris wheel which overlooked the city and then went back home.

With Kim

Striking a pose at the Beer Museum