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Japan: Travel to Sapporo

Alright, so lesson learned: if you're taking the train all the way to Sapporo, get ready for a long, long ride.

We got up around 5:00, packed up, and grabbed some breakfast at the local Family Mart. At the train station, we were not the only ones up so early - it seems we actually hit rush hour! Amid all the business suits and uniforms, we squeezed our way onto the JR (Japan Railway) line that would take us out of the city to Omiya. It cleared up pretty quickly after a few stops, as the crowd was mostly headed in the opposite direction, towards Tokyo.

When we arrived at Omiya after an hour, the first highlight of the day came - shopping for bento boxes! We had some time before our shinkansen departed, so we took the opportunity to scope out our options for lunch - I was so excited to see that there was quite a variety because we were there fairly early. After much deliberation, I decided to grab one that was filled with vegetables and fish - only 900¥ (if there was no difference in currency, that would be the equivalent of $9.00).

Once we bought our bentos, we headed to the platform that was bustling with activity. Everyone was scrambling to get to the correct car before the shinkansen arrived. Me, I was trying to get a photo of the shinkansen before it left. It turns out the Hokkaido express has a gigantic caboose and front - so even though I ran almost to the end of the platform, I couldn't snap a photo before my brain screamed at me to stop being silly and get on the train.

It was a long ride all the way to Hokkaido - the trip to the island (complete with underground tunnel to cross the ocean) took 4 hours. Then we transferred to a local train at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, which took us to Sapporo after another 3.5 hours. That means a total of approximately 8.5 hours on trains! Whew.

Once we landed, our first priority was the Tourist Information center. We got great information that helped us plan the next portion of our trip to the Asahidake onsen, and then picked up some Hokkaido snacks to enjoy after all the traveling.

Next stop? BIC Camera - a Japanese electronics store to pick up a SIM card. It turns out the SIM we ordered from Amazon was a dud, so we had to buy another one in order to make sure we have data. We found someone who could speak minimal English, so the experience wasn't as painful as it could have been. I think going with Pocket Wifi was definitely much easier in comparison.

Our hotel was a couple of subway stops away, so we hopped onto the Toho line to get there. Along the way, we saw some pretty hilarious depictions of what happens if you're not careful on escalators (I'll have to take a photo of that later) and snow! Yup, it's pretty darn cold up here - good thing we were prepared and brought lots of layers.

At the hotel, we found all the conveniences I expected - sleeping clothes, all toiletries, Wi-Fi, laundry, and a kettle too! We had some time to settle in and get comfy before heading out to Susukino to find dinner. Susukino is filled with restaurants and shops - literally every street is packed with food, so much that we were overwhelmed with options. In the end, we picked a random restaurant to try, to sample some local specialities: crab, scallops, and Gengis Khan (BBQ lamb). It probably wasn't the best representation of what Sapporo has to offer, but it was a start.

Tomorrow, we'll be able to explore Sapporo more thoroughly.

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