Snow is a Happy Pill
Otaru in Sapporo.
We finally saw snow and slush on the way to Sapporo from Hakodate. Happy chirpy chirp!
Which mountain is this? I’m not too sure. It was difficult getting this shot as the Shinkansen was shooting past really fast. Anyway, snow! *deliriously happy*
Reaching a new town without any misadventures would be unusual, given our track records. Hunched by the sheer weight of our bags, we hobbled out of the Shinkansen at Sapporo to buy our tickets for another local train [to our hostel]. We were all about to board the train when we realised we had two different addresses for Sapporo Youth Hostel.
-_-”
After unravelling the mystery of the location of S.Y.H, we refunded our tickets and slowly walked hobbled slid our way there amidst the slush on the pavements.
The whole dorm room belonged to us!
The first two things we did were to 1) unpack all our stuff and, 2) do our laundry. Clean clothes make girlies happy.
The mountain of useless pretty things which I bought for people and myself.
This was located at the basement opposite the lifts and I mentioned to sister that it felt like some Alfred Hitchcock horror movie waiting to happen.
The illegal workers’ headquarters. Ha ha!
I was famished after two hours of washing, loading, drying, hanging clothes and whined to sister about our lack of lunch. We ended up at….
Macdonald’s.
Look at the difference in size between the McPork and Mega Tamago [which consisted of 9 friggin' thick layers]. Guess which one yours truly ate?
“Eeeee…” the girl in black went.
Snow makes people happy, if they do not have to walk on it when it is in slush-form.
Otaru was our destination for the day - a place which sister wanted to explore after having watched a Japanese show “Lovely Complex” where the characters took a day trip there. Me, I’ve never heard of that place in my entire life.
Yuki with snow. 
This sight greeted us in Otaru [it was only 4+ pm by the way]. Ice everywhere, yikes!! My boots were not designed for walking on sleek ice, so I was always lagging behind sister, sliding v.e.r.y s.l.o.w.l.y a.n.d c.a.r.e.f.u.l.l.y on the ground.
Occasionally, sister would hear a startled cry of ‘woah!’ or ‘argh!’ from behind her whenever I slip on the ice. Sister was not spared from the slippery ground either, causing me to slip even more. It is like ice-skating - when you see the person in front of you losing his balance or falling, you would too. Pretty sure we looked quite comical.
“I don’t think I have ever walked so slowly before, saved for the times when I sprained my ankle,” I called out to sister at one point in time.
Otaru is a truly lovely place - very magical, very un-Japanese-like. A realrealrealreal pity most of the shops were closed for the holidays and night came way too early [because it was the winter season], leaving little to sightsee. 
We walked on to the main part of town where musical box melodies tinkled along the streets, creating the illusion that we were in some kind of.. fantasyland or dreamland. Sister later discovered that the music came from strategically placed [and hidden] speakers on the sides of buildings. What a nice beautiful touch!
[I did not take many photographs at Otaru as it was dark, and I didn't want to spoil the cammie in the event of me really falling.]
Erm. Pasta de Waraku, was that it? I forgot.
The Glass Studio - Little worlds in glass globes, beautiful!
Sister and I spent soooo much time cam-whoring outside this building, thinking that it was the famed clock tower [which we weren't very impressed with actually 'cos it was smaller than we thought it would be], when the real steam clock tooted tiredly from behind us, catching us off-guard. Wahaha!
Will the real steam clock please stand up?
After walking around a little bit more, we headed back to Sapporo, with regrets of not being able to enjoy the magical Otaruland more.
Sister with a family of cats.
Other Nihon Reads:
The Amazing Race [Nihon Version]
Let’s Become Lost Children Together
- the lost traveller
s t a r m | s t March 24th, 2008
