Sapporo Adventure

Snow… that soft, white, magical rain of clouds where unicorns in fantasy films like that of Ridley Scott’s would likely to appear until a howling blistering cold wind slaps you in the face and engulfs you in a chilly embrace then its back in the heater for you, locked away, buried under piles of blankets and warmers. But no matter how frigid the wind maybe, it still holds that magic that endures the frostiest bites especially to us tropic dwellers.  But experiencing snow, can come at a hefty, HEFTY price, but can be pulled off under budget if booked in advance.  Let say, as early as six months? That’s what we did with our Sapporo adventure, and what better time to experience our first snowfall but at the height of Sapporo’s Winter Festival in February.

 

At the Peak of Mt. Moiwa, Hokkaido, Japan

Getting our Airfare Tickets

We booked our airfare ticket sometime in September 2017 for our eight-day trip in February 2018 with none other than Cebu Pacific at PhP4,000 each per way. I know you can get the ticket at a much cheaper price that is if, and only IF, you catch CebuPac’s elusive Pisofare promo. But c’mon, let’s be real. Before you do, you’ve aged relatively with the intermittent sluggish bandwidth signal that could test and frustrate even the most patient cheapskate. So, at PhP4,000 – booked in advance – is already a steal compared to the regular airfare that ranges from PhP12,000 – PhP 15,000. So, let’s say experiencing winter holiday would be a bore being alone and cold, bringing someone special, a friend, a lover, for me, a chubby cozy husband, cost us somewhere around PHP20,000 all in, but that would just take you halfway to Tokyo. You see Sapporo is an island at the northern most part of Japan facing Russia, so with the howling Siberian wind and all, you can expect that it would be bone cold.

So, how to get to Sapporo from Tokyo? Easy. Checkout Cheapoair site. It’s where we found the best route to our winter holiday, and it would show a matrix of flights from a plethora of airlines traveling to Sapporo, complete with the travel time, layover time and the airfare itself, and traveling by plane is the cheapest means to enter Sapporo.

From Tokyo we booked Vanilla Air around PhP4,000 each. We initially planned to stay in Sapporo for a week but then, Jet Star almost gave me a heart attack when it reflected an airfare of PhP 30,000 each! I thought we would be trapped in Sapporo, good thing though checking the next day flight schedule it was back to PhP4,000 each. So, it’s best that when booking your travel, especially abroad, where you’re most vulnerable, with a possibility of shouldering surprise expenses that could strip you off of cash, allotting buffer money would save you from becoming ‘begpackers’. For our buffer money, we allotted PhP25,000 or (Y50,000) –when converting Japanese Yen to Philippine Peso, the key is always divide it in half to get the Peso equivalent.

Our Quaint Neighborhood

Japan’s Share Houses

Now the next challenge was getting a cheap place to stay. Staying at a hotel in Sapporo city, to say the least, is EXPENSIVE! And at times when you’re just a frugal traveler, it would be wise to book via Airbnb. And yes, most of Japan’s share houses are already complete with amenities, including kitchenware. J Good thing we found Ryo’s Place or the Sapporo Global Sharehouse to stay at PhP14,000 all in for 6 days. The room is good enough for two. They installed two single beds, a gas heater and the room comes with a sink, which came in handy. What make share houses different from hotels, motels and other forms of service accommodation, is that you have to follow certain “house rules:” no pets, no littering, observe self-service policy, which includes washing your own dirty dishes, segregate your own trash… in short, you got to do the dirty work, which traditional accommodation such as hotels and motels have spared your from. It’s a self-service accommodation through and through, which we really don’t mind since we’re out and about most of the time and the place was comfortable enough to sleep in for couple of days. Also, not far from the place is a convenient store serving all that you need, including freshly cooked bento or food packs. However, a downside to this place was its location, which is far from Sapporo city, tucked away in a quaint residential area, but honestly we were not bothered by it since the location provided us a glimpse of the local Japanese scene. And best of all, Japan’s transport system is awe-inspiring and truly a marvel on its own that would take you to tourist spots without a guide or a translator... the latter is available using Google Translate.

How to Get Around in Sapporo

Enroute from Teine to Sapporo-Shi 

Japan is a country known for its sophisticated railway system that pioneered the fastest train in the world—the Shinkansen. It recently offered a train route to Sapporo but much more expensive compared to travelling by air. So how to go around Sapporo without paying for a tour guide? You need a reliable internet access for that. In our case, we rented PuPuRu Wifi (pupuruwifi.com) weeks before our departure date. It costs us roughly PhP3,000 for six days at 10 gigabytes. You can pick up the pocketwifi at the Chitose Airport upon arrival and deposit it in a mailbox, also in Chitose airport, when returning the device.

Once you are equipped with your pocketwifi, secure a Kitaka Card. It acts just like your local Beep Card when riding the MRT and LRT, what makes it extra different is that aside from the train tickets, you could also purchase food using the card from 7/11, Lawson and in all bento machines around the city. Once you have them both ready, you can now start exploring Sapporo.

Ice Sculpture in Odori Park and Sapporo TV Tower

Places to Visit

When visiting Sapporo during its winter festival, visit to Idori Park should top your list since the park is known for its giant snow sculptures! Also, the park is riddled with Sapporo’s signature seafood delicacies like the spider crab and sea urchins. But for a true gastronomical experience at reasonable price, go to Otaru, Sapporo’s main fishing port. The seafood stalls and restaurants there are to die for! Too bad though we already had our dinner when we decided to check out the local town. Also, Otaru is home to exquisite glassworks and handmade music boxes that play various music themes from animes, Disney, J-pop, K-pop and American classics like the Beatles.

Shiroi Koibito's Giant Snowman

Another memorable place was the Shiroi Koibito Park and the Ishiya Chocolate Factory. It’s a perfect destination for those who have kids and kids at heart. If you want to see how the chocolates are made you can buy a ticket for a historical tour and view the factory itself.

Ringing the Happiness Bell from "Kita Kita" Film. 

If you’ve seen the Tagalog film, “Kita Kita,” which featured many of Sapporo’s tourist spots, you might want to visit Mt. Moiwa, that’s where they shot the film’s signature scene where Lea and Tonyo in banana cosplay rang the “happiness bell”. The place also offers a scenic view of Sapporo City, which frequently covered in a sea of clouds.  From there, the cold would definitely make you crave for some hot ramen and beer or biru, for that we head out to Ramen Alley in Susukino. They have 17 stalls in total and the place offers all sorts of ramen recipes from all over Japan.

Now, your visit to Sapporo won’t be complete if you don’t visit Sapporo Beer Museum, and one of the famous spot to check is the Sapporo Beer Garden where they offer steaks, like their popular dish “Genghis Khan” –a tender fresh lamb meat with vegetables served on a hot metal skillet.

View from JR Tower overlooking Sapporo City

For a genuine fun and adventure in the snow, you might want to visit Tsudome to try snow boarding and their series of tube sliders. Too bad, there was a snowstorm so we decided to just chill in JR Tower while admiring the city lights below. Overall, we spent between PhP 80,000 - 90,000 all-in including pasalubongs. 

Do we plan on returning? Yes, most definitely! But maybe in the outskirts of Hokkaido this time and during the spring season... fingers crossed!

For those who have not been to Japan, this place is all about being conscious and considerate of other people’s needs and comfort. It goes without saying, keep your voice down when you’re in public places. My husband always gives me an evil eye when I get too excited and that’s everything about Japan haha!

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