Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I love visiting snow

I have never liked snow. Even when I was a kid I hated snow because it meant that school would be canceled and I hated missing school. And then I had the bright idea to move to Boston for college and the snow and winters only got worse. Living here in Koga, I have been so thrilled that there is no snow to accompany the cold. Generally snow is just inconvenient and dangerous. But I am thrilled to say that this weekend has helped to make me more open to the pure joy and fun of snow. Living in Japan has helped me to embrace change and be more open to whatever life has to throw my way.

Every year on the northern-most island of Japan, Hokkaido, in the city of Sapporo (yes, like the beer) there is a Yuki Matsuri - Snow Festival. So Chika and I decided way back in November to make a weekend of it and catch a plane up to Sapporo. The festival includes incredibly intricate and gigantic ice sculptures created by professional sculptors. Essentially it is just a week long event that displays all the wonderment and joy of what winter has to offer. It turns the inconvenience of snow into something so beautiful and childlike that you cannot help but ignore and dismiss the cold!

We began our weekend by stopping by the hotel, dropping our stuff and then heading out into the city and checking out all the sights. I was able to get so many awesome pictures, so please check those out! Everyday we were there is snowed and after the first day, I just gave up on my hair and trying to keep it dry! I always love hanging out with Chika because her sense of humor is fantastic and I can learn so much from her about Japanese culture. But during this trip I discovered that she is an awesome little tour guide too!

She suggested that we take a ropeway up to the top of a nearby mountain in order to get a good look at the night view of Sapporo. The ropeway was fun and reminded me of a similar one in Hakone. Once we got to the top, we stopped to check out some of the brochures of the attractions at the festival. One of the magazines I saw was named Ho-ShiHit. Now I don't know what that looks like to you upon first glance, but it struck my funny bone and I have kept the magazine as a little souvenir. At the top of the mountain it was snowing like crazy, but we decided to take a tractor ride as far up the mountain as we could go. We found a nice look out point, but all we could see was snow and fog. It has been a long time since I have been outside in a snowstorm and not minded it one bit - I had a blast!

We ventured back down the mountain and ended up on the main strip to grab a bit of dinner and have a couple drinks. We stopped into St. John's Wood - an English style tavern/pub. It became very clear to me that I like sour/bitter/old man alcohol. All of my drinks have a strong gin base and sometimes a little tequila. I guess I just like liquid pine tree. haha. Shortly after we settled into our pub, we got a call from some other JETs who happened to also be in Sapporo enjoying the Yuki Matsuri. After a bit of convincing, we joined them at a nearby bar called Rad Brothers. When we arrived, they had already taken the place over with the help of some Navy boys they picked up! Now, Navy guys are confident and not afraid to make new friends ;) I found out they were only in Sapporo for a week doing some snow training, but are actually stationed at a Naval base near Tokyo. The party didn't stop at Rad Brothers, but continued on to a club named Booty; Chika and I decided however to call it a night and head back to our hotel. We did stop and grab a coffee on the way back and got a nice little surprise jazz band playing just inside Starbucks.

The next day we got up bright and early to do some sightseeing and check out some of the more historical places in Sapporo. We went to the old Prefectural building and toured a bit. After that we decided to go up to TV Tower and look at the City from above. This time we weren't quite as high up as the mountain, so the view was much better. It was from there that Chika noticed a skating rink, so we made plans to go the next day.

Aside from the Snow Festival, Sapporo is famous for being the home of the first brewery in Japan. They don't give tours of the facility, but they have a pretty popular restaurant on the premises that sells lamb and of course plenty of beer. We enjoyed an all you can eat lamb dinner and then made our way out into the cold again. No vacation of mine (no week really) is complete without karaoke, so of course we rented a room for an hour and sang our hearts out!

The last day reminded me the most of being at home when I was a kid. First, we went through an ice maze. We were in line with about 100 elementary school students on a school trip. We were so out of place in the middle of the young herd, but the maze was soooo cool, and we were not going to miss out on that! Afterwards, we went ice skating! I have been ice skating only once before and I don't remember liking it, so I was worried. BUT, ice skating is soooo much fun. I'm not very good, but I could get around - Chika and I even raced and I totally beat her! Chika and I wanted to check out the nearby park. When we got there, we discovered there wasn't much there that gave evidence of the festival, but there was no shortage of snow! We followed along in a path that had already been patted down by many visitors before us. The park was beautiful in it's untouched whiteness stretching as far as I could see in all directions. At one point, I just stood and took pictures in a circle just to show the completeness of the snowfall. Chika soon grew bored of walking on the nicely made path, so she suggested we create a path of our own! It was so much fun walking along, our feet sinking two feet into powdered snow. We were walking single file and Chika mentioned that she was having an easy time of it, because I was going first and she was just stepping in the footprints I had already made. I immediately thought of when I was little and would play outside in the snow with my Dad. I would walk along in his footsteps (as best I could with my tiny strides) through the deep snow. This thought made me relish my time in the snow and set my mind to enjoying the cold and wet and wind.

I am so happy to have spent my vacation with Chika really enjoying the fun parts of what winter has to offer. The longer I am here, the more I open up and am more laid back about things. Don't you worry Mom, I may have hurried through my childhood, but I am finally learning and remembering how to have fun with silly kid things!

6 comments:

H.M. said...

This makes me think of me. Now that I'm in my 20s, I'm finally appreciating everything I never did as a kid, and I'm learning to give things a chance instead of just saying, "Well, I never did like that"...I think it makes things so much more fun! And this festival sounds like a blast!

Mikey said...

I miss snow days! I miss making snowmen, making igloos and snow tunnels and sledding down steep hills! The snow festival sounded like a lot of fun, and I'm glad you had a good time up there. It's actually in the 60's today, and I'm enjoying the warmth, but I can't help but think about the fun I could have if there was a few feet of snow outside...

Unknown said...

SNOW IS AWESOME! I never could wrap my brain around you not liking it - WAY TOO MUCH FUN can happen with Snow :-) glad you finally got a chance to see the flip side :grin: huge hugs and maybe a snowball in the shoulder :wink:

Lauren Parker Lasater said...

Hi love! I am now going to start stalking your blog!! I finally am following it! Love what you have to say! I love you! can't wait for next weekend!!! xoxox

Unknown said...

I am so glad you had a great time at the snow festival and are having your eyes opened to the beauty of change and the cold joys of winter. Once you experience snow with children, you will again find more fun in the white stuff. I think this Japanese adventure was a wonderful idea for adding some fun to your life. Lol
Mom

Anonymous said...

Omg, you went to the Snow Festival at Sapporo! That's so cool! It was featured on my "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" daily calendar at the beginning of February, and I thought of you and wondered if you would be going! It sounds great, and I definitely plan to attend the festival someday in my lifetime. I'm glad you had a great time!