My Trip to Japan: Sapporo 2

Actual date Oct 20th

Hey Everybody!

I'm still doing good. Yakitori turned out well. I've also done some other stuff and I've been trying to figure out what I do and don't want to do in Hokkaido, cus its REALLY big. It takes maybe a couple hours to half a day by bus to get anywhere else remotely close, so I'm trying to decide how long I want to spend in Hokkaido. Either just try for day trips out of Sapporo, or stay in a couple different cities. I am planning to go to Hakodate, but thats on the southern peninsula away from the rest of the island.

So yakitori was fun! First, Aki, Gram (not actually his name but said he also goes by that and its easier to use than whatever else), and I walked over to Susukino, starting at like 7pm. In central Susukino it was pretty lively. Not like Tokyo, but lots of lights and people walking around and people handing out fliers for bars and clubs and cafes. We actually saw a like, 50 or 60 year old guy crossing the street in a baby blue suit with a fur vest wearing 20-something girl on each arm. Yakitori itself was very tasty. We went to a nice little place the size of a living room, with the open kitchen and a wooden japanese bar/ pub decor, one staircase below street level. We ate: normal chicken with leeks, fatty pork with leeks, beef heart, beef tongue, chicken skin (just how it sounds, also very tasty), pig small intestine (also good, like something between the broiled chicken skin and pork rinds, really good pork flavor though), eel (always great), and minced chicken with ume sauce. Also 3 mugs of beer. We chatted about a whole bunch of stuff. Mostly about how things are the same and different in the different cultures, including between Canada, Lybia (where Gram has been working), and the US. We talked about things from yakitori itself to food to about where people came from to sports to entertainment industries (we were sort of in/ under one) and laws about them to interests and jobs and hobbies and all sorts of other stuff.

We ended up finishing and getting out by about 10. At that point we called the hostel, which we had actually pre-planned, and a British guy named Jason (also like, 6 feet tall) who came in the hostel just before we left, came and met us. At that point we actually wandered around to some bar-clubs recommended by the hostel staff and lonely planet, that didn't have any covercharge, but were pretty quite. Actually, toward 10, everywhere was pretty dead. Later on though, places got more crowded, but still not all that lively. So we pretty much ended up chatting and laughing and having a beer, then heading to the next place, and chatting and laughing and having another beer, then the next place and etc. Not soo exciting, but it was definitely fun and different. Ha, and actually I kind of served as interpreter between us three white guys and Aki, who also already knew a bunch of English. The other two barely knew a word of Japanese. We finally ended up stopping at a convience store and bought some snacks and a can of beer each, and went back to the common room at the hostel. Apparently theres not last call anywhere because even when we were walking back pretty late/early, there were people all over Susukino. Needless to say though, I got to bed a liiiitle late, and also was kind of hungover later.

So the next day I didn't really do a whole lot of touring. Mostly just getting some food at the nearby convenience store, and researching Sapporo and Hokkaido in my book and on the internet. That afternoon/ evening though, the manager (a really really nice guy late 20s early 30s named Fuji) asked the guests (Aki had checked out, but us 3 guys, him, and two girls) if we wanted to do Japanese Hot Pot that night! So I definitely jumped up with that. Fuji then was originally going to go by himself, but all 6 of us ended up walking the 10 or 15 minutes with him to get the ingredients while wandering at the grocery store. So we got back and started getting everything ready. It was in a big ceramic pot on a portable gas burner on the coffee table in the living room/ common area. There was only 1 knife and cutting board though, so as Fuji was getting various things ready, one of the girls (the only other native Japanese) ended up doing all the cutting. I asked if I could help like, 3 times, but there was just one sink and one knife, so I ended up unwrapping some stuff, but that was about it.

And actually, the other girl is from Taiwan, and speaks some japanese and pretty good english, but I was able to impress her with the fact that I really like Huoguo (Chinese HotPot)(even the extra spicy hotpot in Sichuan provence!) and Ma-la (Chinese for tingely-spicy from the Sichuan peppercorn) and that I've been to Chengdu, China! Later, she was duely impressed when I told her that I also like Yuxiang Qiezi (fish fragrant eggplant), Gan bian si ji dou (dry fried green beans), Mapodofu, Jiaozi (dumplings), and Baozi (filled steamed buns) and thrice impressed her with the fact that my girlfriend also makes/ is learing to make this stuff too, with the exception of the dumplings and the steamed buns so far. Ha, she was also kind of shocked and surprised that I tried, and then liked food from street vendors too.

So! First into the pot went the fully prepared dashi broth, then a bunch of chinese cabbage, then abunch of herb that looked like cilantro or something, then Japanese long onion, then some tied up semi-translucent noodles that I can't remember the name of, then a kind of leafy mushroom that I think grows on logs or tree trunks, then enoki mushrooms, then balls of minced chicken, then fried tofu, then normal tofu, then cuts of salmon with bones (including the spine as its own piece, and the head, "for flavor") as well as what they translated as salmon ovaries! So after that, the lid goes back on and its heated until everything is boiling. Then, it gets served up, or you serve yourself. After about half of its gone, the rest of the veggies are added. After that, some shoyu and water and a whole bunch of thinly sliced fatty pork is added, sort of like sukiyaki. (and is called Special Sauce by Fuji) After eating a bunch of that, some of the broth is skimmed off so it's not too soupy, and a bunch of rice and mixed egg is added, and the lid goes back on. Once that's heated, its the final course. The whole thing ended up taking like, 3 hours and sometimes the conversation died down, but it was a lot of fun! Also, we had bought some beer, so about 2 beers each, and Fuji was drinking some Oolong tea and Shochu (like weak vodka) and he offered me some. So I ended up drinking one of those too. But also, theres a small bar on one side of the common room that actually has a pretty good variety of liquor, and one pint-ish of beer is 500 yen and a can is 300. And, at the grocery store he said he would buy everything then, and then we would pay him back, but so later on that night, after all the food and drinks, he told us that each person just pay him 500 yen. So I don't know if I should be less surprised or what, but I was surprised and Fuji is a nice guy, and it was a lot of fun.

So then yesterday, got up, was able to text chat online with Callista in the morning, did more research, and got out and walked around downtown Sapporo. I stopped by Ramen Yokocho, aka Ramen Alley and had some Sapporo (Miso) Ramen, stopped by the Sapporo clock tower (it really is pretty diminutive, like, 4 stories. but its a representative landmark and I wanted to stop by), the Sapporo Odori park (a pretty nice park one block wide, stretching east-west across the city and the venue of the famous Snow Festival), and the Sapporo TV tower. I actually only stopped by the tower to look at it, because instead of paying 700 yen to go up, I went a block over to the Sapporo City Hall office building and went to the 19th floor viewing deck for free! After that I made my way back to the hostel and read more about Hokkaido.

At around 6 or 7 Gram then asked me if I wanted to go get some food with him in a little while. I thought why not, sounds good, so I agreed. Gram actually then took a shower, but while he was I asked Fuji for recommendations for dinner. So Gram and I ended up wandering a little bit, but got to one of the recommended places and had grill-it-yourself Jingisu-kan, which is grilled mutton and cabbage or other vegetables, and is a Sapporo specialty. Also two mugs of beer. The grill itself was grooved and dome shaped, and was sitting on top of a charcoal grill set down into the counter,(you just sit at the counter and there were no tables) and when you first get set up, the lady puts a piece or two of like, beef fat on top of your grill to keep things from sticking! Once it melts you get more too! So that was delicious, and the original idea was to get some food, then maybe like, stop at McDonalds and eat some more if we were hungry. So after the Jingisukan we actually decided to walk over to the 2nd recommended place, which was for another Sapporo specialty, Soup Curry. It was pretty much how it sounds, but it was really good. Definitely not just like, soupy wet curry, but more like, a japanese take on a Thai curry. So, soupy, but really flavorful and spicy and it had hardboiled egg and vegetables and meat in it too. Ha, and actually on our way over there Gram wanted to stop in a small liquor store we walked by and wanted to buy us each a tall can of Sapporo beer, (I suppose he has the cash, as he is a mechanical engineer working on a water pipeline in Lybia) And again when we were walking back. Both time tall cans. So all I had to eat that day was pretty much a bowl of ramen hours before, a saucer of mutton (that was actually all the meat in one order, and grilled onions and some tsukemono) and then some curry and rice. Ha, and then 5 beers, which isn't really thaaaat much, but I hadn't had much else in my stomach that day, so it went to my head pretty fast. And actually, after we got back we ended up chatting with a Japanese guy from the nearby town of Otaru (where I'm planning on going tomorrow) for an hour or two. So I was a little bit hungover this morning, but not as bad as two days ago.

So today, I was a little tired this morning, but I got going and was out around 11, because I took a bus to a relatively nearby Onsen! So that was pretty cool. Not really exciting or anything, and a little weird, hanging out with a bunch of naked Japanese guys, but very nice. It was at a hotspring hotel just outside of the hotspring town of Jozankei. It was also recommended by Fuji, because the others are good, but generally inside the hotels inside Jozankei. This one was practically out in the forest, with a manicured garden, and view of the hills. The trees were changing color, but so far here mostly just greens, yellows, and browns. Didn't see really any orange or reds, but still beautiful and nice. Ha, also, I did the whole thing, sitting on the bathstool in the row and washed up, soaked with a towel on my head and walked around naked and stuff. There were two pools, the inside one was reaaaalllly hot, and actually had yellowish-orangeish-brownish mineral deposits covering it completely and little shallow pools from mineral deposits draining from the sides, like what happens in Yellowstone. The outside one was really nice and had similar deposits and was made of stone (or maybe stone-like concrete in places), was cooler, and had the nice views. I ended up getting in and out a couple times and overall and was there for maybe an hour and a half to two hours. Ha, after that I ended up getting tandoori chicken leg + one kebab and some veggies in the indian food cafeteria, and then taking the hour and a half bus back. Ha, so then I did laundry tonight, and didn't drink any beer at all.

So I'm good. I've been sort of busy, sort of still figuring out what I want to do next. Last night and the night before I've thought I was going to email, but I've ended up busy! So tonight I stayed in, didn't drink anything but water, and emailed. Also, I've been comfortable and not too hot in my pants! My coats too! It's been chilly here. So I did end up bringing them along for something. I was getting a little tired of them taking up space in my bag, but I'm glad I have what I do. I am wondering how cold or maybe wet it will get further south later on though. My foot has been doing better though! And I'm at least trying to eat balanced meals. But my priority so far has been cheap cheap cheap. Once I figure out about how much I'm spending on average, and how far that would get me though, maybe I'll start to spend a little more on food. Well, hopefully I can, but man, travel costs do add up. I think have lost a little weight, from eating less. Ha, once I get a good budget, I might gain it back though! I do wish everyone could see and do (most) all the things I'm seeing and doing (ha, not the naked japanese men, or missing your bus, though). And I'm still having a great time. Sometime a tired and/or hungry time too. When I get home though, I'll have to work and such, but I want to maintain this sort of experience. Trying new things and meeting people and doing weird stuff. Of course I'll need to be a homebody sometimes, but Sapporo has been really good. I also feel like I've gotten into the swing of long-term-ish travel. Taking it slow, walking places, saving my money. I still want to see and do absolutely everything, so I'm still working on just picking only the things that I really would like to see.

Oh yeah, I forgot to talk about my boat ride. umm, I'll attach a couple pictures. it was fun when we were departing. Really different from everything else so far. The boat had a good giftshop. and a 1 screen movie theater. and there was never any "in case of emergency" that I could understand. later in the evening I was reading a magazine I brought from the US, they made some announcements, then since it was 10 pm, they turned the lights off! there was like, a night light in the ceiling, but I guess I was done reading! I used my earplugs and eyemask, cus it was pretty loud with the engine and some of the people. It was a really big boat and probably was pretty nice when it was first made, but it was kinda old and a little worse for wear. when I woke up though, my stomach was pretty empty, and I had a breakfast ticket, but it wasn't for like, another hour. so I wandered around and got more and more seasick, even though I put my seabands on the evening before and never moved them. So finally I went to breakfast, but a lot of it was, right then, way too authentic and weird, so I ate a couple rolls and some egg and a little ham and some tea, and layed back down with my eye mask, finally got back to sleep, and woke up when were were already docking and 45 minutes from debarkation. As you can see, I felt much better when I woke up and am on the bus after waiting for a bit in the bracing Hokkaido wind. (right there really reminded me of like, morning in montana or wyoming, chilly and windy and a little scrubby and clear, except it also smelled a little like the ocean). Ha, oh yeah, with the hot pot pictures, guess whos Canadian, and whos British! Hint!: One of them has a beard, and the other one looks kinda like Hugh Grant!