The beauty that is Sapporo

-
Though I've lived in Japan for more than a decade, I've only been to Sapporo once and that is because it was the setting of the Filipino movie Kita Kita starring Alessandra de Rossi and Empoy Marquez. Sapporo, as shown in the movie, was very picturesque - it looked like a paradise. Indeed, when I got there last week my first word about it was "Wow!". It was indeed breathtakingly beautiful!

Let's talk about the places you must see in Sapporo.

Odori Park

I've been to a lot of parks in Japan, but none has made me feel as excited as Odori Park. Perhaps, it's the Kita Kita movie and the fact that there's just so much to do in this park. I saw a lot of people feeding pigeons, play in the fountain, huddle with friends and family in one corner, or just relax and watch people pass by. 


Sapporo TV Tower

I'm not good with direction and so I got lost in Sapporo many times! But thanks to the Sapporo TV Tower. It served as my guiding star because my hotel was located a few blocks away.

Sapporo TV Tower is located at the center of the city and it's hard to miss. It has an observation deck which they say is roughly around 90 meters from the ground. Though it's open almost everyday from 9:00-22:00, you need to check for the schedule because there are days when it is closed. You can check this site https://www.tv-tower.co.jp/en/price/ for the observation deck admission fee. If you come from the Philippines, it's a bit pricey, but I can assure you it's all worth it because you'll get to see the entirety of the city in all its beauty and splendor.


Former Hokkaido Governmen Office

I actually had no idea about this place when I came to Sapporo. I have to admit, it was not in my itinerary. A friend of mine who is based in Hokkaido just brought me there. It was raining when we visited the place so the picture I took was a bit blurry. But just like the other tourist spots in the city, it was breathtakingly beautiful.


Though visitors can enter the building for free, we didn't get to take a look inside as it was raining and we had a number of places lined up to visit for the night.


Sapporo Clock Tower (Tokkeidai) 

As I was looking for a place to eat close to my hotel, I passed by this structure. At first, I thought it was just an ordinary house. I only realized it was an important part of Sapporo's history when tourists flocked in the area. I took a picture one time when I was heading to Odori Station. There were so many people in front of it that it was difficult to take a good photo.



Next time, you're in Sapporo try to visit the above-mentioned places. For sure, you will get to enjoy them as much as I did!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cash-giving in a Japanese wedding

-
Image
  If you're asked to attend a Japanese wedding be ready to part with some cash. It may seemed a bit weird for us, Filipinos, but cash-giving is very common in weddings in Japan. The amount you give  varies depending on your relationship with the couple. The closer you are to them, the higher the amount that you must give them. And you don't just put this in any other envelope but in a Goshugi-bukuro (see picture below) with your name on it. When you get to the ceremony, you should give this to the wedding receptionist.   Source: Goshugi-bukuro [Online image]. (4 November 2010). Retrieved from http://jollygoo.blogspot.jp/2010/11/goshugi-bukuro.html   They say that the groom's family should give a generous amount to the bride's family and on the average, the amount is  equivalent to the groom's salary for three months. I'm not sure if this is still strictly practiced. All I know is the boss, co-workers, friends, and family members of ...
Read more

How I learned to eat that cute little thing called---tako!

-
Image
  When I first came to Japan years ago, I had almost zero knowledge about Japanese food. All I knew was sushi came from this country. So when my  sempai  gave me a plate of takoyaki and told me they were squid balls, I immediately believed him. I already ate more than four tako balls when he laughed and said, “Marge, I thought you don’t eat octopus?” I stopped eating and almost threw up. Almost.  J  Then, I realized, much of our abhorrence about certain foods are not really because our taste buds don’t like them but more because of what our mind is telling us. Since then, I started eating  tako  (octopus) and I found out that it’s not really different from squid except that it’s a bit harder. But, of course, I still can’t eat the whole  tako  just like any Japanese person does. However, I don’t mind eating slices of taco mixed with rice, vegetables, or ramen from time to time. Source:  MK. (8 October 2016).  Japanese traditional foo...
Read more