Sapporo - Day 6 - 19th February 2017

In contrast to our  sunny first day in Sapporo, our last day was overcast. Large snowflakes blurred across our vision in the -5° temperatures. The small creek that ran behind our hotel had started to freeze over. The ducks were pushed into a small corner that hadn't quite frozen over yet. Large Koi sat unmoving on the bottom of the creek bed under the ice.

Large Snowflakes

The creek freezing over

Animal tracks along the river side and on the ice island

With fresh snow falling Hugh and I decided it might be fun to try skiing. We took the Namboku Subway line to the end of the line, where a bus to the Bankei Ski area left from. The Bankei Ski area was within the Sapporo city limits and was only a 20 minute bus. On arrival at the station, we had just missed the Bankei bus and had about an hour and half to wait for the next bus. The area around the bus station was dull but there was an interesting looking river area up the road that we could see so we wandered up there. The banks of the river were overhanging with ice and snow. Around the river were animal tracks, crossing from one bank to another, following the river up and eventually disappearing into some nearby trees. Across the river was a raise staircase, leading up a hillside and into a residential area. It seemed like a pretty rich area of Sapporo, with large houses, which are not very usual for Japanese people. A few cars passed by, as well as a jogger doing laps up and down the stairs. A lady in a brown jacket walk past, a clear shopping bag with leeks strung over her shoulder. I could have mistaken her for a human version of the Pokemon far-fetched.

The bus to Bankei Ski area wound through the outskirts of Sapporo and dropped us right in front of the ski lodge. Before getting our gear Hugh and I stopped for a warm lunch at the lodge. 

Bankei Ski Area

Soon after we were putting on our ski shoes. I found them claustrophobic and the limited movement made me quite uncomfortable. Somehow I managed to drag my now-heavy feet up the stairs and out to the beginners learning area. I can't say that Skiing was my favorite thing - or even a thing that I liked at all - but at least now I can say I have done it. Trying to move forwards on the flat level required a lot of muscle power and energy and I quickly tired out and overheated. I was definitely envious of the ease in which the young kids mastered their skis.


After landing on my butt and not having gotten more than a few meters, I called it a day. Skiing was not my cup of tea.

After returning our rental gear we caught a bus back into Sapporo and made our way to Odori. I really wanted to check out Odori Bisse Sweet - a sweets shop in Odori, the inner suburb in Sapporo above Susukino. Despite not having had dinner, I convinced Hugh that it was appropriate to eat two desserts before we had dinner (it was so worth it!). Milk products are very popular in Hokkaido, so I focused on the dairy-related sweets. For my first dessert I had Hokkaido ice-cream with Caramel Custard. For my 2nd dessert, I tried a piece of Hokkaido Cheesecake, which was so soft on the inside that it practically melted in my mouth. Its definitely something I will miss.

Caramel Custard

Hokkaido Cheesecake

We walked off the dessert by waddling into Susukino and finding dinner. We had dinner at a karaoke bar where we ordered multiple small dishes to share. A highlight of dinner was eating tempura Hokkaido Cheese with jam which was OMG YUM. We ended our night with full tummies and sad to return to Australia the next day.