Sapporo

From Hokkaido

I woke up to a light drizzle, and stepped out to find that Mark and Yana had gone out for a morning ride to explore the city and take pictures. At breakfast, Brooks, Mark, and Yana, brimming with enthusiasm, declared this weather ride-able. Well, the hotel served breakfast with Natto, so I took the opportunity to teach them how to eat Nori on rice as well as cajoling everyone into a taste of Natto. The look on their faces said it all.

It was a little blustery, and since we had a full day, we bought a day-use pass for the subway (which with its easy to use menu, and English options, was a far cry than my first attempt to negotiate the Munich transit system). We couldn't agree on where to go, however, so Brooks and I ended up exploring the fish market while Mark and Yana went to the Botanical gardens. The sushi was really excellent for the price, and well worth the trip.

From Hokkaido

Brooks wanted to buy some Japanese pens, and I discovered I had forgotten lubricant for my CPAP machine, which led me to a drugstore where I discovered that Google translate did a good job in helping me tell the pharmacist what I wanted.

From Hokkaido

Brooks and I walked around town some more, and then relaxed a bit at the hostel before visiting the Beer Museum for Jingus Kan (Genghis Kahn), the well-known lamb BBQ dish that's a Hokkaido specialty.

From Hokkaido

The museum's style was very cute, full of tiny diaoramas of various parts of beer making, and posters of Sapporo Beer ads all through the decades.

From Hokkaido

Dinner was Ramen for Brooks & I, while Yana and Mark, intrigued by Jingus Kan, went back to the beer garden for it. We regrouped after our respective dinners at the McDonald's for ice cream, and took a final walk through Pole-Town, the Sapporo underground shopping center, before returning to the Youth Hostel to make a phone call for reservations at the next day's accomodations. We then turned in for the night.