Hokkaido, Japan

I've been to Japan once before for the Sakura Festival. Next on my list was the Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Boy was it cold but beauuuuutiful (and delicious!).

The snow festival in Sapporo is well known, but there's also one in Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido. We got to see the ice artists in action chiseling, sawing, and brushing away the blocks of ice into gorgeous, tremendously detailed sculptures.

This Transformer tripled as a sculpture, a performance stage and, to the right, a gigantic slide! You sit your bum down on a piece of laminated newspaper with a loop of nylon rope and slide down 150 feet of ice into a pile of snow. So. Much. Fun.

Miso ramen from the original Santouka in Asahikawa. They have locations in CA, and even in the Philippines!

A piping hot bowl of broth and scallops for 400 yen. Yes please.

 

8am breakfast at Donburi Chaya in Sapporo.

Cheesy ramen at Karin in Furano.  

 Blue & brick building is Otaru Brewery. I had a "smoked" beer. Delicious. Worth a visit.

Genghis Khan lamb dinner at the Sapporo Biergarten (we already ate the lamb).

Kita No Ice Cream in Otaru. Left, uni & taro. Right, sake and squid ink. All very good.

Hokkaido is known for their dairy so if you do visit, please have cheese, caramels, hot milk & sake, and most importantly, vanilla soft serve ice cream. It is so very much unlike anything you'll ever taste (my favorite ice cream in the world), you will eat it walking through the snow, in 20 degree weather. It is that good. At least Kevin and I thought so :)