Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

So I tried to write a blog post several days ago, but the internet connection was so slow that my account wouldn't open. Why is that? Well, because I went to Sapporo for four days! Sapporo is a big city in Northern Japan on the northern most island of Japan, Hokkaido. And, the area is know for great food, being the birth place of Sapporo beer, and its 'Snow Festival'. I will take the next few days to talk about all the fun things we did there.

Of course we had to go to see the Snow Festival! Actually, it was one of the other girls in the dorm that introduced the idea back in September, and the other two of us jumped on board. We had to book our hotel room pretty far in advance. The festival is popular, so the rooms book up fast. We had to book our flights a little later because we took such a small carrier that they didn't have February flights up until December. The airline we took was called Air Asia, and it was actually pretty nice. Except, the seats were extremely close together, so if you're tall your knees will end up in your chest.

On the day of our flight to Sapporo, we had to leave the apartment at 7 o'clock in the morning. The Narita Airport is all the way on the other side of the city, so it takes about two hours to get there. And, we didn't know how long it would take to go through airport security. Can I just say that Japanese airport security is much easier than American? We even got to bring our water bottles through so long as we took a drink to prove that it was water. We ended up waiting for our plane for only an hour before we started to board. Because we all booked our seats separately, none of us ended up being seated together. But, the flight was only an hour and a half long so it was alright.

Upon arrival, we found the bus that would take us from the Chitose Airport to Sapporo. Once we were on the bus, I proceeded to take an hour and a half long nap- it was a long ride. I think by the time we all got into our hotel it was safe to say that we were all starving. So, we went out to find the food that Hokkaido was so famous for. Except, we got too hungry to hunt. Instead we found this gaudy little tea shop that had big portions for reasonable prices. I got a chicken curry and an ice cream coffee. Because, I happen to be in love with ice cream even when its snowing outside. Then, we went back to the hotel to make a game plan.

When booking the hotel, each of us decided that it would be too cramped for the three of us to stay in a single room. So, we all booked our own. But, I was the only one that brought a computer. Because, my computer only weighs about two pounds while the other ones are gigantic. So, we all congregated in my room to set dates to activities. The following picture is what I took in the after math of this planning.

Who said we needed three beds? My fellow travelers slept until about 9:30 at night. Luckily, the restaurants in Sapporo are open really late. So, after waking them up we went out for sushi. Before going to Sapporo, we had been told that their sea food was the best in Japan. We just had to try some. Can I just say that I didn't know that fish could melt in your mouth? Delicious.