JasonandNicoladoJapan

More crabs

Seafood is something of a thing up in Hokkaido, as you can see from the plethora of large mechanical crabs like the one I saw in Hiroshima.

Crabs everywhere

But none for Jason to eat

Nic doesn't like them.

Pretty BEER garden
Sapporo BEER Museum
Sample set of BEER

A trip to Sapporo Beer Museum needed a beer-heavy Haiku. It was a nice tour around their old factory, the museum is very modern and smart. The highlights were the old poster girls of Sapporo throughout the ages and the beer sampling section. It was the tastiest beer I have ever tried. Freshness in beer makes all the difference it seems. Left feeling a little tipsy.

Relaxing (of a sort) in Sendai

So we have arrived back on the mainland of Honshu and have landed in a lovely city called Sendai. We are here to see the 3rd of the famous Japanese 'must-see' sites, Matsushima Bay. We're going there tomorrow. A wee walk around breezy, sunny Sendai this afternoon was a must after 3 trains and 8 hours of travel - one of which was underwater for an hour while we travelled from Hokkaido to Honshu.

To further relax us, we found out from the receptionist when we checked in that our hotel has an Onsen. A Japanese bath to me and you. Then, when we got to our room, we saw this magnificent red machine.

A massage chair and a hot bath. That sounds like rrrreeeelllaaaxation at its best. The massage chair, as Jason demonstrates here, teeters on the pleasure/pain boundary. It's wonderful and terrible all at the same time. I can't wait for it to end and then I press the button to start it off again.

The onsen, we later realised is split into man onsen and woman onsen. Simple reason, you do it in the scud.

I took this video of the woman onsen as I had the place to myself. Jason and I were shouting to each other over the fence. Lol.

We're both totally chilled now. Yawn.

Pachinko

Wherever you go in Japan, be you in the smallest village or the biggest city, you are never far away from a Pachinko hall. These places do a ridiculous amount of business. The game is a version of a one armed bandit with the extra interest of only getting a shot of the one armed bandit if one of a hundred ball bearings reach a special hole that triggers the one armed bandit. It's as mindless as it sounds. Jason tries to explain it here for you. He begins the video though by describing the Japanese etiquette of saying hello and welcome to anyone who enters your shop/restaurant/pachinko hall. It's a very nice custom. In most restaurants, all the staff say hello. And goodbye when you leave. It usually begins with someone saying, "A customer is leaving, say goodbye" and all the staff say goodbye. Just another wonderful little Japanese quirk!

Snowboarding, Annupurri Slope, Niseko

We decided to go. We acted safely and responsible and got helmets. The only ones wearing them mind, but there was only a dozen or so of us on the slope because it's pretty much the end of the season. No accidents. It was our first ever outing on proper, outdoor snow and it was FANTASTIC. Truly amazing. Videos to follow.

Near end of season
Only twelve folk on the slope
Empty gondolas

Shopping in Sapporo

Sapporo, I should explain, is the biggest city on the top island. A bit like Tokyo, a bit like Hiroshima, it's a neon-heavy city. It's also pretty cold. Probably a bit like back home is just now. It has a lot of clubs, bars and restaurants, especially in the area that we are staying, Susikino. It also has some fabulous second hand shops. I have bought a wee 60s dress, a kimono jacket, two big pieces of beautiful Japanese silk kimono bands, an unbelievable balaclava (see earlier post) and a few other items. The vintage scene is alive and well in Sapporo. We also found a lovely wee record shop. We could have spent all day in it.

Jason got a few pieces of funky clothing too. I realise the photographs make it look like the Argyll Arcade. It's the neon, what can you do?

Haiku for you

Shopping Sapporo

Barbeque sweetcorn kit-kat

Pretty kimono