Japan 2012 Day 6

I woke up early figuring as usual that the best course of action is to be everywhere I need to be early so I am not racing across the world to get to places I need to go.  After getting cleaned up and finishing packing I checked out of the hotel at about 6:30 (I almost forgot a shirt but noticed it before I left fortunately).  One really fortunate thing for my trip to Sapporo is that I was going to fly through Haneda airport. Without realizing it the trip to Haneda is easiest taken by Haneda Express monorail which starts at Hamamatsucho station.  I did need to figure out where to get to the monorail station but once I did I was able to use my JR pass and didn't even have to pay.  The train that arrived just as I got to the platform was even the Haneda Express itself so I didn't have to wait for another one to arrive and was able to just board right away. The train was very crowded and made worse so by all the suitcases but I did manage to find someplace to sit and the 20 minute ride was fairly easy. I needed to exit at Terminal 1 which was the second stop after the international terminal.  Along the way I drank a Sapporo black coffee that I bought from a vending machine before getting on the monorail. I took a picture of the can at the airport.

At the airport I needed a couple minutes to get my bearings before I found the check-in line and honestly though the line was sort of big it moved very fast and I was checked in with no issues.  They didn't seem to need to charge me for my bag either which was nice.  The security lines looked undisciplined which is common for Japan but I must have picked the righ one because it moved well in front of me and I was quickly through (however they did scan my bag with the x-ray machine a second time).  They didn't give me any more trouble than that. I was of course very early for my 9:30 flight so I did a lot of wandering around the gate area looking for things to buy but unfortunately since this was a domestic terminal it was all basically packaged candies and cookies (and other Japanese oddities) that one is expected to bring as a gift when visiting someone.  I did manage to find a news stand type place and bought what I would end up eating as breakfast which was a bottle of Fanta grape soda and a small container of cheesy potato straws made by Calbee.  I actually quite liked the straws they were tasty and very crunchy.  From there it was basically necessary to just sit and wait until the plane began to board which was more than an hour away.  I killed some of the time by writing this portion on the laptop then basically just sat and waited.

The flight was on time. The line up concept was a bit different than the US. I have to admit I was curious to see a domestic flight in Japan as I had the feeling it would turn out to be different than something at home. The plane was a 777-200 which I thought was huge for a less than 2 hour flight but they filled it completely up. It was run by JAL by the way.  Maybe it is because they fly once per hour instead of half an hour they can fill up larger planes? Not sure really. In any event they called all premier and first class customers and then really quickly called general boarding. I got on fairly quickly but to tell the truth even with such a large plane it loaded up fast.  I think two things occurred. One, the airline really doesn't let people bring on more than they are supposed to for carry on baggage (maybe it helps that they don't charge for checked luggage?) so that there was no mad fight to get overhead space that is typical in the US. I believe honestly that if the airlines in the US would hold customers to their rules things would be a lot easier. I would like to see assigned overhead compartment space that does not allow people to over use the compartments without caring who else they screw over. The second was the fact that people really did get out of the aisle when handling their stuff for the overhead instead of spending ten minutes sorting things out and holding up the rest of the people from getting in. So with less than 20 minutes the entire 777 was boarded and ready to go.  Another thing that was different than the US was a lack of safety presentation. Not really a big deal to me but it was just odd. I guess the Japanese flying patrons aren't as dumb as the ones in the US and don't need to be told the same thing over and over and over every time they fly so the airline can save itself from getting sued. In comparison. The flight was barely at altitude and hit a few bumps and they still turned off the seat belt sign whereas my flight from DFW to Narita never turned off the seatbelt sign for over 12 hours.  Go figure...  They had a couple cameras on the outside of the plane and they used them during taxi, take off and landing which was kind of neat. I am sure I remember that from another flight before. Maybe my LAN flight to Lima when I went to Machu Picchu?  Not sure, but it was still neat.  In any event the flight was quiet and quick and with just a cup of iced coffee from the cart we were down and landed with no issues.  Exiting seemed to be as quick as boarding. My bag managed to come off the carousel quickly and then it was on to the JR station at the airport. I missed the nearest time train but had to wait only 15 minutes for the next one where I used my pass to get a reserved seat in the only reserved car.  The train ride was about 35 minutes to Sapporo Station where I quickly found the tourist office and got a map of the city and figured out where my hotel was. I could take a subway to near the hotel sort of but it would be a 20 minute walk otherwise the woman said. I chose to walk it to take in a little bit of the city and 20 minutes doesn't bother me anyway.  I misjudged my turns a little bit and overshot the hotel but was able to figure it out with the help of a friendly local who asked if I was lost. It turns I just needed to head backwards two blocks so to speak and then I was at the hotel.

Check in to the Sunroute New Sapporo was a bit worrisome for a second or two because I thought they were going to tell me that they didn't have any non-smoking rooms but fortunately he was able to get me the key to a room on the 10th floor, which is the top floor of the building, that was already finished being cleaned. I sorted my stuff out quickly and then headed straight out to find lunch. It was past 2pm by this point. I sort of screwed myself over because I recognized a Mosburger right away and being very hungry I chose to have another double Mos cheeseburger then. If I had held out I would have realized that Odori park is filled with beer gardens and I could have eaten at any one of them.  I was disappointed in myself for this but live and learn. Being my first day here I will have plenty of chances to eat at the beer gardens (though I have to make a special trip to the Sapporo Beer Garden and Beer Museum during the stay). I walked through Odori park and found a place to have an ice cream cone. It was again stinking hot here. Even though I am much farther north than I was in Tokyo and people told me to expect it to be cool it was definitely around 88F or so and humid and sunny.  The map I got had a little write up that said to expect it to be 10C cooler than Tokyo. Oh how I wish...  Another thing is that being a total caucasian gaijin here in Sapporo I am much more of a curiosity than I am in Tokyo. I had a lot of folks staring at me and even a few wave to me. The locals working in the park tried to get my attention rather than ignoring me as is likely in Tokyo. So I can say that makes things a bit more interesting. I think even Kyoto was not like this though a bit friendlier than Tokyo. I suspect that the northerners get a lot less gaijin here as a rule.  In any event, working my way down I found the Sapporo TV tower and figured that would be a fun few minutes. It is of course much shorter than the Tokyo Tower coming in at only 90 meters but still it does present a great view of the city. Sapporo is kind of a neat little city at least around the center area where Odori is and on up to Sapporo Station.  While up there it was obvious that one of the "women" walking around was really a guy, or at least she had the deepest voice I have ever heard on a Japanese woman.  A little odd but nothing too scary.  After doing the circuit and riding the elevator back down I then opted to head to the Clock Tower, which was built in 1878 in the style of American midwestern farmhouses. It was orginally named the drill house as they were supposed to do military drills there but changed over to the Clock Tower when they added the clock a couple years later. This building is steeped in Massachusetts history. The building was to be used as part of the first agricultural college in Japan and they hired an American from the Massachusetts Agricultural College to be the first vice-president to the Sapporo Agricultural College as it was called.  The clock that they added to the building was also made in Boston by the E. Howard Watch and Clock Co. and was added in 1881.  I really didn't think I'd find Boston history in Sapporo but I did.

From the clock tower I made my way to the Old Hokkaido Government Building which is now basically a museum which is open to the public and free. It has a small garden grounds around it. It is a red brick building which I think they are proud of for being of red brick. Inside are a small series of exhibits that highlight different ideas like the history of Hokkaido, Hokkaido products and so on.  Overall it was fairly nice for a free visit and took a fair amount of time to go through. I should point out that very little of the writing was in English but that doesn't bother me.  When I was done with the government building I decided that I would head back to the hotel at least for a while to relax. It was basically 5pm I was still sort of full from lunch and the ice cream and the heat was not helping my appetite at all. I figured I could head in and cold-soak my feet again. This had the major benefit of really cooling me down a lot while the AC in this hotel is not as good as the Villa Fontaine.  After I was done the soak I used some time to get this part written while I decided if my appetite was going to build up a bit.

After a short while I did indeed decide to walk outside and headed towards the beer gardens of course. Unfortunately they were all mobbed to the end and a single gaijin was going to have a hard time doing anything there. I should have gone earlier before it got too crowded. But for my late lunch I would have. I chose to tool around a bit and see what I could find. I happened upon a shopping arcade and the menu for an Indian restaurant named Jyoti looked very good so I decided I would have Indian food tonight. I know, first night in Sapporo and I still haven't had anything Japanese.  Anyway, I ordered the mutton curry, plain rice and garlic naan.  This was way too much food but I wasn't really thinking. I also had a couple Sapporo Classics along the way. The chef made the naan fresh. I could see him doing it in the kitchen as I was waiting. The food was honestly excellent. I ordered the curry very hot which was the highest you could get without paying extra and it was indeed very spicy though I could see room for improvement where the pay options would be.  I wonder if they charge extra because the spices cost a lot or to dissuade people from ordering things they probably wouldn't eat?  When I was getting ready to go they said they had a free dessert which I really didn't have room for but had to try. It was a very cool looking dessert having a white yogurt type base I think with orange lettering spelling out Jyoti on it. It was tangy and citrusy and cool so I did really enjoy it even if I was stuffed solid.  After settling up I headed back to the room to call it a night because I was full and exhausted as the day of transit took a fair bit out of me.

The pictures for today are located here.