We left Yokota AB at around 5:30 AM on the bus and headed to Haneda airport for our flight to Hokkaido. Haneda is about an hour's drive away from the base and at that early of the morning there was no traffic, so we made good time.
A lot of people choose not to use the ITT office to plan their trips but I just want to commend them on a well-planned tour. When we arrived at the airport, our tour guides got our tickets for us and all we needed to do was to check in our luggage. It was easy and stress free.
We got to our gate and all the kids were delighted to see that we would be flying on a Pokemon airplane! In the plane, the flight attendants handed out little Pokemon toys for the kids. "A" was very excited.
The flight to Hokkaido is about an hour and a half and we arrived at the New Chitose Airport at around 10:00 AM. We got our luggage, boarded our tour bus and off we went to start our Hokkaido adventure.
Our first stop was to the Ainu village. The Ainu people are the indigenous people of areas in Japan and Hokkaido. They have a very interesting history and relationship with Japan, similar to the Native Americans in the U.S. and the aborigines of Australia.
The Ainu village, or kotan, was located on a small lake that was completely frozen over at the time.
We were able to see the traditional Ainu homes made up of bamboo grass. The larger one is a traditional Ainu home and the smaller hut was for food storage.
Here is a photo from inside the Ainu home. The rafters were filled with hanging fish that was a staple in the Ainu diet. There is also a fire pit in the middle of the home where they family cooked and kept warm.
We were also shown Ainu clothing and dance. This Ainu man was performing a dance that told the story of a hunter.
Here also is a video that shows the Ainu song being performed around the fire pit. Because it's a larger video file, I've had to put it up on You Tube. Here's hoping I did it right.
Finally, there were many large wooden sculptures that the local Ainu carve. We managed to purchase a small hand carved wooden bear since these were a little too big to bring home with us.
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After the Ainu Village we stopped at a nearby hotel for a nice buffet lunch then headed to the city of Otaru. Otaru is a port city that is well known for its fresh seafood. I wished we could have brought some of the local catch home.
"A" and her usual photo with the long legged crabs. I think that'll be her signature photo pose.
It was nice to walk around the town and visit the different little shops in the area. Did I mention that there was a lot of snow? There was A LOT of snow.
What do they do with all that snow? Well they build snowmen, of course. Or snowgirls.
And being in Japan, they need a snow Hello Kitty.
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After Otaru, we were beat. We'd been up since 4:00 am and it was now around 4:00 pm. However, our day was not over. We drove an hour to Sapporo city to our hotel, the Royton Sapporo. We got there and had about an hour rest before we headed off to dinner at the Sapporo Bier Garten. Poor "A", she had started coming down with a cold. Luckily, I had packed some cold medicine for her. She rested for the hour, took some cold medicine and headed off to dinner with us. What a little trooper. Here she is walking around the grounds of the Bier Garten. She loves the snow.
The walk towards the restaurant was beautiful. A winter wonderland. Inside it was toasty warm with the promise of beer.
The Sapporo Bier Garten is known for two things. One is Beer (duh)
and the second is their mutton.
The dinner was comprised of all you can eat mutton & vegetables and all you can drink beer. Basically, a man's paradise. When we got to our table, they gave everyone a large plastic bag for your coats and a large apron/bib to cover yourself with. At first, I couldn't figure out the reason behind the trash bag. That is, until I started cooking.
At the Sapporo Bier Garten, you cook your own meat. Each table is set up with a little cast iron grill that you cook your meat and vegetables on. Now imagine hundreds of people grilling mutton and vegetables all...at...once. We came out of that restaurant smelling like we rolled around in a BBQ pit. The smell did not leave our clothes until we returned home and washed them, 3 days later! I thanked God for those trash bags. I don't think I could stomach wearing my mutton-smelling coat for the entire weekend.
However, the mutton was awesome. If you know me, you know that I don't like American lamb/mutton. I haven't eaten it for over 10 years. Well, seeing that I had no choice and that our tour guide said the Hokkaido mutton tastes like beef, I decided to try it. I'm glad I did, itt was excellent. Here is Doug patiently awaiting my cooking and his beer.
You can't really tell, but it was VERY smoky in the room. At least it smelled yummy.
Finally, dinner ended and we boarded the bus and drove back to the hotel. A few of the younger members of our group went out to bar hop, but those of us with families went straight to our rooms for a shower and bed.
It was a tiring day but so exciting. We couldn't wait to see the Snow Festival the next day. Rest up.
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