Here is a little throwback post to when I got the chance to travel to Japan (my favorite East Asian country) to celebrate Christmas in 2018 and New Years for 2019. We decided to go the road less traveled, ditching the mainstream route of Tokyo and Osaka and onward to the North island of Hokkaido.
Known for its snow-covered landscapes, seafood and picturesque hikes, Hokkaido is slowly catching up to its southern counterparts and is now seeing an increase in tourism activity. My family and I decided to plan a round trip route from Tokyo to Sapporo via train. The whole trip took us roughly a week, including spending a total of one day in the train. Here is a map of the route we took (credits to Google Maps) and let the journey begin.
Aomori
Aomori is the capital city of a prefecture that shares its name, which roughly translates to “Green Forest City”. This prefecture, along with its city, is well known for its production of Aomori apples which contributes to 56% of Japan’s total apple production. This means that their delicacies are mostly apple-based. You can definitely find apple chips, apple pie, apple sauce and my personal favorite, apple liquor. We also went to the Christmas market at night which sells mini candied apples which were definitely more enjoyable and easier to eat than their larger counterparts. There was also a fish market and I had to get a fresh bowl of Chirashi (raw seafood over rice).
Hakodate
We then hopped on the train to reach the port city of Hakodate. Famous for it’s seafood, Hakodate is more famously known for its squid dishes. You can enjoy a fresh slice of squid on your plate. I can’t deny how fresh the squid was as it was still alive a minute before it arrived at my table. Other than it’s seafood, the city houses one of the largest Christmas parades in the area on its harbor. I was also very fortunate to experience snow, which I dearly missed when I left Michigan, during Christmas.
Niseko
Niseko was our snowboarding destination, it has the most majestic mountainous view. Unfortunately, I could not take a lot of pictures with my camera as I had to leave it in my room as I was snowboarding for the entire day. Nevertheless, I was still able to take a picture of the city which boasts a five-month long winter ski season.
Otaru
We finally arrived in the city which is known for the world-famous Hokkaido milk and Hokkaido cheese. Otaru is a city not far from Sapporo and thus has many visitors who are there on a day trip from the larger bordering city. The city seemed as if it was frozen in time. Antique buildings can be found organized neatly along the Otaru Canal, one of the main attractions of the city. Another attraction is the Otaru Music Box Museum which has a collection of local-made music boxes that contain music ranging from traditional Japanese to modern pop like Frozen’s Let It Go. My goal in this city was definitely to get my favorite cake of all time, Fromage Cheesecake by LeTao.
Sapporo
Most of you who like to drink beer must be familiar with the name of this city. Sapporo was our last stop in Hokkaido and is actually it’s largest city. Here, we enjoyed our last few days by devouring some delicious Chirashi from the market and downing some authentic Sapporo beer that you can only get in the factory. Speaking of Sapporo beer, the factory also functions as a museum and houses a great Genghis Khan barbecue restaurant. Dining at the restaurant made me feel like I was back in Germany with the red brick architecture, beer glasses and meat. We also got to top off a good early dinner with some one of the best parfaits in Japan.
