Sydney-Tokyo-Sapporo

We arrived in Tokyo around 5.30am. Sleep was OK, I napped on and off while watching Thunderbolts, and then Emily in Paris (Rome?) 😂
There was a 3 hour layover at Haneda airport, so we had some light snacks and Starbucks coffee for breakfast. The checkout process was efficient as usual so in hindsight I could have booked an earlier connecting flight to Sapporo.
It was great not having to move out of the international terminal to domestic. It’s all connected here but we did have to collect our luggage and check them back in again.
We boarded our next ANA flight around 8.30am and slept most of the way there. The view as we descended looked amazing, but we knew that meant how cold it would be once we stepped outside.
After picking up our luggage and meeting the Klook driver, we made our way to the Hotel Sosei. Traffic wasn’t too bad, but just it seems the airport is quite far away from the city (approx an hour).

As we stepped into the hotel foyer, we were greeted with the standard Japanese hospitality. It was noticeable how festive and cosy it felt inside. Thankfully our room was ready early, so we were able to quickly freshen up.
Our friends Ange & Adrian had already arrived earlier and had ventured elsewhere for lunch. We were hungry and felt like some noodle soup. The hotel converge recommended a place nearby for miso ramen (a Sapporo specialty), so we walked along the icy road to the Sapporo Factory and found Hokkaido Ramen Okuhararyu. The miso ramen and gyoza was delicious, and a real bargain for approx $33 AUD (3 bowls of ramen & 8 pieces of gyoza).
We finally met up with our friends later in the afternoon, just in time for the kids to see the lighting of the jumbo Christmas tree at Sapporo Factory. The tree is lit up with colourful ornaments and sparkling lights along with 5 minutes of music.

This was followed by happy hour drinks at our hotel lounge soon after 4pm, and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that most drinks (and some snacks) here are complimentary before 7pm! There were some pretty decent drinks on offer too, not just the standard house wine/beer. We made the most of this but also made sure we had enough space to fit in some fried chicken for dinner.
Daylight finishes around 4pm here during Winter, so by the time we started our 20 minute walk to Sapporo Zangi Hompo it felt much later than 6pm. There was a queue for the little restaurant at Sapporo Station, so we waited outside for almost half an hour before being seated. Even then we were split up with two tables. It was worth the wait though. Once inside we felt really warm and cozy, and we can order our meals with the QR codes provided at each table. “Zangi” is a chicken dish born in Hokkaido. The chicken is thoroughly marinated in soy sauce, garlic, ginger and other seasoning, then coated and deep fried. Apparently this is a casual way to enjoy local flavours of Sapporo, either as a single dish or a meal set with rice and some side dishes. Our meals arrived quickly and we were very satisfied. We braved the cold walk back to the hotel afterwards and enjoyed an early night in our comfortable beds 😴Read more