Venturing out of Sapporo

Everyone enjoyed a much needed sleep in this morning. We had arranged car hire several months ago and the men went to pick it up just after 9am. We played some festive music/Christmas carols along the ways and enjoyed looking out at the snow for the first hour to the SHIRO Factory Shop & Cafe in Sunagawa. SHIRO is a Japanese cosmetic brand I came across a couple of years ago. It is a famous cosmetic and fragrance brand from Hokkaido, known for using natural and locally sourced ingredients.
The building houses a factory where SHIRO products are manufactured, a store, cafe and lounge. One of the highlights here is the blender lab, which allows you to create your own unique fragrance. Us girls had fun making our own bottles while waiting for lunch to arrive, followed by some efficient shopping in the last 30 minutes. We had a pretty tight schedule to meet as we were aiming to catch the 2.30pm penguin parade at Asahiyama Zoo (it takes about an hour from SHIRO). BUT we also wanted to quickly stop over at Nakaya bakery along the way, since Ange had read somewhere that they are famous for the freshly baked apple pies.
Well it was worth the 5 minute drive. Joel dropped us off and we quickly ran inside. I could smell the aroma as we approached the front door, and see them baking ahead of us once we were inside. We grabbed 4 pieces and ate the in the car on the way to the zoo.
Delicious flaky crust made with cultured Hokkaido butter 😋

We arrived spot on 2.30pm and quickly made our way to see the penguins. We know the Japanese are very punctual, so weren’t surprised to see the penguins already marching out as we got there and tried to find a good spot for some photos.
This penguin walk is a famous winter event in Hokkaido, where they walk along the snow covered path for exercise, twice daily. It was extremely cute to watch them waddle along the course. There was no fences so a great way to get up close and personal. But the staff would often remind us to stand behind the line.
Afterwards we wandered around the zoo checking out other animals (including seals, a polar bear and hippo). The zoo closes at 3.30pm which sounds early but it does start getting really dark here soon after 4pm.
We arrived back at our hotel around 5.45pm, in time for happy hour drinks and followed by dinner at the nearby Sapporo factory. We introduced our friends to miso ramen (where we had lunch yesterday), Okuhararyu. We all enjoyed some hot ramen, gyoza and fried chicken.
After dinner. Joel and Jazzy went back to the hotel for an early rest. I joined the others for a walk to Daimaru for some browsing ☺️Read more