Day 6 (20 Oct): Sapporo (扎幌) - Chitose (千岁) - Haneda - Narita

After breakfast, we visited the Tokeidai Clock Tower (扎幌市时计台). An umbrella we brought along came in handy because the sky started to drizzle.

The Clock Tower's history as extracted from a website: "The development of Sapporo as the capital of Hokkaido began in 1869, with the help of many foreign experts, engineers and educators. The Clock Tower was built in 1878 and is therefore regarded as both a historical and cultural symbol of Sapporo. The Clock Tower was originally called "Embujo" - meaning a 'military drill hall' - and served as a drill hall for the Sapporo Agricultural College (currently Hokkaido University), which was the first institution for Agricultural Studies in Japan".

"Dr. William S. Clark, President of Massachusetts Agricultural College, was invited as the first vice-president of the Sapporo Agricultural College. During his tenure, he designed the curriculum with military training, similar to that of MAC. Professor William Wheeler took over after Dr. Clark and planned to build a military drill hall, which was later called the Clock Tower. It is said that Governor Kiyotaka Kuroda of the Hokkaido Development Commission proposed renovating the tower by installing a large clock, which was manufactured and purchased from the E. Howard Watch & Clock Co. of Boston, Massachusetts. The construction of this new addition was completed in 1881".

"The simple and practical features of the Clock Tower's wooden structure are typical of American houses found in the Mid-west and West during its colonization. Rooms on the first floor were used as laboratories, lecture rooms, and exhibition space for zoological, botanical, and mineralogical specimens. The second floor was used for physical education training as well as a ceremony hall.The Clock Tower was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1970 and is now a museum that is also used for various cultural activities. The Clock Tower continues to serve as a historical landmark, telling stories of early days in Sapporo. The clock after which it is named continues to run and keep time, and the chimes can be heard every hour".

Layout of the Sapporo city:

Then, we walked over to the nearby Odori Park (大通公园) located in the heart of Sapporo. Odori (大通) means "large street" in Japanese. It stretches east to west through Nishi 1 chōme, Ōdōri to Nishi 12 chōme, Ōdōri ("Nishi" means west, and "chōme" is a block in Japanese), and divides the city into north and south sections. Odori Park spans about 1.5 km and covers 78,901 m². During the urban planning of Sapporo, it was originally designated as the main street but it eventually became a park. Throughout the year, many events and ceremonies such as the Sapporo Lilac Festival and the Sapporo Snow Festival are held in the park, and local landmarks including the Sapporo TV Tower and the Sapporo City Archive Museum are located within its boundaries.

Odori Park with the Sapporo TV Tower in the background (the NHK TV station is beside the tower):

Next, it was time for some retail therapy at the Sapporo underground shopping mall which was within close proximity. The mall accomodates approximately 150 shops and restaurants.

A pleasant discovery:





This dispensing machine caught my eye - look at the variety of cigarettes brands:

The "damage" (things I bought for myself): a watch (2,625 yen/S$33.34) and a 2008 cat desk calendar (1,995 yen/S$25.34, from the Kinokuniya bookstore - very nice!). In slightly more than a month's time, the calendar will "surface" in my office :)

Japanese ladies are a very fashionable lot. Too bad this was not quite the 'right' season (ie autumn) to be shopping for clothes and shoes. Most of the stuff are jackets, turtle-necks, woollen skirts/pants, scarves, gloves, boots...unsuitable for the tropic weather in Singapore yah? (Also good lah, otherwise the "damage" to my wallet would be substanial :p )

Next, we went to the Chitose Salmon Aquarium, the first in Japan that shows the underwater world of an actual river (Chitose River).

Admission ticket:



Brochure:

It seems salmon is less costly in Hokkaido. The fish can be quite pricey in supermarkets in Singapore and if eaten as sashimi, you get like five slices for $15-$20. At some of the steamboat lunches during the trip, the slices were quite big and thick and even used as stock for the soup base.

An Indian fishwheel - this facility has been used to catch adult salmon returning to their chosen spawning ground in the Chitose River since 1896. It has played an important role in the proliferation of salmon and trouts in Japan. This fishwheel is a reproduction of the one used a long time ago by northern American indians, and now this structure is known as something unique in the world.

Surrounding view:

The next destination wrapped up our time in Sapporo/Hokkaido, the Chitose Factory Outlet Mall Rera (http://www.outlet-rera.com/). Time for retail therapy again (about four hours)! Lunch was on our own. We had a very delicious omelette rice (served with a meat pattie and a yummy gravy sauce) at a food court within the mall. The omelette was semi-solid, just the way I like it!

As stated on the mall's guide map: "Outlet goods are discounted products including name-brand retailer's goods in stock, products whose production has been discontinued and sample products. They are marked down 30-80% but have no quality problems".

The "damage":
1) Me - Coach handbag (44,100 yen/S$560)
2) Me - Benetton bag (2,900 yen/S$36.83)
3) Me - A pair of Miss Sixty jeans (13,800 yen/S$175.26)
4) Grimlock - A Hugo Boss long-sleeved shirt (12,075 yen/S$153.35)
5) Grimlock - A local brand long-sleeved shirt
6) Grimlock - A pair of Energie jeans (10,800 yen/S$137.16)

We aren't suckers for branded stuff but when there're good bargains as these, we just have to do the natural thing ;) (I almost ended up buying one more bag, from Hugo Boss - my head eventually won the battle over my heart, ha ha ha...)

We left for Chitose Airport and took an evening domestic flight back to Narita Airport, Tokyo. We took dinner (Japanese BBQ buffet) later than the "usual" timing, at close to 9pm. "Something else" on the dining table became another key highlight of this trip - Kobe beef, paid out of our own pockets (9,000 yen/S$114.30). We had it done medium rare (the chef didn't disappoint). There was no seasoning whatsoever, yet the beef tasted soooooo good, truly sensational! And great value too (you can't get such big pieces at that price in Singapore)!!

Hotel: Narita Excel Hotel Tokyo. This was the last hotel in the trip. We stayed at a different hotel on every night and I'd say all five hotels were of decent quality (ie of four-star standard).