Trip to winter wonderland - Day 1

My buddy texts me that he booked a trip to Hokkaido to go see the snow festival in Sapporo and asked if I can join him. I looked at the dates and rates. I could only make it at the start of the festival at reasonable rates. The only issue I could see is that it’s my busy time at work.

I put in my vacay request and it was accepted. I did tell my boss that the dates I requested are the only ones with affordable rates. Request approved. Yay!

So, I put in my booking, texted my buddy that I booked the trip, then left it at that. The booking was made in November, and the snow festival is in February. Some tours were already fully booked. That’s Japan for you.

Now, come end January, a fucking blizzard hits Sapporo, suspending trains and buses. I was on pins and needles since I was flying out on Sunday and was hoping that I don’t get stranded at the airport. Sunday comes, flights are still flying out, so I headed for the airport early so I can go explore the shops before my 8:40pm flight. I get to the airport and when I was checking in my suitcase, the agent offered to put me on an earlier flight since they were experiencing delays. Yes, please! I can always explore the shops at another time.

I got to the Shin Chitose airport and found that the trains were running, although it was snowing. Whew! That was my biggest worry. I got to the station where the hotel is, and the sidewalks were covered with layers of packed ice and snow. Dragging my suitcase over the uneven surface was not fun. Fortunately, the hotel was on a few minutes away from the train station. After dropping my bags in the room, I went back out to go to the convenience store since everything was closed. I got the midnight munchies since I was still up way past my usual bedtime. The night view was pretty, covered in fresh snow.

While I managed to get to my hotel without experiencing drastic delays, my buddy's experience was the opposite. His first leg was smooth, but when he got to the layover airport, he found that his flight to Sapporo got canceled and was told by his booking agent that there were no alternate flights that can be booked. After arguing with the agent, demanding a full refund for this entire trip, the agent miraculously found an alternative route to get him to Sapporo. After experiencing one delay after another, he finally made it to his hotel. The poor boo looked so exhausted when I finally saw him.

The room at the hotel I was staying at was just as small as the one I stayed at in Kanazawa, as was the bath tub. But, this hotel had a communal bath. Yay! They charged for breakfast, but it was only 500yen (about $3.50), and it came with an assortment of freshly baked rolls, soup, salad, eggs, sausages, yogurt, coffee, tea, and soft drinks. The soup was clam chowder, making the cost well worth it. The rolls were good, too. This hotel also offers free snacks in the evening from 5-10pm - mini donuts, rolls, and soft serve ice cream. Why of course I took advantage of that (my buddy was so jealous of the free ice cream since his hotel only offered free popsicles lol ).

To be continued . . .

 Feb 11