Golden Week Part 1: Let's Explore Sapporo!

Golden week usually occurs from the end of April to the beginning of May. It is a cluster of Japanese holidays so most Japanese workers and students get the week off. It is pretty much comparable to spring break in the United States. This is usually the time where most people go travelling, visiting near and far places, meeting up with friends, and possibly going abroad. Most IES Abroad students went to Osaka and Kyoto, while a few others went to Korea for the week. For me, I decided to go to Hokkaido! I have a friend who lives there and this was the best time to see him since he got the week off. It's been two years since I saw him so I was really excited!

Hokkaido. There’s not much to say except that it was wonderful! The weather was chilly and extremely windy but the food there was great! There weren’t as many travelers visiting Hokkaido during golden week which was pretty surprising. The trains weren’t packed like the ones in Tokyo which was absolutely great and refreshing! It felt good to not have to prepare for rush hour on trains! We looked around Sapporo which was the place I was staying at during my time there. We visited the famous Odori Park and saw the Sapporo TV tower! We also visited my friend’s alma mater, Hokkaido University. The campus was really beautiful and filled with an abundant amount of nature. I also tried out one of the specialty dishes in Hokkaido, known as soup curry. Yes, that is how it is named haha. It was seriously delicious and a must try if you do go visit! It is not the usual thick curry that most people know of, but rather a thin soup that is flavored as curry.

Later on, we went to the JR Tower observation deck in Sapporo Station and saw the night view of the entire city! It was really nice and relaxing! Sapporo station is really big and is connected to a shopping center so I also did some window shopping! It was really convenient to have my hotel really close to the station because I was able to walk back there again later. My friend also took me to Susukino which is where all the people go for night life in Sapporo! It is known to be the entertainment district of Sapporo! Most of the shops and restaurants are open late and people usually come here to hang out with their friends, go drinking, or karaoke! We spent the time sightseeing and ended the night with some parfait!

To be continued in next post!