Japan 2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 7 (Sapporo New Chitose Airport to Tokyo)

Date of Travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

Doraemon Waku-Waku Skypark at New Chitose Airport, Sapporo

Today is all about getting ourselves back to Tokyo. A seemingly simple gesture, but a rather tiring one. Directly opposite the Mercure, is the bus stop for the express bus to the New Chitose Airport. Once we arrived, we had great fun at the Sky Park meant for children. It is amazing that the Japanese have utilised the airport as a venue outing for locals. People actually take the train/bus and spend a full day here doing arts and craft, joining in on activities, having meals, and then going home. It's massive and have so many different areas for children to enjoy.

Japan 2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 6 (Otaru)

Date of Travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

Otaru Canal - Kena bluff! This photo looks way nicer than it actually was

Having given up our car on Day 5, we took the train to Otaru for a day trip, since people say it was easy to get there by train, and difficult to find a parking at Otaru. Bearing in mind that this was summer, I think that was a mistake. All the tourist sites found in Otaru stretches across 2 JR railway stations - Otaru Station and Otaru-Minami station. The obvious choice was to stop at Otaru Station first, and walk to the canal, and then make your way west and shop along the way and finally going home via Otaru-Minami station.

Japan 2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 5 (Sapporo)

Date of Travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

OMG! It's the Sapporo Beer Festival! But wait - we don't drink beer. D'oh!

Today was meant for wandering around Sapporo, and enjoying the food and shopping. However, it was so freaking hot! I miss our car :( We started out by walking to Nijo market to have brunch. I wanted to test the seafood, and ordered quite a fare bit. Unfortunately, it tasted just mediocre as I have to admit, Nijo Market is meant more for tourists.

Japan 2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 4 (Unkai, Mitsui Factory Outlet, Sapporo)

Date of travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

Unkai Terrace, Tomamu, Hokkaido

We had a mission this morning, and that was to take the gondola ride up 1100m above sea level, to the Unkai Terrace, in hope of viewing a blanket of clouds. It is a natural phenomenon based on the correct terrain and weather conditions, to make the clouds seem to flow like the sea. We set off from Furano at 4:30am! We eventually got there at approximately 6:00am, and we were blown away by the gondola ride itself. It was like riding into the abyss. This is a picture from a blog of what we could have seen.

Photo credit - http://blog.asiantown.net/-/11627/unkai-terrace-in-japan-must-visit-before-i-die

Japan2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 3 (Furano)

Date of travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

Shikisai-no Oka Farm, Furano

Today is the most scenic day of our trip. Get ready for a lot of photos!

Furano in summer is basically visiting farm after farm after farm, in hopes of capturing the most beautiful of flowers. Some may have lavender, some may have sunflowers, others have fields of colours. It's up to you to choose which farm to visit. We didn't have a specific itinerary like die-hard travelers to this region. We just drove and stopped where we thought looked nice. Our first stop was towards Patchwork Road.

Lavender are almost withering, but I'm still a happy camper

Japan2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 2 (Furano)

Date of Travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

Furano, Hokkaido with our rented car

We bought the JetStar Asia flight from Narita to Sapporo for 30960¥(RM1006) for return for 2 persons including 2 check-in luggage. From Toyoko Inn Haneda Kuko I, there was a train to Narita airport but it required a change of train. We got off at the right train station, but did not know where to go to board the correct train. The same platform services multiple lines, and they were all in Japanese. HH soon got the hang of the train lines, and guessing Japanese words. The train ride was a realization what's to come in terms of transport around Tokyo. They have over 20 lines of metro. Shinjuku train station has over 40 platforms. That is another story for another day.

There were many delays that day due to an air-show at Hokkaido. Flights were grounded, and then there was a queue to depart and land. So it was a delay of about 1.5 hours. When we landed at Sapporo airport, we headed to the Nissan counter for our rental car for 3 days. I pre-booked it from http://www2.tocoo.jp/en to get a neat discount. 13125¥(RM426) for a Nissan March for 48 hours. From the Nissan counter, you will be guided to board a bus to the actual Nissan outlet nearby, where you will pickup your car.

Japan2013: Tokyo + Hokkaido - Day 1

Date of Travel: 2-12 Aug 2013

My first trip to Tokyo! (Taken on Day 8 at Shinjuku)

Day 1: The challenge of getting out of Haneda Airport

(Note: This is a lengthy post for those with AirAsiaX tickets and don't know how to get to the city. Skip this if you just want to see photos of the trip)