Sapporo 1

It's only 36 minutes by express train from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo and 1040¥ (about AUD15) which is quite reasonable compared to the Sydney Airport train. Around Sapporo the land is flat. There is more space in Hokkaido, the farms and houses could be in Europe until you notice the Japanese aspects. I read somewhere that many young Japanese come to Hokkaido to escape the cramped lifestyle in the south.

Sapporo's streets are laid out in a grid pattern and numbered in the four cardinal directions so it wasn't too hard to find the backpacker hostel. After escaping from the maze of passages that the central station is.  I saw a lot of bicycles and riders on Sapporo streets. Despite all the trappings of a modern Japanese city, it's still bicycle friendly. The hostel was tiny—for example it wasn't easy to turn around in the prefab shower cubicle—but had all the required facilities.

After settling down and having a shower I asked the keeper for places to eat. He marked a couple of places in Susukino, the nightlife district only 10 minutes walk away. Even though it is an entertainment district with bars and the like, there were many families out dining alfresco. The warm and sultry night was probably encouraging people to be outdoors. A couple of streets had been blocked off for a music festival. A young singer in a short skirt with a little girl voice was doing very well at being cute. Japanese women are good at looking young, whether it's the clothes they wear, the hairstyles or cosmetics, I couldn't say. Probably all of those and more and it's probably a cultural thing. Later on a singer of Latin American songs came on with his flute and accompanying drummer. I suspect the Japanese woman waving the CDs for sale in one hand at the end of the performance and holding a child in the other was his wife. Both performers were actually quite competent.

Despite the fact that this was a nightlife district. I did not feel hassled in the least. The only time I was approached was when a spruiker desultorily tried to interest me with a laminated poster of some bar girls. My only worry was that since I couldn't read the advertisements, I might inadvertently wander into a place thinking I would be getting Mongolian Lamb but be offered meat of a totally different sort. Heh.

The keeper had recommended a ramen shop called Yukikaze, saying nine o'clock start. Was that right, start, not end, kuji kara? Yes, no mistake. When I finally found the hole in the wall place, there was a group of people waiting for the opening. The posted hours were from 2100 to 0400. Obviously for the owls to get a meal after a night out. I had the miso ramen and a Sapporo Classic beer. It's not one of my favourite dishes, but the execution of this one was pretty good.


In the photo you see Ramen Street. There's a New Ramen Street nearby. There are so many eateries in Susukino that I think half the inhabitants must be operating them for the other half.