the people here are so nice. i asked a man at the fish market if there was a good ramen shop nearby. he said “oh yes, come and follow me.” we walked 8 minutes in the snow and he led me here. he even opened the door for me and told the ramen shop owner i came from hawaii so make me a good ramen. that was cool.
i love ika so i ordered the ika ramen. it was so good!
then i went to check into my hotel. i was so happy when i got to my room. the most magnificent view! fresh white powder snow everywhere! i laid down on my bed and just gazed out the window for a couple of hours.
people from hawaii don’t get to see snow, so seeing so much snow like this amazes me. it’s exactly what i came here for.
they have a girly basket and even a bath robe for their guests. this is how you are supposed to go to the onsen. the onsen is on the 12th floor rooftop. there is an outside one and an inside one. i went to the outside one first and after 3 minutes, my hair froze. but omg, my body felt great! i ended up going 3 times yesterday and i’m going again right after i post this.
4:30pm is sunset here. that’s pretty dam early.
then i went walking up and down the lonely streets. slipping and sliding everywhere. i felt like it was christmas again! it was a very happy lonely moment for me.
then i finally found the shop Yuki-san recommended to me.
i have no idea what it’s called, but i went in anyway.
first i ordered a draft beer, then i ordered ika, then i ordered grilled fish, then i ordered another beer, then i ordered hot rice.
the lady told me that not too many tourists come here. mostly local people and that was the kind of place i wanted to eat at.
they brought the ika out and it was still alive! the legs were moving as it was trying to get up and walk. couldn’t have been any fresher than this.
one of the best ika sashimi i’ve ever eaten in my life.
then as i was about to eat the legs, the lady asked me if i wanted to eat it grilled. i said yes.
so she grilled it and brought it back. omg, it was awesome!
then my hokke. i love eating this fish with hot rice. everything was 4200 yen. not too bad.
then as i was walking back to my hotel, i seen people on the road working hard. i was thinking to myself what a hard life it must be living in the snow. then i was thinking about walking up and asking the man if i could build a snowman. but i think i’m a little too old for that.
there is a little train running in the streets. it’s super cute and hopefully will get to ride it today. but first, the onsen!
hokkaido is experiencing a very cold snow storm now. this is exactly what i wanted. tomorrow i move more north, more deep into the snow. i know there is powder everywhere and i’m looking forward to playing in it. maybe i can finally build my first snowman! keep warm and have a wonderful day!
