(Japan Jan 2015) Day 12: Tomamu to Sapporo. Visit Sapporo. Stay at Sapporo

Day 12 (3 Feb): Tomamu to Sapporo. Visit Sapporo. Stay at Sapporo.

This day's itinerary:
(Day 11 of our 14 days JR Railpass)

0905-1051 Tomamu to Sapporo via Ltd Exp train 

Deposit luggage at hotel near Sapporo station

15mins bus ride from Sapporo station's north exit to Sapporo Beer museum

Visit Sapporo Beer museum

15mins bus ride from Sapporo Beer museum to Sapporo station

Buy some food from Daimaru dept store food hall

Sapporo to Miyanosawa station (transfer at Odori station) via subway (about 20mins)

Walk 15mins from Miyanosawa station to Ishiya factory

Visit Ishiya factory

Miyanosawa station to Sapporo station (transfer at Odori station) via subway (about 20mins)

Dinner at Kani honke

View from our room in the morning

 After we had breakfast at our hotel at Tomamu, we checked-out and took the resort's free shuttle bus to Tomamu station. It's just a short 5mins bus ride.

Inside Tomamu station.

 There's no elevator nor escalator at this small station, so you'd have to carry your luggage up and down the overhead bridge to get to the train platform.

This is the overheadbridge at Tomamu station, linking the train platforms

Taking this direct Ltd Exp train from Tomamu to Sapporo.

 Upon arriving at Sapporo and deposited our luggage at our hotel just opposite Sapporo station, we took a short 10-15mins bus ride from Sapporo station to Sapporo Beer museum.  You can check with the tourist info counter at Sapporo station for bus timings.

Photography is allowed inside the museum.

For a small fee, you can also purchase different beers for tasting. 

While the others were having fun tasting the various beers, I bought ice-cream instead.  

They have quite a few interesting favours here.

Salt and Black pepper flavour ice-cream?

Black Beer flavoured ice-cream?

My choco and vanilla flavour ice cream

 Something interesting happened to me while I was browsing the souvenirs section. A lady walked up to me and asked if I'm the blogger of "goawaysam" travelblog. And I was surprised that from the very few photos of myself that I posted on this blog, she actually was able to recognise me. :) 

So honoured. *blush*  

If you are reading this, hi Sam! (yes, she even has the same name as I do)

Many beer themed souvenirs here.

Took this bus back to Sapporo station.

Back at Sapporo station.

 Since we didn't had time for lunch (because we had to rush to Ishiya Chocolate Factory before they close) so we just went to Daimaru dept store's basement food hall and buy some skewered food.

Daimaru departmental store's basement food hall

bought some of these for lunch.

From Sapporo station, we took a subway train (had to transfer at Odori station) to Miyanosawa subway station, which is the closest station to Ishiya factory.

 While walking from the subway station to Ishiya factory, we took out the food which we bought from Daimaru earlier on, and munched along the way. Not recommended though, since the food got cold really fast in winter.

Anyway, it's just a short 10-15mins walk from subway station to reach Ishiya factory.

Arrival at Ishiya factory. Snow snow everywhere.

Us and a gigantic snowman

free Shiroi Koibito biscuit with your admission fees.

Visiting the manufacturing section of the famous Hokkaido Shiroi Koibito biscuits

There's a small cafe section at the Ishiya factory, but since we were running abit late, so many of the more popular desserts were already sold out.

You can add your photo on these metal tin boxes for a fee.

Bought this. Nice!!

They even have a layer of plastic covering the paper bag, to prevent the paper bag from getting wet in rainy/snowy conditions.

Leaving Ishiya factory.

While at the subway station (can't remember which though, either Odori or Sapporo I guess), we saw this large lego model of a busy subway station platform. 

 Our hotel at Sapporo, Hotel Route-Inn Sapporo Ekimae Kitaguchi, just across from Sapporo station's north exit.

We went back to our hotel room for a short break before heading for dinner at my favourite crab restaurant, Kani Honke near Sapporo station.

Kani Honke.

 Everytime my husband and I goes to Sapporo, we will always stopover at this restaurant for at least 1 meal.  (usually end up having more than 1 meal though. lol)

crab miso

crab croquette, my fav.

After dinner, it's desserts at our room. Opened the box of Tsumugi which we bought from Ishiya earlier in the day.

Go to previous blog entry: Day 11 Noboribetsu to Tomamu  / 

Go to next blog entry: Day 13 Otaru

Lost my bear at Paris.

Sorry for the long delay in my posting of the remaining entries for my Japan trip's photos, as well as my recent Europe trip's photos.

Am not really in the mood to process and look through my photos for these trips.

Why?

Because my precious bear, whom readers of my blog might recall seeing often in my trips' photos, was stolen during my recent Europe trip in Paris.  And it was really tough for me to see so many photos of her appearing in our Japan and Europe trip's pics.

photo taken at Bruges in Belgium, just 1 day before she was taken from us. 

This was what happened:

My husband's backpack was being stolen from the overhead rack just above my seat on our train ride via TGV from Montparnasse station in Paris to St Malo on 6 Sep 2015.

Since we also have 2 large luggage bags (which we stored 1 at a rack at the front of the carriage, and the other 1 on the rack just behind our seats), so while waiting for the train to depart from Montparnasse, I was at my seat constantly looking front (at the luggage at the front of the carriage) and back (at the luggage behind me) to ensure no one takes them since the train is still stationary. But I didn't expect that my husband's backpack which was just above us could be stolen so easily without us noticing. Yes, there were many people walking up and down the aisle but I only tried to take note of our 2 luggage bags, since the one at the front of the carriage was very near to the train doors.

The thief apparently boarded the train not long after we boarded at Montparnasse, took the backpack, and then alighted before the train even started moving at Paris. We know this because once the train started moving at Montparnasse station (the train was technically still at Montparnasse station actually, but the doors were already closed and train started moving already) my husband looked up at the overhead rack, and realised that the bag was already gone. He walked down the entire train (all the carriages) and looked at overhead compartments and wasn't able to spot it. Our train ticket conductor onboard the train told us that another guy in another carriage on the same train also had his laptop stolen.

We've checked with the main Lost and Found office at Paris near Convention station before we left France, as well as physically went down to the Lost and Found counter at Montparnasse station 2 days after the incident. We also walked around Montparnasse station (2 days after we returned to Paris from our short visit to St Malo) looking at rubbish bins, and also asked some of the cleaning staff if they had seen the bear...and nothing.

I don't care about the expensive gadgets that was in the bag since they can be easily replaced. But what makes my heart break is that my precious teddy bear which has been with me for the past 15 years was also in that bag.  

My very last photo of her. Photo taken at Paris, just a few hours before she was stolen from us.

I miss you.