We had a wintery and snowy holiday last December with the Gans and Gong Gong KK.
The weekend before we were due to fly off, there was a major snowstorm in Hokkaido, so bad that flights were cancelled and people were stuck at the airport. Thank God the weather cleared up by the time we flew in.
11 pc of luggage for 10 people!
The first of many snowy white roads we saw in Sapporo
Ready for the winter holiday!
Walking out from the hotel - Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo - on the first night in search of dinner. Some parts of the road was icy and slippery. Had to be very careful as we walked.
The kids enjoying every bit of the wintery weather and the soft snow.
Our first dinner was quite unremarkable. We decided to go to a sushi restaurant but they had only sushi and nothing else. No rice, no noodles. So the kids only ate tamago sushi and chawanmushi. Obviously it wasn't enough for them, especially the 3 growing Gan boys. We had to supplement their dinner with snacks from the Daimaru supermarket after that! We decided we had to do better for the rest of the holiday!
We sort of knew we probably would not be skiing very much. So there was no need to stay in a ski resort. Instead, we stayed in a hotel in Sapporo, and took a 50-min bus ride to the Sapporo Teine Highland Ski Park for the first 2 days.
Killing time on the 50-min ride to the ski park - play tic tac toe!
Group photo just after we alighted from the bus!
I decided that I'd take ski lesson this time round, with Ethan, since Aunty Wendy and Gong Gong KK volunteered to look after Aaron and Nadine, who both did not want to take lessons.
The lessons were good and fun, but I realised that I did not have the guts for skiing. Just couldn't stomach the high speed of going down the slope. I'd rather fall! So I guess that's all the skiing I'd ever do!
Meanwhile, Daddy was trying to remember how to ski again
and the kids were having a whale of a time playing with snow, burying Gong Gong KK, and sledding down the gentle slope at the kids' park.
The kids' park even as an escalator to bring the kids to the top of the slope!
On the first night, we'd seen long queues at the buffet restaurants. While attracted by the very economical prices, we were to tired and hungry to queue. But we decided to try 2 different buffet restaurants for the next 2 nights. The spread of food was not huge, but the quality of food was very good, and we definitely would not be able to get this quality of buffet food at such good prices!
Christmas lights outside Daimaru
The next day, we went back to the ski park, and I decided that I would stay and play with the kids, rather than attempt to ski again.
Aunty Wendy gamely doing the snow-angel with Nadine
Our snowman
And Daddy had a much better run this time round.
The red scoop that Aaron was holding - he spotted it at the ski shop the 1st day we were there, and immediately asked Daddy to buy it. Daddy said to him, "I don't event know what's that!" And Aaron's brilliant reply, "I can use this to make snowballs!" How did he figure that out?!
Another brilliant Aaron moment - previous evening at the ski resort, while waiting for the last bus to take us back to the city, Aaron needed to go to the loo. Daddy had to rush him to the loo and back. And they couldn't run because the road was icy and slippery. Next evening, I told Daddy to take Aaron to the loo before we go to the bus stop. Daddy insisted that it's not necessary coz Aaron had just gone 15 min before. Then at the bus stop, Aaron came up to Daddy and said very carefully, "Daddy, do you think there's time for you to bring me to the toilet?" And gave a very I'm-so-sorry-but-I-hope-you'll-say-yes look. We all burst out laughing, and Daddy had to rush Aaron to the loo, once again. Thankfully both evenings, they made it back just as the bus was pulling up.
4th day in Sapporo - a day of feasting!
We took a nice walk from our hotel went to the Nijo Fish Market.
The streets were beautifully covered with fresh snow.
The moment we got there, we decided to go into a restaurant for early lunch, to beat the lunch crowd.
Aaron eyeing the fish roe rice bowl. We were really surprised that he liked it so much!
The kids enjoying their lunch. The 2 eldest kids of the Gan and Lee family preferred to save their stomachs for McDonald's.
The adults with our yummilicious salmon/seafood rice bowls.
That's just part 1 of our feast. Part 2, we walked along the fish market for more food!
Oysters and tuna
Scallops
It was quite a fun experience crowding around a heater to eat in the cold!
And then, after the adults were satisfied, it was the kids' turn to be pleased. McDonald's!
On the way to McDonald's, we saw these Hello Kitty barrier supports! What a cute decoration for an otherwise boring and dull construction site! Trust the Japanese to be creative that way!
After all that food, we were really stuffed. So much so that for dinner, we decided to just buy some food from 7Eleven and bring back to our hotel room to eat! Have to say that the 7Eleven bento sets were good!
No comments:
Post a Comment