Last updated: July 26, 2024 at 10:02 AM

In the summer of 2024, Shinjuku 2-chome Popcorn's comfort trip was to Hokkaido. The participants are Hina Mama, Aya-chan, Chel-san, Yoshi-san, and Senri.
The itinerary was a two-night, three-day trip starting July 14th, visiting Sapporo, Susukino, and Otaru. In Susukino, we toured the aquarium ``AOAO SAPPORO'' in Tanukikoji, enjoyed a cruise on the Otaru Canal in Otaru, and strolled through the Otaru Sakaimachi Dori shopping street, which is known for its historic buildings and quaint atmosphere.

From Haneda Airport to New Chitose Airport

Last year's trip to Osaka USJ departed from Narita Airport, but this year it was from Haneda Airport, so I didn't have to get up so early. To New Chitose Airport, ANA flight 59 departs from Tokyo/Haneda at 10:00 and arrives at Sapporo/Chitose at 11:35.

Premier from New Chitose AirportHotel-TSUBAKI-Sapporo to

The accommodation will be the 5-star hotel "Premier Hotel TSUBAKI" in Sapporo. Take the airport shuttle bus from New Chitose Airport and get off at the "Premier Hotel TSUBAKI" bus stop. Time required: Approximately 65 minutes, price: 1,300 yen.

To the seafood market north gourmet restaurant

After checking in at the hotel, we headed to "Seafood Market Kitano Gourmet-tei" outside the Sapporo City Central Wholesale Market for lunch.
Take the free shuttle bus from Premier Hotel TSUBAKI, transfer to the train at Sapporo Station on the JR Hakodate Main Line, and get off at "Soen".

Seafood Restaurant Kita no Gourmet Tei, which has a seating capacity of 320, is located inside the Seafood Market Kita no Gourmet, and mainly serves hearty seafood bowls made with carefully selected ingredients, as well as sashimi, crab, and binchotan charcoal. We offer grilled foods at reasonable prices.

Visit the Tanukikoji aquarium in Susukino, Sapporo, and head to Ramen Yokocho

After leaving "Seafood Restaurant Kitano Gourmet-tei", we returned to Sapporo and toured the newly opened Tanukikoji aquarium "AOAO SAPPORO", then ate ramen at Shin Ramen Yokocho in Susukino and returned to the hotel. .

AOAO SAPPORO jellyfish (video)

An urban aquarium located in "moyuk SAPPORO," which was opened as a new complex on July 20, 2023, facing Tanukikoji Shopping Street, the center of Sapporo.SAPPORO ECOLOGYThis is a video of a jellyfish.

Despite having a big fall in Susukino town, "Yakiniku Sakaba" from girls bar "Candy Doll"Lemon"fart

On the first night, I went out from the hotel to Susukino in Sapporo with Aya-chan for free time, but as we were walking around Susukino, I tripped over a gaping hole in the sidewalk and had a big fall.
In Sapporo, a cold region, the difference in temperature since early spring has caused cracks in the road pavement, and there are holes everywhere, making it difficult to repair, so it is important to be careful where you step when walking. It's already too late, but I should have researched the local situation well in advance.

Undeterred by this trouble, I cooled my injured right hand with a cooling sheet that Aya-chan had bought for me at a convenience store, and at Aya-chan's suggestion, I visited Susukino's girl's bar ``Candy Doll.'' Actually, I was refused entry to 3 girls bars, so this is my 4th one lol
All of them were cute, friendly, and nice girls😄

By the way, the store I wanted to go to the most was a live house (girls bar), but both of us were refused entry because the live performance had ended.

After leaving Candy Doll, I went to the izakaya located under the Girls Bar building.Yakiniku Bar Lemon” and received Genghis Khan.
This izakaya is fully equipped with servers at all tables, and you can enjoy all-you-can-drink lemon sour for 500 yen (550 yen including tax) for 60 minutes, as well as your choice of fruit toppings. At Lemon, we ordered salted lamb Genghis Khan, raw lamb Genghis Khan "rose meat", and meat sushi. It was a very good restaurant, delicious and reasonably priced!

At “Yakiniku Bar Lemon” (video)

About the condition of my right hand after returning home

Later, a diagnosis at a local orthopedic clinic revealed that it was an avulsion fracture of the middle finger of the right hand, which took 8 weeks to fully heal.
For now, I can make alcohol using the thumb and index finger of my dominant hand, so it's a problem, but I can make it at the store 😅
Because of my carelessness, I ended up putting an unnecessary burden on the staff at the store, such as washing the dishes, and I can't help it 🙇‍♀️

On the second day, go to Otaru

On the second day, we took the JR Hakodate Main Line from Sapporo to Otaru, had lunch at a local restaurant, and then enjoyed a cruise on the Otaru Canal!
After completing the Otaru Canal cruise, board the Otaru rickshaw ``Watakushi'' near the boarding area and head to Otaru Sakaimachi Street, a retro and stylish street.

Otaru Romankan, pictured in the eye-catching image, is a natural stone and accessory shop located in Otaru City, Hokkaido. This store is a renovated former Hyakujusan Bank Otaru branch that was built in 1909. The store has a retro atmosphere, with natural stone accessories and cute glass miscellaneous goods lined up.

Visit Otaru Port and have lunch at “Ichinoya”

Before boarding the Otaru Canal Cruise, we decided to have lunch at Ichinoya in Rinyu Morning Market.
Ichinoya is located in the Rinyu Asaichi building, the kitchen of Otaru citizens, and serves plenty of local seafood at reasonable prices, each piece carefully and handmade.

I tried ringing the bell across from Otaru Station (video)

There is a bell called ``Mukai Bell'' at Otaru Station. This was used to alert passengers of the arrival of a train until around 1965. In addition, the ``Mukai Bell'' located on the platform and in front of Otaru Station was actually used from 1896 to 1965, and was rang at a set number of times: two on the way up and six times on the way down. that's right.

Otaru canal cruise

The Otaru Canal Cruise is a new activity that takes about 40 minutes to tour the historical and romantic city of Otaru from the canal. You can cruise on a biodiesel boat through the historic "landfill canal" built during the Taisho era. Your unique captain will guide you and depart from Chuo Bridge, which is convenient for sightseeing in Otaru. It is also ideal for day trips from Sapporo. Detailed flight schedule and fares Official website But you can check it.

Please note that the boat you will be boarding does not have a roof, so be sure to take precautions against heat stroke and sunburn (the use of parasols is prohibited), especially in the summer. In addition, they lent us a fan!

Otaru canal cruise (video)

This is a 23 minute 18 second video "Otaru Canal Cruise in 2024 Shinjuku 2-chome Popcorn Trip". The captain gave a wonderful guide including the history of Otaru Canal. Please take a look 😉

Ride on the Otaru Chari Rickshaw and head towards the Otaru Sakaimachi-dori shopping street.

After finishing the Otaru Canal cruise, we boarded the Otaru rickshaw ``Watakushi'' near the boarding area and headed to the retro and stylish street of Otaru Sakaimachi Street!
I wonder if it will be okay with three heavy people on board! ? 😥 By the way, the driver is a macho and cheerful Ko-chan lol

The Otaru Sakaimachi Dori Shopping Street, which runs about 900 meters north from the Sakaimachi Crossing (commonly known as the Fairy Tale Crossing) towards Wall Street north of the main street where the Otaru Canal is located, has a lot of history and was built from the Meiji to Showa eras. The cityscape is made up of historic buildings, giving you the feeling of having traveled back in time. This approximately 900-meter street is famous for sushi, seafood, sweets, glassware, music boxes, and more, and you can enjoy Otaru-style restaurants and shopping.

The Otaru Music Box Main Building, which opened in 1989 and is shown in the gallery below, is one of the largest specialty stores in Japan that carries over 25,000 music boxes. This stone building, built in 1912, was registered as an Otaru City Historical Building in 1989, and the shop has a nostalgic and dignified appearance.

Fairy Tale Crossing is an intersection located in Irifune, Otaru City, Hokkaido, and is a well-known tourist destination. This intersection is affectionately known as the "Fairy Tale Crossing," but its official name is the "Sakaimachi Crossing."
The nightlight in the center of this intersection is a reproduction of the wooden lighthouse that was popular among people on the hill in Shinka-cho, the same city during the Meiji period. It was installed in 1997 to coincide with the maintenance of this intersection, and is turned on by a sensor at sunset. The scene is said to have an exotic atmosphere reminiscent of a European street corner.

There is also a steam clock at this intersection, which announces the time every 15 minutes with white smoke and a loud whistle. It is always featured in tourist photos of Otaru and has become a symbol of the landscape.

First ride on Otaru “Watakushi” (video)

On the second night, after dinner at Lemon, we visited Bunny's shop and had some ramen with violet.

On the second night, we all had dinner at Lemon, the yakiniku bar where we went with Aya last night, and Hina Mama and Chel went to Susukino, so we went to the host club via the local information center.
I declined to host for some reason, and due to the time difference, I followed Aya-chan and Yoshi-san's group to Bunny-chan's shop. The store is “Banny’s Bar MILLION” Susukino Gojo-dori branch. There are more than 20 people enrolled. Susukino is interesting because there are many different styles of shops.

I actually wanted to go to a snack-style restaurant where I could communicate with the general public, but a local taxi driver told me that in Susukino, snack shops close early at night. There are many shops, and it seems that there are no shops open after 10 o'clock.

On the last day, we had lunch at New Chitose Airport and returned home.

On the second floor of the New Chitose Airport Terminal Building, there is a ``Streetcar Street Restaurant Street'' where you can enjoy a retro Showa era atmosphere.
There is a real train here, and anyone can ride it.
Hina Mama had heard from the locals that the sushi restaurant Kantaro was delicious, so we all decided to have lunch here.
It's true that at this sushi restaurant (formerly known as conveyor belt sushi), all of the ingredients were voluminous, fresh, and very delicious!

After eating, I bought the last souvenir and returned home on ANA flight 72, departing from Sapporo/Chitose at 16:50 and arriving at Tokyo/Haneda at 18:30.

souvenir

We kept the souvenirs to a minimum as much as possible to avoid bulky luggage. In addition, I bought a carved wooden bear and stuffed animals.
I messed up a lot of things, but Hokkaido was my first trip. My impression is that both Sapporo and Otaru are beautiful and wonderful tourist destinations. All the restaurants were reasonably priced and had delicious food.
Also, the people I met in Hokkaido were all generous and kind people. If I have a chance, I would definitely like to go there again.
Thank you to Popcorn Hina Mama for providing such a wonderful project.
Thank you everyone for reading this blog till the end 😘