Day 2 (Part 2): Historical Village - Shiroi Koibito Park
Day 2 (Part 1): Sapporo station - Curb Market can be accessed here.
Day 2 (Part 3): Moiwa Ropeway - Susukino can be accessed here.
Day 3 can be accessed here.
Sapporo Historical Village (Kaitaku no Mura 開拓の村)
Then I'm off to the Historical Village, more information on the place and transportation can be found here. Sufficient to say, it was quite the nightmare trying to board the bus at Shin-Sapporo station even though I could speak Japanese. The bus boarding areas are located in the basement levels and Bus No. 22 to the Historical Village is located in the southern boarding area.
Snow makes everything prettier
It reads "Memorable toys of yesteryear". Was really quite tempted to get the carp streamers.
Not sure if I was there too early, but there was barely anyone there. This was a good thing as the village had an amazing range of buildings with unique architecture dating back to the pre-war years. Too many tourists in modern clothing would have ruined the rustic vibe of the village. Was really difficult to choose which photos to upload as I took way too many, so I decided to go by colours. ^^;
The old founding legate main annex that doubles up as a visitor centre now
Where they used to house and entertain visiting guests
So pink!~ I remember it's for some branch of a fishing tingie
Sadly enough the horse-drawn trolley was not in operation when I was there
Such ornately crafted tea cups and sake bottles
One thing bad about solo trips (when you are really not meeting up and travelling around with local friends) will be trying to take photos of yourself without a camera stand. Luckily, I managed to befriend another lone traveler out of the few tourists that were there so we helped each other to take photos. We spent too much time simply wandering around the place so I really had to rush when it came to lunch. All because I thought I'll be really late and wanted to spend more time at the Shiroi Koibito Park. So decided to share lunch with Miki at the in-house food court as I figured that half a lunch will take only half as much time. So wrong. We ordered what seemed to be the most filling item worth its money which was the special Garrison Soldier Set Lunch. It actually took them about 15 minutes to grill and serve up the 2 potato patties though, which tasted awesome with their homemade special light soya sauce.
The collection tent card is so cute!~
Garrison Soldier Set Lunch
Price: 1,000 yen (about 12 SGD)
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
After the very filling lunch, it was time to head for the Shiroi Koibito Park!~ Spotted this cute little guy while waiting for the bus back to Shin-Sapporo station:
Too adorable. Kept coming up to me and staring before the mom will pull him away ^^;
Shiroi Kobito Park 白い恋人公園
After making my way back to Shin-Sapporo station, it was time to ride the entire Tozai subway line to Miyanosawa. No, really, that was the fastest way to get to the Shiroi Koibito Park. I totally dozed off for the almost 40 minutes ride.
Train is coming, train is coming, train is cooomingggg!~ (Sorry for reviving any painful memories)
Of course, the obligatory interior shot since it's my first time on the Sapporo subway
For the uninitiated heading to the Shiroi Koibito Park for the first time, you need to head out of Exit 5 and then make a sharp U turn, walk down along the road and then make a right turn when you come to the first major intersection. It is a 10 minutes walk if you walk as fast as I do, if not it is closer to 15 minutes. It is actually nice to relax your pace and take it slow as the mountain range in the distance is pretty impressive to look at.
Was told that the skiing ranges in Sapporo were somewhere yonder that direction
The ubiquitous red brick warehouse building
Somehow I felt that the colonial clock tower stood out in a rather stately manner in the park
Was asked whether I wanted to participate in the biscuit-making workshops for 1,000 yen (about 12 SGD) and beyond. Not really, as I was not part of the usual lovey-dovey couples lining up to enter (リア充死ね! Okay I'm kidding... or am I?). I was not particularly impressed or interested in the exhibitions of teacups (?) and chocolate-related paraphernalia but the biscuit making process really caught my attention. Always wondered why the hell does those small little square biscuits each cost as much as perhaps a big pack of local biscuits. Very impressed by the high degree of machination and the rigour of their QA process.
600 yen (about 8 SGD) for the passport to tour the exhibitions and the biscuit-making process. Quite worth it as you do get to eat the biscuit (which costs a bomb) as well.
Random opulent Greco-Mediterranean fountain ftw
Different chocolate wrappings and casings around the world
You can not help but feel that the sterile nature of the workplace is a really jarring contrast to the cheerful and bright backdrop they work in
Of course no visit to Shiroi Koibito Park is complete without a brief tea break at their lovely cafe called Chocolate Lounge (so creative right?). Managed to get a window table with a fantastic view of the mountain range in the distance, so lucky and also Japanese language speaking yay! Spent quite a bit of time there as I had breezed through the previous exhibits bar the biscuit-making process. Was very disappointed with the orange sponge cake tingie I ordered as it was very dry and had a lot of huge air pockets. The strawberry white chocolate drink on the other hand was fantastic with its silky creamy texture and spot on thickness.
Mmm look at those lovely parfaits
The church cake caught my attention the most.
Orange sponge cake rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Strawberry white chocolate drink rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Look at the marvelous scenery (not me)
There's a chocolate carnival performance every hour between 9 am and 7 pm involving lots of mechanical figures janking about here and there on the clock tower. The gatehouse-esque building at the foot of the clock tower will also release a ton of soap bubbles which will prompt children to run about chasing them in glee.
After finally dragging my unwilling bum off my seat (especially as the line of customers grew longer and longer and I became acutely aware that I was hogging a table meant for 4), I found out that there were more interesting exhibits beyond the cafe! Had always been a huge fan of all sorts of toys, especially the military ones, and there were a couple of rooms dedicated to toys from all ages and nations.
Can I haz all of these plz?
Absolutely adore the whole Belgium aerial acrobatic troupe on display
So after looking at all the different intricate toys and models on display it was time to do my first serious shopping in Japan. Yes, without a doubt my wallet will lighten in anguish at their souvenir shop AKA tourist trap. Bought mainly the Ashiya-related products (such as Shiroi Koibito biscuits), decided to give Candy Lab a miss as the handcraft candies with customisable pictures on them are also available in Singapore. Also had the much vaunted vanilla soft serve that is a must try in Hokkaido. Thought it tasted quite ordinary, perhaps a bit more milky than usual only. For my grape soda drink, I was asked to choose between a star-shaped or heart-shaped long straw. Choice so obvious right, of course star-shaped la. Speaking of which, it has been a while since I had seen these long straws.
Candy Labo and souvenir shopping
For 100 yen (about 1.2 SGD) this huge contraption will turn on all sorts of blinking lights and blare cheery music before dispensing a pretty long stick of candy. The flavours are completely random and I was told the rarest stick to get would be the multi-flavoured one.
Mmm sundae. Too bad I was too full to order one.
Grape soda (Candy Lab) rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Vanilla soft serve (Ishiya) rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
I was rather lucky with the weather this trip and the only time it rained while I was outdoors was at Shiroi Koibito Park. I heard that there was a candy house exhibit seemingly pulled out of Hansel and Gretel as well as the Shiroi Koibito railway with its old school steam engine locomotive, but the drizzle was getting heavy enough to dampen my mood to walk around the unsheltered areas.
Was quite quaint but definitely not comparable to the Historical Village I came from, also the rain.
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