Trip to Japan (Hokkaido / Tokyo)

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Korin_Mari

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Hello!

I'm back! I've been back but just MIA. Just wanted to share pictures from my first trip to Hokkaido, because I ate so much delicious food. :)

After a brutal 14 hour plane ride to Narita, then 3 hour delay and additional 2 hour plane ride to Hokkaido, we finally made it to Sapporo.

The next morning we hopped on the Super Soya train at 7:30am for 5 hour train ride from Sapporo to Wakkanai.

Where is Wakkanai?

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"Wakkanai (稚内市 Wakkanai-shi?, Ainu: ヤㇺワッカナイ Yam-wakka-nay meaning 'cold water river') is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture and the northernmost city in Japan. The total area is 760.80 km2 (293.75 sq mi). Wakkanai was originally home to an Ainu population. The first Japanese settlement was established in 1685, and Wakkanai was elevated to city status on April 1, 1949." - Wiki

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We of course grabbed ourselves ekiben (train station lunches).

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These lovely red bean covered treats are called yanagi-mochi. It is basically an inverted daifuki. I am notorious for buying to much to eat, so I initially was resisting… but then the ekiben lady told me it was Sapporo specialty using Hokkaido's mochi rice, and it was all over...

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The most northern train stop.

My best friend's and my mission since college has been to go to the most northern point in Japan and scream the woes of our youth at the top of our lungs.

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So here we are at the northern most point of Japan (Nosyhapp) being glorious. :)

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You're probably wondering, what is there?
There is nothing there except…

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A lot of snow… (At one point on the train, we also saw a dump truck on top of the mountain of snow they built.)

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Stray cats…

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Wild foxes…

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… and a small town with a lot of Russian signs, because Russia is so close.

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We found a little hole in the wall sushi place, so we walked in unsure if it was even open. (Micchan)

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We sat down not knowing what to expect and ordered chirashizushi. I knew we were in Hokkaido when I saw the raw scallops in my bowl.

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The next morning we headed back down to Sapporo where we ate like kings.

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Sapporo's famous soup curry! Mine had rolled cabbage inside.

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We also went to the Shiroi Koibito factory (chocolate cookie sandwich factory), where we found an enormous snowman made out of real snow. Being born and raised in NY, you never see this kind of clean snow and you would definitely never see a snowman this big. I was thrilled.

We hit a point during our trip when we realized that we couldn't possibly eat EVERYTHING... No matter how much we tried and walked to burn calories. Our stomachs couldn't handle it. We had to start being really selective about what we used our calories for...

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Uni Murakami's unidon

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Uni tempura

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Uni gratin

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We were a little bit too early for the snow festival, but we got to see them build it! :D

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Can you tell what they're building? :wink:

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I also got to go to the parfait parlor, Yukijirushi.

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My banana caramel parfait

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The Sapporo yogurt parfait

And so concluded our little trip to Hokkaido, and we flew back to Tokyo... And of course ate some more.

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Cafe Kaila in Harajuku :doublethumbsup:
I knew there was this huge pancake craze in Tokyo, where people would wait hours for pancakes. Luckily, we went there early in the morning on a weekday, so no lines. Behold! This beautiful and tasty pancake with a mountain of tropical bliss! Personally, it's far better than any pancakes I've eaten in NY.

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At night my dad who happened to be training in Japan, took us to one of Tokyo's oldest Unagi restaurants, Edogawa Ishibashi.

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Souffle pancake with roasted apples from Hoshino Cafe. Damn tasty for a chain.

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Steamed beef tongue from Ushigoro Bambina.

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AMAZING tomato sukiyaki from Ushigoro Bambina with egg meringue dipping. It was too small for the price, but it was absolutely delicious.

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The egg for dipping the sukiyaki.

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Now, I know we went to Hokkaido and ate luxuriously... But this place... The Takano fruits parlor was by far my favorite place during our trip. If you love fruits, than you must go. My friend and I racked ate 6 people's worth of food. I could have died happy there.

(The above picture is my fruit sandwich. You might scoff and think "psh, it's just fruit and cream with bread." ... Sir... You don't understand. It is fluffy chewy bread with slightly sweetened whipped cream and a mix of beautifully ripe fruit.)

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My frozen strawberry drink.

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My friend's melon juice

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My dessert parfait with hatsukoi strawberries (albino strawberries)

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What is self control?

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Tokyo's famous omurice restaurant, Taimeiken.

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... Wait for it...

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Gooey egg deliciousness! :bonappetit:

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Hidamari ramen in Yanaka Ginza.

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Yuzu soy based tsuke men was to die for! The soup was super thick but the yuzu made it very easy to eat.

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Ramen egg

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Neko no Shippo (Cat's tail) doughnut shop in Yanaka Ginza.

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Their "Maririn" doughnut with chestnut cream

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We also went to the owl cafe. There I met the most adorable owl, Yamashita-san.
(This is me trying to twin it with Yamashita-san.)

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He was so tiny :)

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And on our last day, we ate strawberry honey toast with a huge mochi ice cream on top.

Thanks for reading! :) I hope you guys enjoyed the post and it made you want to visit Hokkaido. I know I will definitely be back there again.
 
No photos?! I think you're making it all up. :nunchucks::eyebrow:
 
Okaerinasai! Nice pics Mari-chan.
It's hard to go to Tokyo and not gain a kilo. Or two.
I've hear the stories about Hokkaido confectionery, but alas, have not yet experienced them. Uni gratin looks great. One of my favorites.
 
I think owls should be standard at all cafes. It just makes sense.
 
how strange...photos don't show up on my laptop (even after a re-boot), but work fine on iOS.
 
Thanks for sharing your photos! Looks delicious. One of these days I'll get back for another trip to Japan. I have never been to Hokkaido.

:cool2:
 
The albino strawberries are sick !thanks for sharing, one day ill make it there @!
 
Mari!! WHERE WERE YOU MY WHOLE LIFE? Your pictures look amazing and is making me cringe with envy!!! You would be the perfect tour guide !
 
I'm full just looking at your pictures Mari haha! Or maybe it's the burger I just ate. I'm subscribing to this thread just to make a list of places to go when I'm there later this year! Thanks for posting!
 
It's 3:09 am, can't sleep, so now I have to eat. Great pictures.
 
Mari, :goodpost:The photos bring back lots of good memories!! I miss all the delicacies food in Japan.... Thanks for sharing!!
 
Okaerinasai! Nice pics Mari-chan.
It's hard to go to Tokyo and not gain a kilo. Or two.
I've hear the stories about Hokkaido confectionery, but alas, have not yet experienced them. Uni gratin looks great. One of my favorites.

There is food EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. I woke up every morning too full to need breakfast... But I ate anyways because want and need are two very different things. lol

You should really head to Hokkaido! I hear it's wonderful during the summer too. I don't event like uni, but the uni there was amazing. I wanted more. :)
 
Mari!! WHERE WERE YOU MY WHOLE LIFE? Your pictures look amazing and is making me cringe with envy!!! You would be the perfect tour guide !

Yea~~!! :D Let me know if you ever plan to go to Japan. I'd totally give you a list of where to hit up! ... But brace yourself... You may need to train your stomach to eat like a beast.

I'm full just looking at your pictures Mari haha! Or maybe it's the burger I just ate. I'm subscribing to this thread just to make a list of places to go when I'm there later this year! Thanks for posting!

Awesome!! Thanks for reading. :) Where are you headed? Tokyo?
 
I've been wanting to visit Sapporo for some time... really need to make it happen! :D
 
I've been wanting to visit Sapporo for some time... really need to make it happen! :D
You should DEFINITELY go. My friend and I were saying how we wish we planned to stay for longer. If you go in the winter, you can go to Hakodate to visit hot springs and go skiing/snowboarding!

Thanks for taking the time to share all those photos. Man... I would so like to go to Japan, and Thailand, and Vietnam, etc!
Thanks for reading! :D I'd like to visit more of Asia some day too. So much good food to be had!
 
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