Travel: Trip to Sapporo-Otaru-Hakodate-Onuma, 17-27 Apr 2016 (Part 5 - Day 4 in Sapporo)
>> Friday, May 6, 2016
For those of you who have been following my blog posts on the recent trip to Sapporo, you'll know that Day 3 was a crazy walking day 'til the next day, we decided to be a little more laid back. It's our honeymoon + free & easy trip after all!
So Day 4 was actually a very relaxing day with just the main meals, some snackies, & some pit stops at nearby places of attractions/shops.
Summary for the day:
1. Brunch at the Sapporo TV Tower's Basement
2. Visit to the nearby musical instruments shops at Stellar Place & Parco
3. Visit to the nearby Former Hokkaido Government Office
4. Dinner at Orizzonte, Susukino area
5. Pit stop at the 100 yen shop down the road from our hotel
Remember the day before we were at the Sapporo TV Tower & we saw a long queue at the restaurant next to the ice-cream shop? We really came back to check the place out & we made sure we're there before 10:00a.m. Thankfully the restaurant was already opened by 10:00a.m.! :D
Soba Oban Sapporo そば処大番 札幌
さっぽろテレビ塔 (Sapporo TV Tower)
Basement, Odorinishi 1 Chome, Chuo Ward
Sapporo 〒060-0042, Hokkaido Prefecture
Japan.
Tel: (+81)(11) 2311678
URL: N/A
Business hours: 10:00a.m. - 8:00p.m.
GPS: 43.0609695, 141.3543082
Getting there: Odori subway station (Exit 27 from the underground mall/Aurora Town or take the connection via the underground from Sapporo subway station & Susukino subway station)
Noodle-making live!
No queue yet *phew*
Our experience here was equally hilarious as of the first few days since we do not read nor speak Japanese. The ordering rule remains the same, but when we were there, we really struggled to pick what we wanted to eat since this restaurant has NO pictures/menu unlike the City Hall Basement Cafeteria & In Ezo *eek!*
Since we took a while to stare at the ticketing machine & there were 2 people behind us, we decided to let them go first while we observed & memorized what they pressed quietly...hahahaha...
We pressed the same thing; 1 button on the top left for our 1st order & another top button + 1 bottom button for our 2nd order. I thought the bottom button was to 'add a side dish' since it's an additional JP¥100...but ahem...
Restaurant worker: *in simple English, shows us the JP¥100 ticket* this one...er....size...who? *points to both of us*
Ruth: Er...*wondering what he's asking* me...me...? *points to myself*
Restaurant worker: This one...size...I...no recommend u....I give u back money...ok?
Ruth: Uhm...okaaay...
The restaurant workers talked to each other & laughed before 1 of them ran out to the other shop to get the money & passed it to me. Right. I found out that it's not a ticket to 'add a side dish' but to 'up-size'! Hohohohoho...
We still didn't know what we ordered since we did a "monkey see monkey do" :P
One of the workers cooking the soba noodles: place noodles into the pot of boiling hot water
Drain the noodles before shocking them in cold water
Cold Plain Soba (JP¥450/serving; RM16.20)
This was mine. Just check out how large the normal portion is! No wonder he said the large size isn't recommended for yours truly *lol* I struggled to finish this due to the generous portion! The soba noodles were delicious albeit cold (I actually like cold soba, so I was fine with it). The noodles were springy, the 'soup' for dipping wasn't overly salty, but gave good flavor to the bland noodles. The Japanese guy beside me ate like 1.5 - 2x the amount of my soba noodles! I was observing how he ate his soba noodles...kekeke. He finished the meal by adding hot water to the cold shoyu soup & drank it up! I followed suit :D *yums*
Cold Dry Soba (JP¥500/servin; RM18.00)
This was AP's. It's alike chili pan mee minus the chili cos it had a raw egg instead of a poached egg :P Quite an interesting-tasting bowl of cold soba as it came with shredded seaweed, shredded fresh zucchinis, grated radish, crumbles of tempura batter, & some shoyu-like sauce. I've to say, it's certainly something that you will rarely find in Malaysia (or can't find it here at all!) ;)
With a full tummy, we exited the Sapporo TV Tower, walking through Aurora town, heading towards Stellar Place Departmental Store in search for Shimamura Music Store, the only music store that we found out selling drums equipment. Yeah, it does sound weird that we're 'shopping' for musical instruments here in Japan, but it's worth checking out what's available here since AP is constantly upgrading & expanding his collection.
On the way to Stellar Place, we saw many small stalls at the underground mall selling handicrafts
Half-way towards Stellar Place, we saw Seicomart, one of the many conveniences stores that seems to be promoting their Yubari melon ice-cream, which I thought we just had to give it a try. Well, it's dessert after our meal :D
Hokkaido's Yubari Melon Ice-Cream (JP¥200; RM7.20) & Hokkaido Milk Ice-Cream (JP¥108; RM3.89)
So far, we haven't come across any 'bad ice-cream' in Hokkaido (yes, we've been eating quite a bit of ice-cream here). These were very fragrant & creamy, but oh boy, was the cream 'densed'! Feels as if it doesn't melt like the usual ice-cream! And oh, we also noticed that the Japanese do not lick their ice-cream, but eat it in a very 'si man' way using a small spoon! Hahaha...slurp!We're no Japanese :P
We spent some time at the music store checking out their products before heading towards the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, which was on the way back to our hotel. On the way to the popular tourist spot, our noses & eyes were caught by Kinotoya Bake's Cheese Tarts! Fresh from the oven yo! *salivates* We HAD to buy & eat 'em straight away :D
Freshly baked cheese tarts
We paid JP¥366; RM13.18 for 2 freshly baked cheese tarts inclusive of 8% tax, which wasn't cheap, but tasted oh-so-delicious! Warm, creamy & milk-cheese-fragrant filling inside a perfectly baked sweet tart crust!
Former Hokkaido Government Office Building
6 Chome Kita 3 Jonishi, Chuo Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture 060-0003, Japan
Tel: (+81)(11) 2314111
Admission fee: Free
URL: http://www.akarenga-h.jp/en/access/
Business hours: 8：45a.m. - 6：00p.m.
GPS: 43.0639482, 141.3457901
Getting there: JR Sapporo Station (approx. 8 min. walk from the south exit on the west side of the station); Namboku/Toho Subway - Sapporo station (approx. 4 min walk from exit no.1); Namboku/Toho Subway - Odori station (approx. 9 min walk from exit no.2)
"Built in 1888, this building is known to Sapporo residents as “Red Bricks” or akarenga. It has an octagonal dome the architecture of which was borrowed from that of the Massachusetts State House in the USA.
When completed, it was one of the largest and tallest buildings in Japan and symbolized the prestige and importance the Meiji Government placed on the development of Hokkaido. Unfortunately the building needed to be rebuilt in 1911 after a devastating fire, and it wasn’t until 1969 that its future was safeguarded by listing as an important cultural property." - from Go!Sapporo website
I just love how well-kept the buildings are in Sapporo (and probably it's the same in the whole of Japan)! Love the deep bricks-red color of the building & how majestic the building stands in the middle of the Sapporo city center. It's indeed a perfect place for the government to look out from the office window & see how the city is actually doing on a daily basis :)
Aiya...that aunty photobombed...if not, I actually like this photo a lot!
Taken from 'behind the bushes' :P
Layout of the office building
Only areas in blue/green are open to public.
Loads of history unfolded here...
The building is also a branch of the Hokkaido Museum
One of the historical items displayed
Old Japanese playing cards - so interesting-looking!
History about the Ainu people (and us in the reflection...teehee)
This was how the former office actually looks like
The windows actually look out to the city center :)
We were at the building for at least 40 minutes before we started walking back to our hotel to rest before we head out again for dinner. Sights indicating the start of spring were slowly appearing!
We've been having quite a lot of noodles & seafood for the past few days that we decided to go non-Japanese for dinner, but we still wanted the lip-smacking dairy taste. Orizzonte was one of the nearest pizza restaurants that was apparently well-known among locals & tourists alike! *yums* Cheeeeeeeeeseeeeeee....
オリゾンテ│札幌 イタリアン ピザ
南二条西5南2西5ビル1F
Minami 2 Jōnishi, 5 Chome
Chūō-ku, Sapporo-shi, 〒060-0062 Hokkaidō
Japan.
Tel: (+81)(11) 2220021
URL: http://www.e-orizzonte.jp/
Business hours: 11：30a.m. - 2：30p.m.; 5:00p.m. - 10:15p.m. daily
GPS: 43.0573079, 141.3476433
Getting there: Subway Nanboku Line - Susukino Station (approx. 500m from exit no.2 of the station)
This was one restaurant where the staff actually spoke English! *yippee* Horrible tourists, we are :P
The ambiance looks very 'atas', right? *love*
What we love about their pizza was that it was wood-fire oven baked *yums*
Tomato Bruschetta (JP¥648/serving of 2 slices; RM23.33)
This was a good appetizer as it was acidic with the soft tomatoes & herbs. The only thing was that the baguette was soft instead of the usual 'crunchy' that we've experienced, so with the tomatoes on top, the bread felt a 'lil mushy on the top.
Bismarck Pizza ビスマルク (JP¥1512/pizza; RM54.43)
Asparagus, ham, soft-boiled egg
This was a recommendation from the restaurant manager, so we ordered this since Hokkaido is actually well-known for its asparagus during spring season...plus, I love soft-boiled egg on pizzas!
The crust was slightly too thin to hold up all the ingredients, but the flavors were just delicious (good amount of fragrant cheese that went well with the ham, asparagus & soft-boiled egg) :D
Crab Linguine 才マ一ル (JP¥1814/serving; RM65.30)
Well, it's Hokkaido, so crab's a must, no? :P This was an interesting pasta as it had a balance taste of crab meat & tomatoes + Italian herbs. We enjoyed this dish although after completing this dish, my tongue felt a little itchy...hahaha...
I think Day 4 was lovely :) We enjoyed our walk for the day plus of course all the food & snacks as well!
Stay tuned for Day 5, another relaxing day, as we have to conserve our energy for the upcoming heavy-traveling weekend to Otaru, Hakodate & Onuma!
Took in more dairy for the day & loved it!
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