July 14th: This was the day we left Sendai to go to Hakodate! Sendai was very fun and I wish I got to spend more time here! I definitely want to come back, for the food, and more tohoku souvenirs…I was also desperately hunting for the Miyagi Kirby keychains, but they were nowhere to be found in the station, which was quite sad…I was also looking forward to going to Hakodate, since I heard good things about it and wanted to go someday, but it’s kind of far from where I live and I don’t have a car, so it felt like a treak and huge time commitment if I went by myself.
First item of the day is breakfast! Our hotel provided free breakfast coupons that were valid at either the buffet restaurant or the Japanese restaurant. My parents opted for the set meal served at the Japanese place, so we went there. For mine, I chose white rice, since I’m a rice addict. The set itself comes with a whole variety of items: minced tuna, fishcake, egg, grilled fish, grated yam, yogurt with blueberry sauce, simmered foods, fish roe, pickles, veggies, tofu, roasted seaweed, and miso soup. It was much yum, and extremely filling.
We packed up our things, checked out of the hotel, and headed to Sendai station to get ready for our 9:40 shinkansen. We left a bit of time to explore Sendai station for last minute souvenirs and goodies, and I ended up buying some zunda mochi while I was at it. There were a ton of other things I wanted though, like the beef tongue chips, and the apple high-chew, which I couldn’t seem to find that morning for some reason…
The day before, we noticed the zunda shop next to Zunda Saryo (I think this one specializes in mochi whereas Saryo leans more on the zunda side) selling zunda shakes, and my dad wanted to try the calpis one, while my mom and I wanted the one with boba. Originally I wanted it as a take-on-train drink, but we still had a while to go before we could actually board, and we ended up finishing it while still at the station. Read about my boba here!
The ride was a bit longer than the Tokyo to Sendai one, and really the only thing of note was that since we were crossing from mainland to Hokkaido, we went through an underground tunnel through the sea to get to Hokkaido. I wish it was more eventful, or we get to cross above land, but I suppose that’s a bit much to hope for. There was an announcement over the intercom that warned us we were going underwater for about some period of time and like 200 (meters?kilometers?) underwater. For some reason, the current Hokkaido shinkansen has its only stop at Shin Hakodate Hokuto (they’re currently constructing the path to Sapporo, and shutting down a whole section of the station to make way for it). There’s not much to actually do in that area, and the actual Hakodate city proper is 20 minutes by train away. Maybe it’s a real-estate issue?
Again, since we arrived a bit earlier than check-in time, we dropped off our suitcases, and went to go get lunch. Apparently, when in Hakodate, you have to go to Lucky Pierrot, which is a famous burger chain in Hakodate with a bunch of branches only in the city. We were going to go at some point in the day, and I figured it’d make for a good casual lunch, so I found a location right around the station. They’re famous for various things on their menu, and one of them is their Chinese Chicken Burger. It’s called a burger, but there’s no actual meat patty in it, only fried chicken coated in some kind of sweet sauce. As a Chinese-American that doesn’t eat burgers, I have no idea what exactly makes it Chinese (didn’t really taste like Chinese food), but I was pretty happy to see their number 1 item isn’t an actual burger so I could try it. It was fine, didn’t see anything too revolutionary about it other the combination itself, but the fried chicken was pretty good and a hefty amount (very sad I dropped a piece, and could just be me, but I don’t think several pieces of fried chicken work in a burger form). Their fries were ok.
I kind of had an agenda for the day, so I asked my family whether to go to a cafe first, or to Goryokaku Tower first. Since the cafe closes earlier (5 vs 6), we went to the cafe. Might not have been the best idea after lunch, but I needed to go to this cafe while I was in Hakodate.
My mom’s a European history buff, and I noticed the Former British Consulate around the corner on the map. I remember one of my students mention it when it comes to Hakodate, so I figured it might be worth going, and asked my mom if she was interested. She said why not, so we paid a 300 yen entry fee to tour the building. It was small, but kind of neat, and made for a nice detour before eating some more at the cafe.
We made our way to Koiizumi, a showa-era style cafe that serves more Japanese-style sweets. I needed to come here because it’s the inspiration for a character’s house in the Love Live series, as a portion of it takes place in Hakodate, and not only can you just take pictures outside, but the owners decorated the cafe to be themed around it. I mentioned I was a fan, and we were lucky enough the owners let us sit in a specially adorned room (a guy later came in the peek at the room, but couldn’t sit in it because we took up the table). The table even had a collection of notebooks that fans could leave messages. I left one obviously.
I got a strawberry parfait off the menu, and I quite liked the variety of things that were on it: whipped cream, strawberry slices (though frozen), shiratama, ice cream, strawberry sauce, and some kind of jelly (not sure if it was matcha or not). I got a cafe exclusive stamp withthe characters on it on my out!
Our next stop was to finally see Goryokaku Park/Fort, or more specifically, to the tower to go see the view. It took about 40 minutes by trolley, since we ended up on the opposite side of the city. It costed 1000 yen to go up to the top of the obervation deck.
We were pretty tired and worn out by that point, so we headed back to the hotel to check-in for the day and chill until we were ready for dinner. It wasn’t until much later in the evening (7:30 or so?) we decided to go out for food. My dad really wanted to get some seafood while we’re in Hakodate, so I found a bunch of options around where we’re staying, and my family picjed local seafood izakaya right across from our hotel.
I obviously had to get some kind of seafood, so I went with a diy 3 colored seafood don: scallop, crab, and salmon, probably among my top 3 seafood. It also came with a bowl of miso soup. My mom got the same, except swapped out the salmon for shrimp, my dad got a seafood bowl and grilled fish set, and my sister got a seaweed infused kakiage udon, and an order of salmon and scallop sashimi. My mom loved the squid karaage so much that we got another order.
July 15th: This was the day that we would head back to Sapporo so my family could get ready to leave the next day…time really flies when you’re having fun, and I already got so used to spending this much time with them within the short week.
My dad really wanted to check out the morning seafood market as a potential breakfast, so I woke up a bit early to go with him. It was raining quite a bit, but good thing we stayed right next to it…We went around and browsed a bunch of the stalls, but since we needed to leave on our train to Sapporo in an hour, he didn’t want to eat anything there and wanted something for takeout. There didn’t seem to be any good options, so we started heading out, but we passed by this lady selling small trays of pre-boiled crab and my dad thought my mom would like it (spoiler, she did, so much, that my dad went back to buy 2 more). The only thing I wanted to get was a crab bun from this crab shop nearby, so we ended up getting 4, one of everyone in the family.
Now our train ride was scheduled to be from 10-2, which was smack right in the middle of lunch time. I knew I was going to get hungry at some point, so we headed to the station a bit early to be prepared, and find something to buy for lunch during the trip. We bought three, because my sister didn’t want one, and I chose one that had scallops in it, as it looked appealing.
We actually arrived just slightly early before check-in time once again. so we dropped off our lugage at the hotel first. Trying to decide what to do before we could check in, my mom noted that it would be the last chance to try out Mister Donut, which I pointed out on the first day and I raved about it, as she saw the big one in Sapporo Station. Since it was pretty close, we stopped by, and we got an assortment to try. I also got my mom to try their boba, and she did approve, though it was a bit sweet to her, which I do agree with. My mom chose to get the new white pon-de-ring, of which I could never figure out the flavor because the campaign and even the description says nothing. She bit it, and said it tastes like nothing, so we went aheda and got two more to share with the rest of the family. My sister said so too, but I wouldn’t say it tasted like nothing, just sweet, and much more mochi-er than their regular mochi donuts.
Read about my boba here!
At this point, my parents wanted to go look around the neighboring department stores to look for a shop that sells luggage, since they needed to buy a new suitcase for various reasons. I figured my sister would rather have fun, so I took her to Esta’s gacha and arcade floors so we could hang out there.
After a couple of hours or so, we finished going through everything Esta had to offer, so we decided to meet back up with our parents at Stellar Place. They were currently in line at Glacier, a gelato place and cafe, and it seemed like they were interested in the current parfaits. I was ok, so I told them they could go on ahead and I would just a gelato and wait for them until they were done. Just as we got there, I guess it was their turn to be seated, and they figured we might as well go with them, so we sat down. My dad got an alcoholic parfait, my mom got a strawberry cake slice, my sister a gelato cake slice, and I got a strawberry parfait (it had some kind of french name). I wasn’t a huge fan of the current seasonals, and nor do I like alcohol.
It was pretty good, and decently large too, with a variety of elements to it, including whipped cream, white chocolate, strawberries, strawbery sauce, and some of their gelato.
We headed back to our hotel to rest for our final night together, and around 7:30, decided we were hungry enough to head out for dinner. I gave my family some options, and funnily enough they chose a Chinese place next to our hotel, and I wondered how accurate it’d be…
Overall the food was pretty good! I did ask my parents how “Chinese” it was, and my mom replied with, It’s good food, but more so Chinese-inspired. Quality is good, though the menu indeed was mostly Japanese-Chinese food. I was pleasantly surprised to see the crispy rice! Most of the portions were small, though they did give us sharing plates every time an additional order game out.
July 16th: My family left to go back to America this day, but I’m not going straight home. The day after is actually a public holiday, and so I not only have the day off so I can go home the day after, my boyfriend is also coming back from Korea the day after too! I had an extra day in the hotel, and an extra evening to go around Sapporo by myself, which is a pretty rare occasion.
I started out my morning by going to Paul with my dad for some breakfast, since it’s one of the few places around the area that opens early, and I guess he wanted coffee. I was originally going to find him a new coffee place to buy beans from, but the closer ones wouldn’t open until later. I got a pastrami sandwich because I wanted something more filling. Pastrami was good!
We packed up our stuff, reserved some seats on the airport train because my family had a ton of luggage, and headed to the airport around 11. Their flight wasn’t until 2:30, so we had some time to get lunch together. And for our last meal together, we went with Italian food at the airport, claiming to use all Hokkaido ingredients. While we were waiting, I pointed out Mitsukoshi Coffee across the way, which is a pretty widespread coffee chain that sells beans, and my dad bought some. He didn’t taste the coffee before buying which he ususally does, but immediately bought two different ones.
They had pizza, but I opted for a pasta this time. You can choose between linguine or fettucine, and I got the wider fettucine. I think my mom thought it was a little al dente, but I liked the chewiness of the pasta. I wish there were a few more clams or cabbage…
We parted ways around 2, and I left to head back to Sapporo, and even had an agenda for the day…my first item of business, was a social event that I signed up for when I learned that it would line up perfectly with the day’s plans. It actually started at 2, but I let them know I would be a bit late, and it all worked out.
The event ended at 5, and since it was a bit early for dinner, I headed to this Chinese grocery store I found browsing the internet and Google Maps! It was about time I finally stop by, and my goodness it felt like a dream come true, and as if I was stepping into somewhere else. I wanted all the frozen dumplings and snacks, but held myself back and bought a few drinks, star anise, and noodles.
I did not want to carry all the stuff to dinner, so after a quick pit stop at the hotel, it was off to dinner! The place I wanted to go was in Susukino, so I used the underground passageway to get there just a bit faster. Along the way, it seemed like one of the pop-ups for the day was this daifuku stand, that was doing 100 yen flat per mochi, with all different kinds of flavors, from classic, to more interesting ones. I bought 4 that intrigued me: chocolate, shine muscat, sakura, and matcha. It wasn’t until after I purchased they were doing a 10 for 800 deal…
I decided to get ramen at Ramen Ichi, which is kind of a hole in the wall standing ramen bar. They’re pretty unique, because the only ramen on their menu is a chuka soba and their weekly special, and they’re open past midnight. Ramen might not have been a super good idea on a hot day, even in the evening, and I considered going to their tsukemen branch, but decided I like the day’s special for ramen better, at least according to the name.
Overall, I really liked it! It was very sukiyaki reminiscent, with the broth being heavily sweet soy sauce flavored, thinly sliced beef, and even a raw egg yolk. I’m not a egg fan, so I just broke it and mixed it in to the rest of the soup, hoping it’d do something (I didn’t really end up seeing a difference?). I liked the thin noodles they used for the dish, but I shall eventually try their springy noodles they used for the chuka soba. Meat was very good, tender, and sweet. I like the flavor of chives, but not a fan of eating them raw, and adding to that there were some bits of ginger that I was not a fan of either. I left very sweaty and hot, almost regretting my decision to get ramen, but at least I finally got to try Ichi. I’ve told my boyfriend about the place since he likes ramen, and he’s been a few times before when he’s stayed in Sapporo overnight. I think the chef knows who he is…
Anyway, to cool down, I decided to try out another evening spot on my list around the corner while I was there, which was Klim, an evening ice cream place that opens at 7pm and is open overnight. They supposedly make their own black sesame ice cream in house and even have boba as a topping, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to bring my dad here. I just went for one of their parfaits off the menu (the only one with boba was their singature, which uses black sesame ice cream), and was deciding between the chocolate or the matcha when I ultimately went with the matcha. I felt like the brownies included in the chocolate one might be too heavy (I was a bit full after ramen still), so I went with the matcha, which had whit echocolate shavings, a wafer, red bean, matcha sauce, shiratama, chiffon cake, and soft serve.
It came out almost instantly, and I got mine to-go so I could eat it on the way home. It was very good and I liked all the elements! I wish it was a bit more matcha-y though.
On the way back I stopped by a Jupiter, an import goods store with a few branches in Sapporo, just to check out what they have. Quite a few appealing goods, but I didn’t buy anything…
July 17th: Finally, it was time to end my vacation and go home, on what happened to be Ocean Day and also People of Hokkaido Day (the former is a national public holiday).
I had to check out at 10, so I kind of slept in and spent the morning packing and checking for any leftover items. For breakfast, I had a strawberry milk we bought from Family Mart the day before intended for my sister, but she didn’t want it. I was also going to eat the leftover crab bento my mom bought from Hakodate, but I wasn’t too hungry in the morning, so I saved that for lunch.
Although check out was early, I was able to leave all my luggage and unnecessary items at the hotel until when I wanted to come back. It was pretty early in the day still, so I headed to Nitori in Esta to check ou for any household goods I needed. I ended up buying two cooling pillowcases.
Around noon, I started to actually get hungry, so I found a table somewhere and ate my crab bento. I had reheated it earlier, and it was pretty good and simple, just a few pickles, and a layer of marinated crab over rice. My boyfriend would land at the airport at 2, so with some time I left, I just took a stroll around the area, including an internal debate of whether to get something from Saturday’s Chocolate, and some window shopping of Kaldi, another import store. Also very nice…
Around 1, I got on the train to the airport, and still with some time on my hands, figured I’d go explore and perhaps find a snack to eat. First, I went and bought a box each of the Jaga Hokkuru souvenir and the limited scallop flavor, since my mom aboslutely loves them and insisted I buy a box. I wasn’t going to buy one for a while since I live in Hokkaido, but the scallop one is supposed to be limited so I figured why not…
I walked around, and approached a fresly made fishcake stand (one across from the Otaru Kamaei one), and this one claims to be from Ohotsuku. I was mostly attracted by the poster that was advertising ones with scallop in them, and ended up getting their number one, the Hotahota age, which has a “scallop steak” in it as opposed to another scallop one with the whole thing. I also walked by some other souvenir shop, ended up in a conversation with a guy selling soba tea, and although I tried my best to be polite and walk away, he ended up giving me a couple bags of free samples. That was nice, and suppsoedly there’s health benefits.
At this point, I figured I’d still have time before my boyfriend came out, and I happened to pass by the LeTao Nouvelle Chocolatier (whatever it’s called), where people were lining up. Now, the thing about this LeTao is that it’s not only exclusive to the airport, but also at 3 points during the day, they come out with a limited amount of this sweet called a Brownie Baton Pie, featuring the airport exclusive brownie. I had walked by here previously, and thought to myself, wow, that is quite some marketing scheme, as they put out 40 pies at 8am, 100 at 2pm, and 50 at 5pm, and marking when it’s sold out. It was nearly 2, and since it wouldn’t be that long (line and time wise) until it reached 2, it felt like a good opportunity to try out this exclusive item, and honestly, it was a why not moment. You are limited to 3 a person at a time, and when you get in line, they ask you how much you’re planning on buying.
When I got it, it was much bigger than I originally thought it’d be. It came out fresh and hot, probably just baked. The outside crust was flaky, just a bit crispy, and the filling was a a slightly melted, fudgy, but still retained its structured brownie. I’ve never had the actual brownie before, but I felt like the inside had a somewhat subtle fruity flavor to it too. Good midday-snack…
I snacked on my brownie pie while waiting at the interational arrivals area, and there were a whole bunch of Chinese and Korean travel groups lining up and gathering. At one point, a Korean lady tried to get my attention: first speaking Korean, then eventually said “Excuse Me” in English. I looked up, and for whatever reason, she asked me if I was Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, in that order (all in English, but did it really matter? Why would I be Korean if I didn’t respond to her Korean?). I said no to all three, including the Chinese, because I didn’t want her to suddenly start speaking to me in Chinese if she actually knew it. In the end, she just wanted the space I put my bags on to open up her suitcase, and I happily obliged.
My boyfriend came out, and we heade straight to the train back to Sapporo. I saw on the timetable that there was a train leaving right as we got there, but in my hurry to get down the stairs, I got on the wrong one and we ended up leaving on the next one 10 minutes later…oops. We picked up my bags from my hotel, and got on the 4 bus home.
And that’s the end of my family summer trip! I miss them very much, and cannot wait to see them again in December…
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