February 23rd was the Emperor’s birthday this year, and because it’s a Sunday, we get the Monday off as a replacement holiday. I spent the long weekend in Sapporo, doing some shopping and eating as usual, but the main event for me was seeing my first Kamen Rider show on Sunday! While I was at it, I went to visit the Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium and Olympics Museum on Saturday. The weather was super nice all weekend!
February 22nd: I’m heading to Sapporo, and checking out the Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium! Of course, as a facility it’s cool and has historical significance, but I was really here for the Miku manhole.
This was my first time getting off at the Maruyama bus stop! This was new territory for me, as I’ve never really been in this area before. Since I was here, I was aiming for Toriton for lunch, another famous revolving sushi chain in Hokkaido. Like Nemuro Hanamaru, Toriton is also quite popular, and attracts a big crowd. Unfortunately, the Maruyama location is the closest one to central Sapporo, so I wanted to eat here since I had the chance. My bus arrived at 10, and for a store that opens at 11, even lining up that early seemed a bit crazy…
I debated whether I should walk to a nearby Starbucks, but doing some calculations meant that if I did, I’d end up back at Toriton at 10:40. Not bad, but I heard it was best to guarantee a spot in the first wave if you arrive around 10:30. I figured it was best to take the loss and get there early. Good thing I did, because at 10:25, there was already quite a massive line forming in front of the restaurant. After I joined the line, it kept growing, and I observed taxis come and go dropping off people.
At 10:50, they started letting people in, and I safely made it in at a counter seat. It felt like a few parties after me, they started waitlisting people, so 10:30 really is the time to aim for if you don’t want to wait long. Never underestimate Japanese lines for food.
The sushi was super yummy and definitely very good quality! Some pieces were a tad bit cold though, so not defrosted completely to room temperature. Coincidentally, I ended up with 6 unique-colored plates! I didn’t get too much for various reasons, including having room for a drink! I like how they have daily special sets, so you can try a variety while also ordering singles.
A few things of note: ordering is done by tablet, and categorized, with even a kids and dessert section. It supports different language options, so it’s tourist friendly. Although it’s a “revolving” sushi place, nothing is actually revolving on the belt. Compared to Nemuro Hanamaru, it definitely has a bit of a smaller menu, but is easier to navigate because of the tablet. I did notice my favorite fried squid and unagi weren’t on the menu here. Overall, while Toriton does deserve its hype, I have to say personally Nemuro Hanamaru wins in my book.
I was out the door in 20 minutes, and since the bus to Mt. Okura leaves every hour, I had some time to grab a drink! It’s sakura season at Starbucks, which means new merch, and a new frapp. This year’s merch is super cute, on par with 2 years ago, and way better than last year’s. I’m glad they went back to the pastels. The drink has a white peach and creamy white chocolate base, with sakura falvored warabi mochi at the bottom, and accented with a strawberry and rasperry aroma. To top it off, sakura flavored powder and sakura strawberry sauce are added on top of the whipped cream.
The drink was super yummy! It was refreshing and surprisingly light for a blended milk drink. There was a strong peachy flavor without it overpowering the drink, and the sakura is also quite apparent. I’d say that the warabimochi was more jelly-like than warabimochi, which definitely is a cross between jelly and normal mochi in texture. It was still good though, just not sure if it should be called warabimochi.
The bus to Mt. Okura leaves from Maruyama bus terminal. This is the only way of public transportation to Mt. Okura, or alterntively, you could drive or taxi. The direct bus leaves every hour until 4, though there is a free evening shuttle bus exclusive to summer. There is another bus that services the area that’s more frequent, but doesn’t go all the way to Mt. Okura, so you’d have to walk an additional 10 minutes.
When you arrive, you’re greeted with a grand view of the Olympic museum and shop to your right, the ski jump in the center, and the ski lift to the left. There’s a cafe and restaurant behind the main museum building, which serves an interesting original red honey popcorn ice cream parfait. The view was super pretty with everything covered in powder snow. You do have to purchase museum and/or lift tickets on the 3rd floor, even though the museum is on the second floor. The museum is 600 yen to enter, and the lift is 1000 yen, but if you buy the set, it’s 1300 yen. I highly recommend both, and I think it’s well worth it.
Since the museum was technically on the way down and out of the facitility, I went to the shop first to check out the selection, and more importantly, buy my tickets. There was a giant pile of snow where the manhole was supposed to be, so I asked the cashier to confirm that was where it was. She said yes, but there’s too much snow at the moment, and that I should come back in summer to see it. Boooo, Miku manhole failure part 2.
I took the ski lift up the mountain, which was cool, but simultaneously mildly terrifying. The view is super pretty, but there isn’t too much to do once you get up there. There’s a terrace, and then a small cafe that serves soup, drinks, and ice cream. There’s also supposedly an observatory, but it’s only open in the summer months. The ride down was significantly less scary, although the ski lift would sometimes spontaneously bounce.
After riding the Mt. Okura ski lift, I headed to the Olympics Museum. As a casual Olympics fan, this was a super fascinating museum on the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and general Olympics lore. They had medals on display, from the recent Beijing and Sapporo Olympics, to all of the historical winter ones. There’s English translations of the plaques, so it’s fairly tourist-friendly. They even had a 2021 letter from Janet Lynn on display on her experience at the Sapporo Olympics. The bottom floor had interactive exhibitions for ski jumping, cross country skiing, bobsledding, and ice hockey. That was pretty cool.
I finished a lot earlier than I expected, and rode the 2:35 bus back to Maruyama station. From there, you can take the subway to Odori station to get back to central Sapporo. I had a few things to do at Daimaru, so I went there first to check out the Snoopy pop-up. I recall there being a similar one last year, so maybe this is an annual thing? Nevertheless, it was still cool to check out the cute merch. Good thing I’m not a Snoopy person.
Then I went to buy some LeTao February sweets. I was aiming for the Peach and Strawberry Milky Mousse (583 yen), and the Strawberry Milk Pudding (486 yen). The mousse cake comes with layers of peach jelly, peach mousse, strawberry mousse, and topped with strawberries, whipped cream, and white chocolate. The pudding is a strawberry milk pudding, topped with a strawberry jelly with real fruit. I had the pudding as dessert that night, and ate the cake as breakfast the next day.
The pudding was alright, a bit of a basic pudding. I liked the jelly on top, but I felt that was where most of the flavor was, and didn’t really get much from the pudding layer itself other than an even smoothness. The cake though, was really good. Very peachy, and with layers that melted in my mouth.
Then I got my first boba of the weekend! The Alley recently came out with a new series, so I was excited to try it. Read about my boba here!
I then headed straight to check-in to my hostel for the weekend! I’m not sure if they always do it, but my key came with a free drink coupon from their bar around the corner. Coincidentally, they were also having a small pop-up small business market, so I went to go check it out. I ended up buying a cookie, ha!
As kind of an early dinner, I went to Cocono to get ramen! The ramen hall was doing a sort of limited menu for winter, and restaurant called “Human beings everybod noodles Hokkaido” (a literal direct translation) had a special seafood ramen. I’ve been meaning to try their scallop ramen on the normal menu, but this is even better. It included 2 giant slices of chashu, some bamboo shoots, seaweed, a small crab claw, and seared scallops.
The ramen was really good! I imagine the soup was a seafood broth and soy sauce base, and while it was not too heavy at first, it did get a bit salty as I kept going. I liked that the chashu hear was giant, and not too fatty. Crab and scallops were good, not overdone. The noodles were slightly flat and thick, and had a really nice chew to them.
I went for an early dinner, because I was hoping to have time for a parfait. The first shop I went to, I had a feeling they might sell out of the one I wanted for the day, and indeed when I got there, they did. Unfortunately, I did not expect my back-up option to also sell-out. At that point, I didn’t really have any plans, so I checked out the Parco shops while I was in the area. There was a Rilakkuma pop-up which was super cute. Unforunately, my wallet fell for their schemes. I also happened upon the Steins Gate interactive game I was looking for a few weeks ago. Not sure if I’ll actually participate though. Seems complicated.
The night was still young, so I was kind of wandering Tanukikoji. I popped into the Mega Don Quijote to check out the Valentine’s Snow Miku selection. Not sure what’s exactly snow about it, other than Valentine’s Day being in February.
February 23rd: It was the day of my Kamen Rider Show! I thought these type of live shows would be a bit childish, but I was interested in seeing it because I like the current rider. Plus, might as well see one in person while I have the chance.
I ate my LeTao cake for breakfast, along with tea from the hostel lounge. It was yummy, but since it was also around 9am, I was worried I was going to be hungry by the time noon rolled around. On my way to the venue, I stopped by Gyoza no Yamamotoya, a 24 hour Yamamotoya branch that specializes in gyoza. I figured for a branch of a ramen specialty chain, the gyoza is probably standard Japanese gyoza. I got a 5 piece, because it’s technically more worth than the 3 piece, ha! Do note tht gyoza will take 10 minutes to prepare. Apparently they boil it, and then fry.
I severely underestimated their gyoza. It was huge! While normal gyoza takes me about 1-2 bites, a single one here took 3-4. There was a handmade feeling to it, with plump juicy skin, and many intricate pleats. The filling was a little gingery, but full of juicy meat and veggies. Good job.
Technically, doors open for the show at 10, and the actual start time was 11. I figured arriving at 10:30 would be enough time to settle down, but when I arrived, there was a giant line out the door. Turns out, this was the line to apply for the fist-bump session after the show, and it had already closed to newcomers. I was fine with that, and went inside. There was yet another line to buy show merchandise, along with a gacha corner. [No pictures, because the venue didn’t allow any.]
It was very cool! It lasted longer than I thought it would, as it went until 12:30, including a 15 minute intermission. There was an interesting original story, and although the official website only listed Gavv, Gotchard, and Geats as appearing, all of the Heisei and Reiwa riders, along with Ichigou and the secondaries from Zero-One appeared! I’m pretty sure aside from the Gavv riders and maybe Gotchard, everyone else was voiced by a voice actor. That I expected though.
Since the show ended later than I thought it would, I decided to just head to Sato to guarantee I would get their seasonal chocolate parfait before it sold out for the day. I was 10 minutes early, but was the 4th party in line. Sato needed a redemption in my books because the one I had last time wasn’t as good as I thought it’d be, but this seasonal looked like it was right up my alley. The parfait has feuillantine, a single pistachio, a micro herb called citrus flash, cacao tuile, chocolate ice cream, whip cream, a pie wafer, pistachio ice cream, pearl chocolate, chocolate mousse, rose red jelly, hazelnut ice cream, straberries, pistachio cheese cream, cacao royal, star anise and lemon jelly, and strawberry compote.
This was indeed a win and a redemption for Sato. I loved every part of this parfait, although I think one jelly (probably the lemon star anise one) was not the best. The pistachio, chocolate, and hazelnut ice cream were all yummy and disinct, though I think the cream in the middle probably fused into hazelnut ice cream. The chocolate ice cream reminded me of a classic Baskin Robbins chocolate. There were a few crunchy pearls, and a single pisachio on top for decoration, ha! The bark on the top was very a very dark chocolate, and crunchy.
For a more proper-ish lunch, I headed over to the Marui department store next door. There was apparently a “Delicious Food Competition” happening, with stores from all over the country selling famous foods. There was a lot of people shopping and eating, and a variety of booths! I went for a Osaka ikayaki, which is apparently a famous food. They had various flavors and add-ons, but I went for the basic “sauce” version (347 yen). All of them contain mayo, egg, squid, and the base crepe.
It was pretty good! Taste-wise, it has that basic okonomiyaki and takoyaki flavor, which is mostly a mashup of batter, sauce, and mayo. There was a layer of egg, with pieces of squid spread throughout. The crepe part was this thick, chewy dough. I was hoping it would be thinner, but clearly I’m not appreciating the dish enough.
I went to check out the Animate building, but luckily for my wallet, there wasn’t anything of interest to me there. After stopping at Parco to refill my water at Muji, I didn’t really have anything to do. I ended up going back to my hostel and chilled for a bit.
Around 5:30, I went back to the hostel bar to get my free drink. I don’t drink alcohol, though some alcoholic drinks were elligible for the free coupon. I got a glass of ginger ale, with a retail price of 250 yen. No picture, but it really was just ginger ale. Good, but nothing special.
After talking to one of the employees for a bit, I headed out to grab dinner. I’ve been lowkey craving pizza recently, so I went to check out Orizzonte. Supposedly this place is one of Sapporo’s original Italian restaurants back when there weren’t many, and has been operating for a while. Apparently, they have a one drink policy at dinner time. This is not written or said anywhere I could find, so I was a little irritated, so I got a peach juice. I noticed they have their own branded hand towel package.
Although the juice was a reluctant choice, the drink itself was quite lovely, tasting like a squeezed peach. The pizza was really good! The crust was uber thin, probably the thinnest I’ve seen a pizza in a long time. There wasn’t too much sauce, a nice layer of mozzarella, a few basil leaves, and evem some fresh tomato pieces, unusual for a margherita. Very yummy!
I walked around a bit, contemplating dessert or ice cream options, but outside was just too cold. After regretting walking into Wego, I headed back to the hostel for the night. I did see the 2025 Snow Miku tram!
February 24th: The end of the three day weekend meant time to check-out of my hostel. I was going to meet up with a friend though, so that was something to look forward to!
I decided on getting the new Nana’s Green Tea for breakfast since the cafe opens at 10. This time, I’m making sure to get it before the end of the limited period so they won’t run out. While waiting for the shop to open, I bumped into one of my students…Nana’s just released their sakura season menu, and with it, a seasonal parfait! It includes sakura petal jelly, salty sakura ice cream, matcha jelly, a matcha gateau chocolat cake as a topping, and yogurt cream.
I liked it a lot! What I thought was normal whipped cream on top was actually yogurt! There was some on top, as well as throughout the parfait. The tangy yogurt balanced out the sweetness of the other components nicely, though with soft serve also in the mix, it was a little hard to tell which was which. There was a lot of sakura components, including the ice cream, which was light and aromatic, bean paste, and the jelly on the bottom. The cake was a solid gateau chocolat, and the matcha flavor was very strong. The sakura petal on top was insanely salty though.
Right before I got on my train, I grabbed boba from The Alley. Read about my boba here!
I rode the train to Teine for the first time! It’s a nice little suburban part of Sapporo. My friend was selling a bunch of her merch at a second-hand goods store, so I came to tag along and hang out.
We went to drop off the goods, and because appraising them for value would take some time, we went to go get lunch first. My friend suggested Tonden, a Japanese-style family restaurant that focuses on Hokkaido food! I guess they weren’t doing their lunch menu because it was a holiday, and most of their grand menu had sets that looked pretty big. I opted for a butadon; a Hokkaido classic, but also not too large. It comes with miso soup and pickles.
I haven’t had a butadon in a while, but I think this is the best one I’ve ever had. All of the pork pieces were generously large, not too fatty, and super tender and flavorful with the sauce. A very pleasant surprise, and a good lunch.
We drove back to the store so my friend could collect her money, and neither of us had anything else to do, so we drove home together.
And that was my long weekend!
This time, I stayed in The Stay, a hostel in western Susukino. I previously stayed the night here with my boyfriend a while ago, and that was in a private rom. This time, I stayed in a womens-only dormitory. The room itself was a standard dorm setup, though you do have to climb into the bunks as opposed to them being horizontal. The bed was decently comfy, there were quite a few outlets per person, and amenities were basic, but available.
I do have a more positive impression of the place now that they do give you a free towel. Last time I was here, they charged 100 yen for a towel, so I was mentally prepared for that again. Seems like that changed a while ago though. Not sure if they always do this, but I did get a free drink from their bar! The hostel ocation is a bit far from the main Sapporo area, but other than that, I recommend the place.
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