Adrift in Japan

Sapporo Snow Festival

Today is the first official day of the Sapporo Snow Festival, the biggest event each year in Sapporo. Despite dire predictions that quality of sculptures would suffer this year due to the deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, the festival doesn't seem to be affected.

The festival may not have started till today but we spent the past few days visiting the sights so we could see everything before my aunt had to go back to Singapore today. We were able to see sculptures in both ice and snow under construction and completed, as well as see the giant snow sculptures with ice slides for kids at the Self Defense Forces base.

The sculptures are both beautiful and imposing. To say I'm impressed almost seems like understating it. I heard about the festival, but I had no idea it would be this grand (after being disappointed by White Illumination). The dinosaurs appear to be carved in their true-to-life dimensions. The building replicas are incredibly detailed. Info on the large sculptures says they were created by the combined efforts of between 2500 to 3000 people EACH. That doesn't count the smaller sculptures created by competing teams, such as the Uncle Sam from the US Navy guys from Massawa or the numerous Finding Nemo sculptures or Winnie-the-Pooh (Pu-san) renditions.

I posted a few photos of the ice festival already in our Adrift with a Camera [Phone] blog. Stay tuned for a bigger gallery when I download the photos from my dad's digital camera.

Club Med Sahoro (Review)

The most important thing when going on a Club Med vacation: understand what comes with your package. The second most important thing: go ready to relax, eat a lot of food, enjoy yourself and take advantage of everything available.

This season at Club Med Sahoro, your vacation includes your room, three meals a day including non-alcoholic beverages and house wines, your lift ticket for the skiing, and either ski or snow board lessons each day (doesn't include equipment rental). In fact, it included lift tickets for both our arrival and departure days too - for 8 days total - although we didn't ski on the last day because we left so early. It also includes participation in other activities, like fitness classes (stretching, water aerobics), and the built-in Club Med show each evening, where the Guest Officers (GOs) dance and sing to keep you entertained. Note, although Club Med is offering a program called "Total All-Inclusive" at some of their resorts, which means not just three meals a day but also all snacks and premium liquors etc, Sahoro is not offering that deal. In other words, to get a draft beer or a cocktail, you have to pony up the cash. We think it's because alcohol is expensive here and Japanese people can drink like fish. You can still buy an all-you-can-drink bracelet, but we went with the pay-as-you-go plan, and pretty much only drank things other than wine at the 2-for-1 cocktail happy hour.

Ahh, but enough about what's included, you say. How is the skiing? How is the food? Would I actually want to go there?

Skiing
Let's get to the most exciting part first. The skiing was great. We actually didn't get much fresh snow while we were there, but nearly every day we received at least a dusting which helped keep it fresh. The snowfall is fluffy and wonderfully powdery. The Japanese seem to enjoy skiing on groomed slopes, so there's a lot of groomed, but there's also a few more challenging ones left to develop some fun little moguls which were, at least on a couple of days, my favorite consistency, easy to kind of swish swish on through. Sahoro may not be a huge ski area, but it was big enough to keep us entertained for a week, and that's saying quite a bit.

Of course, part of that might have been the lessons. Mom, Dad, Damian, Matt and I each signed up for ski lessons about 5 out of 6 days. Matt and I were in the lesson group 3B, which is the second from the top (3A is the best) and felt like we fit in well. The primary difference between 3A and 3B appeared to be that 3As skied faster and were a little more dynamic... but we didn't really want to work that hard for our skiing. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad were in 2A, which is the largest group, and split among a number of different teachers who took the best 2As (Dad's group) all the way down to the worst 2As. Anyway, they tried hard to hook us up with instructors who spoke English. Megumi, our very cool instructor, is Japanese but lives in Australia, so English was no problem for her. Only Mom faced any difficulties, where one day she had an instructor who struggled to express herself in English but Mom very gamely followed her gestures and tried to get the gist of her meaning. By the next day Mom had an English speaking instructor again.

Oh - lessons include twice a week racing, which Japanese people are apparently really, really excited about. The day before the race, there is race training, and then the next morning is spent racing. We only participated once, but it was fun, and Dad, Matt and I all won medals.

Auntie Hilda went snow-trekking twice to a nearby waterfall, which was a great alternative for those who didn't feel like skiing.

Food
The food was better than I expected. We had all-you-can-eat buffets for each meal, but the food was higher quality than at most other buffets I've been to. And they made an effort to include some variety, although they did offer some of the same things -- apparently to satisfy kids -- like chicken nuggets, spaghetti and hamburgers. Each meal included a "Japanese Corner" also, replete with things like deep-fried meats and miso soup. Once in a while they had local specialties like their own soba. Other items rotated through, including Indian food, Italian (at least one day of homemade pasta!), Korean... Desserts were yummy too... probably my mom's favorite part of the whole experience. The free wine was actually very drinkable, albeit very light, and available in white, rose and red. I will say that my parents said when they came to this club med years and years ago they found the food better then (there were two restaurants then, one a sit-down place), but all the same we all found the food perfectly enjoyable this time. And we love food.

Accomodations
Club Med Sahoro offers 2 different kinds of rooms - a combo room, which has both Tatami and Western room sections, and a straight up Western-style room. We had the western style rooms, which were three beds to a room. The rooms look like they haven't been updated in quite a while - maybe ever - but they are servicable and comfortable, and anyway I don't think you're encouraged to spend much time in your room. Each room does have a toilet as well as a shower/bath. However, the water pressure was so variable I nearly always chose to go to the Japanese public bath to wash up (see below).

The Bath
We also made use of the pool, the jacuzzi, the Canadian Bath (an outdoor hot tub), and the Ofuro and sauna. After a day of skiing, relaxing the muscles in a really hot environment was wonderful. And it may seem strange to leave one's room to take a shower but the combination of being able to use the sauna and the hot bath for soaking, with the great water pressure of the showers down there, kept bringing me back.

Entertainment
The GOs tried their best to provide entertainment -- and they succeeded. They all participate in the shows which fluctuate somewhere between good amateur and somewhat professional. There's a show or something every night, sometimes with an audience participation event. Shows ranged from magic to singing and dancing to lip-syncing. Once there was a mini-club show where guests' kids put on the show. At any rate, it was good to have something to do in the evening between dinner and "oh-god-I'm-so-tired". After the show, at the bar, there was always something more, but we pretty much missed that because we went up to bed.

The GOs are exceptionally friendly and fun to hang out with (sometimes they sit with you at meals). I mean, it's a part of their jobs, but you can tell that most of them genuinely enjoy being with the guests.

For Kids
We didn't take advantage of anything for kids, but we could tell they had great programs. Essentially you could drop your kid off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon after they had had a full day of skiing and activities and were presumably exhausted. Each night after dinner before the show they showed a cartoon movie. Once it was even in English (Ice Age). Anyway, the kids sure looked like they were having fun.

Wrap Up
In short, it was a fun time, and good value for the money. Maybe I wished I could have had free snacks but that's about it. We were able to kick back and relax and really had nothing to worry about because everything was taken care of. Would I go back? I would while I live here because it's close and not too expensive compared to everything else in Japan. I would recommend it to people who live in the Asia-Pacific region because it's a relatively short hop for them to Sahoro. For Americans, it's a little far to travel for what you get and considering the quality of skiing in the US (try Club Med Crested Butte and let me know how it is). But if you're coming to Japan for some other reason, it could be worth a trip. It certainly was for us!

Greetings from Sahoro

We've had about 5 days of skiing on decent snow. No powder but still fun. Check ot the photos in themoblog. Stay tuned for more about Club Med Sahoro when we return to our regularly scheduled programming. (from my cellphone)

Club Med Sahoro

We're off to spend a week with my parents skiing at the Club Med in Sahoro. We'll be thinking of you as we swish-swish down the powdery slopes and relax with friends and relatives. Moblog posts may be forthcoming.

Weekend

Matt's conference was finally over and we went hunting for Kyoto treasures for Xmas gifts. Then we went out to PLF's town to eat, drink & wish him luck on his later date. Yesterday we hit the Toji market before heading north to another temple for Buddhist lunch. Most places we wanted to go were closed but we finished shopping and had a fun teppan-age dinner. We leave today. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (from my cellphone)

Snowy Kyoto

It's snowing! Big gorgeous flakes of fluffy powder. Pics later unless it melts first. Dinner last night at the home of Japanese friends. Real home cooked food! Today, XMas shopping. Also hope to see PLF again before we leave. And more sights. Busy busy busy! (From my cellphone)

I Heart Kyoto

After 2 days of wandering I can say it's both beautiful & fascinating. And my legs are really tired. Some moblog photos have been posted. Stay tuned for more. (From my cellphone)

Kyoto-bound

We're leaving today for Kyoto, and on Monday we'll leave from Kansai for the US to spend the holidays with our families. We're not sure what internet access will be like, but, since typing on my phone is kind of a pain, text moblogging may be limited. Watch our sidebar for updates in our photo album, Adrift with a Camera [Phone].

Recovery

There's so much to write about, it's almost overwhelming. But we're going to condense and just try to go with the highlights here. My parents were here for about 9 fun-filled days and this is what we learned:

• Ramen comes at a variety of prices levels and qualities. And the best one we found is somewhere in APIA. Sure, we went to Ramen Alley and it was good for the fun. But it was expensive (I can't remember but, maybe 1100 yen?) since it's such a tourist haven. Give me a bowl of good, less expensive ramen in a much more convenient location any time.
• The JR Hotel Nikko in the tower has a good all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at not-that-steep-of-a-price 2000 yen, plus a good view. My parents thought the desserts were really good, and probably ate the equivalent of 2000 yen just in the little mini-cakes.
• How to use a load-it-yourself soft serve ice cream machine. Of course, I didn't learn how to identify the flavors right away. Ok, I thought, I've had the strawberry already. This one looks like it might be cookies and cream. Silly me. I took a bite and instantly wanted to spit it out. Not that it tasted bad, actually, but when you're hoping for Oreo and you get... black sesame... well, aack. But in the end we ate it all up; I liked it, and my mom loved it.
• All-you-can-eat lamb + all-you-can-drink beer at the Sapporo Beer Garden = a good time. We did it twice. Okay, the second time we only did all-you-can-eat, but I had two beers, so it was the same for me.
• Mom likes Japanese beer. This is remarkable only because of how much she hates all other beer.
• There's nothing much happening around Urasando nowadays, at least during the day, no matter what the tourist map says.
• Don't trust those green signs with the yellow "i"s in circles that are supposed to give tourists info about where things are in the city.
• Driving on the expressway in Japan is really, really expensive.
• White Illumination is pretty, but still seems to have fewer total number of lights than Vail does on pretty much any day of the year.
• Hell Valley (Noboribetsu) is a fun visit in the winter, and more people speak English there than in Sapporo. Maybe it's because they expect so many tourists.
• Dai-Ichi Takamotokan's Onsen is awesome. The seven different types of water... the different pools... the dinner in our room. Ahh, how relaxing. I even liked living in a tatami-style room -- although after a while perhaps the perpetual smell of straw would start to get to me.
• At the Dai-Ichi, women can look down from their spa area and see the naked men walking around in theirs. Men can look up, but they can't see the women's body's, just their heads poking over the walls.
• Otaru is much, much snowier than Sapporo. And colder. But, it also has a lot more touristy things to do, although going to a Venetian museum in Japan may strike you as odd.
• Chanko Nabe is really tasty - and now I can understand why Japanese people like to eat it in the winter. Bring it on.
• It's possible for Sapporo to go in less than 2 days from a place that looks like a dried-out husk to one covered in a layer of snow over a layer of ice that screams "shovel me" or "put some salt or dirt on me," neither of which anyone will do. Stay tuned for a report on an upcoming trial run of my Yak Traks

Matt and I have settled in for what remains of our time in Sapporo this year. We're taking off soon for Kyoto and visits to both of our families for the holidays. In the meantime, we put up our stockings, a small Xmas wreath, and some Xmas lights to give our place a little holiday cheer. Happy Holiday Season to you all!

Parental Visit

We're out and about all week with my parents, who are in town for the week. Sorry about the lack of posting, but we'll have some updates when we get back from Dai-ichi Takimotokan in Noboribetsu. The website's in English, so you can read about how we're planning to linger in the 7 different kinds of baths, enjoy dinner in our Japanese room, and (possibly, if not exhausted), head out to sing a little Karaoke. We'll catch up with you again next week.

State-side Break

Evidently I'm not allergic to bees.

There we were, standing in the backyard of a wonderful Studio City mansion-turned-office, watching friends get married. Rose petals were strewn as a path through the grass. Beautiful flowers grew as part of the landscaping. It was romantic and lovely. I put my hand on Matt's back. A second later, I felt a little stabbing pain in my hand and jerked away; I saw a bee or wasp stuck to the back of Matt's shirt just where my hand had been. And when I looked down, the stinger was right there in my thumb. Leave it to me to miss part of my friends' wedding by getting a bee sting in their yard. I hurried inside where caterers helped me find tweezers and volunteered helpful hints like, "Does any one have a cigarette? If you put tobacco on a bee sting, it helps," or "I have really long fingernails, and I'm good at pulling things out." Or how about the MacGyver like bartender who said, "Do you have two credit cards? We can try using two credit cards to pull it out." In the end, the lady with the really long fingernails got the stinger out, and I iced my finger, and didn't appear to suffer too many ill effects. Actually, it swelled up for me less than mosquito bites normally do, although two days later it's still bugging me a bit (no pun intended).

Yes, we're back in the US. We arrived Wednesday, spent the night in Manhattan Beach crashing with friends, and headed up to Santa Barbara on Thursday (Matt gave a talk). Friday night we drove back down to LA and Saturday was the wedding. Sunday we had lunch at The Magic Castle and chilled out again in Manhattan Beach. This morning we drove down to San Diego so Matt can put in a couple days work before we fly back to Japan on Wednesday. Phew. On our to-do list: stock up on American toiletries (we can read the labels here); get flu shots; refill prescriptions; see Lost in Translation.

Earthquake, Smirthquake

Last week, there was an 8.0 earthquake off the coast of Hokkaido, as well as a 7+ aftershock. In Sapporo, it was somewhere around a 5 on the Richter scale (give or take). For us, it was just something we saw on the news from the comfort of our living room at the MiCasa Hotel Apartments in Kuala Lumpur. Of course, Matt's first reaction was to be miffed that he missed the earthquake. We did have some friends write e-mails hastily to ask how we weathered the earthquake. Obviously they're not keeping up with us on our blog! (Still nice to hear from them, naturally). It did make us realize we should definitely register with the US Consulate now that we're back in Sapporo.

That's right, we're back. We had a pleasantly smooth trip, actually. Check in in Singapore was a breeze. They actually have a new special premier/first/business class check in "lounge" where you don't seem to have your luggage weighed and they remember to put all kinds of tags on your luggage that say "priority" and "first class" even when you're not flying first class and really just have a United Mileage Plus Gold card. And ANA is good at paying attention to the tags and getting your luggage to pop out of the plane quickly (even if they're not good about giving you miles... we accidentally got gypped on miles due a promotional fare). Immigration in Narita was so much faster since we could go through the Japanese Passports & Those with Re-Entry Permits lines. I actually got a real kick out of it because we were lined up and the Japanese woman in front of us turned around and said, "This is the line for Japanese." I showed her my Alien Registration Card and she said, "Oh!", nodded and turned away. She was just being nice, but it was still funny. Matt's convinced no Japanese can believe a white person, or even a Chinese-American, could be a resident of Japan.

Other memorable food experiences from our vacation: roti and dosa (love that so much), suckling pig (great) and abalone & goose feet (not my favorite) at my dad's b-day bash , fresh young coconut for only 3 RM from Jusco (wish we had it at our Jusco here), durian (slightly out of season but still good), mangosteens (my favorite fruit), spicy Thai food, homecooked Chicken Rendang & Gula Melaka (one of my favorite desserts). All in all it was the food vacation I was looking for.

Last night we went to a restaurant owned by friends - everything from the regular menu, such as the suckling pig (yum) and the Brazilian dish with the endless parades of meat, was really good. I ordered from the special menu prepared by a visiting Mexican chef, and unfortunately, I didn't think it shined the way the rest of the food did. Maybe it's just because I am from San Francisco and spent time in San Diego, where Mexican food abounds. Maybe she couldn't find the ingredients she needed, or maybe she was trying too hard to make it nuevo. Whatever the reason, I felt I'd had better lobster tacos at Rubio's, and that's not something a chef would want to hear. All the same, I thought Matt's food was excellent - keep those sides of meat coming all night long, I say. And, yum, sangria! And good company. What more could someone ask for in their send off at the end of their vacation?

Takashimaya Singapore

We're spending the week in Singapore and KL, hanging out with family for my dad's 60th birthday. Singapore is a welcome change from Sapporo (although a little too hot outside, but who goes outside in Singapore?) because we can communicate with everyone and Matt's not the only gaijin when we walk down the street. Plus, the food is the type of food I love... the hawker stalls, the ice kachang, the porridge with hundred year old eggs... (ooh... and tonight, the famous Singaporean Chili Crab!)

Today we went to Takashimaya Singapore, which I suppose is funny that we chose to come to a Japanese department store, but, hey, there's no Takashimaya in Sapporo. The basement is just like the basements in the department stores in Japan except that all of the writing is in English - which means it's comprehensible - and there's a much greater variety of types of cuisine available. Of course there is ramen and sushi, but it's next to Thai, Nonya, Vietnamese... Yum. We picked up some Kueh Lapis (a type of Chinese cake) and some steamed pandan cakes, as well as a number of the sticky-gooey treats that are specialities here. And then I think, gosh, I really wish they had those things at Daimaru in Sapporo.

We had already gorged ourselves silly at Crystal Jade (Or something like that) just outside Takashimaya on roast duck, suckling pig, porridge, noodles and dimsum. That's what coming to Singapore is all about. Yesterday it was fishball noodle soup and goreng pisang (deep fried bananas). Today, chili crab. Right now, I'm off to go eat my Kueh Lapis. Catch you later.