Sapporo, Hokkaido 2014

In July, Brenda, Yee Lyn and I had the privilege to travel to Japan on behalf of Monash for the International Symposium of Business and Social Sciences 2014 (ISBSS), as well as to do some sight seeing! 

Us at KLIA 2, the month it opened!  

DAY 1
Osaka 

OSAKA! 

We stayed at Washington Hotel, just a train ride away from the airport as we had a 7am flight the next day. I really recommend this hotel as the rates are really reasonable (compared to Nikko Hotel, which we initially chose), and the service as well as the environment was awesome! :) 

http://kansai-ap.washington-hotels.jp 

On the Rapi:t train to Nanba!!  

1430 Yen, 30 minutes from Kansai International Airport.

The first non-selfie picture of us in Japan - the Japanese lady who took this picture for us was SO patient and kind! Which perfectly describes every other Japanese strangers we crossed paths with in Japan. :) 

Wandered off to some place, and ate this as a snack! Okonomiyaki. 

Then we headed to Shinsaibashi to walk around and to try the famous Rikuro Cheesecake. It was the best. Cheesecake. Ever. It literally melts in your mouth - no cheesecakes in Malaysia taste this good. 

Rikuro Cheesecake 

3-2-15 Nanba, Chuoku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0076, Japan

There's usually a long line there, so be prepared to wait. They are really generous with their samples though! I ate another sample after eating my slice of cheesecake as I was too lazy to line up again. Haha! 

After that, we were supposed to go to Dotonbori to try the highly raved Ichiran Ramen, but I got lost. -_- It was the scariest thing ever... Imagine being lost in a SEA of people, without being able to contact your friends. I had data plan, but somehow Brenda's couldn't work - so I couldn't contact them at all. So after making a few calls on Kakao talk to my parents, I decided to go back to the hotel, with around 30% of my phone battery left! I thank God that I managed to find my way back to the train station (I guess my sense of direction is pretty good after all!) and reach the hotel room in one piece. 

I used B-Mobile in Japan for internet usage, and to navigate around Japan. Highly recommend this! 

http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/

HAHA I still had time to camwhore! 

Brenda and Yee Lyn came back with food for me! :D Such sweethearts!! <3

Since we  couldn't sleep, we decided to walk over to the Family Mart for some snacks. Yeah - life with Brenda and Yee Lyn is never boring. HAHA. 

DAY 2 

Sapporo 

On the 21st, we flew to Sapporo! :D The temperature was solo much cooler, apparently during summer, Japanese people from all over Japan will fly over to Sapporo as its much cooler there. 

The first thing I did - buy a box of delicious Marusei Butter Cookies! Please do yourself a favour and buy this when you're in Hokkaido - you won't be able to get it anywhere else in Japan! It can be found in the Chitose Airport, Sapporo. 

Beautiful flowers by the pavements everywhere in Sapporo! 

Went to the JR Tower for lunch! 

We went to Nemuro Hanamaru for lunch - the freshest sushi in Sapporo is served here! We had to wait an hour to be seated, so we left our names with the waitress and walked around JR Tower in the meantime. 

FRESHEST prawn sushi ever! Even the ones in Malaysia weren't this fresh. 

The sample of cheese tarts that got me hooked. Best cheese tarts ever! 

Kinotoya Bake 

JR Sapporo Station, Ground Floor. 

Then we headed to Odori Park for a stroll! 

I miss the cheesetartssssss! 

DAY 3 

Renaissance, Sapporo (for the ISBSS Conference)

Breakfast at Renaissance. Their breakfast buffet is really delicious - Salmon and salmon roe were fresh. 

OOTD 

After the conference, we decided to walk to Nakajima Park. On the way to the park, we met a lady who was eating berries on a bush, so we talked to her and she picked some berries for us to try!

Finally, we reached Nakajima Park! 

This is what we get during tea breaks at the conference! Madelines, macarons, chocolate cake and chocolate pieces. 

The lunch buffet! 

Their desserts are really good.

More Salmon! Yay! 

This marks the end of our 3 day conference! After that, we headed over to Susukino to walk around (We spent a lot of time walking around - especially to the shopping areas hehe) 

Susukino - Where the night life is at

Instant noodles in Japan! One of the only times I'll actually eat instant noodles. 

We shifted over to Khaosan Guest House on the 4th day, and we loved it! The guest house was VERY clean, beds were comfy, and we got to meet people from various countries. Lastly, it doesn't burn a hole in your pocket! I wouldn't mind going back to Khaosan again in the future. :) 

http://khaosan-sapporo.com/en/

DAY 4 

Exploring Sapporo (Plus visiting more shops) 

H&M and Zara had massive sales in July, so we literally shopped till we dropped! I managed to score a 100 YEN dress from H&M (RM3.30!!) - That's how cheap clothes can get in Japan! 

One of the most delicious chocolate canned drinks! 

We ate at one of the restaurants that Antony Bourdain dined in, at the Ramen Alley.

Ramen Alley

Chuo-ku, Susukino, Sapporo

Brenda and her fabulous pose 

Then, we headed over to a spanish bar to chill after a long day.

DAY 5 

Otaru 

We spent the whole day strolling around the beautiful streets, taking pictures and eating lots of testers at the shops that sell snacks. :p  

Meddling around

EVERYTHING was fresh! This bowl only cost 300 YEN. The average price for a normal bowl of sashimi / fresh seafood with rice is around 1000 YEN, so this was a really good deal. 

When we went back to the train station, we went back to Kinotoya to get my cheese tart! 

DAY 6 

Furano 

We were really looking forward to going to Farm Tomita as we saw beautiful pictures of all the flowers and lavenders in the farm. However, it was raining! :( Nevertheless, the view was still very scenic despite the rain. 

The Lavender ice cream is a MUST! The best soft serve I've tasted to date. 

DAY 7 

Goodbye, Hokaido! 

I had a really good time in Japan with my girls and wouldn't trade that experience for the world! I hope this post will be helpful to those that intend to travel to Hokkaido soon. :) 

My nails were done at Colors Cabin, Kota Kemuning - Click here for my review! 

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