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Showing posts from December, 2015

My Hokkaido Journey: A Moment Like This

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Apart from the thrilling winter activities, incredible sights and exciting onsen experience, i felt that Hokkaido has a lovely charm that it inspired me to title this part as such. No kiss exactly but sometimes i can't believe it's (journey) happening; the journey made its way to capture the heart, of food and travel. As i mentioned in the earlier post, we should cherish moments in our lifetime. Gentleman road-crossing. Sapporo, the capital and the largest city of Hokkaido, means 'important river flowing through a plain' in Ainu (indigenous people of Hokkaido) language. The city is properly organized- buildings are developed in blocks (in a grid-like arrangement), and at any junction looking out at the road, you will see a clear path ahead (or the mountains). Places are addressed with the four Cardinal directions: north, south, east and west. Otaru is a port city, northwest of Sapporo. I noticed some of the signboards had Russian writings on them. Fishery is on

My Hokkaido Journey: Naked.

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Gomen'nasai, Did the title catch your attention? Was i really naked? Yes, i was fully naked. Why? ... Lake Toya An interesting fact about this lake is that it is ice-free (it never freezes despite the cold). It is part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. Our bus stopped here and although i don't favour lakes, i enjoyed the short time at this lake. Posing with the lake behind. Close-up shot. Just chilling by the lake. Mount Showa-Shinzan Also located in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park is this volcanic lava dome with observable active fuming. Delicious melon ice cream against the fuming Mount Showa-Shinzan behind. We had lunch nearby; authentic tempura.   Nugget? Yummy chicken kaarage. And pork slices to cook in the boiling hot pot.  Bear Ranch Just across the Mount Showa-Shinzan is this Bear Ranch. There were many Hokkaido brown bears, also known as Ussuri brown bears, in separate enclosures. I was told that when the bear raised o