2007 Sapporo Snow Festival

Josh and I recently enjoyed a weekend getaway to Hokkaido - the northern-most island in Japan. The main attraction was the Annual Sapporo Snow Festival, but the trip included several other fun and enjoyable outings! Our first day was spent mostly traveling - to the airport - in flight - and then on to our hotel. After we arrived and had time to settle in, we headed to the Sapporo Bier Garten to enjoy a "Genghis Khan" style meal where we cooked our own lamb and veggies over a large grill in the center of the table. We came out of the restaurant to a wintry wonderland and enjoyed walking around in the snow for a little longer that evening.



The next day we were off to the slopes! Most of our Japanese friends were stunned that I was planning on skiing "in my condition" - but I had it on good authority - from my mom - that skiing while pregnant was not too dangerous!! (I'm not exactly a dare devil anyway!!) Of course, the conditions were blizzard-like and the visibility was sub-par...but we did have a great time together on the mountain! Josh was just as reckless as I had imagined - I was not quite as daring as he had hoped (though he thought I had pretty good skills!) AND we both managed to make it through the day with only sore muscles and wind burned faces!

In Japan - as in the States - every region tends to be known for some kind of culinary treat. The region we visited is well known for having the best sushi and crab in all of Japan - and it is the home of several well known confectionary companies as well! On Monday we started the day off at Ishiya Chocolate Factory - a famous local shop for sweets! We watched the production line of their famous "cookies" and enjoyed some tasty samples along the way. Next, we were off to the fishing village of Otaru. There we walked along the canal, enjoyed some yummy sushi, and did a bit of window shopping at some of the local craft shops. (Otaru is well known for their musical boxes and glass blowing.) Since we felt compelled to eat ALL of the regions finest foods in one day - we visited a delicious crab restaurant back in Sapporo for dinner that night! YUM!