Winter Love Song: A 9-Day Ski and Hot Spring Journey in Tokyo, Kamakura, and Hokkaido

day1: Let's go! Xiamen - Tokyo (14:50-19:25)

day2: Kaminarimon - Senso-ji - Ueno Park - Akihabara

day3: Ginza - Shibuya

day4: Kamakura - Kabukicho

day5: Tokyo - Hokkaido New Chitose Airport (09:00-10:35) - Noboribetsu - Jigokudani - Lake Toya - Niseko

day6: Niseko, let's ski!

day7: Niseko - Sapporo

day8: Sapporo - Otaru

day9: Going home! New Chitose Airport - Hong Kong - Xiamen (16:00-20:55, 21:55-23:20)

Japan, I want to see cherry blossoms in spring, summer fireworks festivals, autumn red leaves, winter snow festivals...

After watching anime for over twenty years, I was really looking forward to traveling to Japan. There are too many places I want to visit and too little time. The last-minute trip coincided with the Chinese New Year, so flights and accommodation all went up in price. The 9-day itinerary was actually only about 7 days. I suggest if you go to Japan during cherry blossom season or Spring Festival, it's best to plan and book well in advance...

Memories always fade, so I want to record the beautiful and happy moments. This time I used a digital camera, a film camera, and a phone for photos. The post contains many photos.

January 29, Xiamen - Tokyo,

Our group consisted of four people, two couples. We arrived quite late, booked an airport pickup, and our homestay was in Waseda. It was Uncle Joe's homestay that I saw on Weibo. Around 100 square meters, a double-height duplex with one room upstairs and one downstairs. The bathroom was downstairs. The upstairs room was larger and connected to a small room where futons could be laid out, accommodating up to 8 people. There was heating. The host was very nice and prepared drinks, snacks, and cup noodles for us. The balcony, kitchen, and washing machine were all there. Getting around was fairly convenient; about a 5-minute walk to the subway station. Since it was Chinese New Year, it cost 1500 a night.

After dropping off our luggage, we freshened up and went to find food nearby. Waseda is surrounded by university and residential areas, so it's quiet at night.

Today was basically subway + walking!

We booked a kimono experience at Wafuku Kimono. The shop was near Senso-ji, so we went to find it first!

Every frame felt like walking into a Japanese drama or anime.

It was around this road; I forgot to take a photo of the shop.

Walking to Senso-ji.

Senso-ji was extremely lively, with many tourists and hundreds of shops for eating and shopping. There were also many girls trying on kimonos.

After a short stroll, we went back to the kimono shop to change and head to the next destination.

Ueno Park has many art museums and exhibitions.

Today was mainly shopping. How can you come to Japan without buying things? In Tokyo, we mainly shopped at department stores and for streetwear brands. There are also many drugstores in Hokkaido. We didn't want to carry too much stuff during transit. It's worth mentioning that most Japanese department stores close at 8 p.m. If you want to visit attractions during the day and then shop, you won't have enough time...

For lunch, we had ramen in Ginza. Shinjuku and Ginza have many delicious foods and desserts.

We wandered around eating and drinking for another day. For dinner, we went to an izakaya near Waseda Station recommended by our homestay host. The food was delicious, the drinks were great, and the atmosphere was relaxing.

A day trip to Kamakura, about an hour by train from Tokyo. The Kamakura trip can follow the Enoden line. The Enoshima Kamakura Free Pass issued by Odakyu Electric Railway covers all transportation needs for the day, including a one-day round-trip ticket between Tokyo and Kamakura and unlimited rides on the Enoden for one day. It can be purchased on the Odakyu website.

For dinner, we had super delicious okonomiyaki.

February 2, Tokyo Haneda - Hokkaido 09:00-10:35

The trip was planned on short notice, so popular ski and hot spring hotels were already fully booked. There were many places we wanted to visit, and Niseko was quite far. To save time, we chose to charter a car.

We almost had to split up into two flights because there weren't enough seats, which would have messed up our plans, but luckily they arranged it.

It took about an hour from New Chitose to Noboribetsu for lunch. Noboribetsu is a famous hot spring resort, and popular hot spring hotels were all booked up early.

Further in is Jigokudani (Hell Valley). As a child from the south, it was the first time I saw such thick snow, and I was so excited.

Rest stop & souvenir shop. After arriving in Hokkaido, our phones and cameras kept dying from the extreme cold. The further we went, the stronger the sulfur smell became.

Lake Toya has a wide view and beautiful scenery, perfect for photos. There are also many hot spring inns and restaurants nearby. If time permits, you can take a boat trip on the lake. The hot spring street also has souvenir shops selling the original hand-carved wooden sword "Toya" from the anime Gintama. We arrived in the evening, and after playing in the snow and taking photos, it was almost dark.

After dark, we had dinner at the hot spring street by Lake Toya.

We saw a very beautiful vintage car shop.

After dinner, we drove from Lake Toya to Niseko Tower Resort Hotel, about an hour's drive. Upon arrival, we checked in with the guidance of the staff. The hotel offers ski equipment rental and instructor booking services. Renting equipment at the hotel is cheaper than at the ski resort. At the time, I thought I would check at the ski resort the next day and hire an instructor if needed. I didn't expect that all instructors were already booked.

I strongly recommend that anyone who has never skied before must hire an instructor! It's nowhere near as simple as in videos. I deeply regret not hiring one. I fell countless times. Ski boards are very heavy, and even standing up is difficult. There are techniques involved. Later, I saw another instructor teaching children and secretly learned how to stand up and stop. I wasted a lot of time falling. It wasn't until the afternoon that I started to get the hang of it. But my posture was ugly, and I wasn't even as good as the kids...

There are shuttle buses between the hotel and the ski resort. There are also hotels near the ski resort, but we wanted an outdoor hot spring, so we booked the slightly farther Tower Resort. After eating, we changed into our ski gear and set off!

During peak season, the ski resort was crowded. The weather was great in the morning.

Once I learned, skiing felt really great. Even though I wasn't good at it, at least the day wasn't wasted on falling...

Lunch was at the ski resort.

After a day of falling, returning to the hotel for a massage and hot spring was so healing. Be sure to try the outdoor hot spring! The feeling of the hot spring surrounded by cold snow is amazing! In Japan, you don't wear clothes in the hot spring; at most, you bring a small towel. It's a shame you can't take photos at the outdoor hot spring. After the hot spring, enjoying milk tea and ice cream is also great.

The hotel has a shuttle bus to JR Niseko Station. From JR Niseko Station, take the JR Hakodate Line (toward Otaru) to Sapporo. The trip takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

After arriving in Sapporo, we first dropped off our luggage at the homestay. Today's Sapporo route: Shiroi Koibito Park, Odori Park (Snow Festival), Tanukikoji Shopping Street (many drugstores).

Shiroi Koibito Park not only has a garden castle but also restaurants, cafes, desserts, and shops. If you book in advance, you can also experience making Shiroi Koibito chocolates.

Many years ago, I heard Zhang Zhicheng's song "International Date Line" singing, "I still want to see the snow festival in Hokkaido with you." In my imagination, I thought it was a Japanese witch holding a ceremony around a bonfire or something. This time I finally saw it. It turned out to be a cheerful snow sculpture exhibition and market, haha.

A day trip to Otaru. Along the canal is the tourist area with dessert shops, Kitaichi Glass, and the Music Box Museum. The JR train from Otaru to Sapporo takes about 40 minutes.

Both sides of the road leading to the canal have many shops.

I especially love having an ice cream in the snowy weather! And Hokkaido's milk and ice cream are incredibly delicious. No wonder all the desserts are so good!

For lunch, we ate at a restaurant across from the canal. The seafood rice bowl was cheap and delicious. The freshness of sea urchin, salmon, crab, sweet shrimp, and fish roe exploding on the tongue was a feast for the taste buds. The raw seafood was perfect with rice, and paired with hot miso soup, I felt like a character from Cooking Master Boy shining with golden light! The anime never lied to me! When you come to Hokkaido, you must eat a seafood rice bowl!

After lunch, we continued walking. The Music Box Museum.

We wandered to the seaside and found an empty park.

We had cake from LeTAO. Honestly, the strawberry cream cake was not as good as the strawberry cheesecake. The cheesecake series was very good, with original, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. Sometimes there are seasonal limited flavors. Besides the store, you can also buy frozen ones at Hokkaido's airport to take away. Back in Xiamen, I tried other brands, but none had the same texture and flavor as LeTAO.

After dark, we returned to Sapporo.

We're leaving tomorrow. Before leaving, I built an ugly snowman downstairs from our homestay. The snow on the roadside was too loose to pack, haha.

New Chitose Airport itself is very shoppable. Many specialty souvenirs are available at the airport, and there's also a Doraemon theme park.

There are also many delicious food options in the airport. There were too many people that day, so we didn't dare to wander around too much. We spent a long time queuing for security and almost missed our flight.

Travel Diary Contents: 1. Itinerary 2. DAY 1 Let's Go! 3. day2: Kaminarimon Senso-ji - Ueno Park - Akihabara 4. day3: Ginza - Shibuya 5. day4: Kamakura - Kabukicho 6. day5: Tokyo - Hokkaido New Chitose Airport - Noboribetsu - Jigokudani - Lake Toya - Niseko 7. day6: Niseko, Let's Ski! 8. day7: Niseko - Sapporo 9. day8: Sapporo - Otaru 10. day9: Going Home! New Chitose Airport - Hong Kong - Xiamen

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