Tokyo and Hokkaido Itinerary

Day 1 – Jewel at Changi Airport

I am going for my long awaited family vacation to Tokyo and Hokkaido. This will be a 2 weeks long trip primarily to ski in Hokkaido with transit in Tokyo for both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea hopefully. Just seeing my boys excited itself is already a reward and satisfying feeling. To me this trip is more about creating memories and fun than anything else. This time i will attempt to do something different for my blog which is to blog by the day.

We went early so that the family can see Jewels for themselves for the first time. I took the opportunity to try the Kams Roast duck at Jewel but was a little disappointed as the noodle is a little soggy and overcooked. The duck wasn’t outstanding either. Guess the quality control kind of failed here.

Holiday on business class

Well, this is my lucky day as i got a call from Singapore Airlines that they will upgrade me to business class. What a way to travel for holiday in business. This is only my second time traveling in business for family vacation. This first was for our Brisbane trip as economy was all full. so we had to book business on one of the leg for the whole family of four. However, this upgrade was only for myself which i made me felt kinda bad leaving my family behind in economy. I discussed with my wife and family and they agreed that i should take the upgrade.

Actually this is not the first course. They served Satay just after take-off but i forgotten to take the pictures. Well, not an uncommon problem for me: ).

First night stay in Haneda

As the flight arrive past mid-night, we booked one of the airport Hotel MyStays in Haneda to have a good night rest before heading to another hotel nearer to the Disney resorts. Nothing fanciful and it is just a very basic and small hotel. This one night cost about SGD170.

Day 2 – Free and Easy in Tokyo

Second day was lots and lots of walking. I clocked about 13k steps on my apple watch as compared to my daily of 3-4k steps. Went to Shinjuku to help a relative to buy apple watch and then Shibuya for dinner. Apple products are generally cheaper in Japan generally due to the favourable exchange rate and you can get extra 5% if you use visa for payment at the electronic departmental store like Yodabashi. Overall, we help to save about >SGD100.

BBQ Wagyu dinner Han Do Daikoro

Dinner was spent at Han Do Daidokoro at Shibuya. We ordered a set dinner which served about eight different Wagyu beef plus some other ala carte orders. Ordering is not a problem unlike many other smaller local joints as the staff speaks English.

Overall a rather good experience and good food. Not exactly the type of Wagyu that melts in your mouth but good enough. For that type, expect to pay alot more. The damage for 2 adults and 2 kids is about SGD200 so i consider still acceptable for a wagyu BBQ dinner.

Second night at Tokyo Bay Tokyu Hotel

In the evening, we moved to the Tokyo Bay Tokyu Hotel which is rather near to the Disney resort and only about one station away from the Maihama station. Staying at the resort hotel will cost you an arm and a leg. We decided to pay more instead for the later stage of our trip in Hokkaido for our skiing. You can alight at the Shin-Urayasu station and the hotel offers free shuttle to and fro the hotel. I do find this a little inconvenient as by the time you finish Disney, you would be really tired and hoped to be back to hotel quick for a rest instead of all this transit. I think the second best option would be to stay near Maihama station so that you can just walk back to your hotel. However, also be prepared to pay more.

Day 3 – Tokyo Disney Land

Every time i go to a Disney theme park, i am always impressed by the creativity and the thoughts behind each of the rides and design of the theme parks. The entrance fee is rather expensive and not to mention all the merchandise or the movies. Even the restaurants are all their own. For the huge piece of real estate, it is a humongous money tree through the year. Disney is some serious piece of money making machinery. Best part is there is no price erosion or serious competition unlike money other industry. With their intellectual properties rights, they are very well protected on this constant revenue source. Got to take my hat off to the Americans as it is a display of capitalism at its best.

Tokyo Disneyland

My favourite rides in Disneyland are the Star Tours, Buzz light year’s, Monsters Inc and splash mountain. One of the trick is to get the fast track pass. You can choose some rides that you absolutely do not wish to miss and go to the fast track machine (usually beside or opposite the rides) to get your fast track pass. There is some limit set for the fast track which i think is that you have to wait for another 1.5 hours for the next fast track pass.

After the mediocre food at Disneyland, i can’t wait for some hot ramen for dinner. Surprisingly there is a Ippudo Ramen near Maihama station which you can easily walk from Disneyland. The Japanese seems to eat rather late so our queue wasn’t as bad, only about 10 pax.

Dinner at Ippudo Ramen

Having Ippudo Ramen in Japan is fantastic especially during the cold winter months and whole day out at Disneyland. Standing in the cold queuing for 30-60 mins is no kidding. The soup base is just rich and super tasty. I ordered the special version with the chilli and i just loved it. I prefer this to the original taste. Ichiran Ramen was my all time favourite but after this meal, i think Ippudo comes close. Well, perhaps I was just super hungry : ).

Day 4 – Tokyo DisneySea

Next day was spent at DisneySea and again i was impressed. The setup is even better i think. My favourite rides are the Journey to the Center of the Earth, Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage and the Toy Story. Unfortunately, the Indiana Jones Adventure was closed, otherwise it would also be my favourite as i have taken this ride before.

Tokyo DisneySea

Day 5 – Flight to Hokkaido

We made our way to Haneda domestic airport to catch a flight to Hokkaido. Since we got there early, we decided to just have our lunch there. To our surprise we found a restaurant that served a very unique dish, Ginger pork. A very tasty meal tucked at one corner of the airport. I will definitely be back for more during my next business trip.

First night at La’gent Hotel

This is probably the best hotel we have stayed so far in terms of quality, style, location and service. This is the La’gent hotel near the famous Tanoki Koji shopping street in Sapporo. So near that it is just one street across.

As with many hotels in Hokkaido, they have an onsen and it is segregated between male and female. It is always enjoyable to head for the onsen after a long day. Really relaxing and set you up nicely for a good sleep.

Ramen lunch at Ebisoba Ichigen

There are just too many good Ramen shops in Japan and with limited time we got to make a choice. We have decided to go to the Ebisoba Ichigen and as with all famous ramen, there is always a queue.

The taste is very different from Ippudo, i think it is more salty but nevertheless thick broth. They also allows you some customisation such as thick or thin noodles, type of soup base. To play safe and with my limited japanese, i go with the original.

Dinner at Chitosesuru

This is another famous restaurant in Sapporo and also equally tricky to find, no thanks to the cold weather (approximately -3 deg). Still very confused with the name which makes it even harder to find. The name is Chitosesuru which is all in Kanji and with google having it a different name…oh man took me a while. It is actually connected to a Sake brewery and managed by them as well so a good place if you like Sake. Well, i am not a fan so i gave Sake a miss.

Day 6 – Sight Seeing in Saporo

Shiroi Koibito Chocolate Biscuit Factory

Day 6 was largely spent on sight seeing. We visited the Shiroi Koibito chocolate biscuit factory to see how the popular white chocolate biscuit is manufactured. The open air area outside of the building is free but if you want to visit the factory, you will have to pay.

The entrance fee for the very basic factory visit cost only like 500-600 yen and i think it is good enough. The more expensive tour is at 1500 yen which i think is a ripped off. It include a viewing gallery of the manufacturing area as well as some multi-media presentation on history of chocolate which you can easily google or watch from YouTube. It also includes a viewing of the owner’s chocolate cup collection. Definitely kind off lame and a waste of money. That got to be the most wasted 1500 yen on the entire trip. I could have 2 bowls of Ippudo Ramen.

I am willing to pay for good value but this made me feeling shortchanged in the end. It is like the owner has a chocolate cup collection and finally figured a way how to monetise it by clubbing it with a multi-media show. Well, Mr Shiroi Koibito owner or Japanese willy wonker, you have made enough money from the biscuits so you should just offer the chocolate cup collection as a free attraction, if this is even considered an attraction as i have not heard of another person expressed any interest in chocolate cups.

Nijo Seafood Market

Next we went to the Nijo Seafood Market to get our fresh seafood fix. You can see them grilling the fresh scallop or oyster right infront of you as well as plenty of fresh big Hokkaido crabs.

Sapporo Beer Museum visit

As a Japanese beer fan, I couldn’t give this a miss, the Sapporo Beer Museum. This is where it all started. I love Japanese beer which i find them smooth and unlike the German beer, it is not too bitter.

Wagyu Sukiyaki at Gyu-no Ishizaki

For dinner, we went to a rather expensive Sukiyaki Restaurant as they serve very premium Wagyu beef. A 150g of Wagyu beef set cost about 65,000 yen. The second grade cost 45,000 yen. This is the Gyu-no Ishizaki which is also a short walk from our hotel.

Overall, this is a really delicious sukiyaki meal and we loved the beef. As for the damage, it is above SGD200. Phew! could have easily been much more with such tasty beef.

Day 7 – Taking a train to Otaru

We took the train to the small coastal of Otaru. It is such a small town that we went everywhere just by walking. Taking train to the remote towns is easy in Hokkaido as you will usually see only one line (unlike Tokyo) on the google map. You won’t hop onto the wrong line so it can’t get easier than that. Google map is one of the best way to find your way around especially in Japan. It is pretty accurate unlike in Korea. You can’t use googlemap in Korea, it is horrible.

In googlemap, you just need to enter the where you want to go and where is your current location. GoogleMap will then offers you several options as well as the time it takes for each of the option. You can choose also the means to get there like either by car, train or walk. It is also good as a check to make sure you are heading in the right direction especially on the train but of course you got to have data roaming.

Stay at Dormy Inn Hotel

This time we stayed at the Dormy Inn hotel chain and the experience is rather mixed. The location i think is the best redeeming factor for this hotel as it is just across the road from the train station. Location can’t get any better than this. You also have the in-house onsen which is great. Oh, and after 2130 hours, they served complimentary ramen at the kitchen so you can go for your hot bowl of ramen right after your onsen.

Calling it ramen may be setting the bar a little high, instant noodle like might be the more correct wording for this. I think they must have added in lots of MSG as I felt really thirsty after eating it. The internet in this hotel is horrible, so slow that i wonder if they are still using dial-ups. I guess the hotel staffs are also not to well remunerated as it is clearly displayed in their faces and their attitude. Generally you see Japanese as being very polite and even more so for the service sector but here it appears more like an American hotel chain here. Mind you, this hotel is not cheap. We paid about SGD280 per night. Best way to describe this is will be like paying premium but getting budget hotel service.

Fried chicken at Naruto Honten

Never would i expect there to be a fried chicken restaurant in Otaru, not to mention a famous one. This got to be one of the most tasty chicken i have ever eaten. Super delicious and I will surely be back again next time. Someone told me it taste like Arnold Fried Chicken in Singapore so the moment i went back i tried Arnold’s. Oh my god, it is an insult to even compare them. Arnold feels like a rip-off of KFC but the taste is no where near KFC. To top it up, they don’t even allows your choice of the cut. That means you eat what they give you. What? Back to the Army canteen? This is ridiculous. Of course, taste is very individual but for sure i won’t go back to Arnold’s again. I don’t understand why eat there when you can get everything better at KFC?

Anyway back to the Otaru Fried Chicken. The restaurant Naruto Honten is just a short few mins walk from the train station.

Sigh, i missed it already. I really don’t mind taking the train from Sapporo to Otaru just to have this meal next time.

Day 8 – Visit to the Sankaku Seafood Market

The morning part was spent at the Sankaku Market when we planned to feast ourselves to an entire big crab. The Sankaku Market is surprisingly just few stalls away from the train station.

Stroll along Otaru Canal

After burning a big hole in my pocket, we strolled along the famous canal plus the walk along the very touristy street. Tried some famous lce cream and snacks like the Kitakaro Otaru Cream Puff.

The macha ice cream and dessert at the Japanese Maccha Sweets is also worth trying. Everything is green tea based.

Dinner at Tokaiya Ramen

Just around the block to our hotel is another popular ramen shop, the Tokaiya Ramen. The biggest difference with this ramen shop is the char siew pork. The pork is grilled pork and it goes really well with the thick broth. I think i prefer the grilled pork to the usual type.

Day 8

Day 9 – Journey to Hoshino Ski Resort

Hoshino Ski Resort

The next four days were spent at Hoshino Ski Resort at Tomamu. Again, we simply took a train from Otaru to Tomamu. We thought Tomamu may be less crowded then Niseko but we were wrong. It was really crowded with 99% tourist from Asia and at some of the ski slopes we had to queue up to half an hour. Imagine queuing up in the freezing cold for half an hour?

We stayed there for three nights and it cost more than SGD700 a night. Despite the price, it is not an up market resort. Appears really mass market and lacking service attention. No complimentary bottles of water usually given in Hotels in Asia. Perhaps it is overran with tourist which makes the place looking also rather untidy and messy at times. Breakfast was always crowded and you need to queue for a long time unless you wake up really early like 7am or 8am. Lots of customer complaints were heard at the breakfast queue. Furthermore, there are only three restaurant to use the breakfast voucher. Another restaurant is for burgers and only set to 50 sets per day.

To our dismay, one of the beginner slopes (the longer one unfortunately) were closed citing lack of snow so you are left with a shorter beginner slopes. Not the standard i was expecting for such a price.

Alternatively, you can also take the hotel shuttle to another resort nearby for some shared ski slopes. With only 2 full days for skiing and all the heavy equipment not to mention with the kids, I have decided to give this a miss.

Minami Beach

Ice Village

Day 9 & 10

Day 10 & 11 – Skiing

Ok i cheated. i put day 10 and 11 together or even possibly Day 12. One reason is i lost count plus it is tiring to be writing on a daily basis. Anyway, we were the next two days skiing so kinda same thing for the two days :).

All day skiing

For first timer, there is the Nipo town slope (pink colour) which has the ski elevator. This is great for first timer as you won’t want to walk up the slope to practise everything as it is really exhausting. Either you engage a coach or not, you are welcome to use the ski elevator which is good. Not everywhere allows that if i am not wrong, PyongCheong ski resort doesn’t allow if you did not take a lesson with them. I think if you do not have anyone to teach for the first time, it would be best to take a lesson as it can be rather dangerous not just to yourself but also to fellow skiers.

There is also the Hello Nipo slope which they called it inappropriately the ‘First timer slope’. This can be really tricky for first timer is it is rather steep and fast slope even for a beginner. Then there’s the beginner slope (green colour) which weave through a forest. This is really fun and more challenging as compared to just skiing down straight but a little short since the longer sloped was closed for maintenance.

The End

In summary, this Hoshino resort is very crowded which makes it stressful for eating, skiing and also check-in in. Perhaps it is the same when you go to any ski resort on peak season? Will i go back again? For SGD700 a night, probably definitely not. I might find another quieter resorts that is just about skiing instead of all the bells and whistles. You might asked why are you only hearing such comments from this blog? Well, because this is not a sponsored blog so i am free to tell the truth as i sees it and anything i really feel : ). On hindsight, it is not exactly a skiing trip. It is more like a two weeks Japan and Hokkaido sight seeing tour with just 2 days of skiing. Hmm…next time i will do the planning.