Trip to Sapporo: Day 18 - Going home, what was the Top 5 of Sapporo?

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Sitting on my bus home from Arlanda Airport in Sweden (thx Swebus for the free wifi), I thought I would sum up the things I appreciated the most in an informal list. There are lots of other things but these ones I would like to give extra thanks for.

5. The Ishiya Chocolate Factory. It proved to be so much more than just a peek at the production line. Really quite the perfect goal for a family trip or anyone who is interested in chocolate, history, toys, english Tudor buildings, and/or gramophones.

4. The Tower of Sauron. Well, not really. But what do you call a 100 meter high monument made of iron that looks like an 1:1 replica taken straight of of Lord of the Rings? This is for sure one of the hidden tourist gems of Sapporo city.

3. The Snow. I mean - really? It was just fantastic how much snow Sapporo got, it almost snowed every day. To increase the effect, in Japan the snow isn't so much taken away as piled up in high walls so it is not unusual with 3 meter high snow walls even in the city. I got to rekindle my love for snow from when I grew up in the north of Sweden. I love snow(the video…)!

2. The Unexpected Friendship with Minami and Mikael. Just from a spontaneous contact made by Minami at the Mandrake store, I got to experience a genuine New Years celebration with them, but more important, we had some great times and I really appreciate these random encounters in life, they can mean so much. I wish you both the best of luck and I hope we meet again.

1. BUIE Gakuen, or rather it's residents and the openness of its welcome. I have already talked so much positive about the shared living of BUIE Gakuen in Sapporo, but again I must press how great an idea it is. People in the ages between 20 - 50 sharing facilities and lives instead of just living alone. This may not be the main point, but as a recently divorced man I want to point out that I know for a fact that several relationships and even marriages have started here. Everyone there, I don't know when I will come back, and many of you will have moved on by then, but I wish Kenji and all of you the best of luck with finding happiness.

Trip to Sapporo: Day 7 - Ishiya Chocolate Factory (石屋製菓)

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Hokkaido is known for it delicious chocolates, where the brand Royce may be the most famous one. It is therefore natural that it also got a chocolate factory open to the public, the Ishiya Chocolate Factory or Shiroi Koibito Park as it is known. The impressive house in english Tudor style also houses a rose garden and a football stadium for the Sapporo J-League team Consadole Sapporo.

Beyond the obvious possibility to see the production live and buy lots of chocolate, candy and cookies, there were a surprisingly wide number of activities included in the tour (600 yen for adults) or for a small extra fee. Even though the outdoors stuff like the train for children and ice cream house was closed, here were exhibitions of gramophones and children's toys, possibilities for children to bake their own cookies or make their own candy, and more. And I personally also really enjoyed the architecture.

One thing though, first thing inside the tour they will offer take a photo of you for free with your own camera, but they will also offer you an opportunity to take two photographs for a 1000 yen, so be prepared if you is easily swayed by salesmen. All nicely done, but I myself is a sucker for such stuff sometimes. Still, the indoors and outdoors photo shoots where quite nice, so it was worth it. See the results below:

All in all, I really recommend this for visitors to Sapporo, and as a parent to three children, I must say this is a must-go if you are bringing children.

The rose garden may not come to its right in winter but it was still fascinating.

Shouldn't there be chocolate flowing here?...

Art Noveau style chocolate boxes

White chocolate filled cakes.

Sugar miniatures

Parents watching their children baking.

The fotball souvenirs were really good, I must say.

This I know my brother would love to have...

So, how many can name this guy? Quite famous in Japan

Candy laboratory

Ooh, I really wanted to buy these cakes, but 3400 yen was a little to expensive. But I am still not sure I shouldn't have bought one anyway… ;-)

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