Love Costs 800 Yen

Our last trip out from Tokyo was north to Sapporo on the top most island, Hokkaido. On the way there we stopped off at Yamagata for a night for no real reason. It took us 9 hours by train to get to Sapporo, and boy were we glad to get off those trains. We were only staying in Sapporo for 2 nights, so we made the most of it by hitting the town soon after arriving. Ramen Street was our first point of call as we hadn't eaten very well due to being on a train all day. When we found it, I must say it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was a small alley with about 20 ramen shops packed into the walls, most with the cooks calling out to you as you walk past to come and eat in their store. Some had pictures of famous people in their store proudly plastered over the front of the shop. We found a place to eat, not because the food looked good, but because the lead singer one of PChii's favourite Japanese bands, B'z, had eaten there. So I guess the whole picture of a famous person thing works *shrug* I didn't care where we ate, I was starving!

The ramen store had a baseball game on the TV that we watched while we waited then ate our ramen. The ramen was good but not as good as this little place we found by accident in Shinjuku the previous week. With our tummies full to the brim we start walking around the streets, when PChii tells me that I've never won her anything. We just happen to be standing outside a SEGA Arcade, and the ground floor of these arcades are always filled with UFO Catcher things. Inside we found a small machine filled with little rabbits, two of which looked rather easy to get, or at least thats what they have you believe. Eight tries later @ 100yen a go, I had a little white rabbit holding a sakura blossom with the word "Love" on it. I felt awesome having conquered the machine and PChii knew then that I loved her. Pro tip for the guys out there, don't worry about rings and jewelery, just go win stuff from these UFO Catchers. Some more wandering of the streets found a bar with a name that just beckoned to me, Rad Sisters. Think Coyote Ugly but replace the tarty Americans with cute Japanese girls. They had a special they called a "Short Island Ice Tea" that I can highly recommend if you're ever in the area.

The next day we visited the park in the centre of Sapporo. We were a few weeks too early for the sakura to be blooming, but it would look beautiful when they do. We saw the major attractions of the centre of Sapporo which were the statues and the giant TV tower in the park and the historic Clock Tower building nearby. Lunch was next so we headed for the old Sapporo beer factory which has been converted into restaurants on the ground floor and shopping on the upper levels, with a giant shopping complex adjoining it from behind. One of the most notable places to eat while in Sapporo is at the Factory where they serve a meal called "Ghengis Khan" which is basically BBQ lamb. The lunch special is all you can eat for 2450yen in 90 minutes. Unfortunately, we were so slow we only got through the first serve but it was very tasty and filling anyway!

Next we went up the Observation Hill where you can get a good view of the city. There are supposed to be flocks of sheep and herds of cows grazing peacefully on the slopes of the hill but we didn't see a single one of either. The fields were bare :( I think we ate the last of the sheep for lunch! The view was nice and you could see the Sapporo Dome where the local baseball team, the Hokkaido Ham-Fighters, play. It's big and completely covered and looks a bit like the spaceship from Flight of the Navigator.

We had an early night to get ready for the 10 hour return train trip to back Tokyo @_@