Japan - Day 3

Last day in Sapporo

We spent the first half of the day exploring a viewpoint, and the second half travelling. Quite different, but connected by snow.

Sapporo has many forms of public transport. We learnt our lesson today when we confused the underground metro with the overground tram. It took a while, but we corrected our error and were still first in line for the cable car experience.

Visibility was great on the way there, and even as we ascended in the cable car, providing excellent views of the city of Sapporo. When we reached the top, it had started snowing and turned into a complete white-out. After a brief walk, we retreated for lunch.

Octopus balls, aka takoyaki. Whilst very nice, I’d prefer them to be a little more solid. I’m sure we’ll have them again in Osaka — where they’re traditionally from.

I’d been monitoring flights all day and could see that the majority departing from Sapporo New Chitose Airport were being cancelled due to the snow. I did a little research into likely outcomes if our flight was cancelled — it appeared we’d be on our own. Alternatives, such as the train, looked expensive and long, with arrival the following day. So we waited it out with some sushi for dinner.

The flight was delayed by 30 minutes due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft, but once we boarded, we got away sharpish. We caught three trains in quick succession, arriving quite late at the Osaka hotel. We had a confirmed double upgrade thanks to my Hilton status, and the room is a lot bigger than the one we had in Sapporo. You couldn’t swing a cat in there — not sure about tonight’s room, as we couldn’t find a cat this time to try.