The Yukata-clad gents across the hall decided that their morning cigarette would go down better with the door to the hallway open. Rather than cause a ruckus, I thought I'd crack open our window a sliver - just enough for some fresh air. While I recalled the man who showed us the room warning us not to do this due to bugs, I surmised that he meant overnight, and besides - there was a fly-screen.
Several dozen ladybirds as well as a stinkbug poured in and scattered themselves alarmingly across the previously clean tatami. I scooped them up as best I could (ignoring the occasional crunch) and pushed them through the now-apparent large gap in the fly-screen. We hurried off for breakfast with noone the wiser.
We decided to take the scenic route to Sapporo, so set off along the mountain road - and spotted a rest-stop with some fluffy-white snow perched on top of a timber fence. The kids were in heaven, pelting each other with some of the cold, white stuff. A tourist bus drove past, the looks of profound confusion on the passengers did not stop us in our revelry.
We expected that to be our lot in terms of snow-spotting. We were wrong. The temperature fell to around 2 degrees, but oddly felt far warmer than the Zoo the day before. It became obvious why the tour bus thought we were mad playing about in some skerricks of snow on the road-side.
As the snow got deeper, I wondered what the tell-tale signs of ice on the road were (apart from gaining the steering of a dodgem-car). Jenny was pleased we never got to find out.
We found a spot to pull off the road that actually afforded a view of the mountain above. Joshie felt it an opportune time to charge off into the snowy wastes. As a dutiful parent, I thought it made for a nice photo.
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| The adventurer returns. |
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| Josh - off into the snow. |
Lily was busy taking photos of her own, and it was through clenched teeth that I remarked that her family shot blew mine out of the water (she appreciated the anguish).
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| Not a bad shot - even if Lily does say so herself. |
We had grand plans of visiting the Furano Cheese and Dairy Centre on the outskirts of town. The place was closed.
GPS Lady sounded a little smug as we wound our way back into Furano proper for some morning tea. We happened across Furano Marche - blessed with a Patisserie, Cafe and Deli / gift shop. It was heaven - the lady behind the counter knew what a Latte was, and we sat down to chocolate scrolls and custard-filled buns. I cannot emphasise enough how this made our day - we were on the verge of skipping Kyoto and camping out in the Furano Marche car park for the rest of the holiday.
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| Furano Marche - so good, it also has a pumpkin carriage. |
We bid farewell to Furano, and drove along some windy mountain roads, head-nodding politely to scores of workmen scooping yet more snow off the road. As we reached the foothills of the mountains - we pulled over to take a look at a dam. It was as dull as that sounds, but a fox decided to wander past as we were stopped. Wary, but not overly concerned. Again, our enthusiasm may have been lost on the locals (as were the shrill giggles and hand gestures.... the kids not much better).
As we approached our first express-way, Jen confidently directed me into the wrong toll-lane - and I drove for quite some time expecting to see my friends from the Railway Crossing reappear in my rear-view mirror after not paying anything. It turned out that we could just pay at the other end (driver and co-pilot as relieved as each other).
Due partly to an unhealthy obsession with Google Earth prior to our trip, we found our Hotel in Sapporo without major drama (I guess it is but a village of 1.89 million). The nice man behind the counter offered to park my car for me - which I later found in an alley-way next to the Hotel. They welcomed us to our room by serving us green tea, and have generally been very pleasant.
We took a look around the neighbourhood, and found one of Japan's most disappointing spots (known as gakkari) - the Sapporo Clock Tower. Whilst dwarfed by local buildings, I thought it looked quite nice.
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