Opted to stay two nights in a more traditional hotel for our first few days in Japan, at Nakomuraya Ryokan. Well situated but a bit of a walk from the station - my wheely Osprey rucksack (aka the best bag in the world) was not enjoying the icy snow-covered streets. A distant “I told you so” occasionally drifted through the icy air from several meters ahead by some random annoying bloke with a rucksack on his back.
Japanese style room - i.e. tatami mats and sleeping on the floor with pillows filled with plastic beans. Oddly comfortable but probably not long term! Samurai soup curry was our first port of call - you basically choose your level of spice from 1-30 (zero for me, Rob was bolder at five), your soup base - coconut (the best), tomato, miso, veggie and the type of filling, hamburger, pork belly, chicken, veggies. With a side of rice, it's not only delicious but hearty, comforting and warms you right up. So breakfast isn't really a thing in Japan, your options are traditional style, i.e. fish rice and miso, or coffee and a doorstop wedge of cheese toast. Mingus Coffee does an excellent version of the latter. Nijo fish market was a great tip from my friend Yuki, lead us to a little three-seater sushi stall for what has so far been the most tender, melt in your mouth fish we’ve ever eaten. A hidden gem and an absolute must. Morihiko - a tiny, super cute coffee house that’s basically the go-to of pretty much every Monocle reading Sapporo visitor - we made the error of visiting on a Sunday afternoon with the rest of the world. An hour and a half later we had specialist pour over coffees but was it worth the wait? Probably not. Best of all was the tiny bakery hidden just further on round the corner. Best chocolate croissant ever. Sapporo beer museum is certainly worth a visit, a little out of town but its the cheapest beer in town by a long way. Off peak season is going against us here - a lot of places closed for the winter months with little info as to what is actually open in our guidebook which has made for a few frustrating moments! Comments are closed.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |