Shogatsu in Sapporo
Towards the end of December and into the new year, I spent some time in Hokkaido. My relatives live in Sapporo, which is the 5th largest city in Japan and the capital of Hokkaido. When I got into Sapporo, it was snowing. This was the first time I had ever seen snow falling, so I thought it was quite beautiful. However, I had luggage in both arms and was without an umbrella. So after walking for a few blocks, I had looked like a snowman.
I decided to take a break from the snow and stopped by a convenient store. One of the many things I fell in love with in Japan was karaage chicken, which is kind of like chicken nuggets. After my purchase, I went outside the store to snack on my fresh karaage. However, as I opened the container, somehow the karaage popped outside the box and spilled onto the floor. It was a very sad moment. However, I was very hungry and was not about to let fresh karaage go to waste. So I followed the 5-second rule and salvaged what I could.
On New Year's Day, I ate the traditional mochi and soup that people in Japan eat for 3 straight days. During this time, only breakfast and dinner is eaten. The breakfast mochi is so filling, that you will not need to eat lunch. That purple looking food in the lower left hand corner of the picture on the right is the mochi. The mochi was really good, but I wasn't too crazy about the ebi shrimp in the soup. It is hard for me to eat anything that has the eyes still attached.
After breakfast, my relatives took me to a local temple to pray for the new year. I almost died trying to walk up the stairs to the temple. The stairs were so slippery that it took me a good 15 minutes to reach the top.
When I reached the top, there was an unbelievable long line to get to the alter where one prays for the new year. I did not have to wait that long in line, but by the time I got to the front of the line, my feet were frozen. The next time I go to Hokkaido during the winter, I am definitely bringing winter boots.
