Hokkaido Below: Sapporo overlook
Volcanic mountains, lakes and valleys cover Hokkaido, making it pretty much the opposite of Tokyo. Sapporo, the prefecture’s largest city and its capital, boasts a population of about 2 million. Boomers may recall it as the site of the 1972 Winter Olympics. A shuttle bus from the airport transported my group to a gondola that zipped us to the top of Mount Moiwa. Panoramic cityscapes and landscape views lent an air of natural artistry. At The Jewels, the highest restaurant in town, the tasty lunch arrived with artistic flair. The chefs pay great attention to creatively arranging all food, be it Japanese or Western. Later, I drove past the grounds of the Sapporo Snow Festival, internationally renowned for imaginative and immense ice sculptures. An evening dinner at the sprawling Sapporo Beer Garden and Museum featured the local specialty: a Genghis Khan meal (Mongolian barbecue). The supper included mutton and vegetables grilled on a burner built into the table. The famous Sapporo beer tasted like an American pale lager. At one point, a lovely kimono-dressed woman seemed to float into the room and effortlessly cut complex designs from paper. Day two in Hokkaido featured a restaurant in an old fishing village with a proud chef who prepared traditional sushi and sashimi, using
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the freshest fish, always available in this island nation. Trying my best to use chopsticks throughout my stay, I was comforted to hear that it is perfectly acceptable to eat sushi with your fingers. Every meal includes numerous courses and arrives tableside in an array of small dishes, sometimes eight to 10 per person. Hot oolong tea, Japanese beer or sake complements the seafood.
The Japanese have also embraced the booming whiskey trend. I visited the Nikka Distillery, producers of Japanese whiskey. The factory’s founder, Masataka Takesuru, traveled to Scotland to study in 1918, returned with a Scottish wife and built a reputation as the father of Japanese whiskey. The buildings look something like those in Scotland, definitely not Japanese. The whiskey was pleasant and warmed my mouth and throat.
SKI NISEKO The last stop on my quick tour was the Niseko Ski Resort, known as the St. Moritz of Japan. This appealing alpine village rests at the bottom of the convergence of four interlinked ski resorts – Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and An’nupuri.
DAY TRIPPER
SEKIGAHARA: “GAME OF THRONES” JAPANESE-STYLE Perhaps the writers of the popular “Games of Thrones” TV series took inspiration from the history of Sekigahara, a region in central Japan. Sekigahara witnessed what some call the world’s deadliest but forgotten battle, on Oct. 21, 1600. Western forces lined up against Eastern troops in what became a short but brutal fight. An estimated 30,000 samurai died during the seven-hour siege – more than one every second. “Thrones” fans will likely agree that even dragons can’t match such a kill rate. The Eastern forces won that infamous day, and their victory lead to an almost unbroken period of peace until the rise of fascism in the late 1920s. Modern-day Sekigahara is easy to visit; it’s just a 40-minute train ride from the Nagoya station. The Sekigahara Town History’s Folklore Museum is worth a quick look, but wander the battlefield where signage (much of it in English) denotes the different clan positions. It’s defies the imagination to visualize so many samurai crammed into such a small space.
THE BOCA RATON OBSERVER FEBRUARY 2018
Photos by Debi Lander
HOKKAIDO