2023 Hokkaido Trip Day 09: UHB Toyohira River 花火大会 2023

The agenda today was to sightsee and to view the fireworks. 

We were suppose to go to Moerunuma Park (before going to Shiroikoibito Park) but since there is quite a distance to go to the park and equally hot, we decided to just go to another famous place in Sapporo, Hokkaido Jingu. 

Tip: Do research on the places that are near to each other , so you can plan ahead. 

We left the hotel around 9AM and reach about 10AM in Hokkaido Jingu (do be wary that at this time , there will be a lot of tourists coming to the temple as their first activity of the day.) 

The chozuya, is where you need to wash your hands and mouth before entering the shrine. 

and you will of course be greeted by smaller shrines too 

Tip: Do be quick when taking a photo because there will be a lot of tourists coming in (and in dozens). Also, another tip, from all that walking , you can have a snack at Rokattei before heading back.

They have grilled rice cakes (and they serve free tea) 

and these are also some freshly grilled cake ...

hmmm. forgot how it tasted like but it is nice while it is hot and paired with the tea. 

After that we decided to go to Miyanosawa Station to go to ShiroiKoibito Park, and since it was lunch time (or 11ish) we decided to have our lunch near to the station. We googled and saw that Nagoyaka tei , a kaiten sushi , was nearby so we decided to go.  (and boy, we were not disappointed!) 

Nagoyaka Tei (Must try!) 

Dishes ordered: 

Here's how to order: 

1. You can request for a menu in English. 
2. Write down the number of the sushi you want, how many plates, and if you want wasabi in your sushi (i prefer not to have). 
3. once you are done with the sheet of paper, you can pass to the sushi chef your orders where he will make our orders on the spot! (One of the freshest sushi that I've had tasted) 
4. also you can opt not to have wasabi inside your sushi 

Some thing to note: 

• Water & green tea are free. You can request water from the staff. For any other inquiries, you can ask the staff. 
  
  
  
• The red fish means Ladies, Blue & red fish means Unisex Toilet 
• you call the staff when you need to bill out. (cos they will need to count your plates). 

It was also not a long walk to go to Shiroi kobito park. You will pass through by the Chimeria bldg and exit it. Then on your right, walk straight, till you see Shiroi Koibito Factory (you will not miss it - or just follow the crowd of people going to that direction) 

The tickets are issued for the day only. 

We opted to go inside (because it is hot), and the entrance fee was 800 yen/adult(as of Jul 2023). They do give you a piece of Shiroi koibito (so all is well). 

You then go through all the exhibition, the history, the legend, how the biscuits came to life and the actual factory. At the end of the exhibition, there are some photo spots for you take photos and activities you can do (separate payment is required, and for popular activities (decorate your own shiroikoibito cake), they get sold out quickly). 

Some photo ops inside the theme park (after the self guided factory tour)

You can also enjoy the cafe while at the factory. 

You can buy souvenirs at the first floor, and there are pop-up kiosks outside of the theme park that sells drinks & desserts. So you can rest your feet after shopping.  Vending machine sells water at 120yen. You can also go outside of the park for some photo ops as well, and see what it has to offer (the park on its own is quite huge)  

Tip: find a table near to the "castle" and enjoy the view while drinking your cool drink, Hokkaido Strawberry squash. I recommend to eat their ice cream not regretting it one bit  (350 yen) . 

Since we want to view the fireworks, we can only opt for another park that is near to our hotel (though I should have just used that time to go and shop). We chose Nakajima Koen (First love Filming Location).  Things we spot at Nakajima Koen were Sapporo observatory (first love filming location) , Hoheikan , Sculpture sokyo and Sapporo concert hall kitara.

 Inadvertently spent the day twice at Nakajima Koen (but the views during the day are execptional, so it was actually worthwhile to go in daylight and at night). 

As we were going home, we were wondering why there was a crowd of people still going to the park (we went to go back to the station to eat dinner, as we couldn't find a place to eat nearby - apparently, the fireworks are visible at Nakajima Koen side (after much googling). We decided to go back to Odori Station (which was just 1 station away from Nakajima koen park) because we can't seem to find restaurants nearby the park (we just didn't look hard enough). We decided to eat at Tonkatsu Wako

Tonkatsu Wako 

1. ask how many person are eating (if the restaurant is too crowded, there will be a sign up sheet for you to register your name + # of persons eating at the restaurant)
2. guide you to your tables 
3. they will bring (cups of) water and shibori (wet towels) 
4. call the staff when you are ready to order 
5. dishes will be served by chef (enjoy your meal) 
6. the staff will also place the bill beside you , which you can bring to the cashier when you want to settle your bill. 
7. ask staff if you want your tea/water to be refilled 
8. free flow of rice, salad and miso soup. 

Dishes ordered: (Normally we will get the limited season food) 

1. Himawari set

2. Stamina rosu katsu set 

Toyohira River Fireworks Festival are usually held during last friday of July. Best viewing spots are found here. We thought of going by the observatory but the angle wasn't too high. We went in front of leonard bernstein statue but also can't a good spot, settled near the freedom plaza. But if i were to return, i would find a good spot at Iris pond. The direction of the fireworks seems to be to the direction of Horobashi Station.  

Note: Do research where the fireworks was going to be. We were on some high ground but it was blocked with trees, so we can't really see the full view, we had to go and move to a more flat part of the park to view the fireworks. (also, bring some portable mats along) 

Everyone was going home at the same time and the trains were packed to the brim. Luckily, we are getting off on the next stop. That's a wrap on Day 9!