ROAD TRIP

My new friend, Nicky-san, invited me on a “Road Trip” for Golden Week. Sapporo is less than 300 kms from Kamikawa but the speed limits in Japan are much lower than in Canada. Also, if you do not take the national highway, you are turning often on many different roads. So the trip took 4 hours and 30 minutes. We stopped once for a bathroom break.

Unlike Canada (Alberta), it is constant community. There are no large stretches of empty space. But you might see a rice field or some kind of agriculture in the city - not separated - country - town - so cool! My friend Annie could finish in the fields and then pop next door for a bottle of wine before heading in for the night - lol! Something else I love about Japan - there are no separated developments - high end - low end. You will see a large fancy home next to a modest home.

We came home from Sapporo on a different route that was actually a bit longer but very beautiful. The scenery is beautiful wherever you drive in the west (haven’t been east yet), you see mountains everywhere. There are a great deal of solar panels and wind turbines as well… I saw many on both of our drives.

In Sapporo I met Nicky’s son, Kaz. I love having a relationship with Kamikawa. I discovered that he travelled to RMH twice as a student. When he was in high school he stayed with my son’s friend, Jay. He actually attended a jazz rehearsal while he was at WCHS. He recognized Mark (my husband) and he remembered that he spoke passionately about John Coltrane. Such a small world…

Kaz has a degree in chemistry and works in a lab at Hokkaido University. The campus was very beautiful, it reminded me of the University of Toronto campus. We walked for 90 minutes - YAY me!!

Nicky’s parents are buried near Sapporo and we drove to visit them - Japanese cemeteries are very beautiful indeed.

The weather in Sapporo was TERRIBLE!! Honestly! I left almost all my warm clothes for my hubby to bring - I think I’ve worn the same two pairs of black pants and two black sweatshirts every day! But, Nicky took me to see the Sea of Japan anyway! SO fierce and powerful!! It was magnificent. We also visited a local museum and again - my friend Annie would not be surprised to know that what was invented for farming here looks very similar to what was used in early farming on the prairies of Canada! You will see that I have included a photo of a Japanese toilet - yes - they are awesome - but I am taller than many men and trying to maneuver in one of those tiny stalls is NOT easy!!

Of course there was shopping! In one Aeon shopping centre, you could buy a cell phone case, a bottle of wine and if you were so inclined - a new car!! Incredible! At my husband’s request, I took photos of the whisky prices - lol! We also visited an absolutely gorgeous Japanese furniture store!

Of course we ate! Tempura, Curry, and much more! Now the absolutely COOLEST thing about dining in Sapporo is that you pay one price to drink as much alcohol as you want in a specific period of time! I have never seen anything like that before! For example, the first night was $20 Canadian to drink whatever you wanted for 2 hours… crazy!

DID I MENTION STARBUCKS??????

I really enjoyed meeting Nicky’s son and chatting and getting to know them both better. I am excited for my family to meet them and for all of us to get to know one another better.

YAY! First Golden Week in Japan did not disappoint!