Tsukuba-Dooba-Doo

Day 3- The bucket list killer


Despite the constant snowfall, you can still make out the Sapporo city lights on the right side of the photo above the snowboarder's head.  Where those lights end on the left is where the coastline is.  There was really only one that we could go on, but we still had a blast being on the snow. It was easily the driest (meaning fastest) snow we had ever been on.  Plus, there were some boxes and jumps so Kate and I took this opportunity to practice our tricks.  No broken bones = success.

Day 4- Beer:30
On our final day in Sapporo, we knew we had to end it right.  How might we achieve trip ending perfection...? Oh, by going to the Sapporo Beer Museum, that's how!  All of us were very excited for this adventure.


Sapporo Beer Company was the established in 1876 when a German brew master was brought in to teach the Japanese how to make beer.  As you may already know, Sapporo beer has made its way all across the globe, including America.  Everyone really enjoyed the museum as we learned about the brewing process, Sapporo Beer history, and current trends.

Probably the most interesting thing we noticed was Space Barley beer.  This beer was made from barley grown in space on the international space station and was sold in 2009 for roughly $120 per 6-pack.  Apparently it tasted like "normal beer."  Pretty boring, but I suppose that's the point in proving the feasibility of growing crops in space.

Of course we had to do some tasting.  Lucky for us they had a three beer sampler platter.  After the four of us ordered it, we became aware that we looked like a bunch of raging alcoholics.  The fact that it was barely lunch time didn't help either.  

Here we are in front of the old Hokkaido government building.  This building is very popular because it was built in 1888 to mimic the Massachusetts State House AND it was constructed using 2.5 million red bricks (red bricks were rare in Japan at that time). Currently it serves as a history museum for Hokkaido.  It was free and warm, so Seth and I took a mental note for later when we were with the Haines.

Once we caught up with the Haines we headed to the snow sculptures.  The picture above shows an owl native to Hokkaido as well as a model of Red Bricks.  The magnitude and detail was insane!

This is the back wall of the owl snow sculpture.  To put it in perspective, I'm 5'2" and standing about 10ft away.  The back wall is easily 4x taller than me!  Sweet sassy molassy these things were huge!  It wasn't too long before we got to one of Seth's favorite displays: The Lion King.  Naturally, Seth snatched up Reagan so we could do the "Circle of Life" pose in front of it. 

(from laughingplace.com)

We were privileged to be able to sit in on such a performance.  No only because it gave us insight into their practices, but also because it was just SO FUNNY!  Ok, ok, ok, I suppose the more mature members of the audience didn't see the humor in it that we did, but to us it was comic gold.  Seth went ahead and made a video for this.  Enjoy.




This snow sculpture is of a Japanese animation show called Sazae-san. It has been going on for 42 years starting in 1969. This large snow statue (roughly 25" tall) was amazingly done and was easily a crowd favorite with the Japanese.



-Kate

Sapporo Info and Festival History
Sapporo is the capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.  Although the city hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics (a first for Asia), it is perhaps most famous for Sapporo Beer in the eyes of Americans.  Throughout Japan, it is also famous for its seafood and miso ramen.
 

On a normal day, Sapporo stands as the 5th largest city in Japan (1.9 million people).  However, during the Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) its population more than doubles.  This year, 2.4 million people showed up to participate in a world class exhibition of cold weather sights/activities.  To put that into perspective, that is more than the ENTIRE population of New Mexico entering and exiting this single city in the span of one week.  Yowza!

Sapporro Yuki Matsuri started in 1950 when high school students built some snow sculptures in one of the city parks.  Word about the event didn't really get out until the Japanese Self Defense Force helped by building massive snow sculptures in 1955.  Now it is host to roughly 250 ice and snow masterpieces, some of which are bigger than houses.  In order to prepare for such a huge event, a mind-boggling 325,000 tons of snow is brought into town to start building the sculptures a month in advance.  However, in addition to slack-jawed gawking, people can find all manners of winter entertainment including, skating, curling, sledding, bamboo skiing, concerts, ect, ect , ect!

Ice Sculptures
Chelsae got the 4-1-1 about the Sapporo Snow Festival waaaaay back in the summer.  We quickly realized that if we wanted to do this, we would have to commit early on.  So we booked our hotel waaaaay back in September (many hotels were already full).  Upon arrival in Sapporo, it was apparent that our planning had paid off in a big way.  Our hotel was only a stones throw away from the main ice sculpture display area.






After making the rounds we went back to the hotel, toasted to the town, and hit the hay.  The next day was gonna be a big one.  To see more photos from the day, click here.

-Seth

With about 10 years of fishing in multiple leagues simultaneously, he has essentially turned recreation into profession.  My dad's wall full of plaques, awards, and trophies are proof positive that he is one of the most talented bass fishermen in the southwest.  For him, the lake is the best kind of therapy.  Being that I am his favorite son (right, dad?), I catered to his love of the lakeside by planning a trip to the second largest lake in Japan, Kasumigaura Lake.  Firstly however, we had a relaxing breakfast on the top floor of the Ninomiya House. 

Sunning by the windows.

I'm pretty sure Louis hustled me.

We were amazed to find that we could see the Big Buddha from so far away.

After breakfast we all piled in the rental car and drove to the nearby town of Tsuchiura.  It is the nearest access to Kasumigaura Lake and has many parks along the lakeside.  While walking around, we spotted an area where the locals were feeding a whole gaggle of geese and some seagulls.  As we approached, Katie booked it across the street and refused to come within 100 feet of the "disease-infested, disgusting, terrifying, flying balls of evil."  She did manage to get some photos of my dad and I feeding them our of our hands.

See...?  Harmless.

We did have the good fortune of coming across a man who was doing some fishing.  My father was content with observing from afar.

Waiting. and wishing. and hoping. and praying.

We got back in the car after having a picnic and playing on Japanese playground equipment (which is of the awesome, dangerous, lawsuit inducing variety).  Dad swore up and down that he had spotted a Cabela's Outdoor Shop on our way to the lake and he HAD to stop by to check it out.  Sure enough, we pulled in and snapped the photo below.

Our crew walked inside, half-expecting to find a totally different variety of bait and tackle....we were disappointed.  Sure, there were some Japanese nuances, but nothing was 'souvenir worthy' for my dad, so we left. On our drive back we decided to go to "Tsukuba You World" for bowling. I hadn't tried bowling in Japan yet.  It was essentially the same as in the US, save for the fact that I had to write our names and age on a piece of paper so that the staff could enter our names for us.  Apparently, the most technologically savvy society in the world has a difficult time entering letters on a bowling computer. After we glanced up at the score screen it was apparent that my five year old handwriting had finally caught up to me.  Instead of reading "Sam, Mary, Louis, Katie, Seth" it read:


Hmmm.....well at least they got "Mary" right, right?  Oh well, we put on our shoes and headed around in search of a ball.  I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but there was something different about their bowling balls.  Then, I could put a finger on it, or rather, five fingers IN it!

Five finger bowling ball for maximum control.

Picking up the spare with immaculate form.

After an enjoyable (and regretfully expensive) bowling session, we went back to the Ninomiya House for the ceremonial, vacation-ending tako yaki dinner.


The next day Katie and I took everyone back to the airport.  I couldn't believe how awesome Mary, Louis, and Dad's trip had been.  They all did amazing when it came to foreign foods and customs.  I was very happy that they were able to experience Japan.  Not to mention the fact that they took half of Japan with them in their suitcases.

Perhaps the most surprising/enjoyable thing for me was how we all connected on a much deeper level than we have in a long time.  For some reason, in this completely unique setting, we managed to have truly meaningful conversations.  I'm forever grateful for that.

-Seth

Once we were all templed out, we ventured out to a couple of the many waterfalls.  The most famous waterfall, Kegon Falls, was unreachable since fresh snow prevented us from driving to it.  However, we were still able to breath in waterfall mist from two others that were close by.  I drove us on a nerve rackingly narrow/curvaceous road to the first waterfall.


Following our little photo op we started walking back to our rental car.  After examining a small pile of rocks (and debating on throwing some into the forest) I hear Mary say


Sure enough, as soon as we spotted one, our eyes started picking out monkeys all over the mountain! They were jumping across boulders in the stream, climbing on trees, and running around irrigation equipment.  There was about 12 monkeys in total walking/jumping/climbing everywhere in the valley.  One even dropped down some branches next to the pile of rocks we were just investigating.  I'm glad I fought off my prepubescent urge to throw those rocks.  I actually started getting nervous considering the fact that those same monkeys might have been surrounding us on our walk TO the waterfall.  They could have easily ambushed us and we would have never seen it coming. 

Valentine's Day has always been a special day for me.  From as far back as I can remember, my mother would always celebrate Feb 14th with my brother and I by giving us chocolates, small presents, cards, and a special V-Day breakfast.  Waking up to heart-shaped pancakes, strawberry syrup, and an early morning chocolate-high was enough to move Valentines Day near the top of my holiday list.


As I grew up with budding hormones, this day became much more about girlfriends and romance.  I, a man, began following the American traditions of Valentines Day by buying flowers, chocolate, dinner, ect. for my significant other just like the advertisements told me to do.  Interestingly, my Valentine's Day in Japan will be reminiscent of my childhood.  This is because in Japan, it is the women who are expected to buy presents for the men.


That's right boys, just sit back and let the girls swoon to you with arms full of sweet, sweet chocolate.  For school girls, this is the perfect chance to let that special boy (or boys) know how you feel about them.  Even in the work place, female coworkers are supposed to give gifts to their male coworkers and bosses.  These chocolates are more of a burden for women since they are called "obligatory chocolates" or "giri-choko" and are seen as a friendly gesture, not romantic.  As with most gift giving in Japan, these treats are ridiculously priced so women can end up spending a pretty penny by the time they buy chocolates for everyone they are supposed to.

But hold on...back the truck up!  Isn't Japan the land of mutual gift giving? How can men just take, take, take without reciprocation? Well they don't anymore.  In 1978, Japan created another holiday called "White Day" in which men return the favor to the women that they like.  From what I've read, it seems like White Day is very similar to the American way of celebrating Valentines Day.  Don't worry ladies, the men are expected to give gifts 2-3 times more expensive than were given to them.  So you win out in the end.


In honor of my mother's tradition I made a Valentine's Day breakfast.  However, instead of pancakes, I  made Kate and myself strawberry shakes.  When I got to work I couldn't help but be disappointed.  I'm not gonna lie, I was looking forward to getting obligatory chocolates from my female coworkers, but it never happened.  I at least thought that the head honcho of the office, Iki-san, would get something from someone.  Alas, as I stealthily scoured the office for Valentine's Day chocolate, it became clear to me that maybe it wasn't as widely celebrated as I thought.  In fact, I never even heard the word Valentine throughout the whole day...the internet lied to me! :(

To see a video about Valentine's Day in Japan, click here.

-Seth

AIST
I woke up on Chirstmas Eve day at 7 am and was at work by 8.  The paper that I submitted to the Science China journal needed a couple revisions before the deadline on Monday, 27th....ugh.  I put on my big boy pants and headed to work.  Fortunately, Kate played tour guide to Mary, Louis, and my dad as they walked around AIST's museums that day.  As mentioned in previous posts, Science Square Tsukuba was more of a crowd pleaser than the Geological Museum.
 

After they got done playing "Louis' head on dad's body" we met up for lunch.  Unfortunately, I still hadn't finished at work so they trudged around the Geography museum for a while.  Later that day we all met a the house to start the Christmas festivities.

Christmas in Japan
Christmas in Japan is nothing more than a commercial holiday that you spend with your significant other.  Men are expected to spend ridiculous amounts of money on their girlfriends, and that's about it.  No family gatherings, no time off work, and no religious significance.  Although the generic atmosphere of Christmas is here (Christmas lights, Santa hats, Western Christmas music, holiday sales in stores), there is no religious depth behind it.

Of course, if you understand the religiosity of Japan this is no surprise to you.  Celebrating this time in a country comprised primarily of Buddhists means that CHRISTmas turns into Xmas.   Everywhere you turn, it's "Xmas" this and "Xmas" that.  Rarely will you actually read something that says "Christmas."  Although I do feel like America is becoming like this more and more every year, at least everyone knows the actual story behind Christmas, the birth of Jesus.  It was quite odd, to say the least.

Xmas Dinner
Roast turkey or ham, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, eggnog, and pie.  These food items constitute what we fondly call "Christmas Dinner" in America.  As you might have guessed, Japan has quite a different menu when it comes to dinner on December 25th; fried chicken!  Not just any fried chicken, KFC fried chicken.  This is what I refer to as "Xmas dinner."

Santa Claus and Colonel Sanders are synonymous in the eyes of the typical Japanese citizen.  Through a stroke of marketing genius, KFC has convinced the entire nation that everyone else in the world eats KFC on Christmas, its a virtual monopoly.  For your viewing pleasure, I've provided this Japanese commercial.


Knowing these facts, Kate and I thought that it would be fun to make a Japanese Christmas dinner.  We opted to cook our own since we didn't want to deal with the KFC madness.  Our Xmas dinner menu was ginger soy fried chicken, sashimi, rice, sashimi salad, and for some American flair, mac and cheese. We had never hosted such a prestigious dinner, but managed to pull it off in our 6'x10' kitchen (without an oven). 


 
After we had filled our bellies full of chicken and fish we went down stairs and started opening gifts!  This was great fun where we all enjoyed ourselves and laughed a lot.  Towards the end of the gift exchange the Haines came down and joined in the fun.