Japan Day 6 - Historic Village of Hokkaido

Do you ever have days that are just pure magic? Sometimes when you least expect it?

Our final full day in Hokkaido, we all voted from a list of possible activities I'd generated of what to do that day. One option was to try and take Ryan to the third Yuki Matsuri site (Tsudome), but I didn't like the idea of Disneyland-long lines for the children's winter activities, and my parents standing around for hours in the cold with us waiting for Ryan. I had a strong preference of taking everyone to the Historic Village of Hokkaido, but was a little nervous, as reviews were a bit mixed. Depending on the weather, either the open-air museum would be a blizzard-like ghost town, or spectacular. I didn't want to responsible for shepherding the four of them onto a train, then a bus, only to disappoint them and semi-ruin their last day in Sapporo. 

Thankfully, they agreed it would be worth the risk, so we headed over the historic village, just outside of town. There are over 60 historic buildings from around Japan (all built during the Meiji and Taisho periods (1800s to early 1900s) that have all been reconstructed onsite, organized into four different villages- farm, mountain village, fishing village and town. Admission is very, very reasonable ($8/pp), and they have a very well reviewed cafe on site, winter activities utilizing traditional Hokkaido craftsmanship, etc.

On our way to the train station...someone was at it again. ;-)

Japan is known for their lengthy stairs in and out of train stations (some of which were built without escalators). I've been up many, many flights there, often carrying a child, luggage or a stroller. However, this set of staircases may take the cake as the longest flight of stairs, ever. I'm quite certain I lost five pounds climbing up them with Ryan. One thing I noticed at a variety of stations was the posting on of how many calories you were burning by taking the stairs instead. It was more than a little depressing to huff and puff up a few flights, only to have lost 3-4 calories. :-( Still helpful though, and great for perspective. I'd love to see this kind of stuff in the US more. It's a great reminder for food fanatics like me to remember to cool our jets with the intake...as burning it off takes ten times longer than you'd think!

The  bus ride out to the park was the kind of mind blowing experience that made my eyeballs bulge out of my head. The area (just outside of the city) was suddenly so quiet, expansive and beautiful! Snow was glistening everywhere. The front grand staircase was covered in 3 feet of snow (you can see the top of only the hand railing).

Getting off at the prettiest bus stop in Hokkaido...a log cabin! Too much cuteness. 

So glad we didn't have to shovel or plow that. ;-)

Is there anything prettier than a cleared path of snow? No. There is not.

As soon as we entered the museum, we saw a number of their traditionally crafted items, like straw-woven boots/winter wear, sleds and cross country skis.

Every mother semi-humiliates her son in period costume at museums, so try not to judge. Loving his straw snow boots!

Way to rock the latest fashionable straw snow boots, boy!!! Work it!

The best part of the museum for Ryan? Not a single, painfully reconstructed historic building...the sledding of course. He's only done it a few times, so I get it. The best part? Unlike Mt. Rainier and Mauna Kea (both at high altitude)...no dizziness climbing back up the hill!

It was only my second time sledding (on a real sled vs a boogie board), and clearly, I have not mastered the art of steering very well.

Every trip has a million dollar shot, this one is mine.

Oh yes, we did. We went on a one-horse open sleigh. It cost a little more, but it was grandpa's treat!

We had the most amazing lunch at the museum's cafe. Traditional, humble foods from eras of past.

Ending our meal with Hokkaido dairy ice cream- milk, green tea and sesame flavors. Not a fan of the latter two. I'm totally American in this respect- give me some cookie dough or cheesecake, any day!

 

My poor kid was so politely bored that we took a break to let him race up and down this hill, timing him each time to see if he could do better. He definitely preferred this challenge over the homes. ;-) 

My second million dollar picture of the trip. My bags are packed, and I'm ready to move in. And these were the Admin buildings, btw!!! Not even one of the ones part of the museum!

 

Cheeseball, I know. But tourists do this in sand over here, so we do it in snow.

I think we were there about 4 or 5 hours, but honestly, I could have easily stayed another 2-3 hours. We missed a few sections of homes, and Ryan could've gone sledding another hour or so! But we had plans to meet up with Yuri & Mike at Daimaru for coffee/dessert, while my parents did more Hello Kitty shopping a few floors below.

All strictly adhering to the dress code of gray and black...what a team.

Luckily for this boy, we stumbled into a Pokemon Store in Daimaru right next to the coffee shop. He was able to score a few things- chopsticks, candies, etc. The prices were pretty outrageous (chopsticks were $9.50/pair, $30 for a small stuffed pillow, $8 pens, $6 socks, etc).

We didn't get home until very late that night for dinner, where we did some rushed packing for our early train ride and flight the next day. Someone still found the time to let his presence in Sapporo be known, however.

Uh oh. Grandpa taught his grandson how to be naughty and tag the bus window with his grandpa's name...