Sapporo - enter the snow.

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The accommodation in Hakodate was great, the service was very good also and the amenities were brand new and clean as a whistle. I awoke in the middle of the night as the heater was on too hot only to find it was snowing and raining at the same time. The rain was melting the snow which was disappointing but still great to see snow none the less. After I showered the hostess was kind enough to give me some sweets and a can of coffee for my journey. Upon leaving Hakodate no more than 5 minutes into the trip we entered tons of snow fields, it appeared to be new snow but only a fairly light covering.
After leaving Sapporo station I set out to find accommodation and the cheapest place I could find was a back packer’s hostel just around the corner from the rail station. The hostel was not so easy to find as it was all written in Japanese. After checking into the hostel I headed out in search of some sport stores to find some snowboarding gear. After many hours looking around I finally found two shops to compare the cloths and left with all the gear I could possibly need, bar a board and bindings. The prices here are a lot better than Australia and I left with big brand names like Burton and Salomon yet the total was not much more than $1,300.00 Au. (including a pair of new range Nike shoes) By now the time had escaped me and even though it was Sunday shopping continues until around 10pm and it was close to closing time. I headed back to the hostel and grabbed a quick bite to eat at a fast food store then turned in.

December 8th
Sapporo to Niseko
Now things were starting to look much better, last night saw more snow in Sapporo so I had hopes for a lot more coverage in Niseko. I checked out of the hostel early and got to the JR station around 9am, unfortunately there were no trains leaving soon so I had to sit at the station for an hour and wait (I didn’t feel like there was enough time to do anything else) The train ride to Niseko took about 3 hours with one transfer but along the way I could see the snow cover begin to thicken after arriving in Niseko I was picked up by the owner of the hostel “Mister Boss man” as he likes to be called. He was very friendly and showed me around the place. I checked in my gear and then proceeded to relax and do some online banking and also check my shares before heading over to the supermarket and buying some food to cook.

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Photos

Mt Youtei
My first clear view of the Youtei mountain

Dane
My brother Dane doing his job clearing the snow with the owner of the Shizenkan and niseko-backpackers "Bossman" in the background.