Japan Day 6: Noboribetsu-Sapporo

We went to onsen first thing in the morning. It was snowing at that time and the sight was really beautiful. We spent about half an hour and had our breakfast before we checked out our resort.

We explored Jigokudani Hell Valley which is the source for hot springs in Noboribetsu. We hiked a bit before we bid the place farewell and continue our journey to our final destination – Sapporo. It was a 1.5 hours drive. Our last drive in Hokkaido as we were returning our car in Hokkaido.

Before we returned the car, we stopped by our hotel to drop all our luggage and bags. We stayed in Karaksa Hotel Sapporo and considered ourselves lucky to have stayed in the middle of Tanukikoji Shopping Street where you could get all your shopping spree done.

Being car-less, I thought we had to walk for about 15 minutes in this very cold weather from TIMES to board a train back to the city. Fortunately, the staff was helpful to tell us the nearest bus stop. While we were waiting for the bus, it was snowing again! Unfortunately, that was the last snow we experienced in Hokkaido.

The bus we took brought us to JR Sapporo station where we had our lunch at Nemuro Hanamaru. It is shared in the internet that this is one of the best places to start your trip in Hokkaido. This is a popular conveyor belt sushi place so, the queue can be really long. Since we arrived around 2.30pm which was past the peak meal time, we had to wait for about 10 minutes only. You can get really affordable and good quality sushi at ¥143. We ordered 15 ¥143-range plates and 2 ¥198-range plates.

Before we went back to our hotel to check-in and rest, we went to search for Kinotoya Bake to their famous tasty baked cheese tarts. It is located at the JR Station East Exit. There is a Kinotoya Cake shop located in Daimaru basement food hall but we were not able to find it. You can buy one cheese tart for ¥183 or six for ¥1080. We went for the latter deal.

Back in our hotel, our check-in process was really smooth. We had two inter-connecting rooms so, if you are looking for such place, look no further than Karaksa Hotel. During check-in, they would ask you if you would like to have some days to be an eco day – the days they will not change the towels, bedsheets, pillow and quilt covers. For one chosen day, they will give you 1 token per person and this token can be exchanged for a free drink from the vending machine in their common hall. They also have this activity going on whereby if you took a picture with one of their boards, they will give you a free selfie lens per pax in the picture. Pretty humble, right?

Where did we have for our dinner?

Suage Curry Soup and Dining! The meals are highly customisable. You can choose  the kind of curry, spiciness level, toppings and the amount of rice to go with your curry. We ordered three different types of curry dishes.

As it was getting really cold, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest after checking out the Tanukikoji Shopping Street.