Niseko-Osaka 14-21Dec 2013 (3)

An umpteen-course dinner at Kahala**. What an experience! Worth the hole in the pocket ;)

Our stay at St Regis Osaka. One flaw (and a rather big one) was that they screwed up on a restaurant reservation made on our behalf. We arrived at the restaurant all excited but was finally turned away. Turned out they booked us at another place by mistake. By then it was too late to head over to that place as lunch time was almost over :/ St Regis made it up however by offering us a fully paid meal at their own restaurant (which is actually quite highly rated) and even covered the wine (which we didn't expect). Food was pretty good and so was the wine. Apologies accepted! They also sent coffee and chocs to our room the next day as an extra gesture. 气消了～Regis also has a nice chill lounge. Below, just bumming around the streets and trying for the first time teppanyaki abalone!

Lunch at Ippoh Honten Edobori*, a tempura restaurant which has been awarded 1 star for consecutive years since 2010. Private room with private cook freshly frying up tempuras in front of us. Pretty good. Except the fact that I had a really serious bout of allergy attack right after leaving the restaurant.  Nothing to do with them at all. S was perfectly fine. For me it might have been the prawns, or maybe the oil...I don't know. Happened before at another fine tempura place. *confused*

Chanced upon Xmas markets near the Osaka main station. Lovely atmosphere~ And this marks the end of our Niseko-Osaka trip!

Niseko-Osaka 14-21Dec 2013 (2)

Early next morning, we woke up to a pleasant surprise. The snowy conditions cleared up that morn and a mountain peered out in the distance from nowhere! We later found out it is Mount Yōtei, an active stratovolcano. The following day the weather cleared up even more and we were presented with the entire view. Take a gondola up and enjoy~

Greatest achievement of the year: Skiing all the way from the top after just 1 day of lesson! V

And of course, Ezo Seafoods (twice) as reward ;) Thumbs up!

Niseko-Osaka 14-21Dec 2013 (1)

Our first and last r&r trip (inside story). Really made the most out of it! Off to a good start on board ANA. Where else can you find such appetising plane food?? On econ at least. Stayed a night in Osaka first before catching the morning flight to Hokkaido. Sheraton Miyako Hotel was perfect as it has direct airport bus transfer, and it's right next to a shopping mall (can't do without our usual supermarket sashimi fix). Next day, easy internal flight to Chitose. First meal in Hokkaido - a crab-ikura-uni bowl. Airport food already so yums! The drive to our ski resort took ~1.5 hour.

          

Arrived at Akazora Resort. Got upgraded to a 2-bedroom apartment and the place was absolutely lovely. Spacious and bright, looking out to a blanket of white. Love love love.

  

By the time we settled down it was late. Time to eat again! Randomly chose a restaurant round a corner. Everything we ordered was so good. Even though it was only our 2nd meal in Hokkaido, we concluded Japanese food is at its best here. Just look at that mountain of uni. Took all the limelight away from the abalone. Hands down the best rice bowl I ever had. *drooling while blogging*

  

Signed up for private ski lessons and it was well worth it, for me. Skiing's not really S' thing so she pretty much left me alone with the coach. Which was super as I soon progressed to doing rounds on the bunny slope. Bunny slope may look like chicken feet but for a absolute beginner like me, can be quite intimidating :S Skiing makes me hungry. Can't remember which slope we were at but there's a hotel just beside (prince?) that serves really good sashimi and tempura (once again my love for Hokkaido food grows).

     

Back on the slope for a few more rounds and I was done for the day. Definitely a must to follow with onsen~ And then of course, a hearty dinner. Small packed izakaya place. Another awesome meal. Seriously. I could grow fat if I lived here!

      

Tokyo/Kyoto Apr12 - Day 7 8 9 10 11

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Rows and rows of Torii gates that lead into the wooded forest of the scared Mount Inari. It stretches so far in that we had no idea where it ends. Had to turnaround half-way (or was it less?) Interesting sight but if you're not big on hiking, just venture in for awhile and be ready to move on to your next destination. Bought a miniature torii gate on which we wrote our names & well wishes. Hung it on a rack together with several others, all in hope of good health and luck. See my kiddish handwriting? :p

"The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donator's name and the date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate. The cost starts around 400,000 yen for a small sized gate and increases to over one million yen for a large gate." - japan guide

Soon enough we caught a bus to the Nishiki Market.

"錦市場 (Nishiki Ichibai) is a narrow, five block long shopping street lined by more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as "Kyoto's Kitchen", this lively retail market specializes in all things food related. Nishiki Market has a pleasant, but busy atmosphere that is inviting to those who want to explore the variety of culinary delights that Kyoto is famous for. Some of the shops freely give out samples or sell sample dishes and skewers meant to be eaten then and there. The market has a history of several centuries, and many stores have been operated by the same families for generations. It all started as a fish wholesale district, with the first shop opening around 1310. A larger variety of shops moved in later, and the area changed from a wholesale market to retail. Today it remains an important market for Kyoto and is often packed with locals and tourists alike." - japan guide

Colorful and vibrant yes, but it was more window marketing than anything else. Mainly dried produce and hardly any food stalls. A little bit of a disappointment as we were very hungry at that time, but still worth walking the long street from end to the other.

Moved on to the Philosopher's Path in the evening.

"The Philosopher's Path (哲学の道, Tetsugaku no michi) is a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto's Higashiyama district. The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Usually in early April these trees explode with color, making this one of the city's most popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spots." - japan guide

However it was the tailend of the sakura season already. With the trees almost bare, and with rarely any cafes open, this place looks really plain & impressionless. Of course everything's relative. Google 'philosopher's path' and you'll know what I mean. Needless to say the walk felt like any walk along any canal.. Which is a pity because people come here to be inspired!

Returned to Tokyo and stayed in Ginza. What a change.

"The Ginza (銀座) is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. One square meter of land in the district's center is worth over ten million yen, making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan. A visit is most pleasant on a weekend afternoon, when the central Chuo Dori street gets closed to traffic and become a large pedestrian zone. The closure takes place from 14:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays and from 12:00 to 17:00 on Sundays (until 18:00 from April through September)" - japan guide

Found the 12-storey high Uniqlo. Like wow.

With this I finally finally conclude our Japan trip 2012 =)))