Konichiwa from Sapporo!
It is cold, it is wet, but it is awesome!
I arrived at Chitose airport on Japan’s top island of Hokkaido at around 6:00pm last night and decided I would try my luck getting a bus to Sapporo station and walk to my hotel from there. I purchased a bus ticket and was directed outside to the bus stop. Little did I know that there were so many different buses going to so many different parts of Sapporo and no one to help me get on the right one so I left that plan and headed for the taxi rank. It was about $120 AUD but dropped me right at the hotel so was worth it.
Once checked in I cleaned myself up and headed out for somewhere to eat. I went into a Paseo shopping center and found an Irish pub. So I decided to check it out and see what their take is. It was a cosy place and was full of people so I stood at the bar and ordered a Sapporo. As I was taking in the atmosphere and still being amazed that I am actually here I was invited to a table with some Japanese people to have a drink with them. I don’t speak Japanese apart from hello and goodbye but they spoke a little English so we communicated well enough. They taught me a few phrases but I tried them again today and got strange looks so I’ll have to ask someone again one day what I actually said.
After a few Sapporo’s we said our goodbyes and I headed back to the hotel. Realizing I was still hungry as I had not eaten I stopped off at a 7-11 and got some sushi and coke. Delicious!
This morning I was woken at 9:30am by my door trying to be broken into by housekeepers. I attempted to tell them I did not need my room cleaned but it was futile. It was like a scene in “Rush Hour 2” when Chris Tucker’s character James Carter is trying to explain to the lady not to chop the chickens head off (and yes I know the film is set in China but you get the point).
It was good they woke me because I could have slept until at least lunch time. I did not want to spend my time here sleeping so I got dressed and headed out. I needed to get another power adapter because the one I brought with me won’t power my laptop. I decided to head down the opposite way I went last night and stumbled upon a little wine and food festival happening. So I sat at a communal table and had some seafood noodles. After some failed attempts at trying to have conversations with people I finished my meal and headed for a shopping district to find my item. Little did I know the shopping district was huge and spanned for blocks so I was walking around for a couple hours checking things out until I found what I was looking for.
On the way back to the hotel I was near the Sapporo TV Tower so I went to the observation deck and had a look at the amazing view of the whole city and the mountains that I will be heading for tomorrow.
Now I am sitting in my hotel room watching TV and snacking on some delicious seaweed flavoured chips. Shortly I will be going over my pack and charging all my gear to begin my walking tomorrow. I will keep you updated next time I have internet.
Thanks everyone who has donated since my last post. Great work!
Cheers!
https://give.everydayhero.com/au/sapporosaka
ROBB SAUNDERS 
Love reading all your adventures Rob. Have fun, take care and stay safe.
Sounds like your adventure has had a great start
Happy walking xoxo
Terrific story honey, can’t wait for the next update xx
Congrats on arriving in Japan. Looks like you are having fun settling in with the locals. Enjoy the rest and good luck with the walk tomorrow.