Sapporo- Day 1

Internet Cafe

Here's a picture of mom sleeping in the closest internet cafe to our hotel. The question of the matter is "Why would we need to sleep somewhere else if our hotel is so close?" The answer is that since there was a huge rock concert playing this weekend, which was also the reason of the cattle-stuffed train, all hotels were booked and no one in the hotel had checked out to open up a room. Additionally, it was 7 in the morning, with a check in time a 2. Whoops! Strike 2 for Juni! But ROn and I had never tried an Internet Cafe before and this seemed like an opportuned time to show the family "real Japan"- real MODERN Japan. We got a good strong 4 hours of sleep and was now crazy enough to start our day.

Ramen Street




Of course food is the answer to all problems when you're in a zombie state. Hokkaido boasts having the best ramen in Japan, and they aren't liers. The salty soup warmed up our tired bodies and the chewy noodles perked up our groggy brains. Everyone was much more lively after ramen. I think ramen is the cure for all worldly problems. War, famine, air pollution. All of this can be solved with ramen.

Susukino



Along the way to our next destination we came across the entertainment district. Well, actually Susukino is entertaining at night. Not so much in the early afternoon, but there all shops and stores, which makes my mom just as happy. We walked around, sampled some food, and tried on ridiculously cute hats (see above).

Beer Factory





I think Ron is corrupting my dad to drinking at his consistency. I know my dad drinks, but both of them have taken this trip to really use the "beer with dinner" rule. However it's more like "beer with dinner, lunch, and an occasional breakfast." So we had to take them to their Beer Paradise. Last time Ron came here, he was fluishly sick and couldn't enjoy the beer, plus the beer sampling area was closed. Not a good day for Ron. So I think Ron wanted to pull double-time with this trip. Mom and I went to the local mall while Ron, dad, and Ben enjoyed the museum. Well, dad and Ron enjoyed, Ben just took some nice pictures.