Five
years after we visited Nagano, it was time to return to Japan to ski, sample
some on-piste udon and take another ride on the bullet train. This time we were visiting Japan’s other
Winter Olympic venue: Sapporo, Hokkaido.
(Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan’s large islands.) Like Cortina, Sapporo was
originally slated to host during World War 2 and also like Cortina it
eventually hosted when peace returned. The original plan was to do some skiing
with sightseeing thrown in afterwards, however the reality became sightseeing
with a smattering of skiing due to various acts of god. This trip was one of the more
logistically complicated. In the
course of 12 days we visited 4
cities/towns, stayed at 5 inns took 2 Japanese domestic flights and the
obligatory bullet train trip. Seemingly, unlike the vast majority of skiers who
visit Hokkaido, we wanted to see some sites Japan had to offer.
The
alpine events were unique in some ways. The downhill course was temporary. It was carved out the side of an active
volcano 30 km south of Sapporo in a national park and when the Olympics were over
it returned to nature. The slalom
and giant slalom venue, Teine, still welcomes recreational skiers. The men’s giant slalom course, however,
has long been abandoned and also returned to nature. When doing the initial research to the trip, it was quite
obvious that Teine was a”local” hill and it was not really a ski destination in
itself. Teine has no overnight
accommodation it is just on the outside of Sapporo.It was decided that we would
tack on a few days skiing at Niseko resort world famous for its quality and
quantity of the snow. (See preceding blog entry: Beyond Sapporo).
Snow conditions were alright
The
original plan was to spend the first full day in Japan with a more relaxed tempo
and to explore the other Olympic venues in Sapporo. We decided instead to go
straight to the hill and this turned out to be the best cure for jet lag. Within 12 hours of arriving Mike ticked
off most of the items on his trip
to-do list: eat melon buns, travel on Japan’s super efficient and extensive
rail network, and ski on Hokkaido’s legendary powder.
On the first day we took advantage of the JR (Japan
Railways) Ski Deal which can be purchased in the information centre in Sapporo
Station. It was a fantastic deal
it cost ¥5500
and included, transport, ski rental and a 4 hour lift ticket, 2 additional hours can be purchased for
¥600
yen. It is the best value lift
ticket deal I have come across in my alpine adventures. We stayed at the Sapporo Grand which
was only a few (underground)
blocks to the train station, making this deal even more convenient.
We had the flex capacitor but unfortunately did not reach 88.8mph
On-piste udon
The following day we woke up to rain and were apprehensive
to what awaited us on our return to Teine. For this trip, I tried to plan as much as possible in
advance, and to this end I booked us on a bus that goes to the Sapporo hotels
and drives direct to Teine as opposed to train and bus on the JR deal. It cost ¥5100 and did not include
rentals. Rentals cost an
additional ¥5100! All in all
it was twice as much as the JR Pass!
I would recommend that unless you stay at a hotel the bus stops at and
you have brought your own gear or you want a bus tour of suburban Sapporo, stay
at a hotel within walking distance of Sapporo station and get the JR Pass. The rain turned to wet snow at the base
of Teine and at the top it was the famous Hokkaido powder. It was the best conditions we have
experienced, the powder was fluffy and plentiful.
Day 3, our final day in Sapporo we set off on our
predictable tour of former Olympic
venues. It was a beautiful day and
our first stop was the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium. The stadium was renovated and had pride of place among the
venues, over looking Sapporo. Also there was actually ski jump training going
on. It is difficult to say what
was more impressive, watching the jumpers float down the hill or the views from
the top of the ramp. Nordic
ski jumping is a pretty inaccessible sport, so I don’t think many people can
relate to it, but once you visit a jumping facility and see the skiers jump you
really do appreciate how brave and skilled these athletes are. There was a winter sports/Olympic
museum which had some great interactive winter sports displays that kids would
love unfortunately the gift shop had a complete lack of Sapporo 1972 gear! Fortunately I had already sorted out my
Sapporo souvenier before coming to Japan. (see picture top) We then got back
on the bus and subway and went to Mindimori. Park, the main site of the Olympic
games.
Olympic speed skating oval today
Olympic oval opening ceremonies 1972
Olympic oval 2015
Mindimori park is rather large, there were some senior
citizens vigorously cross country skiing around it. On a side note, Sapporo is a city with a lot of snow the
snow banks were well over 2 meters and they had well over a meter on the
ground, probably double that at Teine.
I think when one lives in a winter wonderland like Hokkaido, you must
embrace winter and take advantage of the wintersports or else it will be a long
boring season. Anyways, I
digress, we went to the main Olympic Stadium, I had a peak over the fence and
saw a pristine long track speed skating course with amateurs skating around
it. We investigated further and it
turns out you can rent hockey, speed or figure skates for ¥300
an hour. We had a train to
catch in 90 minutes back in central Sapporo but we thought when our we going to
get a chance to skate outdoors at a former Olympic long track speed skating
oval. It was the right call, the
ice was immaculate not a single rut and the cold but sunny conditions were
perfect for skating. We
quickly walked through the suburban neighbourhood which unbeknown to us at the
time was the old athelete’s village and were on the subway back to Sapporo station and caught our
train to Niseko!
Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium 1972
Sapporo 1972 was an Olympics which, along with Vancouver and
Innsbruck, can be put in the successful category (unlike Montreal and Sochi).
It spurred local development projects like the Sapporo subway, much of legacy
facilities are being used for their original purpose and the games themselves
turned a profit without major organizational issues or controversies. I think the common detonator for successful Olympics is to keep them as
modest as a world sporting event can be.
Skiing: Bronze
Teine is a local hill and is certainly not on the ski/bum
powder hound circuit. Most of the
skiers were Japanese school children learning to ski and locals out to enjoy
the fabulous conditions. Unlike
Niseko, which is a pretty homogenous large resort ski experience, Teine felt
more like a Japanese ski experience.
This included a wide selection of muzak being played in the chalet, very
polite locals who apologized to us that the conditions were not good ie. pefect
(they were the best conditions I have ever skied on!) and friendly lifties who always swept
your seat before sitting. The area is split into the Olympia Zone which is the
beginner area, it had the remains of a torch over looking it. It was busy with school kids and it did
not hold our attention for very long.
The larger and more advanced Highland Zone had longer, more challenging
runs, a couple of reds, a black which was the former GS
course and some glades opportunities in deep powder. The limited runs meant that Teine was not a ski
destination in itself more of a stop to try for a day or two while visiting
other sites and resorts of Hokaido.
What Teine had that was brilliant, reasonably priced Udon for lunch; the
perfect midday day meal when skiing.
Western resorts really need to take a page out of Japan’s book and offer this.
Apres Ski Silver
Sapporo was a winter metropolis when we visited. Like Innsbruck and Grenoble après
ski in Sapporo is not of the traditional resort variety. The city of 2 million people is a new
city and feels almost North American. The selection and quality of the food is
simply excellent.
Apres ski sushi
We went for
après ski conveyor sushi one night, Hokkaido soup curry in a smoke filled
restaurant with a 1970s American theme another. There was a hive of activity and shopping opportunities in
the downtown district and the army, (yes the army) were busy making giant snow
sculptures for the upcoming winter festival.
I was challenged to eat an entire cuttlefish
We visited the Sapporo Beer Garden and Museum where
you can get all you can eat Mongolian Lamb and all you can drink for ¥3800. Some of the patrons who did this deal
were clearly suffering towards the end but were not being rowdy or
misbehaving. Unless the
police/ambulance workers were sitting at every table you wouldn’t be able to
have a deal like this in North America/UK!. I was surprised with a cuddle fish halfway through the
meal which was enough of a struggle for me..
Downtown Sapporo
Overall Silver
Teine
was a tiny resort by Olympic standards and the downhill run is now a backcountry
glade in the footnote of Olympics history. But what Sapporo did introduce us too is DEEP powder conditions,
uncrowded unpretentious local skiing, accessible non-skiing former Olympic
venues, giant underground passage ways and shopping and siphon coffee makers
(which are so cool, I took one back with me as a dinner party show piece
really) and most importantly it reintroduced Mike to his long lost Japanese
love: cream filled melon buns.
Worth the trans Pacific journey to Japan: melon buns and siphon coffee
Marc Says “Hokkaido
lived up to its reputation of fantastic snow conditions. The city of Sapporo is not really a
tourist destination but it was still a fascinating city to explore after a
day’s skiing. I think the
legacy Olympic facilities, and the sheer number of restaurants and excellent
customer service, allow Sapporo to scrape in with a silver rating as opposed to
a bronze. Three days was perfect
timing. Long live on piste udon! “
Mike says “Melon
buns are an elusive delicacy native to Japan sought out by urbaneers
around the world. They are worth
the great efforts many undertake in search for them. Combined with my latest discovery,
siphon coffee, they are simply sublime.”
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