8/1/2022 0 Comments WEek 15: Last few weeksMy academic semester has ended and I've entered vaction mode until I need to head back home. The finals that I had to do was stressful and the project that gave me the biggest headache was a group project for an entrepreneurship class. My friend and I decided to go to Hokkaido for 5 days and went around many cities to explore and enjoy their tourist attractions. We landed in Sapporo and spent the night there. The first thing I noticed was that the weather was much cooler than in Tokyo. The afternoons hovered around 84 degrees while the nights were around 75 degrees. It was great when comparing it to Tokyo for the past month. Afterwards, we went to the nearby port city of Otaru. The place is known for their seafood, and I got myself a crab ikura rice bowl. The rice bowl may have been the tastiest crab dish and I had. I wish I could have eaten more similar foods, but the price was rather high at 2800 yen. Afterwards, we went to the annual Otaru summer festival. The experience was great as there was live performances by the locals, a short concert by a small artist, and we saw a fireworks show that lasted an hour. We tried the food stands and got to eat some classic things like takoyaki, karaage, and some frozen mandarin oranges. The next day, we headed to Asahikawa and spent a short day in the town. Our morning was taken up by the train ride that took about one and a half hours from Sapporo. We headed to the Otokoyamashita brewery museum. The museum was not only a place that explained the brewery's history and the process of creating sake, but it was also a place you can purchase their sake. The had taste testing machines that were free and let people taste six different sake. If you liked the sake, you can buy it then and there. Additionally, the museum lets people try the spring water that flows from the place for free. It seemed that many locals come to the museum to get the water from their as many people came with large water jugs. Afterwards, we took a bunch of pictures of the small garden in front of the museum. The day afterwards, we went to Furano and spent the day at the Tomita Flower Field where it's known for their lavender field. The fields were huge and in full bloom, which made it beautiful. It was a great day to take pictures of the field, the landscape, and portraits. Since the place was a tourist attraction, it let people buy souvenirs. There were lavender flavored food, drinks, perfume, bath salts, air fresheners, and many more other things. Additionally, the place sold cantalope, and people could buy a box of cantolope for the equivalent of $200. After we left the fields, we went to the Shirogane blue pond. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was pouring and we couldn't get to enjoy the place. We were only able to stay at the pond for 15 or so minutes because the last bus was about to come. It wasn't the best experience and we got back with soaked muddy shoes. For the last day in Hokkaido, we went back to Sapporo and walked around the city. We walked down Tanukijoji Shopping Street, the longest shopping street in Japan. It took us about 20 minutes to go from one end to the other without stopping. Afterwards, we went to Sapporo Station to continue shopping and looking around. We ended the day by going to Sapporo Station's, T38 Observation Deck. The observation deck gave us a great view of the city at night. It was really interesting being at such a high place and looking down at the city. I was able to see from very far away and noticed things I didn't see on the ground level. For example, there was a ferris wheel, and a building with a garden on the inside. The day afterwards, we went straight to the airport and got back to Tokyo with its humid weather. For the last week in Japan, I plan to make any last minute purchases and find more things I haven't done so I don't have regrets. This inlcudes going to different kind of establishments, eating more food, and saying goodbye to the friends I have made here. I wish I could stay for an additional semester, but there's nothing I can do at this point. My experience in Japan has been great and I do not regret taking my chances at applying for the study abroad program. This is my last post and I hope those that read it enjoyed it and got to learn a bit about Japan and it's interesting facets.
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