Whew! This past week has been a whirlwind - just a real whirl of wind (and snow!). My friends came to visit last week!! They arrived on Friday, and I got them settled in by getting lost on my way to meet them so that I was like 20 minutes late. But they stuck it out for some reason!! By the time I found them we pretty much just headed home and I rustled us up some grubs.
On Saturday we went to the Sapporo Snow Festival!!! I had been looking forward to it since I got here and it did not disappoint!!
As soon as we arrived, the first thing we saw was a moguls competition!!! I tried to take some photos but they didn't really turn out. One of the competitors was only nine years old and she was amazing!!
The real attraction was the snow sculptures. I can't express how amazing they were!! We were VERY lucky that we went on Saturday morning because all of the really big sculptures were still in very good shape, but things were starting to get a little melty by the afternoon. It probably goes without saying that my favourite was the STAR WARS SCULPTURE!!
Even the non-Star Wars sculptures were pretty impressive!!
When we were finished at the festival, we took a trip to the Sapporo Beer Museum!! It isn't the real brewery (which is located in the next city), but the old beer factory is located nearby and today is a mall.
Inside the museum was a collection of items explaining the history of Sapporo Beer, along with a diorama revealing that Sapporo beer is actually brewed by monkeys / elves!
There was also a collection of old bottles and cans. I am not sure why there is an egg or a spaceship??
Outside the factory were some very pretty candles!
On Sunday we headed to Otaru, which is next to the ocean! I visited Otaru and wen to the aquarium shortly after I got here, so it was really nice to walk around and enjoy it in the winter. The scenery during the day was nice, and we did a bit of shopping.
But as nice as Otaru is during the day, it was BEAUTIFUL at night. Otaru was having their own ice / snow / candle festival and it was really wonderful.
The festival had lots of things to do, like tubing (my friend and I went while her husband rolled his eyes), and free concerts and lots of games and snacks and drinks. We had a great time!
On Monday it was time for my friends to leave, but we had time to go to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant!! I have always wanted to go but I never really had an excuse to go alone. Essentially there is a conveyor belt running through the restaurant, and you just grab whatever looks good. You stack up your plates and are charged according to their colour and number. We had a feast!
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