Happy New Year Everyone!! It’s 2022!!
I started this year with a new-found freedom. Jobless.
But hopefully, we will start to see the death of Omicron, Delta, Alpha and whatever Covid-19 variants there are out there.
And that means, a chance to return to travel, minus masks, PCR tests, ART tests, quarantines and all those other nonsensical protocols that have been slapped on for the provision of vaccinated travel. In other words, all the things that took the fun out of travelling.
Is it possible to return to pre-covid travel? I’m not sure, to be honest. We can only hope.
In place of regular travel-themed blog posts, I have mostly been writing on LinkedIn, commenting on news or features relating to my interests and experiences in all things Japanese.
So, I thought I would share my latest LinkedIn post here, based on this travel feature on the website Japan Today. However, unlike my post on LinkedIn, I’ve added photos from my own visits from yesteryear and previous blogs about the places.
Here’s what I wrote in my LinkedIn post:
Might be too much of a stretch to compare Otaru to Venice, because unlike Venice, Otaru only has that ONE canal, lined on one side with Showa-era warehouses that have since been converted to restaurants, cafes, music box / glassware “museums” (read “tourist traps).
But, if you are currently in Japan, and have the luxury to travel up north to Hokkaido, may I propose an alternative itinerary – one that is less touristy, perhaps even less trodden among the locals.
1) Rishiri & Rebun Islands 利尻島と礼文島 (the two islands off Wakkanai). Fun fact: The snow-capped peak that features on Hokkaido’s representative omiyage, Ishita Shiroi Koibito 白い恋人 is actually Mount Rishiri, that anchors the island of Rishiri. It’s also most famous for ウニ (sea urchin) & 昆布 (konbu – a type of seaweed commonly used in high-grade Japanese soup stock).
2) Lake Toya / Toyako 洞爺湖. Because it’s not everyday that you get to visit the ruins of a town, preserved in its pristine entirety after the volcanic eruption of Mount Usu (有珠山) in 1977. Expect to see lots of abandoned buildings, some of which are partially buried in hardened volcanic lava. Part Chernobyl-esque, part apocalyptic. If you get too freaked out, retreat to your dig on the shore of Lake Toya, and you are safely back in Winter Wonderland.
3) Daisetsuzan National Park 大雪山国立公園. Accessible from Asahikawa 旭川, Hokkaido’s 2nd largest city but much less frequented by tourists or locals, save for Asahiyama Zoo. Soak in the view of the snow capped peaks in the company of octogenarians and snow monkeys in an onsen perched near the summit. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free and communal (i.e. men & women share the same tub). LS
It’s two days before I finally say goodbye to this apartment where I’ve spent the larger part of my two years in 
As I count down to the last week in this city, I found myself re-visiting some of the places that I had initially explored when I first arrived two years ago. First up is 
During my first visit to the park two years ago, I got lost. It was a cool late autumn evening, and I decided to explore the woods that connect to the park. But as I ventured deeper and deeper, I felt something amiss. I was the only one in the midst of the greenery. However, I kept on walking further and further into the foliage, despite the waning sunlight. What really set alarm bells ringing and prompted me to turn back was when I came across a wooden sign with the words that warn of bear sighting in this part of the woods. Terrified, I promptly retraced my steps as quickly as I could, and only breathed a sigh of relief when I heard sounds of passing traffic.
This time, however, I opted for a less adventurous approach. Having bought a bento box of stir-fried Chinese noodles and a can of beer from 7-Eleven, I headed to the 
Sufficiently fuelled up, I ambled towards the observation tower, which offers a 360 degree panorama of the city. On a clear day, you could probably see as far as Mount Tarumae and the peaks around 
Many thoughts clouded my mind as I surveyed the scenery before me, the grid-like city layout, the ugly chimneys and billowing white smoke, the oil tankers dotting the port of 
And at that time, JET seemed like the most attractive option. I had always wanted to explore living and working in Japan – and the inspiration behind this, would you believe, was after watching a Japanese TV drama called 
I figured spending a couple of years in Japan could allow me to get away from the mundaneness of working life, from Singapore for a while. I must admit, a part of me had secretly wished I was posted to some rural city / town by the sea. Maybe then, I could live out the laid-back life as portrayed in that drama I watched more than 20 years ago. But a part of me was also worried about being posted to the countryside. I am such a conflicted individual. However, as it would turn out, I got neither of those. I was posted to 
It’s that time of the year again, when winter puts up a valiant fight with spring in a tenacious tug-of-war that manifests itself in the daily temperatures in Japan. Last week saw a violent blizzard pummel the whole of Hokkaido, forcing schools to close and kids to stay at home. (Teachers, of course, report for work as usual. Don’t ask me why, because this is Japan. Logic doesn’t hold much sway here).
I can’t wait for winter to pass. Winter sucks. I hate being woken up by frozen toes in the early hours of the morning. I’m sick of having to do a merry dance to the toilet, which for some reason only the architects in Japan know, is situated next to the door to my apartment. I resent having to pile layer upon layer of clothing, and yet my fingers still freeze every time I head out. In a nutshell, I hate winter, and I’m more than happy to see the last of it. Yet, every evening when I watch the news on TV, I’m reminded that I live in Hokkaido, where winter lasts half a year. Even as daily temperatures rose across Japan, here in Hokkaido, we are still mired in sub-zero temperatures.
Its powder draws avid skiers and snowboarders around the world to its numerous ski resorts. The annual Sapporo Snow Festival is a top tourist draw, transforming Odori Park into a winter wonderland. Many cities and towns in Hokkaido, too, have their own mini version of snow / ice / winter festivals, not so much to celebrate the cold as to find an excuse for debauchery.
In February this year, the Winter Olympics was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Olympic fever gripped Japan, its athletes dominating daily news headlines in a country that is always eager to celebrate and worship sporting excellence. The press hailed the graceful performances of male figure-skating champion Hanyu Yuzuru and praised female speed skater Nao Kodaira for her display of sportsmanship in embracing a tearful Lee Sang-hwa.
Chinami Yoshida (second from right) celebrates with Japanese skip, Satsuki Fujisawa and other members of the Women’s Olympic Curling Team after edging Britain to the bronze medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics, South Korea. Source: Reuters Pictures.
Source: Kyodo News.
Winter used to be my favourite season when I was working as a professional teacher in Singapore. This is because in Singapore, we have no winter. More importantly, as a teacher in a public school, winter marks the start of the “travel season” as the academic calendar draws to a close by mid-November. The “luckier” ones would have already jetted off by the last week of November. 
I’m sitting here at my kotatsu typing away instead of being at school. The reason, Typhoon No. 21. Just when you thought typhoon season is over, here comes a humongous one to take the stuffing out of you. And of course, bearing in mind that this is Japan – typhoons love this long strip of archipelago for some reason. 
September is most commonly associated with typhoons in Hokkaido. Memories of Typhoon Lionrock (otherwise known as Typhoon No. 10 in Japan) that wreaked havoc in Southern Furano last September is still fresh in the minds of many Japanese in Hokkaido. However, this year, instead of typhoons, we have a new (or old) threat! That of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his beloved missiles!!
Summer hit Hokkaido like a home run out of nowhere this week, with daily temperatures soaring above the thirties. The week before, Kyushu had been battered by Typhoon No.3, leaving swathes of land in Fukuoka and Oita under water. Here in Hokkaido, however, temperatures are slowly creeping above 25 degrees during the day. When dusk falls, it drops severely to the mid-10s (15 or 16 degrees). And then, it took a sudden spike above the 30s.
Cries of “Yaaaaaaaaaa…Yaren Soooran Soooran…Hoi hoi!!” continued to echo in my ears as my train left the platform at Sapporo Station bound for Tomakomai. I had gone into town over the weekend to catch the annual dance extravaganza in Sapporo that is the 
lonesojourns 