A wonderful winter trip in Hokkaido!

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1 A wonderful winter trip in Hokkaido! Our trip started in the early afternoon and we got on the bus heading to North Snowland, the activity park placed near Chitose City. The local people had a great idea of using this place as a golf field in spring and amusement snow attraction in winter. When we arrived there, we quickly were drawn into different available attractions. The first one was a horse ride, accompanied with a professional instructor. It was a good chance to interact with the animals and the kids could also get some carrots to feed the beautiful horses. We all had a great time getting on the horse and having a short ride in the nearby area. The horses were very calm and let us touch them and take a picture. Soon after this we moved on to experience snow rafting, a highly enjoyable ride inside the raft pulled by the snowmobile. The speed was high and the raft was turning in different directions, sliding on the powdered snow. We all had a great time and I really wanted to try riding the snowmobile myself. I was surprised when

2 I realized, that actually you CAN ride a snowmobile just around the corner. I stood in line and after few minutes I was riding in circles on a brand new mini snowmobile! It was so much fun racing with friends! We also tried 4-wheel buggy, which was much faster than a snowmobile and took a while to learn. Then, we left the North Snowland and head towards the Shikotsu Lake. At Shikotsu Lake we went to see a real ice village! This attraction is being made every year for over 30 years by local people and takes months to prepare. The place simply looked like a fairy tale, with all that ice buildings, sculptures, slides, and beautiful, blinking lights. There were even some fish frozen in the blocks of ice. The local person showed us around giving an interesting speech on how this place was

3 made and taking us from one spot to another. The atmosphere there was enchanting, with all the lights and laughing couples, children riding horses and people sliding on ice. I think it is a wonderful place to have a romantic date with a beloved person, and we arrived there just a day after Valentine s day, so the mood was still in the air! After leaving the ice village we went to a local ryoukan, which is a Japanese style hotel with hot springs. We changed into yukata (a traditional Japanese clothing made of cotton) and had a delicious dinner in a Japanese style room. The dinner consisted of different kinds of Japanese food, including fresh fish sashimi, a crab, beef soup and other delicacies. The food was not only tasty, but also beautifully served and look like a piece of art. After we filled our stomachs we proceed to the onsen, where we could warm up in a hot water after the whole day of being outside. The quality of water was really good and it contained various minerals good for our skin and helping to relieve body muscles and blood circulation. After a blissful bath I went straight to bed in a Japanese style tatami room and felt asleep with a smile.

4 The next day I woke up early and started the day with another delightful bath in the hot spring and tasty breakfast. I still had some time before leaving the hotel, so I went outside to take pictures of Shikotsu lake the hotel was placed just next to it so after a short walk I could enjoy the beautiful view. Then, we left for snow shoeing which is a very popular activity in Hokkaido. Because of the amount of snow falling in some areas it is literally impossible to walk, because you would fall deep into the few meters of white snow. We put on snow shoes and started walking in the forest, surrounded by nature and following our guide. Finally, we arrived to the last point of our trip a beautiful waterfall hidden between the hills in a not accessible valley. It was a big challenge to get there, because we had to take off the snow shoes and slowly went down the very steep hill. The view of the amazing nature wonder was a great reward for all this effort. The waterfall was amazing, surrounded by various icicles. It is the view that will definitely stay in my mind forever, showing how beautiful Hokkaido can be!

5 Overall, the trip was really wonderful and I could experience different winter attractions of Hokkaido. It definitely went over my expectations and if I had a chance, I would definitely go again. If I could suggest any possible improvements, I would look for a hotel with a rotenburo a section of hot spring that is placed outside and allows to interact with the snow while taking a bath. Except that, the trip was wonderful and I came back home with tons of wonderful pictures and a big smile on my face. Thank you very much for organizing this event and you did a wonderful job! Michal Mazur (Poland) Hokkaido University March the 15 th, 2013