Sapporo, Asahikawa & Otaru Memorial Day Omiyage Weekender 2019 May 23 rd 29 TH, 2019 5nights/7days fr: $2195 dbl/tpl $2395 single Book by December 15 th -Save $50 per person Shop, Sightsee, Eat, Fun- A perfect way to spend the Memorial Day holiday weekend! Omiyage is a gift or souvenir you give to friends, coworkers, and family after returning home from a trip. Omiyage is so much more than just an edible souvenir. Here in Hawaii, bringing back omiyage from Japan is almost a tradition. Sapporo is one of Japan's most cosmopolitan cities. Its wide streets and tree lined boulevards give the city an almost European feel. Coffee shops and cafes proliferate throughout the city and the center is packed with a fantastic range of shops, restaurants, and bars. After a day of exploring the city you can get your energy back over a hot meal and the delicious liquid gold, Sapporo beer. Otaru, one of Hokkaido s most popular tourist destination for Japanese visitors is a romantic port town steeped in a rich history that dates to its glory days as a major herring center. It was the terminal station for Hokkaido s first railroad and today nostalgic warehouses and buildings still like the picturesque canal district. There are great options for foodies and if you re into music boxes or any kind of glass objects, this is the place! There is more yet, as we venture to Asahikawa, Hokkaido 2 nd largest city. While here, time to enjoy the local noodle dish, Asahikawa Ramen along with visits to Ueno Farm, offering an English-style garden with a wide variety of perennial plants that change according to the season. We have included a stop at Sunagawa Highway Oasis where you will find everything Hokkaido under one roof. Come, join the fun on this unique Guy s & Gal s weekender. The ladies get to do some serious shopping while the gents will enjoy visits to 4 sake breweries and the Sapporo Beer Factory. Itinerary/Details Day 1 May 23 rd, 2019 Thursday Depart from Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines #441 Departs Honolulu 1:20 pm Arrive Chitose 5:00 pm + 1 Please meet your Panda Travel representative at the Hawaiian Airlines International check-in counter in the Terminal 1, formally the Hawaiian Airlines Terminal, Lobby 3, Makai at least 3 hours prior to the flight departure time. Day 2 May 24 th, 2019 Friday Chitose-Sapporo
On arrival in Chitose, please make your way to the baggage claim area as we need to clear immigration and customs. Free luggage carts are available. We suggest that you use one as there is a short walk to our chartered bus. Our local English speaking Japanese guide will be there to meet us. Accommodations for our stay in Sapporo are at the Century Royal Hotel Sapporo, ideally situated, adjacent to the shopping zone in front of JR Sapporo Station, and directly connected via an underground passage. The drive time from Chitose is under one hour. Our arrival at the hotel will be approximately 7:00pm allowing you time to go out for a night stroll or bite to eat. There is a 24-hour convenience store just off the ground floor of our hotel. Accommodations: Century Royal Hotel Sapporo Free Day 3 May 25 th, 2019 Saturday Sapporo (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide by 9:00am as our day begins with a short drive to the Okurayama Ski Jump for a ride on the lift to its peak. This ski jump stadium was used at the Winter Olympics held in Sapporo in 1972. Once at the top enjoy time at the viewing lounge and the panoramic views of the city of Sapporo, the Ishikari Plain, and Ishikari Bay. It is also an ideal location to view the start line of the ski jump right before your eyes - looking directly down at the steep slope of the approach will certainly give you an idea of how the skiers are feeling when they begin their jumps!
Our next stop is at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market where every morning, the freshest produce and fish arrive. While this inner market where the fish auction takes place is not open to the public, you can enjoy the Curb Market. Open from 6am, it is comprised of approximately 60 stores selling a variety of items ranging from fruits to fresh and dried fish. Sushi and other reasonably priced dishes made with fresh seasonal ingredients are available. As soon as the bidding ends in the inner market, the products are made available at the Curb Market. Here you will have the opportunity to experience a meal of fresh local seafood, whether it be a domburi bowl or crab and salmon sushi Choose from the many restaurants along the edge of the market, a front-row view of your chef preparing freshly-cut stock. If ramen is to your liking, there are a group of ramen shops along one of the side streets. Choose one and enjoy a delicious bowl of Hokkaido s finest ramen. Enjoy free time here to explore, shop and have lunch on your own. Jogai Fish Market side street ramen shops Once back in Sapporo, a visit to the Chitosetsuru Sake Museum & Brewer, established in 1872. It is the only sakagura (sake brewery) in Sapporo. Besides learning about Chitosetsuru s history, enjoy sake sampling, mainly ginjo, junmai and honjozo varieties. Visit their shop for sake gifts, seasonal products or maybe a dish or cone of sake ice cream. From here a stop at Tanukikoji Shopping Street, Sapporo s oldest covered shopping arcade, ten blocks long with over 200 shops. Here you will find old and traditional merchants selling kimonos, tea or incense side by side with modern stores specializing in computers and software or state-of-the-art electronics and digital cameras all of which lends it a bazaar-like quality. Some of the popular shops that Hawaii folks enjoy are all here, a multi-story 108-yen Daiso, as well 24-hour Don Quijote. Enjoy free time to go off and shop your heart off. In case you didn t get a chance to pick up all your fish items at Jogai, no worries as the Nijo Market is just a short walk away. With over a 100-year history, this market is said to have developed in the early Meiji Period, when fishermen from Ishikari Bay started selling fresh fish there. While much small than Tsukiji, you will find many of the same items. Arrival back at our hotel will be approximately 4:15pm and the remainder of the afternoon and evening is free. Accommodations: Century Royal Hotel Sapporo free Day 4 May 26 th, 2019 Sunday Sapporo (B) After breakfast, enjoy a complete free day here is Sapporo for shopping and or sightseeing.
Accommodations: Century Royal Hotel Sapporo free Day 5 May 27 th, 2019 Monday Sapporo-Asahikawa (B) After breakfast please meet your guide by 8:30am as we are off to Asahikawa, Hokkaido s second largest city. A city of water, Asahikawa sits on the confluences of the Ishikari, Biei, Chubetsu and Ushibetsu rivers. There are over 700 bridges in the city, the most famous of which has become an attraction, the Asahibashi over the Ishikari River, completed in 1932. Our bags will be sent along separately and meet up with us at our hotel later this afternoon. The drive time is just under two hours. Along the way we will be stopping at the Sunagawa Highway Oasis, where you can enjoy shopping and tasting local specialties. This is a good spot for omiyage shopping. The shops and the cafeteria are run by the major manufacturers of Hokkaido, and it s possible to find many of Hokkaido s specialties here including melons, boxes of potatoes, whole crabs, famous stuffed squid from Hakodate, Royce chocolates and other Hokkaido chocolate confections. You will also find a wide variety of Japanese sweets and a vast assortment of packaged food items. As well other souvenirs items, such as T-shirts and wooden animals, notably owls and bears: Owls and bears were and remain very special animals for the local Ainu people. A fun stop, bustling and full of energy! Sunagawa Highway Oasis Next, we are visiting Ueno Farm, based on an English style garden of hardy perennials that have been rearranged to suit the Hokkaido climate. The garden designer Sayuki Ueno, who also designed Kaze-no Garden, is popular among gardeners in Japan. Spend some comforting time here on your own, surrounded by the colorful flowers. Ueno Farm
From here a stop at the Asahikawa Ramen Village for lunch on your own. Like several other places in Hokkaido, Asahikawa is famous for its ramen. Whereas Sapporo is known for its miso-based broth and Hakodate for its salt-based broth, Asahikawa is known for its shoyu based broths. The broth of Asahikawa Ramen is known for being quite oily, and there is often a thin layer of oil on top of the soup. Another characteristic of the local ramen is the generally thin, hard, and wavy noodles. The range of toppings is quite typical and includes green onions, pork, bamboo shoots and eggs. Enjoy time here for lunch on your own. Now, for 2 fun sake brewery visits, back to back. Asahikawa Ramen Village Our afternoon begins with a visit to Otokoyama Sake Brewery. It is Asahikawa's most famous sake, both within Japan and worldwide. With a history spanning over 340 years, the brewery's sake was a favorite of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was even depicted in works by one of Japan's most famous Ukiyoe masters, Utamaro. As you enter the Otokoyama property, a lovely Japanese garden welcomes you. Inside the brewery are large glass windows where you can view production facilities, and there is a museum dedicated to the art of making sake. Of course, there is also a sake tasting room and gift shop. Otokoyama Sake Brewery From here, a visit to the Takasago Sake Brewery Shop for more tastings and possible buy one more souvenir bottle. Now, off to our hotel for the evening, The JR Inn Asahikawa, directly connected to the JR Asahikawa Station and AEON Mall. Opened in the spring of 2015, this hotel is perfect for our evening in Asahikawa. Besides its location, the hotel offers a public bath for men and women in a semi-outdoor setting, rooms with views of the surrounding countryside, and a direct elevator down to the AEON Mall. The city s shopping arcade entrance is also just steps away. Our arrival will be by 5:45pm and the remainder of the evening is free.
JR Inn Asahikawa- room, public bath, and mountain views from many of the rooms Accommodations: JR Inn Asahikawa free Day 6 May 28 th, 2019 Tuesday Asahikawa-Otaru (B) After breakfast please meet your guide by 8:30am as we are off to Otaru and a full day of touring. The drive time is approximately 2.5 hours and we will be making a rest stop along the way. From old days, when they sailed trading boats from Honshu-mainland to Hokkaido, Otaru played important roles as the center of trade or commerce, not to mention fishery in Hokkaido. Walking along the main streets, you find a charming and nostalgic city filled with historic architecture. Here you will find the old remnant of Otaru s major industry, glassware shops. Glass buoys were used to light up fishing boats at night to attract herrings. A glass industry flourished in Otaru to support the herring trade. When the herring fishing industry declined in the 1950s, the makers of glass buoys diverted their business to produce refined glassware, as the demand for buoys plunged. The result today are numerous glass shops, which now carter mainly to souvenir hungry tourists. If you think that blown glassware is only made in Venice, then you are wrong. The city is renowned for its glassworks, music boxes, and sweet shops that can be found lining Sakaimachi Street. As you near the end of Sakaimachi Street, look and listen when you come to the vintage steam clock at the front of the charming Music Box Museum. The nostalgic atmosphere inside the main building of the museum takes you back in time. The museum houses almost 15,000 music boxes, ranging from matchbox sized souvenirs to precisely tuned masterpieces. The Music Box Museum has something for everybody, from The Beatles to the latest J-pop hits. We will enjoy a hands-on music box making experience. Another must stop is at the Kitaichi Glass Shop where you can enjoy looking and shopping for beautiful glassware. How about making glassware on your own with the help of the artisans? Another famous landmark in Otaru is the Kitakaro confectionary shop. The cake and confectionery store is a popular stop for tourists and locals alike. There is a cult like following of its famous honeyed wheeled layered cakes and there are good reasons why. The layered cakes are delicate and the honey flavored intense, but not too sweet. Sit and enjoy at the small café right in the store. Coffee, tea, and ice cream are also available. The remainder of the day is free in this lovely town. Enjoy a leisurely lunch at one of many restaurants just steps away. Otaru is well known for its beer, and Otaru Beer, next to the canal, is a popular restaurant with a medieval Germanic theme. If sushi is more to your liking, a stroll down to Sushi-dori Street is well worth your time. You will find a collection of some 20 sushi restaurants.
Now, off our final sake brewery visit, The Tanaka Sake Brewery Kikkougura, the factory of Tanaka Sake Brewery, the most famous local sake brewery in Otaru. From here, to our hotel, the Grand Park Otaru Hotel, overlooking Ishikari Bay and the Otaru Marina. Ideally located, just a few minutes walk to the JR Otaruchikkou Station. The Wing Bay Mall, one of the largest in Hokkaido is right by the hotel. Our arrival will be by 3:45pm and the remainder of the afternoon and evening is free. Hotel Lobby Views overlooking the Otaru Marina Accommodations: Grand Park Otaru Hotel Free Day 5 May 29 th, 2019 Wednesday Otaru-Sapporo (B) After breakfast, please meet your guide in the lobby by 9:00am. It may be our last day on tour, but we will have much to see and do before our flight home later this evening. The morning begins with a visit at the Shiroi Koibito Park, a theme park by Ishiya, a local chocolate company. The company s flagship product is the Shiroi Koibito cookie, which consists of two thin butter cookies and a layer of white chocolate in between. It is one of the most famous souvenirs from Hokkaido. The park consists of a free area with a shop, cafe and restaurant and a paid area with various chocolate related exhibits and, most interestingly, a few large windows through which you can observe the cookie production process in the factory. Shiroi Koibito Park
From here, some last-minute shopping and time for lunch on your own at the AEON Mall Sapporo. Next up, a fun visit to the Sapporo Beer Factory Hokkaido for a tour of their facilities and tastings after. As we make our way to Chitose Airport, one last touring spot, the Chitose Salmon Aquarium. Here you can observe salmon and a variety of other freshwater fish in the northern ecosystem. Peer inside the Chitose river in Japan s first underwater observation room, which becomes packed with salmon pressed up against the glass as they migrate upstream from September to October. In winter, you can observe their spawning period. Each season in Chitose River brings a different underwater world to enjoy, with juvenile salmon in the spring before they leave for the ocean, and freshwater fish like yamabe trout and Japanese dace in the summer. Chitose City has undertaken the task of hatching and raising salmon since the early Meiji Period, and has set up a fish wheel behind the aquarium to capture adult fish during the salmon run. Large numbers of people visit to get a glance at the dynamic scene created by the salmon collection, during which as many as 30,000 fish can be captured on a plentiful day. Now off to the Chitose Airport to begin the check-in process. Arrival will be at approximately 4:45pm. Hawaiian Airlines #442 Departs Chitose 7:45 pm Arrive Honolulu 8:25 am