Family Trip to Hokkaido September 2023

I am currently in between jobs. Before my new job begins in November, I seized the opportunity to go for a family trip to Hokkaido. We drove from New Chitose Airport, to Sapporo (where Sapporo beer is made), Otaru, Hakaodte and back to New Chitose Airport.

It is almost a guarantee that the food is good in Hokkaido. We had a “not so authentic" 成吉思汗羊肉 - where I ordered the cheaper version of beef and got complained by my dad. The real 成吉思汗羊肉 in another shop is incredibly tasty that I will remember it for a very long time. Sashimi for breakfast. Barbecue beef, grilled scallops, squid and ramen at a local shop. Skewers (串燒) my mum found in youtube. Shabushabu. And even deer and wild ducks. Of course, there are daily late night snacks with honey melon and sashimi, again. That's a lot of food.

We did do something else other than eating. We walked 狸小路, which had 150 years of history, with too many pubs. There is a 摩天輪 which helped mum locate the first hotel. We saw trams in Sapporo, and we learnt that there is actually a tower association in Japan. We got a Rirakuma in a shrine (shrines need to make money, right?).

We walked along 小樽運河, a scenic tourist spot, where there are glass shops and a snoopy tea house. The souvenirs are so lovely that even a 30-year-old man could not resist the temptation to buy some stickers.

洞爺湖 is one of the "three views in Hokkaido”. I had difficulties finding online what are the other two scenes though.

We took the cable car to enjoy the amazing night view at Hakaodte (函館) (my dad went along after some persuasion). There is a 文青 spot, where red storage rooms were used to sell fancy goods. And a lot of churches. It is packed for the 6-day trip.

My parents took me to places while I was a kid, and I was a difficult kid to travel with. They have given me the chance to see the world and forming my own perspective. I would like to do the same for them. I don't think I could ever bring them to the amount of trips which they brought me to and give them the attention they have given me. But I would like to try while we could all enjoy what the world offers.

Strangely, I realised that there is time when I would still like to rely on them. The car we drove had some strange cracks on a bumpy street on the way to dinner. My first response was to seek help from my dad (who is a much more experienced driver than I am, even though I am spotting a lot of his bad driving habits in this trip). I guess we still have to rely on one another at times.

Soon, my entire family and Dobby will do a round the island trip in Taiwan. Experiencing the world with people you love - seriously, there is not much else to ask for.