The real winter wonderland - Hokkaido

I feel like a real, 100%, all-japanese, native - I just had my first long weekend 'up north' which coincided with my attendence of the most famous festival in Japan. So i here i am, a bonafide citizen of the island nation. And now i see what i've been missing all this time - Hokkaido is the gem of Japan. An island complete with the only real winter season in Japan, the fifth biggest city in the country, the finest and most popular breweries in all of Southeast Asia (at least according to the Japanese), a host of seafood delicacies, the mecca of Japanese dairy (we're talking milk, cheese, chocolate [if that's dairy], ice cream, and CHEESECAKE!!!), and so much more.

So i headed to Hokkaido with 6 friends to explore the island, the city of Sapporo, and experience the Yuki Matsuri. We spent the first day aweing at the snow and ice sculptures of everything from cartoon characters like Doraemon and Sponge-bob to the Hikone Castle and Imperial Palace. There was even a whole section of sculptures either made by or in honor of other countries (i'm not so sure). Then there were the brewery tours, the ferris wheel ride, the hokkaido specialty cuisine (Ghenkis Khan, grilled lamb stuff; crab; shrimp; and more), the good coffee, the CENTRAL HEATING, the falling snow, the beautiful town of Otaru, the snowball fights, the train rides, the nomihodais and tabehodais, the free samples in the airport, the shopping, and the fun time with friends.

Let's see if these picture things work...