Culture Day Mini-Vacation

The national holiday of Culture Day fell on a Friday this year, so we decided to take a mini-vacation to Sapporo. We booked a hotel right along Odori Park in the middle of the city and planned to visit Shiroi Koibito Park and AOAO Aquarium.

We went Shiroi Koibito Park once before (read the blog post here) but the factory tour and restaurants were under renovation so we didn’t get the full experience. Shiroi Koibito white chocolate cookies are famous throughout Japan and are very commonly given as gifts. The chocolate factory tour was cute. There were a couple of rooms with projection mapping presentations that explain the development of chocolate and the factory itself. One of the hallways displayed different antique hot chocolate and tea cups, as well as elaborate tea sets and antique chocolate tins. There is a section of the factory that is open to public viewing and you can watch the cookies and Baumkuchen cakes being made. Next to the viewing area was an interactive section for kids that Baby Bear enjoyed.

It was close to lunch time when we finished the factory tour, so we decided to get some lunch. There are a couple of restaurants at the park, but we wanted to try the curry restaurant. The restaurant was already full so we took a number and then wandered through the public garden area until our table was ready. Baby Bear and I split a plate of butter chicken curry while Papa Bear ordered a cheese covered beef curry, and we all split a plate of french fries. I’m not a huge fan of curry, but the butter chicken curry was very good. It came with a side of marinated and pickled bell peppers that I couldn’t get enough of. After lunch we went to the Chocolate Lounge for dessert. I ordered a tea and dessert set to share, Baby Bear ordered a hot chocolate, and Papa Bear ordered plate of small pancakes and ice cream. The desserts were delicious!! The whole experience was topped off by being seated near the windows with a beautiful view of the mountain side and clock tower. We even got to watch the clock tower performance when it struck the hour.

After dessert we headed down to the gift shop and bought several boxes of cookies and other goodies. Then we took Baby Bear over to the children’s play area called Gulliver Town. Baby Bear is getting a little big for this attraction, but he had fun all the same. It was starting to rain a bit and it was getting close to check in time so we left and headed to our hotel.

When we checked in at our hotel, turns out there was an issue with the room I had books (single room with three beds) and instead they switched us to two rooms next to each other. We let Baby Bear decide who slept where. Luckily it was just for one night but being in two separate rooms was rather inconvenient.

Papa Bear needed a bit of a rest after exploring Shiroi Koibito Park, so Baby Bear and I decided to walk over to the Pokemon Center in Sapporo Station. This was Baby Bear’s first time at a Pokemon Center. I told him to pick out one thing to buy (that wasn’t too expensive) and he wandered around that crowded store for 20 minutes before deciding on a Mew plushy. It was close to dinner time, so I called Papa Bear and had him meet us at Odori Park so we could eat at Bikkuri Donkey, a popular hamburger steak restaurant.

The restaurant was close to the aquarium, so we went straight there after we ate. The AOAO Aquarium was recently opened to the public and located in the upper floors of a shopping mall. It’s small for an aquarium, but it did have some interested exhibits. The first two areas are covered with small tanks that you can move around and get a 360 degree view. The main attractions are on the top floor, a penguin enclosure and jellyfish area. I was glad we went, but in the end I felt it wasn’t worth the expense.

It was late by the time we left the aquarium, and starting to rain, so we headed straight back to the hotel for the night. In the morning we left to go back home.