i did manage to fly off to hokkaido during february. loved the place, it was still winter. snow was around, air was crisp. although the trip was a work trip, was still quite happy that i got the chance to visit japan, after what, 5? 6 years. this time round, i was heading for the north. the most northern island of japan, hokkaido. take a look at the pics!
how sweet the JAL team is.
this is kansai intl airport, osaka. had to do a domestic transfer from here. had two hours to while away so i went around. leaves had fallen from the trees and the temperature was about 8deg.
japan, land of the vending machines.
off i was, to hokkaido in a plane. halfway there, i realised we were passing by mountains, you can see snow and clouds, all mashed into one.
hurrah, arrived!
seafood pasta, my first lunch.
with the sun, it feels nice and cozy, even out in the open.
this is the city view of sapporo, just an hour away from the airport.
the previous night, they had a great deal of snowfall.
nightview of sapporo, from mt. moiwa. beautiful.
mt. moiwa, 531.03m. snowfall!
hokkaido styled, 'genghis khan' bbq. yummy lamb, locally grown potatoes (fav!)
the next morning, woke up to a white city, another blanket of snow had fallen during the night.
visited the ski jump. was used in the winter olympics. oh no, we didnt get to try though.
this is the famous ishiya chocolate factory. just like charlie and the choc factory, this place has a museum on choc and its history. they allow people to tour the place, see how their stuff are being made and at the end of it, you could buy the yummy stuff too!
shiroi-koibito, or also known as white lovers' chocolate. absolutely delicious.
they have cakes too!
lunch. 
by evening time, we reached jozankei hot springs. a little hot spring town. this is the view from my room, more snow. 
absolutely an art. dinner.
lake toya
yummy snowman
real snowmen
otaru gleaming festival, candles. 
back in osaka. transit time of 2hours, so went speed shopping.
they call it premium outlet. similiar to factory outlets but little more posh.
back on the plane.
if you, want to look at more pictures, come here
