Tsukisamu and Makonomai

Saturday we went shopping for a sunhat for Miss Elisabeth. We had big plans to take advantage of the great weather (sunny, warm, gorgeous!) and go for a picnic at a park but first we wanted a sunhat, sunscreen, and a picnic blanket. Off we went first thing in the morning. 

Sunscreen was easy, we found that at the pharmacy across the street. Then we took the subway down to Sapporo station, since Kevin found a Hello Kitty store in Apia, the underground shopping mall there. 

The Hello Kitty store was great, but unfortunately no sunhats. :( We didn't buy anything else there either. So off we went around Apia, looking for more stores that could sell a baby sunhat. We ended up walking around all of Sapporo station and the numerous stores and shopping malls. There's actually a couple attached: the underground Apia and then the connecting ESTA mall. I'm pretty sure it's split into more shopping bits, but those are the two big names anyway. They have a lot of stuff, Bic Camera, the Gap, Daimaru, etc etc etc. There's even a Cath Kidston store where I wished I had about 80e to drop on a canvas tote. (Hahahahhahaah). 

We ended up spending so much time looking for a sunhat and not finding one, that we decided to fudge it and go to Ario (the mall we discovered by chance that had the Toys R Us) because we KNEW there were tons of kid's clothing stores there. So off we went in the warm sun to Ario, on foot like usual. 

We got a little turned around but fortunately we found it! YAY! 

We did indeed find a sunhat. No picnic blanket though. :( And we spent ALL day there. Yeah, we went through the whole mall and had so much fun perusing that we ended up leaving at about 5 pm! 

So much for picnics...

So we woke up Sunday morning rearing to go and enjoy the weather... well, it was an overcast day. Go figure! We decided to go ahead and picnic anyway since we missed out the day before and after much debate, we decided to go to Seiyu for some quick sushi and then to Tsukisamu park which is relatively close by. 

Elisabeth was so mad that she had to wear a hat and shoes. She hates them both and we spent the whole day putting them back on after she pulled them off. She's always barefoot because she pulls her socks off too immediately. 

 

We found the park and ate our lunch (starving by then of course!) and then kind of bummed that the park wasn't bigger, we took our sleeping Elisabeth away from the noisy park (lots of kids), and headed out for plan B, Makonomai park. 

Giant slides!

 

Blooming azaleas everywhere.

 

Primroses :)

 

We decided to walk to minami hiragishi station since it was equal distance on Kevin's map to hiragishi station (1.6km) and along the way we found a gorgeous park tucked away between buildings in a neighborhood. The views were breathtaking and you could see as far as the TV tower in Odori park! Gorgeous! We spent a while here admiring the views and such since it was the perfect little hidden gem of a park and the kind of place we wished we had eaten lunch at! 

When we finally made it to minami hiragishi we debated whether or not we should just walk home or if we should catch the next train south to Makomanai. In the name of adventure we decided to just go for it and I'm glad we did! The park itself is the whole area and there are three paths you can take. We decided to just walk in direction of the river and see what we find. The bridge was inviting and I'm so glad we went on it! 

Gorgeous views of Toyohira river. Everything is really turning green now, I love it!

We got on to the sidewalk along the river with the intention to just walk a little bit... well we ended up walking the whole way home along the river! I'm so glad we did, we saw lots of cool things along the way and the mountain views were just gorgeous. We saw our local Mt Moiwa from a different angle and generally, we were just closer to the mountains south of us that I always admire on my walks. 

Sister, this railing along the road made me think of you!!

 

A (free) water park for kids, empty at the moment but definitely going to have to get a bathing suit for Elisabeth this summer!

 

Compare this view to this blog post on April 8th. :)

 

Once we got home, we were sooooo tired. Kevin calculated that we walked roughly 11+ km (6.8 miles) that day. He made miso ramen for dinner and then we were out like lights! :) Great weekend once again!

Grocery shopping in Sapporo

We have a three grocery stores in our area: Max Value (which is right at the Nakanoshima subway station and not stroller friendly), Co-Op down our street, and Seiyu (on Hiragishi dori).

Alueella on kolme ruokakauppa: max value (metroaseman vieressä), co-op (samalla kadulla) ja kauempana on Seiyu. 

We do our immediate needs shopping at the first two, but our big meal planning shopping at the Seiyu. The reason being, that the first two have a decent selection but Seiyu beats them out in both selection and price. 

Seiyussa teemme suurempia ostoksia, sillä siellä on paremmat valikoimat ja halvemmat hinnat. Toisista ostamme vain kiireessä ja päivittäistavarat esim. maitoa.
 
(After doing some googling by the by, I found out that Seiyu is actually a part of the Walmart big corporate thing. I don't know if I feel like this is a good or a bad thing, but whatevers!)

(on our walk home)

The other thing that I like a lot about Seiyu vs the others, is that there are two more floors of clothing and home stuff (a la walmart style), so if we need something (say, hangers), we can grab them there too. 

One stop shopping: the best.

Seiyusta saa myös muutakin tavaraa: kotijuttuja, vaatteita ym.
 

They also carry baby items, which most grocery stores don't. In fact, formula (if we fed her that), baby food (if she would eat it) etc can usually only be found in drug stores! I don't know if this is the case in some giant supermarkets (we've yet to see one), but it's kind of annoying that if I want to grab her some snacks that I have to make two stops. 

Also, our smaller grocery stores don't seem to carry all sizes or brands of diapers, wipes etc. Super irritating.

Täällä ostetaan yleensä vauvajutut esim. korviketta, vauvanruokaa jne apteekeista! Ei asia meitä kauheasti ole vaivanut, koska eihän toi tyttö ole koskaan kumpaakaan ottanut, mutta onhan se varmaan rasittavaa japanilaisten äitien mielestä käydä erikseen toisessa kaupassa. Vaippavalikoima pienissä ruokakaupoissa on huonoa, yleensä vain pari merkkiä tai yhtä kokoa. Seiyusta saa kaikkea niin senkin takia tykkään käydä siellä.

So on to what we bought.

Our meal planning this week was this:

pork curry donburi

ginger pork shogayaki

miso ramen

(beef) yakisoba (one of my favorites)

Tofu-veggie stir fry

Some meatballs for Elisabeth 

Eggs and bacon for Easter breakfast

Salmon dip ingredients for an appetizer to bring to the BBQ

Ostoslistalla siis tarvikkeet yllämainituille. Alhaalla sitten mitä ostettiin. 

This is what we came home with:

The Libero diapers we brought with us are running out, so time to try some Japanese Pampers. We also ran out of wipes, so I did some research and found out how to look for alcohol and paraben free wipes.

Elisabeth WILL NOT eat baby food, so the only "for baby" items we buy for her are these snacky foods that she gets at home or when we are out and about around town.

Liberovaipat loppuu, Pampersit tilalle. Myös Liberon wet wipesit loppumassa, uudet tilalle! Löysin blogin, jossa kerrotaan miten ostaa alkoholittomia jne niin helpotti ostospäätöstä, kun osasi oikeita sanoja etsiä paketista. Sitten myös vauvanaksu-keksejä vauvoille. Näistä Elisabeth tykkää ja ne on helppoja ottaa mukaan kaupungille! 

We picked up lunch since we were starving at this point. All this sushi for only 284 yen and 378 yen. So we had a sushi lunch that was amazing good (blows US and Finnish sushi outta the water) for only 652 yen, we had a sushi lunch. That's about $6.52 and even less in euros. Woot!?

N. 5 eurolla saatiin sushilounaan. Maistui paremmalle kuin Suomen ja USA:n sushit yhteensä ja oli vain ruokakauppatavaraa. 

Our meat products: bacon, pork, pork belly, pork for ramen, beef, salmon, ground chicken and in the middle naruto (a fish cake) for ramen. 

Lihatuotteet: pekonia, possua, possua, possua (rameniin), naudanlihaa, lohta, kanan jauheliha ja naruto keskellä (joka on siis öö kalajuttua jota laitetaan ramenin päälle).
 

Dairy/protein: Tofu, eggs, milk, yogurt (hopefully not as sweet as others we've tried), cream cheese

(what's up great value brand lol)

 Maitotuotteet ym: tofu (joo ei ole maitotuote), kananmunia, maitoa, jogurttia (toivottavasti ei yhtä makeaa kuin muut jota ollaan kokeiltu!), tuorejuustoa.

Our plastic wrapped produce: tomatoes, onion, carrots, maitake mushrooms, ginger, bean sprouts, cucumber, potatoes, shredded cabbage.

The tomatoes are about $2.85, onions, carrots and potatoes were about $1.85, the three little cucumbers were about $1.50, the bag of cabbage was about $1.00. The cheapest items were the mushrooms 67 yen each ($0.67) and the bean sprouts at 26 yen ($0.26). 

 Muoviin pakatut vihannekset: tomaattia, sipulia, porkkanaa, maitake-sieniä, inkivääriä, pavun ituja, japanilaista kurkkua, perunaa, kaaliraaste.

To me, the price of carrots, onions, and potatoes is crazy. Teeny weeny bags for way more than I'd ever spend in Finland. That's the difference I guess in cuisine as well though? Finns eat a lot of potatoes! 

Hinnoiltaan tomaatit voi verrata Suomeen, mutta kalliimmat ovat perunat, sipulit ja porkkanat. Prismassa saa kyllä enemmän kuin kilo perunoita reiluun euroon! Me saatiin 5 pientä perunaa. :D
Halvempia ovat sienet (reilusti alle euron) ja idut, jotka ois Suomessa ollut niin halpoja, ettei kukaan uskaltaisi ostaa, kun niissä on varmaan vikaa. ;) 

The fruit section here is also very limited in my opinion. Apples and oranges are easily $1.00 or more EACH and a small bag of them is about $5.00. Crazy! I have yet to see pears or much else. We do buy bananas however (just not this time), and they're more affordable at about $2 for a little bag. 

We also had at home already some garlic, which is about $2 for a few heads. 

Hedelmät ovat ihan hullun kallita täällä, eikä valikoima yleensä ole parempi kuin banaani, omena ja appelsiini. 

Pantry and other items: 

Banana chips, chocolate cookies (I'm obsessed with this brand, they have so many flavors and I love them with my naptime coffee), sugar (we haven't bought any yet!), wasabi, prunes (Elisabeth needs them!), bread, corn (for ramen), fresh ramen (that go in the fridge), sesame oil,  and green onions (because I forgot them in the picture above ugh).

The bread here comes in small bags (only 5-6 slices) and is ginormous and THICK. You can however also buy a small loaf and cut it yourself, but we don't eat that much bread, just with breakfast a couple times a week, so this suits us fine. 

They also ONLY seems to sell super white bread. :P It's delicious but not nutritious. Oh well...

Muut ostokset:
Banaanilastuja, suklaakeksejä (kahvin kanssa nam!), sokeria (ei olla ostettu vielä), wasabi-tahnaa, luumuja Elisabethille, leipää, maissia (rameniin), itse ramen-nuudeleita (jääkaappitavaraa), seesamiöljy ja edellisestä kuvasta unohtuneet kevätsipulipussit. 
Leipävalikoima on rajoittunut vaaleaan leipään. Vaaleampaa kuin ranskanleipää! Pienissä pusseissa on vain 5-6 siivua, mutta siivut täällä ovat ainakin 3cm paksut ja puolet isompia kuin Suomessa. Saa toki ihan kokonaistakin leipää ostaa, mutta ei me tota pullaa usein syödä niin ollaan hyllylle jätetty. 
 

We have a teeny-weeny fridge, so here's a shot of what's in it. :D 

Pieneen jääkaappiin kyllä mahtuu...

Top shelf: Eggs, yogurt, mushrooms, ramen, leftovers, butter

Middle shelf: meat, ramen, cucumbers, leftover rice, meat, bacon (hidden in back, miso)

Bottom: potatoes, bean sprouts, leftover spinach, carrots, salad dressing, yakisoba sauce, soy sauce, green onions

Door top: baby food that needs to get tossed since Elisabeth didn't like it, condiments for rice, cream cheese, Japanese mustard, ginger, curry roux cubes. 

Door bottom: Sapporo Classic (only found in Sapporo), milk, green tea (Kevin loves it!)

Ylähyllyllä: kananmunia, jogurttia, sieniä, ramenia, edellisen illan ruuat, voita
Keskihyllyllä: lihaa, ramenia, kurkkua, keitettyä riisiä, lihaa, pekonia ja piillossa takana misoa.
Alahyllyllä: perunoita, ituja, pinaattia, porkkanoita, salaatinkastike, yakisoba-kastiketta, soijaa, kevätsipulia
Ovessa ylhäällä: roskiin menevää vauvanruokaa, riisin mausteita, tuorejuustoa, inkivääriä, japanlaista sinappia, curry-kastikekuutioita
Alhaalla ovessa: Sapporo Classic olutta (saatavilla vain Sapporossa), maitoa, vihreä teetä. 

Time to get ready for our party so I'm gonna have to end it here! 

Be back soon hopefully! :)

Lupaan kääntää myöhemmin! Pian alkavat grillipippalot alakerrassa! :)

This week's recap

Wow, this week flew by! 

Just another regular week here. Elisabeth took some great naps earlier (3+ hours!) and I took advantage of my alone time by spending it on pinterest (lol), drinking LOOOOOOOTS of coffee, learning more Japanese, and crocheting!

Highlights of this week:

On Monday, I did laundry. It took LITERALLY ALL DAY to do it. I had two loads going, one without a dry cycle (it's a 2-in-1 machine) and one with. The without one (Kevin's shirts) took a few hours to wash (no friggin' quick cycle?!), and the one with...oh, I don't know. 

Like seriously, I lost count. 

I started it sometime early afternoon, maybe noonish? It wasn't done till like after 6 pm. Oh, but they were still wet... so I split the load and put it into two machines and set the dry cycle. Ummm it went until sometime in the morning when Kevin went and got it. I dread doing laundry now! Every time it's something new with those machines. GRR!

I thought these appliances were supposed to make our lives easier? It really makes me miss my fantastic beautiful 7kg Samsung washer at home, complete with a quick cycle that washes in 1h 6min. It even sings when it's done! ♥ Oh, and our dryer downstairs... ONE hour! ONE! ...sigh, these are just some of those homesick things...

Tuesday...I don't even remember what I did Tuesday. Is that bad?

Wednesday, we went to the grocery store and picked up dinner for a couple nights while Kevin was at school. (Tofu stir fry & beef yakisoba) I love going to the grocery store with a plan. We spend MUCH LESS and get MUCH MORE it seems. What's not to love about that?

Thursday and Friday, we did the usual walk around our closest playground (closer than the one I've shown before), it's just 2 little blocks away. :)

On both days Elisabeth decided I was spoiled with long naps and free time and decided I ought to spend more time getting her to sleep than she actually sleeps. Oh fun! I love to meander around the neighborhood for an hour while she sleeps for 30 min...

Saturday, we went grocery shopping in the morning (and bought a ton of stuff) and then in the afternoon, we went downtown to Bic Camera (which is more than cameras) and then walked to find an H&M near Odori park, then came home and made pork curry donburi again and hung out with our neighbors.
(H&M here has some pretty different stuff than Finland!)

Today, we ate a wonderful Easter breakfast (bacon, eggs & toast) and then took a walk again. It's SUPER warm today, very sunny and for once (!) not windy! Perfect weather for our afternoon/evening which will be the building's BBQ! :) It's in celebration of spring as well as a goodbye and welcome party for neighbors (including us!)!
Sounds like fun to see what a Japanese BBQ party is like! :)

I'm going to try to find time (since it didn't happen this week) to blog about some topics and I've even been taking pictures for them and all. Woot?! I've never been a "planning" blogger before, but my how things change.
Upcoming topics I want to blog about:

• what we bought at the grocery store/grocery store info in general
• our neighborhood and the houses here
• our experiences of traveling with a baby -- a first look (since we're not too far into this yet)

Now here's the fun part... tell me what you want me to blog about! :)
Yes, you!
I will do my best to cover the topic if I can!
Just leave a comment on this post, send me a message on facebook/skype/email or whatever social media you know me from!

Can't wait to hear from you!
(otherwise this blog might be a little...boring if it's just about our day to day walks and laundry debacles!)

Who can tell me what bird is in this photo?
Mikä lintu kuvassa? 

Suomeksi melkein sama: 

Viikon alussa Elisabeth nukkui ihanat pitkät päikkärit (3+ tuntia), jolloin sain aikaseksi blogata, juoda liikaa kahvia, virkata ja oleskella netissä. Ihanaa! Viikko menikin tosi nopeasti ihan vaan kotona ollessa.

Maanantaina pesin pyykkiä. Suomessa se on ehkä lempikotityö, täällä se on ehkä kamalin. Siihen menee KOKO PÄIVÄ, eikä ne pyykit edes kuivu (koneet sekä pesee että kuivaa). Koti-ikävää on eniten kun ajattelee 1) elukat ja 2) Samsung pyykinpesukone ♥

Tiistaita en muista... ööö.

Keskiviikkona mentiin ruokakauppaan Elisabethin kans ja ostettiin parin päivän ruuat. Kauppalistan ateriat olivat tofu-vokki ja naudanliha yakisoba (nuudelijuttu). Tätä ei voi englanniksi ilmaista, mutta aina kun syön seuraavana päivänä lounaaksi edellisen illan tofu-vokkia, tulee sana mieleen: riisipöperö. :D 

Torstai ja perjantai meni siihen, että päivän jatkuva tavoite oli saada tytön unille. Haahuilin ympäri lähikatuja aina tunti kerralla ja neiti nukkui makeat 30 minuuttia. On se kivaa meille kaikille kun 7.30-9.00 välillä on vaan 2-3 päikkäriä ja kaikki kestänyt 30min. :P 

Lauantaina käytiin aamulla ruokaostoksilla (ostettiin paljon kaikkea!) ja iltapäivällä keskustassa shoppailemassa Bic Camerassa (joka ei ole vain kamerakauppa) ja sitten H&M:lle. Jossa siis paljon kaikenlaista mitä Suomessa ei ole. Sitten syötiin possu-curry riisikulhoa ja hengailtiin naapureitten kanssa.

Tänään syötiin pääsiäisaamupalan: pekonia, kananmunia ja paahtoleipää ja sitten mentiin "nukutuslenkille". Nyt se parvekkeella nukkuu ja toivon mukaan nukkuu kauankin! Kerrankin ei tuule ja on ihanan lämmin ja aurikoista!

Iltapäivällä alkaa talon grillijuhlat/läksiäiset/tervetuliaiset (?) ja uskon, että se tulee olemaan tosi hauskaa nähdä millaiset japanilaiset grillikekkerit on! :) 

Toivon mukaan saan aikaa lähipäivänä bloggailla lisää. Aiheeksi olen suunnitellut jo (siis en yleensä näitä postauksia suunnittele):

• mitä ostetaan ruokakaupasta/ruokakaupoista yleensäkin infoa
• naapurustoa ja täkäläisten taloista
• kokemuksemme vauvan kanssa matkustamisesta (näin vähän karkeasti, koska olemme vielä alussa asian kanssa)

Mutta, nyt jotain kivaa! Ehdottakaa ihmeessä minulle aiheita, josta haluatte kuulla lisää! Lupaan tehdä parhaani löytää tietoa ja kertomista asiasta! :) 

Minusta vain vähän tuntuu, että blogista saattaa tulla tylsähkö jos on vain meidän arjesta (päiväunista ja pyykistä). ;)

Laittakaa kommenttia tähän tai viestiä facebookiin/skypeen/s-postiin! 

Sunday

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping at Seiyu (a bit of a walk from our house, but they're a bit cheaper with a great selection). We did a little meal planning and picked up stuff for a few meals: pork curry donburi (rice bowl), yakisoba, and tofu meatballs. 

The pork curry was delicious. The Japanese love their curry! We hope to get some more authentic Japanese curry at a restaurant sometime, hopefully soon! It's really different from Indian or Thai curry (we super duper love Thai curries!), it's a darker thicker sauce with (what I think) was a strong white pepper flavor. Here's a short wikipedia article on Japanese curry. 

And the link to the recipe we followed is here: http://justonecookbook.com/recipes/pork-curry-donburi/

That website is a great source of not only recipes, but info about Japanese cooking. Check out the extensive explanations in the pantry section! It's been a lifesaver and helped us a lot to buy the right stuff! 

We picked up some strawberries. They were pretty expensive but just so juicy looking that we decided to treat ourselves. Treat yo' self!

(for those that missed it, it's a Parks and Recreation thing! ;)) 

Thanks to our ice cream challenge, we were able to pick up this box:

I've been studying some hiragana in my free time, so I can with 99% certainty say that it says adzuki on the box. Meaning the red bean that they use in sweets here (like the daifuku!).
The ice cream was really more of a popsicle. It was good but I didn't think it was great. I was hoping it'd be more red bean ice cream type of dessert. Kevin liked it a lot though.

We rounded out the day on skype, walking to what I thought was a grocery store that we haven't been to (it was a drug store), and finally by eating leftovers for dinner. 

The common room was busy last night, we talked a lot with some folks and had a great time! 

Elisabeth is such a popular little muffin here, everyone wanted her to come to them or smile or something! But with a face like this, I can't blame them. I'd be doing the same thing!

A great end to a great weekend! :)

Sunnuntaina kävimme ruokakaupassa. Laitettiin japanilaista curry-possua, oli hyvää!
Ostettiin kalliita, mutta hyviä mansikoita. 
Myös adzuki-papu jäätelötikut mahtuivat kärryyn. 
Skypetettiin, käytiin iltakävelyllä apteekkiin (luulin, että se oli uusi ruokakauppa), syötiin loput curry-possusta ja hengailtiin naapureiden kanssa alakerrassa. Kaikki halusi Elisabethin huomion, mutta ymmärrän et noi kasvot on aika vastustamattoman suloisia! :)

Saturday: Nakajima park, Susukino & Ramen dinner!

We had a really busy and fun Saturday! 

We decided to take advantage of the great (but cold and windy!) weather and walk to Sapporo station. Things didn't go according to plan, but it was still a great walk! 

We headed North up our street to Horohira bridge. It's really close to our subway stop. The views were amazing, it was a really open spot! They even had a large arch so you can get up higher to really take in the view. 

Definitely beautiful! 

I love that it's mountains as far as the eye can see. So different from home. 

Then we walked on to Nakajima park. If you remember, our hotel was at the north end of this park and we mistakenly meandered through a bit of it on our first day. 

We haven't been back since, so it was nice to really walk through it! 

Signs of spring...

...even though many places look like this...

Nakajima park is home to Kitara, a concert hall. (pictured) There's also the museum of literature. (snooze)

What I liked was the beautiful little pond! In the summer months you can rent little rowboats!

After Nakajima park, we walked north through Susukino and to Tanuki-koji (the shopping street, one of many). We looked at some souvenir stores and took in the smells of the restaurants. By this point, Elisabeth woke up and we were pretty hungry, so we didn't make it to Sapporo station as planned. Instead, we went home for a snacky lunch and made dinner plans! 

 (the photos above are all susukino)

(Tanuki-koji is blocks of this!)

We met our friend on Saturday night for some authentic ramen, Hokkaido style with a miso base. Yummmmmm. It was the biggest bowl ever, piping hot, and so so good. I forgot to take a picture though!! I know, I was bummed after I realized it too! :/ 

Elisabeth even tried some of the ramen noodles, she slurped it like a pro. I was a shy slurper, Kevin was not. We had so much fun and it was really a popular local spot -- always a line, all seats at the bar full. And for only 750 yen a bowl (about $7.50), a real deal too! 

After we ate, we went to the Susukino district downtown, known for party spots and bars. We went to an izakaya, a Japanese bar...with Elisabeth! Hahaha, gotta start 'em young. ;) She wasn't the only kid there though, it was more like a pub in a way. They had some food there too, and we actually sat at the bar (vs a booth) and were able to see into the kitchen and watch them cook. Fun! Kevin tried some Japanese whisky, beer, and sake. I had ginger ale and grapefruit juice. :) 

They actually have deals here where you can drink as much as you want for a set price for a set time (i.e. 1200 yen for 2h) if you also purchase some food. Pretty good idea! (especially to purchase food and not just drink unlimited amounts of alcohol, sounds like that could be trouble!) ;) 

It was the latest we've ever stayed out, we weren't home until just after 10 p.m. Wild and crazy, I know!

It was really fun because we got to see the infamous Susukino at night, on a Saturday. It's really known as the fun drinking part of town so seeing some Japanese nightlife was great! 

We saw this on our walk home from the subway station. We actually had just been talking about how little tagging or graffiti you see here... Then we found this in an underpass tunnel. LOLZ!

Miss Muffin has woken up (after an awesome long nap!), so it's downstairs for some lunch for us! I'll try to be back with yesterdays happenings soon :)

Lauantaina käveltiin keskustaan Nakajima-puiston kautta. Mutta ensin pysähdyimme maisemia ihailemaan Horohira-sillalle. Nakajima-puisto oli sulanut paljon siihen verrattuna mitä sinne viimeksi eksyimme. Varmoja kevään merkkejä oli! Ihastuttava pikku lammikko oli jo sulanut ja kesällä voi ilmeisesti vuokrata pieniä soutuveneitä!
Susukinoon käveltiin seuraavaksi. Oli tarkoitus Sapporo asemalle asti kävellä, mutta matka jäi Tanuki-kojiin,  sillä Elisabeth heräsi ja nälkä oli kaikilla. 
Illalla tapasimme yliopistolta kaveria, joka vei meitä paikalliseen ramen ravintolaan. Nam! Oli iso kulho misopohjaista ramenia, pienen possupalasen ja vihannesten kera. Kuvata unohdin, hupsis!
Ruoan jälkeen mentiin vielä lasilliselle izakayaan, eli japanilaiseen pubiin. Täällä siis kaveri kertoi, että harvemmin japanilaiset baarit ovat sellaisia kuin Suomessa. Täällä pidetään pubi/ruokameineingeistä enemmän kuin pimeessä tanssimisesta ja kovasta musiikista. (veikkaan, että hänen käsitys on tullut Fat Lady opiskelijapippaloista Tampereella ollessa, hehehhehe). 
Täällä erikoista baarikulttuurissa oli se, että voi tiettyyn hintaan juoda niin paljon kuin haluaa tiettynä aikana. Esim 12e 2 tuntia. Mutta sitten siinä tarttis ostaa myös pari ruoka-annosta tms. (jos juo ihan rajattomasti pari tuntia niin suosittelisin jotain muuta sinne mahaan kans, käypä idea!)
Oli kiva nähdä Susukino-aluetta lauantai-iltana, oli meno ja meininki siellä! Tultiin kotiin vasta klo 22 jälkeen, mikä on myöhässä meille!!!!! :O 
Oli hauskaa! :)