STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 24

FEBRUARY 9

Otaru is officially my favorite place in Hokkaido. It takes just about an hour to get from Sapporo to Otaru by train, but part of the train ride itself is its own reward. After passing through many small towns the scenery opens up. Snow covered mountains line the horizon with a screen of black pine trees painted over them. Tall mountainous cliffs of snow supported by an inclined support of logs also line part of the rail way. Across from that, to the right of the train, there is suddenly a lake. Dark blue and black, the kind of lake you expect to see some marvelous creature come forth in the breaks of the white waves. But the lake is silent, as another strong black mountain watches over it waters.

Though Otaru is a relatively famous town, it’s a station you can only access on the local line. The station itself is simple, and small, unlike the colossus of the big city stations. We left the station with little knowledge of the area, but there was a sign that pointed to the waterside. Once we reached the waterside, we were surprised that there was little signage regarding the Otaru Music Box Museum.

My senses suggested we head North, or at least what seemed like North. In any case, we followed the road with the water to our right side until we came upon a more populated area in town. There, spread before us like a little Dutch town, stood the Music Box museums. We entered the first building in front of the clock tower as we searched for a place to build our own music boxes. The first building was a museum, a clean cut look into the history of the music boxes. There, we found out that there was five other buildings on the area map that were part of the museums. At each building, you could receive a stamp, so we picked up another mission of finding all the stamps.

We left the quite museum just as the clock tower outside the building rung its hour. Not only did music play, but steam rose from the tower and a couple little figures danced around the clock. It was very popular with the tourists, so we all tried to take our pictures amongst the crowd before heading to the next stop on the map. I say next stop, but really we were free to go anywhere.

(Otaro Orgel Museum)

The second building was small, built into a storefront along the street. It was also a little gaudy, decorated with many Victorian style furniture, crystals and tapestries. The pieces in this building, which was part museum, and part store, varied in value, unlike the top dollar pieces of true history in the first museum. There was, however, a very large organ style music box. It still functioned and it would be played once or twice a day with a little puppet show. This was also our first glimpse at the modern music boxes to come. No longer where they classic box shapes, but it seemed as though anything and everything could be made into a music “box”. They looked more like jewelry, or toys than anything.

From that store, we decided to walk up the street, away from the Music Box Museum, in search of lunch. There was one store we were looking for in particular: Kita no ice, an ice cream shop famous for its unique flavors, such as squid ink. With Joy’s GPS we wandered up the streets, passing more interesting shops on the way which we promised to go back to. Eventually we entered what looked like the downtown area of the city, with buses and taxis lining the intersections. A couple blocks into the city, we turned onto a small side road that looked like a snowed out alleyway. There it was, hidden in the back streets of Otaru, with snow up to its doors and a sign that said closed until April. Our quest was in vain.

It was unfortunate, but we were still determined about two things, to find a quick cheap lunch, and some ice cream. As we headed back toward the Music Box museums, we grabbed some chicken from a place called Naruto, which was famous for serving its hanshinage chicken, literally half a chicken, during lunch. We only grabbed some cups of fried chicken nuggets to go. The various treasure shops along the road back finally pulled us in. From Native arts, crafted with animal skins and stone, to the commercialized mass of souvenir goods, we perused everything and bought little. I had bought a few things for omiyage, including some chocolate from LeTAO. They gave us free samples at the door, so how could we not buy a small box or two? The box I bought was half milk, half green tea-flavored chocolate, and I intend to give it to the international center when we return to Nagoya.

 

As we wandered we finally came upon the largest building among the Music Box Museums, and it seemed even bigger on the inside. Three massive floors filled with countless music boxes. It was there that we could craft our own music box at a reasonable price by choosing from several pieces of music, and two or three decorations, including the box cover. Rachael was overjoyed with the idea, so she built two or three boxes herself, and then she also bought a few pre-made ones as well. Joy also bought a couple to give to her family. I was tempted… My grandmother would have loved a music box, I thought. There was also small carousels that reminded me of the large set at my grandmother’s house that I used to love when I was little. I’m not sure what happened to it, but since recently we are in a state of cleaning out all the extra trinkets from her house, I decided against adding to the mess. At least not this time; should I ever come back to Otaru, I think I will have to make a few purchases for my family as well.

(Music box pieces for your own creations)

I thought I was handling my wallet well that day, but then we came upon the Character House. It wasn’t just a music box store, though there were a few music boxes there. The two floors of the store were spotted with character goods, from Hello Kitty to Disney, to Studio Ghibli and beyond. I was immediately drawn to the Disney section. Among the goods, were some very well-crafted stuffed dolls, blankets and figurines; I had never seen these items in the Disney Stores. They were definitely a different tier. In the end, I bought myself a stuffed Tigger doll and small warm blanket with Classic Pooh and Piglet.

With my craving to buy something cured it was now time to find the last stamp. We had to backtrack up the street to some tiny high-class jewelry stops to find them, but on the way back towards the station we also found ice cream… twice. Both stores offered unique Hokkaido flavors, and in the second location we were able to sit in and out of the cold. It was a long day, but as many good days do, it ended with a sweet treat before a long ride back to Sapporo and the semi-comfort of our shared bed.

FEBRUARY 10

This morning we ventured out to visit Hokkaido University. It wasn’t that far from the station, so we walked. All of us were jealous of the large campus; it was like a small town. We didn’t venture into any of the buildings, but instead we played around in the snow to the point that we became soaked and cold. This snowman with the interesting growth greeted us as we left the university grounds and headed back towards downtown Sapporo.

Much of the afternoon was dedicated to one thing: a search for a Snow Miku doll. This doll’s design changes every year with the new snow festival, so it’s a somewhat rare commodity. When we arrived in Sapporo there had been plenty of these dolls in the souvenir stands and at the convenient stores. I received word from one of my friends asking to buy him one, so I tried. Had I gone out last night to buy it, I could have gotten one of the last dolls, but this morning they were all gone. As Joy and Rachael went back to take pictures of the snow sculptures, I went to every convenience store and goods stand I could find. In the end, I bought him a few items with the same character on them, like a keychain and a muffler.

That little purchase left me with little money, but I was determined to last the next three days off the 8000 yen in my wallet. I haven’t bought nearly half of my souvenirs yet, so I assume that’s where my money will disappear.

Tonight, however, we were lucky enough to be mostly treated to dinner. A friend of Rachael’s, whom she met in Hawaii, invited us out to dinner with a couple of her friends. This woman, Shuko, was a bit older than us, but she was very fit for her age (she’s a marathon runner). She was also a very open person who loved to have a good time, so we all had a great evening thanks to her. At the end of the night, since it was already drawing on midnight, she offered to let us stay in her room at the hotel…The Hotel Okura. We insistently declined, but she showed us her room anyway— it was huge! The bathroom was probably the size of our single room. She laughed when we told her about our sleeping situation, but we couldn’t bring it upon ourselves to take her up on her offer. With only the slightest regret, we headed back to our little, homey room for a good rest.

FEBRUARY 11

We’re starting to get tired of the cold. That and we are trying to save up our money. Tonight we made plans again to meet with Shuko for dinner at an Italian Restaurant with another small group of friends. We slept in late, lazed around our bed, and killed time in the warm room before we went out to find the restaurant called Osteria Yoshie. Shuko taught me the location of the place the night before; it was at South-1 and East-3 Street. That’s where we headed, but as we looked along the street for some beaming light with the restaurant’s name lit across it we found nothing. As the meeting time came closer, we called Shuko to confirm the location. She told us to wait till she got there, and that it was on the first floor of a building. Turns out we were standing practically right in front of the building all long: it was tucked away on the first floor of another building with no restaurant relation whatsoever.

The dishes were very delicious, but unfortunately a bit on the small side. Many of the dishes were to be shared amongst the table, and they continued to come out like a course meal. I don’t mind sharing, but it’s always hard when it comes down to the last bits of food. A lot of our conversation with the new group was “Would you like the last of this or that?” Last night I was able to speak with Shuko and her group more directly, but tonight we seemed separate from them. Thankfully, Joy, Rachael and I were all in the same boat— we just enjoyed our food and the new atmosphere. Tomorrow is our last full day in Sapporo.

FEBRUARY 12

Souvenir time! We walked around the city all day, buying little treats for people here and there. I found a great discount bag full of what looks like hard candies in apple, milk, and melon flavors. Then, of course, we each had to by some Koibito, a famous Hokkaido cookie with creamy chocolate sandwiched between the thin wafers. All the shopping is done, all the money that can be spent is gone. Now I’m down to 3000 yen, which should be enough to get my back to Nagoya.

FEBRUARY 13

Our flight wasn’t until the late afternoon, so we had plenty of time in the morning to pack up our bags. Even though I thought my huge orange duffel was too big for the trip at first, it came in handy when packing in other people’s omiyage as well. We actually had too many bags when we arrived at the airport and we needed to check an extra one.

But we made it! We’re finally heading home! Back to Aichi, back to Nagoya! Back to a mild winter with no snow, a bed to ourselves, clean laundry, and let’s not forget curry! After we get back tonight it’s already been decided that we are going to meet with the other students for curry.

FEBRUARY 14

First day back in Nagoya and it snows, what luck.

I didn’t realize it was snow at first because it came out of nowhere as I was returning home from my run. I honestly thought a bird had suddenly pooped on me. But, no, it was snow. The flakes were large and fluffy, but soon there was quite a bit falling in the streets. At one point it stopped, which was when I decided to go out grocery shopping. And then again! A huge snow flake attacked me— I really thought it was bird poop again.

A heavier snow persisted this time, but I hurried to the sanctuary of MaxValu, only to find it was closed: under construction, or reformation. Half of the building, where the hayku-en shop and Elpas shoe store had been was now torn down. Not only that, but it wold be closed until the beginning of March! I had to double back and stop at the little grocer on the way home for some essentials. I guess this month we’ll be shopping at Aoki Supermarket or Piago.

Above all that, it was Valentine’s Day today, and this was the kind of luck I had. I also had training down in Toyohashi with the three high school boys. I gave them and my host family chocolates from Hokkaido in part as omiyage, and also for Valentine’s Day. In Japan, it’s customary for the girls to give chocolate to their male interests, coworkers, family members, etc. Then, a month later on March 14th, White’s Day, the men reciprocate with a gift, or candy.

It was a strange day indeed.

FEBRUARY 15

Today I spent most of the day delivering omiyage to our landlords, and to my friends… I found out that the big bag of candy was actually not hard candies. They were delicious, mouthwatering chews~ I wish I had kept some for myself!

I also delivered the chocolate to the International Center. They accepted them, but told me not to bring them stuff in the future during my time as a student. I could give gifts to the teachers directly, but there was a rule against receiving gifts from students as an office. I couldn’t quite understand why, since it was not like I was bargaining anything out of them. I guess they don’t want us to worry about spending our money on them— but isn’t part of the study abroad participating in new customs? I guess I’ll just prepare to give my omiyage directly to the teachers next time.