Sapporo

What a fabulous day!  We took a nice bus ride through beautiful country for about 1 1/2 hrs to Sapporo.  It was rolling hills, lots of trees and farmland with views of the coast.  We had one potty stop with fairly normal toilets with lots of buttons.  We were warned not to press the buttons, but who could resist a hot seat and a little music? 

It clouded up and started to rain just before we got to Sapporo.  We headed to a handcraft/fiber shop that was wonderful. I could have spent the day there.  The website is Mariya.com.  Such nice people, beautiful things, and great displays on two floors.  I took lots of photos.

We headed to an underground mall when we left the shop because it was still raining.  Because of so much snow here, there is a lot that goes on underground such as connected malls.  The shops were very trendy and beautiful to see.  Brian was ready for some Sapporo beer so we had lunch and beer.  (Couldn't find the yakitori, Michael)

When we went back up to street level, the rain had stopped and we walked the full length of the park which I think is 1.5 miles.  They were celebrating Autumn Fest so there was lots of food, beer and music.  I finally found the yakitori (chicken on a skewer) and lots of varieties of ramen.  Everyone was having lots of fun, including the teens doing their group dances in the park.  It was a great place to people watch and see some funky outfits.

We finally headed back to Muroran and the ship.  The local kids did a wonderful send off with dances and then there was a lot of back and forth yelling of sayonara.  Great fun.  (Our room steward brought us a bottle of champagne.  We could get used to this.)

Today we are at sea.  It is about 65, sunny and smooth.  Perfect day for cruising.  Tomorrow - Vladivostok.

Betty