Japan Diaries 4: Day 510

Day 510: March 26, 2023

Day 510: March 26, 2023

Sunday – Sapporo x Ishikari Road Trip

Team Nicerio goes to Sapporo and Ishikari City
Team Nicerio is off to another weekend road trip

Driving through Sapporo City

First stop: Makomanai Takino Cemetery
First stop: Makomanai Takino Cemetery

Moai Statues of Makomanai Takino Cemetery
Moai Statues of Makomanai Takino Cemetery

Makomanai Takino Cemetery: Hill of the Buddha
Hill of the Buddha 

Stonehenge of Makomanai Takino Cemetery
Stonehenge of Makomanai Takino Cemetery

We started our day early to beat the traffic and reach Sapporo City (札幌市) before the predicted rain. After a smooth day, we first visited Makomanai Takino Cemetery, where we explored the beautifully crafted Moai Statues, the Hill of the Buddha, and Stonehenge. These magnificent statues and sculptures were not only pleasing to the eye but also gave us a glimpse of what the real ones look like, making our dream of visiting them in the future.

Sapporo Salmon Museum
Next stop: Sapporo Salmon Museum

These are but two of the hundreds of fish in the museum
These are but two of the hundreds of fish in the museum

Team Nicerio visits Sapporo Salmon Museum
These are actually rainbow trouts

Next, we visited the Sapporo Salmon Museum, which was more informative than initially thought. The museum had an extensive collection of salmon species and provided an insight into the different salmons found in Hokkaido's pristine rivers and seas.

2nd Street Ishikari
Next: 2nd Street Ishikari

Our next destination was Ishikari City, where we shopped for more baby clothes on 2nd Street Ishikari. I'm happy that there were plenty to choose from as a matter of fact, we stayed in the store for more than an hour.

Last stop for the day: COSTCO Ishikari
Last stop for the day: COSTCO Ishikari

We got our Gold Membership COSTCO cards
We got our Gold Star Membership COSTCO cards

Grocery shopping at COSTCO
Grocery shopping at COSTCO Ishikari

KitKat "For Cafe"
KitKat "For Cafe"

KitKat "Special Assorted"
KitKat "Special Assorted"

These are the things that we bought
These are the things that we bought

We ate our favorite pizza and hotdog before driving back to Rumoi City
We ate our favorite pizza and hotdog before driving back to Rumoi City

Afterward, we visited Costco Ishikari, where we applied for membership and bought groceries for my upcoming birthday celebration. But the unexpected heavy rain forced us to end our grocery shopping early and head back home.

One of the tunnels in Ishikari City
I'm not a big fan of tunnels but during rainy days like today, I love them.

Being on high alert for wildlife crossing the road was difficult for a passenger like me, and the three-and-a-half-hour journey home was exhausting; that’s why I fell asleep when we arrived at Rumoi City.

Our Sapporo x Ishikari Road Trip was an excellent way to enjoy the beauty of Hokkaido while creating lots of fantastic memories. Sadly, my wife's International Driver's License is about to expire, and we are planning one last major road trip next weekend to explore more of Hokkaido. Stay tuned to find out which destination we'll choose!

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 73
Japan Diaries 4: Day 509
Makomanai Takino Cemetery
Location: 2 Takino, Minami Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido 005-0862, Japan

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