We’re in Japan 🇯🇵 48 Hours in Sapporo (Ramen, Cherry Blossoms, City tour & Hidden Gems)

We’re in Japan 🇯🇵 48 Hours in Sapporo (Ramen, Cherry Blossoms, City tour & Hidden Gems)

Ohio Gazimus from Saporro, Japan, where we just made it to our sixth continent. After traveling the world for 8 months, which is still crazy to see. Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. We’re about to explore Hokkaido’s capital in just 48 hours. We’re on the hunt for regional foods, visiting our first ever shrine, seeing cherry blossoms in bloom, trying Saporro in Saporro, experiencing vibrant night life, and so much more. All right, back to you, Brandon. And we wanted to start in North Japan to catch the cherry blossoms, which we’ll share later in the video. And we’ll also share some first impressions of Japan. But first, we’re hungry. So, we’re going to go find some food. [Music] For breakfast, we made it to the Nigel Market, which is a big fresh fish food market. And they have these little restaurants that serve a fish breakfast. So, we got two fish bowls that we are going to enjoy. Dude, I’m so pumped for tea. Would you like one? Yeah. One of the reasons why we’re starting with a fishbowl. It’s a popular dish in the Saporro and Hikido region. And this place is so cute. They give us green tea, which it’s kind of cold outside still. So, I’m actually excited for this. Great way to start the morning. And I started off with a fish salmon bowl, which looks like just rice, a little bit of veggies, and salmon. I’m honestly just like loving every second of this. Look at that. It’s warm. It’s steamy. It’s the little things. The salmon on there honestly tastes so fresh. Just like melts in your mouth. This is a great breakfast. I can get behind this. And I got a blue fin tuna. That’s delicious. Does it melt in your mouth, too? Yeah. We should have this more for breakfast. Let’s dig in. [Music] Well, that was a great way to start the morning. And now we’re going to take a 30 minute subway ride to the HKO Shrine. And hopefully we can catch some of the cherry blossoms. But we might be a little bit early. One thing I didn’t realize about Japan is how many stairs there’d be, especially in the stations. But there’s still plenty of escalators and elevators. You just have to like go to them. And I think I just passed a sign that showed us how far we were walking with the calorie count on how much you’ve burned. This is kind of funny and random. [Music] And just like that, we made it to Maruyama Park. And this is actually going to be the first shrine that we’re going to. And this park also has a hiking trail. And the cherry blossoms are starting to show a little bit. I don’t know what to expect, but we’ll show you in just a second. [Music] It is a wash basin. So, typically outside the shrines there’s a basin to wash your hands with and you’re supposed to wash out your mouth, but since co they kind of, you know, that one’s not a requirement anymore, but you’re supposed to wash your hands before you go in. And we did observe our first try over there. We didn’t really know what we were doing, so we just like observed. And we did learn that it’s typically two boughs, two claps, make a wish, and it’s a longer deep bow. I’ll have to fact check myself. But oh, it’s starting to sprinkle, too. We’ll eventually do it, but I think just like for our first time going to shrines, we wanted to be respectful and learn. And so, we just observed and bowed before we entered and as we left. [Music] And it looks like we just made it to the start of the cherry blossom season. They’re not in full bloom yet, but there’s some really beautiful ones out here. And I think there is a festival of sorts going on. There’s all these vendors lining the the sidewalk. So maybe they are having a cherry blossom festival and we’re here for it. And it’s fun because as we’re walking up to the cherry blossoms, you can just smell them. And I don’t think the last festival we went to, I could actually smell them. And I’m just like getting a full whiff of cherry blossoms. And it’s kind of fun. Hopefully my allergies don’t kick up. But look at this. This is gorgeous. And I didn’t even think we were going to be able to do this here because we thought we might have been too early. But wow. So pretty. And there’s so many shades of pink and white. It’s beautiful. So, this shrine was built in 1869 and honors four deities, one of them being emperor. And someone said it’s definitely worth the visit for a quick prayer and endless blessings. And it was kind of fun to like observe and just like be in this area. And it was a lot bigger than I anticipated. [Music] Seeing our first large shrine in Japan was really cool and it makes me excited to see even more of them. And the cherry blossoms were starting to blossom. It was a beautiful start to the day. But now we’re about to go see the beer museum. Go. Which next one? All that Russian pronounce. [Music] Beer, beer, beer, beer. We couldn’t come to Saparo without going to the Zaparo Beer Museum to learn about it. So, we’re here. We’re probably going to get a tasting and show you around. So, we made it in and they give you a map. And as soon as you walk in, there’s a sign that said the free tour starts on the third floor. So, we’re in the elevator. About to start the tour and then beer. Sapora beer was founded in 1876 by this guy who trained in Germany before bringing European brewing techniques to Hokkaido. This floor features vintage brewing equipment, historic advertisements, and the story of how a beer became a part of Japanese culture. One of my favorite parts was seeing the timeline of how the Saporro logos, labels, and bottles evolved over the years. It’s a fairly quick walkthrough that ends in a tasting hall where you buy drink tickets from a vending machine, hand them to the bartender, and watch your beer get poured. And obviously I had to get a tasting, which is a black label, a classic, and a cat pushi beer, if I’m probably butchering that. And the first time I actually had a Saporro beer was in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m just excited to try a Saporro beer in the city of Saporro in Japan. I’ve been waiting so long to say that. Let’s start with this one. Cheers. Cheers. For my manners. M. That’s actually very nice and refreshing. It says has a rich and mild taste. What’s this one? All right. It’s just It’s a classic. That’s a standard beer, but after coming off this first one, that one’s like mid in comparison. M. Now we’re trying the Black Label, which is limited release. Yeah, I’m bummed. Wow. I actually think my favorite one was the first one. I’ll probably give it like a 9, six, and like an eight. Overall, that’s some solid beer. Finally had a Saporro in Saporro. I’m going to keep saying that. That was a pretty fun stop. And it was actually really short between like the museum because a lot of it was in Japanese. And so we just scanned the car and like we could read it as we walk. And we’re also pretty tired. So we’re going to go back to our hotel, take a quick nap, and then we’re going to continue exploring. So see you probably in a couple of hours. [Music] One thing we read online about Saporro’s night life is that it’s vibrant and lively. And we sort of got a glimpse of that as we passed through it as we’re heading to a mountain to catch the last camp car up to embrace the full beauty of the city from above. And we’re sort of rushing because we slept a little longer than we anticipated and we had to get on the bus quickly because it was like the last bus and that was the last cable car. But I’m excited to see what the view is from the top. And it might be a little cold, but it’s future Brandon’s problem. [Music] Apparently, there’s a free shuttle that takes you to the cable car. So, look, we get a shower ride. [Music] Once we arrived, we took the elevator up, bought our tickets, and then hopped on a cable car to reach another station. From there, we waited for the next ride, ascended into the dark, climbed a few stairs, and finally made it to the viewing platform. At the top, there was a glowing sculpture, a cute saporo sign, and a panoramic view of the city all lit up. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long, so we made our way back to town. And wow, the neon signs were such a vibe. We wandered through the lively streets until we reached our next stop, Ramen Alley. It’s a narrow alley packed with tiny ramen shops, each serving steamy bowls of Saporro’s famous miso ramen. After checking out a few spots, we landed on this place, ordered at a kiosk, and eagerly waited while soaking in the smells. Our ramen arrived, and just look at it glistening in all of its glory. Of course, we added some yozas to complete the meal. and then topped our bowls with fresh garlic and spicy seasoning before housing it. I mean, just look at those smiles. It was a perfect way to end our first night in Saporro. Good morning from another day of exploring Saporro. We are currently heading to our next stop, but first we’re going to grab some breakfast at a 7-Eleven. What are you going to get? [Music] Ah, perfect. We made it to a Dory park which has a miniature Tokyo Tower, but we never been to Tokyo, so we don’t really know what that one looks like. But this one’s cool. Has a time on it and everything. But this park is huge and it’s right in the center of Saparo and it’s where they have the snow festival where they have giant snow sculptures and it’s crazy. And one thing I love so far is we just got hot green tea out of the vending machine. Dude, it is warm. Look at that. Wild. It’s hot tea from a vending machine. And I’m really pumped about our 7-Eleven haul because I watched some videos on like things to get. And people said that the pancakes are really good. The chicken karagi. There’s also cucumber salad and octopus salad as well. So, I’m curious how all of it’s going to be. And it looks like the sun might poke out, might stop raining. Fingers crossed on that. But still not a bad day for a fart. All things considering, this is so much fun. It’s pleasant. It’s not like super hot, but it’s like perfect drinking temperature. I like it. Are you going to try the octopus salad? Yeah. Didn’t know octopus salad existed. I know. I had no idea octopus salad existed. There’s basil, broccoli, edamamame, potatoes. I’m just so curious. I’m going to get a little bite with broccoli. Whoa. That’s so good. Is it? It’s like a pesto basil. So, like it’s pesto with all this good stuff in it. I’m glad we watched that video cuz I don’t think I would have ever picked this out, but it is so good. No, I didn’t even think that would have existed. Like, what a fun creation. Apparently, I was in a fishy mood cuz I also got a tuna tune. A tuna mayonnaise on a giri. There you go. You got it. Walmart time. I got a tuna. Baby, baby. Mhm. That’s kind of fun. The syrup’s like jelly like and there’s butter on there. I’m excited to try the pancake. That’s super interesting like the way the syrup is, but it’s yummy. We’re going to eat the rest of the cucumber salad, the kurag, and the oiri and hopefully not get rained out and keep exploring. [Music] You can go up to the TV tower, but we decided to opt out of that since we did the whole cable car thing yesterday. But this park is a total vibe. Spring is just around the corner. You can see some cherry blossoms, some flowers, and the sun came up, which is always a plus. But we’re going to keep exploring a little bit more and head to our first Japanese bakery, which I don’t know what to expect, so I’m really excited. [Music] Our trip to the bakery didn’t go quite as expected. Google led us to a bakery inside a train station, and we tried searching for a different one. We ended up at another train station where we grabbed some package cookies, an egg tart, and an apple pastry, which we saved for later. But like we mentioned earlier, we wanted to catch up on our first adventure in Japan. We started off with a cherry blossom festival, which was incredible. It was in Hiroaki, and I didn’t know what to expect, but it was huge. They had over 2,000 trees there. Not all of them were in bloom, but it was incredible. And they had all these food vendors with foods we’ve never seen before. We tried corn dogs. that we tried a cheese corn dog. It was crazy. It was mostly cheese and like that much of a hot dog. And it was just awesome to see everyone out there enjoying it. And I am just so excited to see more of Japan. We also had a lot of fun exploring Saparo. We tried not making it a food video, but there’s a lot of like local regional things we had to try. And we didn’t even get to try them all, like the sweet potato and the corn. We did try the soup curry the first day that we got here and it was topnotch. Today’s be admin day. We’re going to catch up on some editing, laundry, and get ready because we leave tomorrow for Tokyo. So, we’ll see y’all in Tokyo. Thanks for watching. Till next time. Bye. [Music]

We finally made it to Japan! We’re kicking things off in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido! From slurping local ramen in Ramen Alley to catching cherry blossoms in bloom at Maruyama Park, this 2-day adventure gave us so many firsts.

In this video, we explore the best things to do in Sapporo including Nijo Market, the Sapporo Beer Museum, and Mt. Moiwa Ropeway for epic city views. We also share our first impressions of Japan, eat convenience store food from 7-Eleven for the very first time, and share a story from our first cherry blossom festival in Hirosaki.

From delicious miso ramen to peaceful shrines and spontaneous surprises, this trip marked the beginning of our Asia travels and we couldn’t have asked for a better start.

#japan #sapporo #cherryblossoms

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00:00 Welcome to Sapporo, Japan!
00:37 Nijo Market
02:07 Maruyama Park & cherry blossoms
04:28 Hokkaido Shrine Tongu
05:13 Sapporo Beer Museum
07:49 Mt. Moiwa Ropeway
09:10 Ramen Alley 🍜
09:47 Odori Park & first time eating at a 7-11!
12:58 bakery & hirosaki cherry blossom festival
14:12 thanks for watching 🙂