Yokoso Hokkaido - Prologue

Visiting the land of the rising sun has always been a dream since the days of Japanese study.

We heard so much about its language and its culture during our twice weekly lessons. Since then, travelling to Japan becomes a common dream shared by us who sweat through ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels. We long to see and experience the land which is the origin of the language that caused us to lose sleep during a great part of our teenage years. Two of them have subsequently visited Central Japan and Hokkaido on their own with their better halves. However, we still have yet to visit Japan together despite graduating for more than 10 years.

After much deliberation, I decided to realize my Japan dream. I close an eye to the high travelling cost and signed on a 7-day tour of Hokkaido with Ah Peng – one of the musketeers. Finally, I am a step closer to fulfilling a long-time wish even though prior to the trip, the guilt of the high expenditure of this trip keeps nagging me.

Located in a volcanic belt, Japan is well-known for its hot-springs and fertile land. The beauty of its national flower – Sakura (Cherry Blossom) is the pride of the Japanese. In addition to its natural resource, the Japanese are equally well-known for their efficiency and innovation – boasting many successful management concepts (such as Kaizen) and world-class brands (such as Toyota, Sony, etc).

Japan consists of 4 main islands – Honshu (Central), Kyushu (Southern), Shikoku (Southern) and Hokkaido (Northern). Honshu, where Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are located, is the most popular vacation destinations among the 4 main islands. Hokkaido is increasingly gaining popularity especially for its hot springs and ski resorts. It is also one of the more sparsely populated islands with agriculture being the principal activity and many of the younger generation migrating to the cities in Central Japan. Being in the most northern part of Japan, the climate of Hokkaido is cool in Summer and freezing cold in Winter. Hokkaido is only occupied by Japanese for about 150 years from the Meiji Restoration period. Prior to this, the land is occupied by mainly the aborigines – Ainu.

Why Hokkaido of all places? Firstly, this is one of the best seasons to visit Hokkaido with its cool climate (average of 20 Deg Celsius). It will offer a respite from the scorching heat of Singapore. Secondly, Ah Peng has visited a good part of Central Japan about 3 years ago. Thus, Hokkaido is new to both of us. Lastly, this is season of Lavender (and maybe even Sunflower) which is one of the primary attractions of Hokkaido in July. If we miss this, we will need to wait another year before we can get mesmerized by a field of lavender.

In another 11 hours’ time, I will be breathing the fresh air of Hokkaido. Yokoso Hokkaido.