Today was mostly spent getting from one hotel on one island in Japan (Honshu) to another hotel on the top island in Japan – Hokkaido. Mick and Bernie would have loved to have caught a train and a ferry for this leg of their trip but they were overruled.

They did however have to catch one train and then the plane. While the flight time does not look too bad, the weather was not the greatest. There was a lot of snow and ice on the runaway.

These two were upgraded to seats right at the front, near the Business Class section, which they happily and unashamedly accepted, leaving Mick and Bernie in the back of the plane struggling to keep their arms and legs within their assigned spaces.

The last evening in Kanazawa was spent in a very odd place. Well, I think it is odd, but having travelled overseas now many times myself, it is very common to see an Irish Pub in the most unlikely location, serving Guinness and pies in order to cater for tourists with a yen for that sort of fare.

These guys did not find an Irish Pub, but they did find an Irish restaurant, run by an Englishman and his Japanese wife.

They were treated like long lost friends and Mick told me that while the food was ‘different’, they all very much enjoyed sharing a bottle of French red wine. Before they left, the owners gave Tom and Emma a gift to celebrate their engagement (which happened months ago by the way!)

They were pleased to discover that Sapporo has an underground walkway throughout much of the central part of the city, and with tomorrow’s expected temperature to be -9°C, I think they plan on using this quite a bit during their stay.

They took a ‘streetcar’ through the city, as a way of gaining their bearings. I guess it was a bit like the Hop On Hop Off Buses that are in so many large cities across the world.

Then they rode on a gondola to the top of a (nearby) mountain, but they did not really enjoy that as the snow was too thick and the weather was too cold for them.

They just missed out on the very famous Sapporo Snow Festival – which finished on the 11th February, just over a week ago. After them telling me about the temperatures over there, and seeing photos of them and their surroundings, I can understand now why Sapporo is able to host such a festival.

If you haven’t gone to the Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri), you’ve never been walking in a real winter wonderland. Every February, Japanese and international artists gather in Hokkaido to create ice sculptures and snow statues for the winter festivals. During this time, Sapporo City doubles in population as two million visitors gather to join in the fun.

I also found the History of the festival very interesting, and especially powerful to think that students had such a huge part to play in its formation.

I am sure the travellers will find somewhere interesting for dinner tonight, but I do hope that they get a good night’s sleep, as they have a big day tomorrow. I know that Mick and Bernie are especially excited about what they have on their agenda – they planned it weeks ago. While Tom and Emma have chosen a very different activity; they hope to get some skiing in.