Hokkaido Kaitaku No Mura

With my last day in Sapporo, I decided to get away from the Snow Festival crowds and do some sightseeing like a proper tourist.

TripAdvisor.com led to Kaitaku No Mura, a historical village outside the city. The featured buildings were brought from all corners of Hokkaido and reassembled in the little town, open for folks to come inside and look around.

I've tried to describe what it felt like to walk through this village alone. I'm not sure if the magic came from the fact that I'm not really used to snow, or the fact that I'm not really used to historical buildings in snow, but it felt like a fairy tale.

The houses and shops were mostly empty, sparsely furnished with the sort of things one might find in a Japanese residence or commercial building in the 1800s.









 



I wandered around the village until I came upon a huge fishing warehouse. I expected to walk inside another empty building, but when I opened the door, I was shocked to find a group of happy people with tea and a little cook fire going.

"Come in, have some tea!" the man exclaimed.

"Okay!" I said, surprised and delighted. I started chatting with him. He seemed pretty chuffed to find that I could speak Japanese, and we talked about my life in Miyazaki compared to life in Hokkaido.

After my bones had thawed and I had downed another cup of tea or two, he told me that I should make my way to the sake factory in the middle of town. Apparently, there were only two buildings in town that had volunteers manning them, and the sake factory volunteers gave people free hot sake and pickled Hokkaido radish.

Free food? Free alcohol? I'm in!

My tea enthusiast friend

The Fishing Warehouse cook fire

When I arrived at the Sake Warehouse, I was greeted by another warm fire and an old man and woman who welcomed everyone inside.

They gave me a warm cup of amazake, a low-alcohol traditional Japanese beverage, and unlimited pickled radish. No better way to win me over.

Like the man in the fishing warehouse, the pair of volunteers was so happy that I could speak Japanese that we talked for a long time about life in Hokkaido.

They answered all my questions, gave me recommendations for good restaurants to try in Sapporo, and then, when they had their lunch break, proceeded to take me out to lunch!

Sake factory friends

Traditional Hokkaido "Field Soldier" Meal - complete with potato pancakes and white konyaku

I don't think I had ever been so happy I had studied Japanese before. My day in the historical village was one of the most positive experiences of my life, let alone my time in Japan. There's something so satisfying about making new friends on a trip.

Especially if those friends give you sake and pickled radish. I love snacks!