donderdag 20 november 2008

Snow

Got quite a bit of snow overnight. Here's a picture of our car.

zondag 16 november 2008

Sapporo Shopping

Kazumi and I went shopping in Sapporo yesterday. Got out of bed around 7AM (too early for a Saturday) and left for Sapporo at 8AM. Took route 5 from Kutchan to Otaru and drove the highway (Sasson) from Otaru to Sapporo (Kita Hiroshima exit). Arrived at Costco around 10AM. Costco is a large warehouse and they sell a nice selection of imported items.

Most Japanese supermarkets only offer a very limited assortment of cheese, so I had to get me some in Costco. Not quite cheap, but so very delicious.



After shopping at Costco we had lunch at McDonalds. Finished lunch around 12:30 and were all set for some more shopping. First we needed to find a parking spot though. We decided to park the car in one of the Sapporo Station's underground parking lots.

From the parking lot we went on foot to an outdoors sports shop (Shugakuso 札幌市北12西3). Bought me some winter gear (boots, snow goggles and ski pants and gloves).

Next stop: Yodobashi Camera. Had been looking for a decent set of PC speakers for a while now and decided to buy some finally. Got me a pair of Edirol MA-15D speakers.

By the time we left Yodobashi Camera it was time for dinner. We went for a simple bistro somewhere below Sapporo station.

To finish up the day we went to see a movie (Leatherheads) and drove home around 8:30PM. Was raining all the way from Sapporo to Kutchan. Soon this rain will turn into snow. Still a little bit warm for snow at the moment, but according to the weather forecast this will change soon.

zaterdag 8 november 2008

Winter in Hokkaido

Went for a walk at 7 AM this morning to enjoy the winter landscapes. Bit chilly (0 degrees Celcius, but seemed colder because of a strong wind) but very enjoyable. Here are some pictures.

Our car (putting up the wipers is standard practice during winter):


Road in front of our apartment:


Fields and mountain in the background:

vrijdag 7 november 2008

Car Trouble Part 2

We got our car back last Friday (31st October). Cost us around 90000 JPY (slightly over 700 Euro) to get it fixed (had to repair the starter engine). And since winter is coming close we also had to get some winter tires. Another 80000 JPY (approx 650 Euro). Expensive times for car owners here in Hokkaido.

Our car is 10 years old and we're planning to get a new one. But first we need to save up money of course. Let's hope our current car doesn't experience anymore expensive breakdowns.

The new car we're looking into is the Nissan X-Trail. A car that seems very suited for the harsh winter conditions we experience over here.