I am back from Hokkaido! :)
It snowed every single day! The snow was so deep, I accidentally walked off the path and ended up waist deep in snow.. Gorgeous powder snow... The weather was perfect too! Not too cold and the winds were mild. Wonderful trip!
Covered in soft snow from walking outside..
Rusutsu Ski Resort.. Look at the amount of snow behind me!
Imagine trekking thru this amount of snow.. I think it's around 160cm deep. We walked 400m in and it was a very difficult trek cos the snow was so soft, the moment you stepped on it.. you'll sink down immediately. We went all the way in to do the snow activities like rafting and tubing. I like this Ski Resort due to the food choices... and the nice night view outside at the ski area.. but the Onsen (hot spring) is super duper mini...
Ski Mobile
Wah! It was very very very cold! My hands and feet were frozen and I kept on willing myself to continue cos there's no turning back. It's a one way drive in and one way drive out... Fortunately my customers enjoyed themselves despite the cold cos it's snowing and there was lots and lots of snow everywhere.
Otaru Canal
My favourite place cos there's so many shops here selling yummy food and beautiful things! Cheesecake, Ice Cream, Ramen, Japanese pastries, Chocolate, and many many more!
Hokkaido Potato Farm Chips
They used to limit each person to only buy 2 boxes as they had limited stocks and everyone wanted to buy them. It's ¥840 per box, around S$12.60
You can get these in most places in Hokkaido, but I will recommend you to buy it at Chitose Airport (if you're flying out from there) cos many shops are selling them.
Went to hunt for a birthday cake for my customer cos it was her birthday... saw this giant Hello Kitty and stopped to take a picture. Didn't have time to go into the shop to browse cos need to rush back to the coach.. :(
The hotels were very nice, sometimes we stayed in tatami rooms.. sometimes we stay in western-styled rooms.
Rusutsu Ski Resort's Room
Toya Sun Palace Hotel Room
At the airport with my guide, Florence Tham :)
I worked with her before 1.5yrs ago, so we were quite comfortable with each other's working style. She is also a Singaporean, Japanese PR. Married a Japanese man. Shiok lor! Can be a Japanese housewife... everyday go Japanese supermarket and shop shop! Eat Japanese food. Yum yums!
I think I've come full circle. She was my 1st tour guide when I went on my 1st tour and now she's also my guide for my last tour with CTC. Super coincidence.
One of the must buy item in Japan is Agnes B and I finally splurged on one! It's perfect! Waterproof, lots of compartments and so pretty! Also not available in Singapore yet! The normal plain design in Singapore is already more expensive than the one I bought.. It costs around ¥9300(S$140) after tax rebate.
I also bought lots of other stuff like...
- Agnes B wallet
- Hello Kitty Keychain
- Hello Kitty Scrunchie.
- Pink Canary Clothes Pegs from Franc Franc
- Pink Chopping Board
- Pink Sponge Holder
- Pink beauty stuff
- Bathroom mat
- Butter cookies
- Ishiaya Chocolate waffle
The doll was a gift from my guide. ^___^ I wanted to buy it but it was quite expensive.. almost S$30! She went to buy it for me without knowing that it was the exact same design I liked! She said she just chose the latest design cos she dunno anything about Hello Kitty!
HAHA! So amazing lah! Out of the hundreds of designs in the whole shop.. she chose the correct one! And we weren't even together! We were walking separate ways cos she needed to go to the ATM to draw money.. and she only went to the shop after I left that shop. HAPPY!
New year = New wallet!
It's pink and red! Shiny shiny! It's around ¥15000, S$225 after tax rebate. A bit expensive... but I think it's a good investment. Moreover, new wallet may bring me better fortune and good luck!
Can someone enlighten me why does wallet usually cost more than the bag?? Even for the Burberry Blue Label, the wallet was ¥24,000 and the bag was ¥22,500... so weird right? But I think it also depends on the design and material. I was told by a friend that wallet is more difficult to make, so in comparison to size, regardless of material.. it usually costs more.
Anyways.... for more pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140257&id=531553106&l=1108dbfb11
By the way, remember I had 6 Hello Kitties sitting on top of my desktop screen? 
Anyway, I will miss the company and I am glad for all the opportunities and learning experiences that it has offered me. I will also miss most of my lovely colleagues whom I see more than anyone else as I spend more time in the office than at anywhere else.
