Travel Changes You - A recap from my Hokkaido trip

Last night, I returned from Hokkaido, Japan.
Whenever I travel to a foreign land, when I return home, I feel a sense of mind-expansion.
It makes me go back to what I wrote a couple years ago - Men Need to Travel and Explore

“The More You Live, The More You Love”
- A Flock of Seagulls song (1984)

I played this song when I returned home. To me, it means the more you live (travel, explore, adventure), the more you love (understand, appreciate, connect).

Here’s an overview of my trip to Hokkaido. We visited two main areas:
- Sapporo – a city with around 2 million people. It’s Hokkaido’s capital and a major urban center.
- Noboribetsu – a town with around 18,000 people. It’s famous for hot springs and natural scenery.

Sapporo highlights:

- Odori Park – It’s a long, beautifully landscaped park stretching over eight blocks through central Sapporo. It hosts festivals like the Snow Festival in winter and beer gardens in the summer.

- Tanukikoji Shopping Street – A covered arcade spanning seven blocks, filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and souvenir stores. A great place for browsing local foods and Japanese goods, especially on rainy or snowy days.

- Nijo Market – A lively seafood market near Odori Park, known for super-fresh Hokkaido crab, scallops, uni (sea urchin), and fish. You can eat at many of the small eateries inside.

- Vegas Vegas – A loud, flashy pachinko and slot parlor for gambling, typical in Japan. It’s quite a sensory experience.

- Sapporo Beer Museum & Beer Garden – The museum traces the history of Sapporo Beer, Japan’s oldest brand. The Beer Garden serves fresh draught beer and Japanese food.

- Mount Moiwa Ropeway – A scenic cable car to the top of Mt. Moiwa just outside central Sapporo with amazing views of Sapporo, especially at night.

Noboribetsu highlights:

- Noboribetsu – It’s Hokkaido’s well-known onsen (natural hot springs) town, famous for its nine types of mineral-rich waters (sulfur, iron, salt, etc.) that are popular for healing various ailments.

- Onsen resorts – Many of the ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) and hotels there have baths fed by natural hot water from underground and cold mountain spring water. A great place to experience the contrast between the two.

- Hell Valley (Jigokudani) – It’s just above the town, about 20 minutes to hike. Dramatic volcanic landscape with steam vents, bubbling sulfur ponds, and hot streams. It’s called “Hell Valley” because the rising sulfur fumes (which you can smell in the hotel rooms) and scorched earth reminded early visitors of a vision of hell. It’s the source of the town’s geothermal hot spring water.

- Noboribetsu Bear Park – To get there, you take a ropeway (cable car) to a small mountaintop park, home to brown bears native to Hokkaido. Visitors can safely view and feed the bears.

- Ainu Village – At Bear Park there’s a recreated Ainu village, honoring the culture of Hokkaido’s indigenous people. It has traditional Ainu houses, crafts, and carvings offering insight into their lifestyle and spiritual beliefs.

- Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe – It’s a great aquarium and theme park designed like a European castle by the sea. Penguins, dolphins, sea lions, fish, sharks, etc.

Have a great trip wherever you might go!
Peter 

Here's a picture from the recreated Ainu village.