Planning a trip to Sapporo Snow Festival

[JackD201]

It will be the first time for the little ones to see snow and only the second for me. My only other time was a short trip to Tahoe 20 years ago where I quickly discovered that skis and I don't get along very well.

I would appreciate any and all tips and recommendations. Places to eat, activities, must see sights and the like.

The kids are 12,10 and 4 years old. I see sledding and snowball fights in their cards. They love Sushi and Japanese Anime knick-nacks. I'll be ordering clothes for them online. A list of absolute essentials and any fairly priced online store recommendations to get them would be very much appreciated.

I want to bring my DSLR but I don't know if I need any special instructions for using it in winter conditions. Should I just bring an all weather compact? I've got an Olympus around here somewhere but it takes really bad pictures.

TIA guys!

 

[LL21]

Hi Jack,

My girlfriend is from japan...she said the temperature should be about the same as Hokkaido which she is familiar with. Cold but the DSLR should be fine. Cameras are designed to operate in reasonably cold temperatures...so unless you are a polar bear, i suspect you might decide its too cold before your camera does! I grew up in the East Coast US where it can get down to -9 Celsius frequently during months of Jan and Feb...i have never heard of any of my friends not being able to take pictures...ever.

As for clothes, here's a good rule: dress in layers. its better than a t-shirt and some gigantic fleece-lined coat. Thermal underwear t-shirts, a sweater, and jacket should keep you pretty warm. Mittens are warmer than gloves because your fingers generate their own heat and keep each other warm (in gloves, each finger is separate).

In fact, the other rule is that keeping warm is NOT about super-thick clothes...it is about RETAINING your existing body heat. So get coats that fit tightly around the waist and zip up to the neck. Then your torso's own heat production will stay within the (preferably insulated) jacket. 'Down' insulation (bird feathers or something) is considered best...some people have allergies, so there is 'hypoallergenic' or articificial down. Get thick socks that go up above the calf. And if you are going to be running around in the snow....definitely, definitely get boots. There is nothing worse than stepping into snow in sneakers...and having them immediately soaked...and your feet freeze in 5 minutes. Finally, get ear muffs or a hat...something to keep your ears warm (extremities freeze fastest...fingers, toes, nose and ears). If any of the girls wish to be fashionable...get them a little fur headband...keeps the hair from getting messed up and keeps the ears warm...and the fur is a nice touch. Rabbit is a good cost-effective fur since i doubt you'll be wearing it in the Philippines! Or you can just go with a warm headband made from fleece material.

Hope that helps....PM if you need anything else. Enjoy!

 

[JackD201]

Mittens! Great tip! You da man Lloyd! You know? I don't know who's more excited, me or the kids LOL My wife is excited FOR us. She grew up in Scarsdale but moved back here for high school. Gotcha on the layering. I spent a month in Sweden in very early spring some years ago. No snow and barely any ice at dawn. It was tough for us tropical types. I was with other South East Asians, South and Central Americans and Africans. One class mate was from Mongolia, she had quite a few chuckles at our expense. We were all bundled up and she was in a sweater. LOL. My skin dried up like crazy too. Gotta put lotion and lip balm on my MUST BRING list.

 

[LL21]

Mittens! Great tip! You da man Lloyd! You know? I don't know who's more excited, me or the kids LOL My wife is excited FOR us. She grew up in Scarsdale but moved back here for high school. Gotcha on the layering. I spent a month in Sweden in very early spring some years ago. No snow and barely any ice at dawn. It was tough for us tropical types. I was with other South East Asians, South and Central Americans and Africans. One class mate was from Mongolia, she had quite a few chuckles at our expense. We were all bundled up and she was in a sweater. LOL. My skin dried up like crazy too. Gotta put lotion and lip balm on my MUST BRING list.

If you mean Scarsdale NY, then you're in very good hands. BTW, if the weather is well below freezing and stays there, then the snow may be quite powdery...meaning that in order to make a snowball, you might need to take your gloves/mittens off...that will melt the snow a bit, so you can pack the snow nicely into a proper snowball before you throw it...just remember to put your gloves back on after a while, or you wont feel your fingers anymore! Enjoy!

 

[jadis]

Yeah Jack, we tropical guys who have had too much sun that we actually tint all our cars totally to hide from it. So we can't take the cold for granted. When I was in NY a few years back early spring, I can't believe that at the end of the week, I was wearing wool cap, wool gloves, wool scarf, 4 layers including goose down, and wool thigh socks while I brave down the roads of NY. Then I have to take most of them off when I enter a heated shopping store. And yes, in this last trip to SF, my skin finally dried up and it got so itchy I had to put lotion or baby powder. Have a great trip to Sapporo, buddy, and careful with those snowball throwing, don't throw too hard on them little ones.

 

[JackD201]

Methinks I shall be the target more than anything else hahahaha!

We've got the bookings, just waiting for the Visa approvals now.

@Lloyd, yup Scarsdale, NY. She's been "tropicalized" for almost thirty years now so I figured I'd get some second opinions. Hehehehehe. Seeing my wife's baby pictures in the snow is actually my inspiration for the trip. If it were just me, I'd go for the beach 95% of the time. I love snorkelling. I can still stay under for more than a minute at a time. Kids are growing up terribly fast so I'm in "max out" mode!

 

[LL21]

We've got the bookings, just waiting for the Visa approvals now.
Kids are growing up terribly fast so I'm in "max out" mode!

You wont regret it. We just did a full-on family trip...3 generations...1 week...warm weather! Unforgettably good fun. Memories you will never regret making. Enjoy.

 

[amirm]

Ah, I am jealous. That is one of the few things I wished I could do in Japan but have not.

I have been to Hokkaido though, taking pictures of wildlife. If it is that cold, be prepared for it to be *very* cold. East coast of US does not do justice to it. I was talking pictures with my SLR for about half hour. I took my eye off the viewfinder, only to find half an inch of ice on the LCD frozen on it from my breathing!!! One breath on the viewfinder itself would turn it into an ice layer, completely blurring it. Make sure to bring q-tips for that reason, or get a fog-free viewfinder attachment (expensive and scratches easily).

I had two sets of gloves. A mitten type under ski gloves. I would take the ski glove off to change camera settings and such.

Best thing I did was to get chemical warmers. I would put one on my second layer of clothing facing my stomach and one in the back. As noted, these are key areas to keep warm. I also had a ski mask plus hat and such to keep my head warm.

Keep in mind that you lose something like 80% of your camera battery life in such temps. They actually have full charge but appear to be that empty once they get cold. So you need to keep spare in your pocket close to your body and swap back and forth.

Most important: you cannot bring your camera gear from outside to inside quickly. This will create condensation and potentially permanently damage all your gear. Bring a garbage bag with you and put everything in there and bring them in. Alternatively, leave them in the camera bag zipped tight and leave it that way for a few hours. If you are anxious to see the images, be sure to take out the memory card before you go inside. Trust me, I have violated this rule for a moment and found a camera body essentially completely wet with moisture in just a couple of minutes!

Now, all of this is for multi-hour shooting. If you are just sightseeing in the city where the sculptures are and can go in the buildings in between to get warm, likely don't need all of this.

 

[Nicholas Bedworth]

FYI the ocean temperature here today was 75. What is ice?

 

[JackD201]

@Amir - Thanks for the heads up Amir. I'll probably bring both cameras, the DSLR for the Ice Castles and the compact for play time.

@Nicholas -78 degrees here

 

[Nicholas Bedworth]

@Amir - Thanks for the heads up Amir. I'll probably bring both cameras, the DSLR for the Ice Castles and the compact for play time.

@Nicholas -78 degrees here

Hi Jack...

75 is just the ocean temperature... now, the air temperature is about 85 Last two times I was in Manila, there was a typhoon going on. Had to go through one coming and going. We don't have typhoons here, just earthquakes and tsunamis...

Nick

 

[mullard88]

Two restaurants come to mind: 1. Elm Garden somewhere in the outskirts of Sapporo. I had their degustacion menu, fusion of European and Japnanese food. 2. I can not remember the name of this restaurant. It is in Hakodate. The road going there is very steep and narrow. Guests park somewhere on the foot of the mountain and the restaurant will send their vehicle to fetch you. I also had their degustacion menu. Also a fusion of European and Japanese cuisines. The view of Hadodate in the daytime is as breathtaking as the night view from this restaurant.

I am almost certain your kids will enjoy feeding the bears in the bear farm somewhere near Noborubetsu. The farm has the world's youngest volcano. It just grew out of the land less than a century ago. It is also the smallest volcano that I have seen.

Also near Noborubetsu is a Ryokan run by a Japanese lady who returned after living in Seattle for decades. She has the neatest and cleanest, though small Ryokan in the area. Someone able to speak English is a rare sight there and this lady can converse with you easily. Check in after lunch, soak in the natural spring water, then have dinnner. The servings are very generous and I have much respect for anyone who can finish all the food that's served. After dinner, soak again before sleeping. Take breakfast the next morning, soak one final time before checking out.

Lake Toya is a beautiful place. The Windsor Hotel beside Lake Toya is wonderful. Drive around the lake and stop wherever you want to take pictures. Have a meal in the Windsor Hotel.

There is a chocolate factory somewhere I forgot where you can get a factory tour. After the tour, you can try your hand at making your own chocolate.

Somewhere, near Otaru if my memory is not wrong, is a place where you can build your own music box. This is also the place where a factory doing glasswares the same way it is manually done in Venice saved the village. Just wander down the village and you can also sample many freshly baked goodies from their bakeries.

Lastly, bring your kids to a Pokemon store.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Dimfer]

I think Amir & Lloyd got you covered.. I always make sure my head/ears are well covered and warm... I'd say bring extra set of clothing that you can keep in your car, just in case kids/you get wet.

I haven't tried skiing and will likely never try it, but had gone ice fishing at -26c with blowing wind (feels -42c) with my daughter when she was 12, kids tend to do better in the cold temp than us old folks, so I would expect you will feel cold first before them.

you will likely like to be seen in Helly Hansen...

bringing something like this can also be a good idea

have fun

 

[jadis]

I haven't tried skiing and will likely never try it, but had gone ice fishing at -26c with blowing wind (feels -42c) with my daughter when she was 12,

minus 26c with wind blowing, ding? how did that feel? can you still breath normally in such 'air'? when i saw the movie 'whiteout' set in antarctica, i felt like it's so difficult to breathe in such conditions. i still prefer sunny hot than ice cold weather.

 

[JackD201]

@Mullard88 - Wow Sam! How long did you stay there? The kids would LOVE the bear farm, actually so would I even if they (the bears not my kids!) smelled as bad as the deer in Narra LOL

@Ding - Gotcha Ding! You should have been the first guy I thought of when it comes to freezing weather! It's just that everytime I see you, you're all relaxed in walking shorts.

 

[mullard88]

Hi JackD201,

One hour is enough for me at the bear farm. You'll be able to feed all sizes of bears with apples and cookies in that time. There are many crows that will try to intercept the cookies that you will throw to the bears. Tease the bears before you throw the food, watch them stand up and beg. Unfortunately, the bears smell just as bad as the deers in Narra.

I asked my daughters last night for their most memorable experience in Hokkaido and it was definitely the bears. They had no memories of the other places they visited in Hokkaido.

I just remembered that there are lots of good ice cream in Hokkaido. Hokkaido is the Japanese's dairy island, and you can stop by farms that make and sell their own ice creams.

 

[Dimfer]

minus 26c with wind blowing, ding? how did that feel? can you still breath normally in such 'air'? when i saw the movie 'whiteout' set in antarctica, i felt like it's so difficult to breathe in such conditions. i still prefer sunny hot than ice cold weather.

Phil, when the temp dips to -26 and colder it feels different, it feels different from being in freezing temp - 10C (which feels good in your head, literally) because it feels like the air is burning your skin, and you will most likely have an uncontrollable running nose.. your eyes will feel irritatated because the liquid in your eyeballs and around your eyes will begin to freeze.. even vehicles, especially those that are not running on synthetic oil will behave differently...

during that particular fishing trip - we were actually having fun because we cannot understand each other after a while because we cannot talk straight anymore (much like having too much to drink)... and it does not take very long to actually see white frosting form around your face
... never notice breathing difficulty though


the guys working in the field bring heat shacks, they work in the cold for 5-10 minutes, then run inside the heat shack to thaw for 15 or more minutes.


when going outdoors, it is best to do layers.. when it is not extremely cold and when you are moving a lot, it can get/feel really warm after a while. Helly Hansen website used to have good tip on layering with their products. Similar to this -->layering tip. You can initially double up on insulating layer and adjust accordingly later.

I find myself more tolerant of extreme cold than extreme hot temperature... I had been wearing a vest almost everyday during winter the past few years - I found that when I keep my trunk relatively warm, my arthritis does not feel as bad.

 

[jadis]

Phil, when the temp dips to -26 and colder it feels different, it feels different from being in freezing temp - 10C (which feels good in your head, literally) because it feels like the air is burning your skin, and you will most likely have an uncontrollable running nose.. your eyes will feel irritatated because the liquid in your eyeballs and around your eyes will begin to freeze.. even vehicles, especially those that are not running on synthetic oil will behave differently...

during that particular fishing trip - we were actually having fun because we cannot understand each other after a while because we cannot talk straight anymore (much like having too much to drink)... and it does not take very long to actually see white frosting form around your face
... never notice breathing difficulty though


the guys working in the field bring heat shacks, they work in the cold for 5-10 minutes, then run inside the heat shack to thaw for 15 or more minutes.


when going outdoors, it is best to do layers.. when it is not extremely cold and when you are moving a lot, it can get/feel really warm after a while. Helly Hansen website used to have good tip on layering with their products. Similar to this -->layering tip. You can initially double up on insulating layer and adjust accordingly later.

I find myself more tolerant of extreme cold than extreme hot temperature... I had been wearing a vest almost everyday during winter the past few years - I found that when I keep my trunk relatively warm, my arthritis does not feel as bad.

Wow. Very interesting, Ding. And good to know first hand experiences. My cousins in Toronto who lived there for decades always tell me for a feeling that I can't seem to relate. They all tell me outside the cold/freezing weather, they felt like their ears were falling off due to the extreme cold. And I do not intend to try to find out how that feels.

 

[Dimfer]

hey Jack, do you want some cold weather training... come to Edmonton and help me clean my driveway tomorrow night... it will only be -33c and will only feel like -47c with the windchill ..

I am not enjoying this weather --> forecast

 

[JackD201]

I love you man, but not that much LOL!!!!!!!

We got our Visas today! All systems GO!