Theaters and Halls in Sapporo

There are some theaters and halls in Sapporo. Today, I will tell you about some of them.

1.  Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara

It is usually called Kitara and located in Nakajima Park. It was first built for classical concerts in Sapporo. There are two halls in Kitara. The big one has 2,008 seats and a pipe organ. The small one has 453 seats. Some school brass bands and choirs hold their concerts in Kitara.

I have been to Kitara about five times. This is one of the pictures. 

In this concert, I enjoyed a wonderful orchestra performance! 

2.  SAPPORO CULTURAL CENTER Hitaru

It is a new theater built in 2018. Some people call it Hitaru. It has 2302 seats and four floors and an orchestra pit. 

I saw the opening performance of “AIDA”. It was my first time to see an opera.

Our university’s entrance ceremony was also held in hitaru in 2019. Many freshers and their parents went there.

3. Kanamoto Hall (Sapporo Civic Hall)

It is a 1 minute walk from Exit 31 of Odori Station to this hall. It has 1500 seats. Concerts, plays and lectures are usually held in this hall.

When I was an elementary school student, my school had a chorus festival in Kanamoto Hall formerly known as Sapporo Shimin Kaikan. Last year, I went there to see the musical, “The cat teaching a seagull how to fly (カモメに飛ぶことを教えた猫)”. 

These are my recommended halls in Sapporo. Please visit and enjoy concerts and plays!

(Honoka K)

My favorite food in Hokkaido

24th June 2020 

Hello, I’m Rika. Today, I’d like to talk about my favorite food in Hokkaido and I have chosen a few dishes from many delicious foods in Hokkaido.

 ~Ramen~

I think that Ramen is the best food of all. Ramen has mainly three flavors, Sapporo Miso Ramen, Hakodate Shio Ramen and Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen. These are called ”the Three Great Ramen in Hokkaido”. And, the number of interesting ramen is increasing in local places. For example, “Gatatan Ramen” in Ashibetsu, “Tempura Ramen” at Shakotan, “Curry Ramen” in Tomakomai and Muroran.

Go to these restaurants if you want to try them!

1. Sapporo Miso Ramen     ―→ Original Sapporo Ramen Yokocho

  (It opened in 1950. There are 17 ramen shops now.)

http://www.ganso-yokocho.com/ 

2. Hakodate Shio Ramen    ―→Ajisai, Jiyouken, Houran, ect. 

3. Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen ―→Asahikawa Ramen Village

                                 (It opened in 1996. There are 8 ramen shops.) http://ramenmura.com/

In addition, if you want to eat and compare some dishes, you should go to “the Ramen Republic” in Sapporo station. I hope you can find your favorite ramen!!

http://www.sapporo-esta.jp/ramen

~A Bowl of rice topped with fresh seafood~

This is called “kaisendon” in Japanese. I think you will regret later if you don’t eat it when you visit Hokkaido. It is so fresh and delicious. What is more, you can eat it inexpensively!

Incidentally, I work part-time at an Izakaya which is a pub that serves Japanese style side dishes. The name of the place is GORIRA. We serve bowls of rice topped with fresh seafood, sashimi, and oyster, etc. Please come! And you can get a discount!

↓↓GORIRA’s official site↓↓                               

https://gorilla-asabu.owst.jp/

Thank you for reading and see you next time✋

A Fascinating City, Hakodate

I introduced my baseball club in my post before and wrote about a training camp in Hakodate. Today, I will introduce Hakodate. I’ve been there once, but it is a wonderful city.

This city is in the southeastern part of Hokkaido, so we can see cherry blossoms the earliest in Hokkaido. I saw cherry blossoms in March last year, it was very beautiful and it makes me happy. Moreover, Goryokaku is a famous tourist spot, it is a good place to see cherry blossoms and it is shaped like a star.

☝a picture of Goryokaku     https://hokkaido-travel.com/hokkaido-heritage/ho0061/ 

☝I took this picture last year. Cherry trees reflected on the surface of the water were very beautiful.

I recommend a hamburger chain in Hakodate, it is named Lucky Pierrot. The most famous dish is `Chinese chicken burger`, it is big and includes three big pieces of fried chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise. It tastes sweet and spicy!

       ☝Chinese chicken burger - https://www.hotpepper.jp/mesitsu/entry/hadakadenkyu/19-00072

Furthermore, each shop has their own concept, for example, in the main shop, there is a big red chair and if you sit on the chair, you may be lucky with money, and there is a very big statue of a giraffe. In another shop, there are chairs like swings. We can eat hamburgers while feeling we are in the park and it is very interesting.

☝The look of the main shop of `Lucky Pierrot`   https://snaplace.jp/luckyphonten/

Lucky Pierrot sells original products which have the company logo and there are T-shirts, mugs, bags and so on. I want the T-shirt very much because it is cute!

☝This is an original T-shirt.        luckypierrot.jp/goods/

If you have an opportunity to go to Hakodate city, you should go to those places!

See you next blog!!

Gourmet Food in Otaru!!

I introduced sightseeing places in Sapporo on my last blog post. Today, I will introduce local speciality dishes in Otaru. Do you know Otaru? Otaru is a city which is a neighbor of Sapporo. It takes about 1 hour by train from Sapporo, so if you come to Sapporo, you should also visit Otaru! I have lived in Otaru since I was born, so I have a lot of information about the city. 

Narutoya

Narutoya is a famous restaurant. You can enjoy a variety of food at this restaurant. Especially, I recommend you to eat big fried chicken (It called wakadori no hanmiage in Japanese). You must be satisfied because it is hearty and delicious! The chicken skin is crisp, in addition, it and rice go well together. You would want to eat it again.

Kamaei

Kamaei is one of the famous kamaboko (steamed fish paste) shops. Actually, Otaru has been famous for kamaboko for about 100 years. Elementary school students who live in Otaru go to kamaboko shop for off-campus study. Kamaboko is comfort food of Otaru, so you have to eat kamaboko when you come. Kamaei offers a lot of kinds of kamaboko, above all, my recommendation is pan-roll. It is a kamaei’s special dish which is a dish of groundfish is wrapped with bread. My whole family likes it very much. I am sure you would like the dish.

Anyway, Otaru has a lot of good special products, so I want you to come to Otaru!!! (Miyu)

↓↓↓Please check the official information!!

naruto-ya.com/menu/content/0005.html

 https://www.kamaei.co.jp/

Royce Vol.2

Hello everyone. As I mentioned in my last post, today I’ll write about Royce again.

The Ainosato shop also sells ice cream and baked products. There are three flavors of ice cream. Milk, chocolate, and mix. These have a very rich flavor and they melt easily because they are so smooth, so you don’t have time to take pictures. It’s just a joke. Royce’s bakery has a lot of delicious bread. “Nama-chocolate croissant” is the most popular. There is also bread which is like a daily dish, like a “fried noodle bread”. And, time-limited baked products are also sold. The same as the sweet products like chocolates, limited campaigns are held periodically. Now, “Brittany-fair” is being held and there are some baked sweets from Brittany region in France.

←right is a bread of the Brittany fair. 

Different from the other shops, Ainosato has a factory and a beautiful rose garden near the shop. Next, I’ll introduce the rose garden near the Ainosato shop.

In Royce’s rose garden, there are a lot of beautiful roses and other flowers.  This garden is open from June to September. Amazingly, you can see them for free! But even though admission is free, don’t steal roses. 

Recently, so many people have come to Royce in Ainosato to buy nama-chocolate or ice cream and see the rose garden.Why don’t you go to the rose garden after shopping and have a break time with an ice cream or something from the bakery? 

My Seminar

The Japanese modern history seminar

I’m a member of the Japanese modern history seminar. In this seminar, we learn a lot of things related to Japanese history from the Edo-period to the Syowa-period. For example, one of my seniors in the seminar studies the influence of imperialism on Japanese politics. We used a book which is in this picture to discuss imperialism.

1. Why I decided to join this seminar

To be frank, I like to study world history more than Japanese history! So, I wanted to join a world history seminar. Surprisingly, there is not the world history seminar in our university!  But, in the Japanese modern history seminar, I could learn about not only Japan but also foreign countries, because the interaction between Japan and other countries has flourished. In fact, when we discussed ideas of Japanese democrats, we had to know their ideas were based on the philosopher Rousseau’s.

2. The topics I want to study in the seminar

The topic which I want to study is a relationship between Japan and Taiwan during the war. As you know, Japan colonized Taiwan for 50 years. But, some Taiwanese argue that Japanese rule promoted modernization. So, I’d like to learn how Japan governed Taiwan. I’m looking forward to reading and analyzing many historical materials!

If you are interested in Japanese modern history, I recommend you check this site. 

URL: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/japan_modern_timeline.htm

(Kaori)

My Favorite Cafes and Restaurants in Miyanomori

Hello, my name is Misaki Maeda.

I would like to introduce my favorite cafes and restaurant in Miyanomori because I live there.

First I will tell you about Tsuru Cafe. I like their strawberry parfait. It contains strawberries, baked meringue and soft ice cream. Also Tsuru Cafe sells parfait which has limited edition flavors too. And we can eat a light meal, for example quiche, sandwiches and so on.  http://tsurucafe.jugem.jp

Next shop is Barnes. It is an ice cream shop. As well as Tsuru Cafe, it sell limited edition ice cream. The flavor changes every month. Particularly I recommend the caramel flavor. Please check Barne’s website which introduces a new flavor this month.  https://www.barnes-web.com

Finally, I’ll introduce North Continent Miyanomori. I have liked it for 7 years. It is a hamburg steak shop. We can choose from a lot different dishes. It is the most delicious hamburg steak that I have eaten. Also, the atmosphere in this shop is very stylish. It is popular so there is another branch near Tanukikoji.  http://www.north-continent.co.jp

If you go to Miyanomori, please visit these cafes and restaurants.

Wild birds in Hokkaido

Hi everyone! Did you enjoy my previous post? I hope you did.

Anyway, do you like birds? I have six birds and I really love them! To be honest, I want to show off my birds but today, I’m going to introduce the wild birds of Hokkaido.

First,  I would like to introduce crows. I know they need no introduction but I want you to know my opinion. In fact, they are hated by many people who see them as harmful and I know sometimes they bother us. However, I think they behave like this to survive, never to bully us. That’s why, please don't hate or attack them!

Second,  I’d like to introduce this bird called Ohruri. The English name is a Blue-and-white Flycatcher. You can see them in April to October in Hokkaido and they often appear in woods nearby streams. In addition, they have incredible beautiful voices so when you hear such beautiful voices in woods, there are possibly Ohruris!

Seeing the picture above, you might already be aware of it but the last one is Shimaenaga. They have been very popular in Hokkaido recently because of their super cute look! 

Furthermore, because of its popularity, there is Shimaenaga food! However we don’t really eat them, we can eat ice cream that looks like Shimaenaga! To be honest, I haven’t tried it but I would love to!

　　How cute！

I hope you can meet these fascinating birds and start to like crows! If you go driving in the countryside, please search for them.  

As I said before, please be careful about bears when you go to the mountains or woods! 

That’s all for today and thank you for reading my post. See you next time!

My Club Activities

I belong to four clubs. Today, I will introduce three of them. 

1. The Futsal Club. 

All the players greet the match's referees.

I work as an assistant. We are active every Tuesday and Thursday. And a few times a month on Saturday, we play a match. Managers do much work in practice and matches. For example, give water bottles to the players, measure practice or match time and write the score. Besides futsal, there are a lot of events such as drinking parties and graduation parties. I think many players enjoy playing futsal!!

2."Ainosato daishizen harapekogakko" (aipeko)

This is light art. It is beautiful and children love it.

Maybe you thought "What?". It is a club to play with children. There are people who belong to various majors and clubs but everyone likes children.  We camp and do overnight parties every summer and winter. So every week we talk and plan about these events. It is hard because we have to think about fun and safety, but it is a learning experience for us. 

3. Windmill (softball club)

A ball, bat and gloves. 1st and 3rd gloves from left are mine.

This is Hokkaido university's club but anyone can enter it. We play softball a few times a month on Saturdays. Also, we go to a training camp in summer and winter. In winter, we also play volleyball and basketball. 

My lifestyle is very busy because of many club activities but it is fun. 

Would you try to enter some new clubs?