Truth to tell I don't really like going for holidays during winter. I think it is so depressing when 5 p.m. feels like 8 p.m. However, since I like playing with snow I don't really have any choice do I? Unless of course you go to the fake snow house which I'm pretty sure I will like less than winter ;)
We went to Japan via China Airlines. This is the first time that I flew via this airline. The flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sapporo were quite pleasant. The meals on board were quite tasty. The flight attendants were polite and pretty. The inflight entertainment was satisfactory even though the selection of movies are quite limited. We had a short transit of two hours at Taipei International Airport.
The flights from Sapporo to Kuala Lumpur were less enjoyable however with bland food served and the flight attendants were nowhere in sight. I know you can call them by pushing the button at your chair but I ended up walking to the back of the plane a few times to ask for some warm water. I don't know whether it is just me but I found that the flights home were extra dry and sucked the moisture out of me somehow :(
When we reached Sapporo International Airport we were quite alarmed when we saw that there was not even a speck of snow on the ground. I'm sure the Sapporo residents were quite happy with the sun shinning but for us who specifically flew to Japan to experience snow it was a bit disappointing. Luckily our disappointment was very short lived. The same night it was snowing and when we woke up the next morning the world was a winter wonderland :)
You can read my experience with show in my other posting here:
For this trip (12-18 December 2013) we joined a Muslim tour organised by Ramza Travel & Tours Agency Sdn Bhd. The tour price was RM6700 per person (twin sharing). The Japanese local agent Zero Planning was very good. They made sure that we have an area to perform our prayers and even provide prayer mats and attire for the women. This is the first time that I went to a non-Muslim countries that have qiblah direction at the hotel rooms. Zero Planning also bought new cutleries for us. They even have a small prayer room and ablution area at their new office in Sapporo. Amazing and well done!
During our six nights there we stayed at three onsen hotels and two normal hotels. Frankly I would rather stay at normal hotels throughout since almost all tour members did not actually go to the onsen anyway. Note: Onsen is a hot spring or a resort that has developed around a hot spring. One of the local's favourite activities most especially during winter is dipping themselves in the therapeutic hot spring. The activity requires the participants to be totally naked.
I think it is quite safe to generalise that almost all Muslim women will not go to a public onsen wearing just their birthday suit. They may however go to a private one. So maybe this fact is something that Zero Planning might consider when they arrange bookings for hotels in the future for Muslim tours. If they insist on onsen hotels, make sure there is a private onsen available and let the tour participants know in advance how much is the cost for a private session. Alternatively just stay at a normal hotel close to shopping areas ;)
Since they are a green tea drinking society and I am the sweet tea kind of person I couldn't even enjoy their hot drinks. Their coffee was also extremely bitter that I have to put a lot of milk and sugar just to neutralise its bitterness.
Despite everything I do enjoy the trip because I get to experience many kind of snow and snowing styles. Shopping there was also quite a pleasure most especially for the shopaholics. Too bad I've already repented. My motto now is "Live Life Simply". So no more lugging stuff from overseas for me ;p
Will I come back to visit Japan in near future? Highly unlikely as this was my second trip to Japan already. The first time was to visit Tokyo during sakura season. A beautiful season in Japan.
I've uploaded 407 photos of the trip for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.
Njoy!!
