What would make you smile? Seeing your salary deposited in your bank account or the time when you look at your work email box and realise you have (finally) cleared all outstanding emails?!
I admit the above do make me smile but i am an easily satisfied person; the simple pleasures of life would also result in the same effect. Just like when i chanced upon the aptly named 'smile road' in Hokkaido's New Chitose airport.
Comprising three main attractions - Doraemon Sky Park, Hello Kitty Happy Flight & Royce's Chocolate World; it's mostly just a touch and go for us as we had to be in the airport for a 10am flight and businesses don't open that early.
Doraemon Sky Park - as the cartoon of this robot cat that came from the future was also shown in Singapore when i was a kid, i can still vividly remember the h many impressive high tech tools that came out from Doraemon's magical pocket! For more information on what's at the sky park, click here.
Hello Kitty Happy Flight - i know of the cat with no mouth even though i don't recall watching the cartoon at all. Nevertheless, Hello Kitty is no doubt the world's most famous cat and even in Singapore, its popularity back in 2000 resulted in long queues and a shattered glass incident injuring seven people. So what's there at Happy Flight? Click here.
Royce's Chocolate World - the origin of Royce chocolates actually started from Sapporo back in 1983 and since then, its following has even extended to Singapore (first store opened in 2001) where its chocolates remain popular choices as Christmas gifts!
This chocolate world has, in fact, an exhibition on chocolates and for those who couldn't make it to Shiroi Koibito Park, this would be pretty similar as far as content is concerned, with a heavier emphasis on the history of cocao.
Pictures as above to give you a brief preview; which included the vessels used in the early days (like a few thousand years ago) to hold a chocolate drink that's different from what we had now, chocolate moulds, tin as preferred material to store chocolate and cocoa powder and chocolate wrappers.
For me, it's definitely the wide variety of Royce's products that blew me away! There were so many to choose from and you can't find some of them in their Singapore's stores!
For example, the chocolates in a chocolate pod.
Or the above although they didn't quite attract me. Sometimes, it's best to concentrate on a favourite few instead of exporting all the products. Furthermore, as the home base, i think it's fair that Royce maintains a wider choice for holidaymakers in Hokkaido.
So what's available in both Singapore and Hokkaido? Royce's Nama Chocolates and they came in a smaller size in Hokkaido that's mostly priced 474 yen. The common size found in Singapore was cost 777 yen.
In comparison to what we pay for in our little red dot, it's closed to almost a 40 percent discount! Rather hefty if you ask me and even i was tempted to get a few packs despite having an almost 24-hour transit in Bangkok!
The 'pure chocolate' series that i love to keep in my fridge and indulge in a few pieces a day; a 15-piece box cost 335 yen whereas in Singapore, they are sold in 42-piece boxes priced at S$15 a box.
My favourite Royce product - their potatochip chocolate and this is coming from a guy who doesn't like potato chips in general. However, Royce's potatochip won me over with its savoury sweetness that's an utter addiction! Needless to say, i got a few packs back to Singapore!
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Location
3rd Floor of New Chitose Airport,
Hokkaido, Japan
Accessible to the public
For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.
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