Sadly, we have come to the last day of my Hokkaido trip and while i am reluctant to leave the land of the rising sun, i had to for two reasons; well, i need to work to come and splurge again and secondly, i didn't have any more luggage space.
Time - 6.00 am and it's already bright with the temperature at a cool 20 degree celcius! Why were we out at such an ungodly hour?! To catch the train at JR station which would depart for New Chitose airport at 6.31 am, sharp.
Us in the elevator with Alex expressing his sadness; it's rare to find him so in love with a country! The other country that gets his enthusiastic approval would be Taiwan.
Publicity for some art festival.
Taking the underground passage to the JR station as the wheels of our luggage were making loads of noise and we thought it would be inconsiderate to disturb other sleeping residents in the vicinity.
More artistic displays; i was more intrigued by the fabrics in the second picture as they would be fantastic materials to make the hundred families blanket (Chinese patchwork)!
Boarding the train way ahead of time as the walking from UNIZO Inn to Sapporo JR station was only about fifteen minutes. To read more on my rapid train journey to New Chitose airport, click here.
Visiting the toilet; i miss many things in Hokkaido and one of them would be the toilet! Truth be told, i am particular when it comes to the facility that manages our bodily waste and if not for the potential reduction in readership, i would have posted a few articles on disgusting toilets i have been to.
To me, i would be satisfied if i step into a toilet and it had an anti-bacterial toilet seat cleaner, together with an electronic bidet; and it can be found in New Chitose Airport!
Last minute shopping for Japanese snacks at New Chitose Airport and i am surprised the shops managed to offer so many popular products! And since this is Hokkaido, you can get frozen king crabs and Yubari melons to bring home too!
Do check out the Smile Road on level 3 which is accessible to the public! As we were too early, both Hello Kitty Happy Flight and Doraemon Sky Park remained closed. Chocolate-lover wannabes would love Royce's Chocolate World for its wide variety of chocolates (some of which can't be found in Singapore) and gain information on the history of chocolate.
After a terribly disappointing meal at the food court wing of the international terminal, it's time to board the plane; albeit with a heavy heart as i can't believe that the eight days had passed by so quickly!
Aerobridge bearing the Royce logo; for those who are unaware, the famous Royce chocolates have their beginning right here in Hokkaido!
Our Thai Airways plane; frankly, i don't think i would have visited Japan if not for the promotion that Thai Airways was running last year that only cost me S$376 from Singapore to Sapporo, with transit in Bangkok.
I had been looking out for another promotion so that i can experience the hospitality of Thai Airways again but sadly, prices found were almost doubled what i paid for! :(
Nevertheless, i didn't have much to complain about Thai Airways.
Food were generally not bad, stewards / stewardesses were nice and polite, range of movies was pretty good etc. Only one thing; the airline doesn't seem to like the cold very much and in my past few times taking Thai Airways, it has always been rather warm in the cabin.
Leaving the gate!
Must be a busy morning for New Chitose Airport as we had two other planes right in front us; waiting in queue to take the runway.
Last look of the airport - some information on New Chitose Airport; it opened in 1991 and was the fifth busiest airport in Japan! Its Sapporo-Tokyo domestic route was ranked the second busiest in the world with 7.8 million passengers 2015.
Plane took off from the runway at 10.44 am.
I am continuing this post with more pictures as the view high up above the clouds can be so mesmerizing and truthfully, i still have a ton of pictures that would be kept stashed and hidden in my hard disk if i don't share them in my blog.
Packet of Japanese snacks instead of boring nuts; Singapore Airlines should seriously take a leaf from Thai Airways by serving old, Singapore classics like jewel biscuits or even biscuits from Khong Guan! Or have they? SQ too expensive for me and i took it only when i signed up for package tours to places like China.
Land below us!
As we were only about 30 minutes from departure, it's a definite we were still in Japan although i doubt the plan would fly past Mount Fuji.
I was curious to know where we were and actually spent a bit on time of google map; scrolling through the potential plane route. The above two photographs were taken above Oga; a city with a population of only about 30,000.
Lunch was served!
Everything was nice except for the main which was some lousily fried rice and soggy prawns that were deep fried. However, the rest was delicious; warm, fragrant bread, sweet pumpkin salad with smoked duck and the cold soba which totally changed my opinion of it! What have i been missing all this while?!
More photos! Can't pinpoint the actual location although for the last picture, i guess the plane had flown past South China Sea and we would be going into the airspace of another country.
More snacks and it's Taiyaki! Warm and spongy with generous red bean paste filling, i can't imagine that Thai Airways was feeding us so much!
Such interesting terrain made it easier for me to find out its location and thankfully, it didn't take long to locate it in Vietnam!
Location - Hue; capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty which ruled Vietnam from 1802 till 1945 and is also one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites! I am interested to visit after knowing of Nghĩa trang An Bằng on google map; a cemetery with over 700 beautiful tombs!
Cottony clouds blocking my view.
Landed at about 5.00 pm Thailand time! Since we would be in transit, i chose the timing back to Singapore to be as late as possible so that we can R & R in Bangkok! No additional itinerary in place but if you are interested in a hotel that's near the airport link station and not that far from the city center, you may read my review on FX Metrolink Makkasan Hotel.
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Detailed Postings for the Day
- Taking the Rapid Train from Sapporo to New Chitose Airport
- New Chitose Airport - Last Minute Shopping
- Smile Road - Royce's Chocolate World, Hello Kitty & Doraemon
- Miso Ramen at New Chitose Airport Food Court Wing
- FX Metrolink Makkasan Hotel
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