will i am's delayed diary

Sapporo was just a short drive from Otaru, under an hour. Like most of the cities in Japan, very block-ish in design, hence contains a barrage of traffic lights and cross-junctions. Parked our car at one of many public parking spots ( the one we parked at had a clamp at the bottom that only released after paying the bill ) and went on foot. Spent most of our time there shopping really. So many drug stores with Chinese-speaking staff. However, with the Payke app, you can get most English product information just by scanning the barcode. In addition to drug stores, we also went treasure hunting at Donki ( amazing selection of sex toys ), Daiso, Book-off, etc. We had our lunch at Ginza Lion beer hall. Great place for Western food. At around 3:00 PM, we left Sapporo for Chitose. Dropped mum and Sis off at the AirBnB, while Bro and I went to pump petrol and return the rental. FYI, some petrol stations in Japan have the service and self-service pumps. Unknowingly, I stopped at the sel...

It's never easy task planning a family trip especially when my sister has her kids to consider, my brother is working in Singapore, and I have my own work commitments. Our last trip together was in 2012 to Hong Kong. In order to make things work, my sister took the lead and declared that she would be ditching her kids and hubby. Just the four of us. That made travel arrangements a lot easier. Secured our tickets three months before our flight period in late May. Another summer in Hokkaido for me, which was low season ( cheaper flights, cheaper lodging ). Temperatures are still generally pleasant, but flowers aren't in full bloom yet. On the day of departure, my brother flew in from Singapore and he practically camped at KLIA2 for half a day ( since he was there early, he helped me collect the TravelRecommends WiFi hotspot ). Mum, Sis and I took a cab from home after dinner. I was hoping for my usual cab driver's Estima, but for some reason, he sent his brother instead a...

We had a long drive ahead of us. KH and I split the 300KM drive to Chitose . The expressway was quite boring with no big rest stops. Mostly just toilets and a vending machine. Pushed on and arrived at Mitsui Outlet Park , Kitahorishima at about 2:00PM. Our Mitsui Premium Outlet in Sepang has a similar design, but the selection of brands is much better in Hokkaido. Although shopping was high on the list, eating lunch was more important. The food court offered a good selection of lunch options. Miso ramen is popular in the Sapporo region, so KH tried that. I for one found it to be overpowered by garlic oil. I chose Hokkaido pork don with leek. What I ate was pretty close to what Senya serves in KL. Kudos to Senya. Found the best bargains at Rockport and Banana Republic. Surprisingly, they also have a supermarket there selling fruits and vegetables. When we left MOP, our hands were full of shopping bags. Been trying to find SK's Albion products for two weeks but to no av...