Planning For Our First Winter Snow Vacation

Wow, first of all, my apology for disappearing for close to a month after my last post. I have been SO busy with works and Edison’s mid-year exam. Finally, his exam is over and I realised one month has passed so quickly. They say time flies when you’re having fun, but nope, it’s not exactly true. It still flies regardless of the fun factor…  😆

Well, as revealed in the post title, we’re in the midst of planning for our first snow vacation. It isn’t exactly my first winter vacation, but it’s my first SNOW winter vacation. Truth be told, I’m not very fond of extreme cold weather due to my sensitive nose. Hence, I always prefer to travel in spring or summer.

V worked in the US for 4 years before we got married, snow is nothing exciting to him. The idea came from Edison. “Mama, mama, I want to see snow! What does it look like?” And I replied, “Snow is very white and it’s fluffier than your bed.” Then, he went on and on persuading me to go on a snow vacation.

Haha, it is funny how he lamented that he hasn’t seen real snow in his entire life (when he’s only 10 years old!). Truth is, I haven’t seen real snow even though I’m already 40! So, we decided to go for a snow vacation in December this year. But where to? We had two ideas in mind – Seoul and Hokkaido. 😀

Photo by Yeo Khee on Unsplash

I’ve always wanted to visit the beautiful Hokkaido, but I was intimidated by the complex Japan’s rail system. Hence, V suggested to take a package tour to make our lives easier. Honestly, that’s the last thing on my mind. As much as possible, I want to travel on free and easy. On the other hand, Seoul is a lot easier as we’ve been there two years ago. And now with Trazy, we don’t have to worry at all! 😀

The decision process swings back and forth between these two places. And finally, we picked

H O K K A I D O !!!

Yay! 😉  Thanks to my friends who’ve given me useful tips to plan for my first DIY vacation to Hokkaido. Not forgetting all the awesome bloggers out there who have written extensively about Hokkaido. With the volume of information out there, I finally realized that Hokkaido is pretty DIY-able!

As of this writing, my itinerary looks something like this – it’s similar to most first-timers to Hakkaido.

Day 1: Singapore to New Chitose Airport

Day 2: Sapporo (Shiroi Koibito Park, Ishiya Choclate Factory, Sapporo TV Tower, Odori Park, German X’mas Market, White Illumination)

Day 3: Day trip to Otaru, Susukino ‘Ramen and Entertainment Street’ at night

Day 4: Day trip to Asahikawa Zoo

Day 5: Sapporo to Noboribetsu

Day 6: Hell Valley, Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe

Day 7: Noboribetsu -> Tomamu

Day 8 – 9: At Hoshino Resorts Tomamu

Day 10: Back to Singapore

With the itinerary drafted, it’s time to hit the mall! This is my shopping list ^__^

1. Base layer thermal wear
2. Fleece jacket and pants
3. Knitted sweater
4. Down jacket
5. Waterproof ski jacket and pants
6. Beanie
7. Ski gloves
8. Ear muff
9. Scarf
10. Neck warmer
11. Wool socks
12. Snow boots
13. Heat packs
14. Freeze proof camera (not a necessity, but good to have!)

Yay! I can’t wait to go to Hokkaido! Hahaa, it’s not even June yet. Anyway, if you have any recommendations or tips for me, please share in the comment section below. I love to hear from you! Thank you. 🙂