Selection

We stayed in Hokkaido for some five days. Although Vivian could drive and knows a bit of Japanese, we actually join a group tour to save the trouble of planning the trip in detail.

We end up having one day in Rusutsu Resort (it was raining cats and dogs, but there was an excellent circus show and a impressive dinner in a local izakaya - and it was free), one day at Sapporo (Marine Park, shopping, and ice-cream), another at Furano (flowers - what else could it be?), and another at Otaru.

The food in this week was always superb, and I enjoyed steamed rice and marinated fish (my favorite!) as breakfast every morning. As our tour guide said, chefs in Hokkaido are mostly so-so, simply because all ingredients are fresh and outstanding. You don't really need much skill to make a good meal.

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After we were back Hong Kong, my wife said during a casual conversation, "You know, I think we are rather lucky. We have been joining group tour for several times and our group mates are always very nice."

I could not help smiling, "My dear, it depends on the group we choose. If our group mates do not mind paying slightly more to have a decent trip, they are more likely to be nice people and less calculating."