Thoughts on Sapporo

Since I'm leaving Sapporo today, it sounds like a good time to do the "thoughts on Sapporo" entry:

- It's a bit more English-friendly than Tokyo. More signs and directions are in English, and I found that most restaurants had an English version of their menu. I would have thought that the reverse would have been true.
- As I mentioned above, it looks and feels a lot like Vancouver. Even the climate is the same. Pretty much the first time this trip that I haven't been overheating while outdoors! Such a relief.
- It's very easy to navigate as the streets are numbered with directions (if you're at South 4 West 3, you can find your way easily to South 2 West 1, for example). Also because of the length of Odori Park, and the height of the TV tower at one end of the park, you can use that as a convenient navigational aid whenever you can see them.
- The covered and underground shopping arcades offer a wide variety of products, while at the same time being completely protected from the weather. Also, if it's raining, they're a great way to get from one end of "downtown" to the other without getting wet. Rather like what I remember from Toronto's "Path" network.
- I have had the best non-home-made oysters and squid that I have had anywhere.