First time in Hokkaido? Part one: The Arrival

Living abroad is one of the biggest goals in my life. As a young traveler with loads of dreams of walking on the world's ground, I often asked God to take me to at least one country where I could stay for a very long time, if not forever.

March 26, 2015. Chitose Airport, Hokkaido. It was a sunny morning when Vanilla Air landed safely in the north of Japan. And there I was, following the steps of locals heading towards the baggage claim area. To my surprise, the man I was following went quickly outside. The automatic doors shut. I forgot my luggage!

"Excuse me, I need help!"

Unfortunately, nobody spoke in English.

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Thankfully I knew a handful of words that could get me help. I went to the information center and finally my pink luggage was on the spot. I'm ready to go!

After an hour of waiting, the staff informed us that the bus was coming. Yep, a provincial bus. A two-hour ride that would lead me to a place called Hirafu Grand Center---wherever it was. I obviously had no idea what and where it was. I walked down the isle with a bunch of locals, probably coming from a winter vacation from various parts of the country. It was my first time to be in a place where the snow piled up to 4 meters high. And yes, I wore the thickest clothing for the first time in my history: a brown velvet fur coat, with two layers of long-sleeved blouses underneath, a pair of black cotton gloves, a pair of jeans, thermal stockings inside, a sock on each foot and leather boots that saved my toes from frostbite. They weren't winter boots (and I didn't have the bucks to have one), but they worked just fine.

As I rode the bus, I sat by the window and prepared my smartphone, ready to take videos and pictures of anything that would bring my utmost interest. Not later, a view of the fields were on sight. There was snow everywhere literally! Mountains were covered with snow, houses, factories, cars, towns---everything was enveloped with that white soft blanket of snow. My eyes feasted on such beauty that I only witnessed on TV, postcards, and movies. But now, those winter wonderland scenes turned into reality.

Check out the video of the snowy mountains here.

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Hirafu Grand Center, 2pm.
The bus gradually stopped at the huge parking space nearby. I stepped out of the vehicle and pulled my luggage with me. i turned around to see the beautiful view of the center. It seemed like a tourist spot. 

"Hello, you must be Jennifer,"

A Japanese woman came to me, carrying a baby that seemed to be a year old. "I'm Yui. Nice to meet you!"

Yui was my coordinator. She helped me find my apartment, introduced me to the information centers of my town, and assisted me to the phone shop for my Japanese mobile. This woman was just one of a kind. She later became my friend on that day, and introduced me too, to Hayashi-san, the landlady of the apartment I'm staying now. She also drove me from the Hirafu Center to Kyogoku, which was now my hometown.

Up next:  First time in Hokkaido? Part 2: Winter Wonderland

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