The Frozen North, part 1

By reading this I hope you can assume from the get go that exams are over, we arrived safely in Hokkaido and there are no new funerals to attend.

What you cannot assume is that everything went according to plan, which is probably a good thing for you as it makes the blog that much more interesting to read. That thought in mind did not make it any less fun to experience, however.



Boy, was I in a good mood after filming that! Such a novelty experience coupled with the adrenaline rush of overcoming an obstacle of Herculean proportions made for high spirits.

But that is where the fun stops.

I hadn't been on a boat in about 13 years, mind, and the weather conditions we not tip-top to say the least. Which is my way of saying that I got seasick. We all did. Every last one of us. It was horrific. 20 solid hours of nausea, groutch and unenthusiasm. Even the second Gurren Lagann movie (which is so-so up until the end in which it excels itself by staying true to its word and defeating the impossible, making the end even more epic than the original) was insufficient. Everything eventually ran out of batteries, sleep was brief and intermittent, mealtimes were awkward and for the most part unwanted and Maid RPG was comparatively flat. Those 20 hours were the worst in my entire life, I reckon, worse even than that time I worked in that festering cesspit of a catering agency which shall remain nameless.

But that is all behind me now. We're here! We're in Hokkaido, in a little town called Otaru where we will spend the morning and night of each day of this coming week. And it's brilliant! This is the sort of snow I have been dreaming of since I was little and any amount of snow at least felt like this.




The place is ice-sculpture heaven. It's really got that Lapland feel about it, and most definitely not in a cheesy way. It's like everybody chipped in and made little sculptures wherever they thought they would fit, it's staggering. There's also a Karaoke box called Thriller Karaoke which looks fantastic!

Most of yesterday was spent drifting about in lethargic nausea, so there's nothing really else to say at this point. Today we're going to Sapporo (35 minutes by train) to see the REAL Yuki Matsuri, which we are told is far more impressive than sleepy Otaru. Other plans for the week include a winter aquarium and skiing.

I'm very hungry. The so-called free breakfast that the hotel was supposed to supply was not free, after all, not free at all. Breakfast will be left up to us this week. That's a bit of a bother, but not the worst thing that could have happened at this point. And for that I am thankful.

Anyway, I'll just wait for the video to finish, upload it and be gone. Thanks for reading!

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ﾚﾎﾟｰﾄします。これでチームはレベル６０以上で、デルビル以外イリートフォーを戦われます。そして、ミュウもレベル６０にあったので、パワーがすごくて、ちょっと怖いです。
昨日、レッドに会いました。それは本当の怖さでした。これは地球の中で一番強いポケモントレーナーで、僕がフランスで失われたレッドです。戦えなかった．．．