Due to my business circumstances, I often travel to the provinces on weekends. What I enjoy is that, as soon as I finish my work, I fly out and hang around the town just like a kite with a broken string. Some people say that a local city is like a little Tokyo, but there is always something interesting in each area. Last weekend it was suddenly decided for me to go to Hokkaido, which would be the first time for me. It was also the most beautiful season of the year! As usual, my "I want to see and experience everything" feelings were bubblingup, and my passion for a walk barely won over my affection for work.

The red star is the symbol of the settlers. There is a red star is on the clock tower I visited first thing in the morning before going to work. That star must be very visible in the white snow. I imagine the clock tower standing smartly in the plain and ringing out its bell everywhere in Sapporo. Being surrounded by buildings, the clock tower looks small at present. Yet hearing that it used to let resound all over the town in those days, it makes me think of what the people had to go through to create such prosperity.

Taking a seat with a view of the clock tower, I had breakfast. The clock tower is often ridiculed as one of the top three disappointing spots, but I thought it was cute and fell in love with it at first glance. I heard that it was repaired a few yeas ago and repainted a light olive green to make it closer to the original state. It's a cozy building which is surely loved by the people in that area. As it's stated "We are the citizens of Sapporo where the bell of the clock tower rings" in the citizen's character of Sapporo City, it must be a pride of them. Even though the building is very old, I just can't be disappointed with it, considering the people's feelings toward it. I, who is traveling all over the earth with the purpose of going to see art and buildings, have seen a number of buildings with more disappointing structures. So, as my first impression, I rather felt that this one was not so bad for this kind of building.

The second star is Sapporo beer. Finishing work and passing through the main street that was bustling because of the Lilac Gestival, I headed for the Sapporo Factory. It is the birth place of Sapporo beer which was started as "Development Commission Beer Brewery" in 1934. At present it is a combined shopping center and art museum. There is a square where a red-brick warehouse of the beer factory of those days is still preserved, and it has some traces of the past. As the word "Development Commission" indicates, you can also find a big red star on the wall of the warehouse. Looking up, I see a sign saying "Tokyo Ishikawajima dockyard, Inc. June, Taisho 4" on a chimney. I feel as if I had been transported through time to the Taisho Period which was when the people still could openly enjoy freedom. I guess it was the time when consumption of beer, which is one of the luxury grocery items, began to increase. I wonder how Japan would have been if the war had not broken out then. Although there are some people saying that the present time is "just like the prewar times," I happened to be overcome by deep emotion at the square thinking that we have to keep the country, where we can enjoy the beer, as it is.

It is very convenient to take the bus on the Factory route, which started service on April 1, 2001. It circulates through the center of Sapporo and takes you to see some main tourist attractions. I recommend you to take this bus for sightseeing when you don't have time to waste.

The next day is Sunday. I don't have any work to do. Well, then of course, I'm not going straight back home. So I make my holiday full of plans such as visiting Otaru and the Shakotan Peninsula. Once a flourishing port, Otaru is a treasure-house of modern architecture. Because I just have so many things to write about Otaru, I'm going to take it up some other day, and I go into the Shakotan Peninsula for today.

My friend and I arranged to meet in Otaru, and went on a much longed-for drive in Hokkaido. Driving on a long and straight road in the cool and dry air of the climate, which made me feel like if I were in a plateau, I could really feel "We are in Hokkaido!" Shimamui Coast was about three hours away from Otaru. The ocean we could view from the coastline was shining as it reflected the sun, and the rocks carved by snowstorms were eye-catching as they if they were some kind of monument. Fortunately because it was a nice day, the color of the ocean was truly Venetian blue as it brightly reflectied the color of the sky. Leaning on the railing of an observation platform, I stared at the deep blue. The field of vision was wider than 180 degrees. I could understand the idea of the Middle Ages with my whole body that the earth was flat, and the ocean ended at the land's end with water falling in a cascade at the edges. There was a small fishing boat floating on the water, and seagulls were circling above it. I wonder what they are trying to catch. Is this the answer, perhaps?

According to my friend who bought an Atka mackerel here, it was as delicious and should be rated three stars. Of course, it is needless to say that the sea urchin and salmon roe were marvelously delicious, almost melting on my tongue.