Pop Japan

We're traveling to about half of Japan's prefectures this year thanks to Odigo!

This is the Ice Village at Lake Shikaribetsu Kotan in central Hokkaido (http://visit-tokachi.jp/en_activity/e...). It takes quite a bit of traveling to get there, but once you're in the city the local buses will pick you from the train stations and take you to the lake for free during the ice village season! (Make sure to talk to the hotel front desk to get a free ticket for the bus on the return ride!) The village is free to walk through but all the activities (drinks, ice carving, snowmobile, staying the night in an igloo, onsen, etc) cost money! The drinks were 500 yen each (~$5), and getting it in an ice glass was an additional 500 yen. Supposedly they may have dog sledding at some point, too!?

We were a little early because they hadn't finished building the chapel or the igloos yet, but it was still really cool to see the ice cafe! You can also eat lunch at a restaurant in the hotel, although Jun and I didn't enjoy our meal very much (ymmv).