(Written by Isis Berns)
So, you’re visiting Sapporo in the winter season, where temperatures could drop to -10°C or 14°F… You will either embrace the cold or learn to embrace the cold! Seriously though, for some travelers, Sapporo’s white winters can be tough—especially if they come from warmer lands. I’m from Canada, and I’ve lived in Hokkaido for 15 years, so you’d think I would love winter my whole life, right? Actually, Toronto does not have as much snow as Sapporo does, and I was used to driving around in a car, so it took me some time to adopt the mindset of “I love going outdoors in the winter!” And I must say, the best way to learn how to enjoy the colder days is to step outside and just go for it! Plan some activity, make a bucket list of things to do, and just do it. Apparently, the more you go outside, the more your body adapts to colder temperatures (it’s called “cold acclimatization” or “cold adaptation”—a process where the body gradually adjusts to cold temperatures through repeated exposure). Our bodies are cool, right? Get it? Okay, moving on…
Once you make sure you have the right gear, you can start your outdoor winter adventure. But many people ask, what is the “right” gear to wear for snow country? I highly recommend wool-infused long johns, with a fleece layer on top, another thin down jacket layer if you’re super cold, and then a windbreaker or waterproof type of ski jacket and ski pants for the top layer. Unfortunately, all of this costs a lot of money, especially if you’re visiting snow country for just 1 week, but the great news is, you can even rent the ski wear and warm winter boots when booking with Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Tours, and that saves you a few hundred dollars you can use on extra warm food and omiyage (souvenirs) instead. I bought my ski jacket two years ago for 20,000 yen, and that was on sale. That wasn’t including the ski pants or inner layers! So you can imagine buying waterproof ski wear and boots for a family of four like ours could easily add up to over 200,000 yen. It snows nearly every day in Sapporo City, so you don’t want a jacket that soaks up that snow, or else as soon as you go inside, it will melt and stay wet. That’s why I recommend waterproof ski jackets so you can just brush off all the snow easily before stepping inside.
Another winter accessory I highly recommend is something called “Kairo,” which is a heat pack you can stick on your stomach, on your back in between your shoulders, or even buy some to put in your shoes to keep those toes warm. I don’t leave the house without these, as I get cold easily, but my German husband Johannes seems to not need heat packs, maybe because he has a higher metabolism rate than I do, which tends to generate more internal heat in the body naturally. Kairo may also be a bit dangerous for children, as the packs do tend to get extremely hot, so we do not give them to our daughters, either. Instead, I give our girls an extra cozy fluffy belly warmer and thick wool socks. If you do try to use Kairo, please make sure never to put them directly onto your skin!
To enjoy each winter day to the fullest, our family tries to make sure we go outside to play, or at least take a walk in the snow, once or twice a day. It not only gets your body adjusted to cooler temperatures, but studies prove that spending time outdoors can have many positive effects on a person’s well-being and mood. Natural light and vitamin D from the sun are both necessary uplifters, and what’s even better is doing some physical activity in the winter cold to get those endorphins going, making you happy! I hope this has convinced you by now. If you decide to travel to Sapporo or Hokkaido during the winter months, as much as I love a good coffee in a warm cafe for hours on end, please also be sure to add a few outdoor playful activities so you can fully enjoy your trip!
Our family of 4 was invited to try a fun outdoor winter activity plan for one day, and our two girls couldn’t sleep; they were so excited! Our youngest energy-bubble Sofia just turned 5 years old, and our older 7-year-old daughter Elena is continuously surprising us with her quick independence since becoming a first grader. She not only walks to school by herself; she goes on little shopping trips for Mommy sometimes (as I watch her the whole way from our apartment window), and on this winter trip, she wanted to try riding on a horse all by herself! We’re always up for a weekend adventure, and my husband and I were glad to hear that we’d have a comfortably warm and spacious private taxi driving us the whole way, so we didn’t have to worry about driving on any slippery icy mountain roads. Although my husband does love drifting on Hokkaido’s icy roads as part of the winter adventure, riding in a cozy taxi was nice too. Our girls loved befriending the taxi driver who was kind enough to join in the girls’ chitchatting the whole ride.
On this lovely, cloudy, snowy winter morning in Sapporo, we drove about 40 minutes from central Sapporo city to a horse ranch called “Wild Mustangs.” The area was surrounded by mountains and snow-covered trees. The taxi wound through curvy roads down south near the Jozankei area away from civilization, and the quiet helped us forget the business of the city. “Wild Mustangs” is located at the bottom of Mt. Hakkenzan, a mountain with an altitude of 498m, with unique sharp rocks protruding into the sky that resemble multiple swords, hence the name “Eight Sword Mountain.” In this beautiful location, our taxi parked right next to the stables on the ranch so we could quickly hop inside.
Many horses stood in their outdoor stalls, happily eating some hay while being covered in many centimeters of snow on their coats. Thankfully, there was no wind, so even for us humans, it didn’t feel too cold. Still, our daughters wondered, “The horses aren’t cold eating outside like that?” Horses have multiple layers of thick fur as their natural winter coat, and that’s just one of the ways they have adapted to Hokkaido’s winter weather. Our girls ran straight to the horses with a big “Good morning!” The ranch staff were ready to receive us, and with a big knowing grin, they watched the girls meet the horses munching on their breakfast and kindly asked us not to stand behind the horses’ back feet. The horses also seemed to be very used to people and young children and didn’t mind at all when we came up close to pet them.
“Which horse am I going to ride?” our eldest Elena squealed, her excitement at the max.
“Maybe this one; her name is Sakura,” announced one of the staff wearing a cowboy hat. Sakura has a beautiful orange-beige coat and a thick blonde mane.
“What about me?” Sofia chimed in.
“Well, let’s ask your dad about that,” the staff smiled, knowing Sofia was a bit too little to ride on her own just yet.
My husband Johannes and I were invited into the welcome cabin of the ranch while the girls were captivated by the horses. The moment we stepped inside, it felt like we walked into an old Western movie set. Cowboy hats lined the walls, and more than a dozen thick fringe jackets and jean coats in all different sizes were hanging on a rack for us to choose from. An old piano was fashionably collecting dust in one corner, and old photographs of famous actors who starred in horse movies were strewn all over the walls. Being a horse lover myself, I watched as many horse movies as I could growing up, and I loved recognizing many of the classics hanging on the wall. Riding a horse immediately gives actors a respectable aura, don’t you think? And being able to choose a cowboy hat and jacket for the ride ourselves helped us get into character and boost our confidence! Even if we didn’t know how to ride well, at least we looked the part! Our girls were fitted with adorable red and pink cowgirl hats that suited them perfectly.
Fortunately, it wasn’t our first time riding horses, but if anyone were to try horseback riding for the first time, I’d recommend Wild Mustangs in Sapporo for a few reasons: The horses are calm, the staff are not only kind but fun and very welcoming, and they teach you how to ride a horse with patience and skill. Our 7-year-old daughter was thrilled to ride the horse all by herself, and although our little one was a bit frustrated she couldn’t (only elementary grade 1 and up are allowed), Sofia was still happy to ride the horse together with Johannes. Since Johannes was holding on to Sofia for safety, the ranch staff held the reins of their horse to pull them through the trekking course.
But before we headed out, the staff gave us a lesson on how to horseback ride Western-style. Elena was first. She used a sturdy box to climb onto the horse with ease, hooked her feet into the stirrups, and then quickly held onto the reins. The staff kindly guided her to keep her back straight, heels down, and hold onto the reins just a little tighter. She seemed a bit nervous, but a grin was stuck on her face for the whole lesson! With the coach riding ahead and leading the way, Elena followed and had to keep a certain distance, stopping the horse on command. Then, after learning how to turn both left and right, we had some slalom practice walking through cones in the ring. Taking turns, we could weave through the course one after another. Knowing that your horse listens to each movement you make with your whole body is an exhilarating feeling, to say the least! The horses were so calm and composed that we felt extremely safe and relaxed the whole time.
After the lesson, the staff asked us to guide the horses to get a drink of water before our trek. We led them to a large bucket of water that had a frozen layer of ice on top! Elena’s horse Sakura nearly cracked the ice with her hoof to break it before drinking, but the staff bud in first to break it for her, so Sakura could drink to her heart’s content. We laughed as she drank her ice water for a long time, and when she raised her head, mouth dripping with water, we thought she was finally done. But then she dunked her mouth back in for some more.
“She’s super thirsty!” Elena giggled.
Next, it was my turn with the beautiful dark-haired horse Cindy, to take a drink. She took one quick sip and less than three seconds later, she shuffled in line behind Sakura for the trail.
“That was fast!” I chuckled.
“I guess she wasn’t thirsty,” Elena replied.
I could hear little Sofia giggling behind me, on the saddle with my husband holding her tight.
Then, instead of just riding in a fenced-off riding arena, the staff led us on a comfortable ride around the grounds. We could balance with our horses down a slope, through snow-covered orchard trees, by little rivers, and we even got a chance to walk through fresh snow with the horses, which felt very different from a regular trodden path. We stopped many times to take photos in front of Mt. Hakkenzan, a beautiful winter-white backdrop.
On the way back from our ride, our daughters kept asking for the names of each horse we passed standing in their stalls. Even after the ride, they didn’t want to leave the ranch, and our eldest Elena seemed to have fallen in love with her horse Sakura. As soon as we parked the horses at their stations, they happily began munching on hay again.
Both Elena and Sofia pleaded, “Can we give them carrots? They did such a good job, they need carrots!”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I agreed.
The girls and I skipped back to the cabin that had a small table outside the door decorated with cups, filled with cut carrots. We grabbed three cups and ran back to our horses, making sure to avoid walking directly behind them. And what a feast it was! The girls were a little nervous seeing the big teeth the horses had, but it was so much fun to see them munch on the carrots with such speed and gaiety! I tried to show our girls the horses were sweet and kind, so I patted their noses and manes gently, to which our daughters copied and tried to do the same, giggling all the while.
I’m not sure if any of you readers have experienced the same feeling, but I genuinely agree with the notion that horses are healing animals and can help anyone relax and smile more–Horses are known to provide emotional and mental healing. By grooming, riding, and bonding with horses, you not only check off a fun winter activity from your outdoor activity list, but you can also get the extra perk of feeling uplifted emotionally.
What a great ride! Not only did I think my husband looked extremely handsome in his cowboy outfit, but I also felt like a movie star in my cowgirl hat and fringe jacket! Our daughters couldn’t stop smiling all morning with their new horse friends, and we all felt more cheerful from the whole winter horseback riding experience.
In the afternoon, we hopped back into our warm taxi for about 30 minutes for our next stop: the Takino Snow World Family Ski Resort. This park is perfect for any families with young children hoping to have some fun outdoors in the snow. There is a short slope for any beginner skiers, cross-country and snowshoe trails, and outdoor snow tubing! For any children hoping to escape the cold, there’s a massive indoor playground area you can visit and forget the time.
For our afternoon outdoor winter activity, we decided to try the popular snow tubing at Takino Snow Park! Tubing is way more fun than just grabbing a sled and sliding down some slopes. The plastic donut is much faster, with grips to hold on to, and even two small children can go together at once! First, we decided to ride down the slopes together, with one parent and one child each. We even had a mini-competition amongst ourselves to see who could ride faster or longer down the slope! The trick to that was making sure you lay flatter on the donut, and keeping your bottom off the ground to get rid of any friction. Little Sofia, our little speed addict, insisted I lay as flat as possible. After our first ride, both of our girls shouted “Again!” and we lined up again for another ride. This repeated many more times, that I even lost count! But our adrenaline was running as we slid down the long 200m course, which Sapporo Takino Snow Park boasts is the longest snow tubing course in all of Japan! We were thrilled for the ride, and the best part was watching our two girls become a team, riding down together, clinging to each other, and shouting with glee the whole way down. Even us parents couldn’t keep the smile off our faces–Takino Snow Park makes everyone feel like a kid again playing in all of the powdery white snow of Sapporo. Forget about the cold–once you’re outside running around and playing as a family, you may even sweat with all the fun activities you can do here. A little snowball fight between husband and wife is always a good laugh to lighten things up too!
Where can a family with toddlers have fun safely in the Sapporo snow? Takino would be my first suggestion. If tubing seems a bit too wild for your little ones, you can take a short walk through the forest path together, use buckets or shovels to play in the snow, borrow a mat for sledding, and even make snow angels together in the snow! With all the wide space in the park, you’re sure to find something to do together that everyone in the family would love. Discover footprints in the snow from wild animals, find silver frost on the tree branches, throw the powder snow up into the air for a great family photo, and more!
If you’re looking for something more active, I recommend cross-country skiing. You can rent what you need right at Takino Snow Park. Beginner skiers are also welcome, as the park can rent out all the ski gear you need. There’s even a lift to ride up after each gentle slope ride down. So if you want to try skiing for the first time on your visit to Sapporo with small children, remember Takino Snow Park is the place to go. Even if you decide you’re not made for skiing, there are plenty of other activities at the park, as already mentioned. Unlike the massive ski resorts where there are only a few cafes to escape to after any attempts, rent skis at a remarkably affordable price for the whole day (9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.) starting at 3,200 yen for adults (check the Takino Snow Park website for up-to-date pricing).
If you’re looking for some more majestic winter sights, I highly recommend hiking to see the frozen waterfalls “Ashiribetsu Falls” and “Masumi Falls” at this same Takino Snow Park. Isn’t it amazing that you can see ice falls like that in a city park? The charm of Sapporo City is that even with a population of over 2 million, you can find many places coexisting with nature like this, to refresh not only your body through fun winter activities but also your soul through fresh air and spectacular sights that take your breath away.
I hope this article inspired you to get outside more and enjoy the winter season together with the whole family. You’re never too young or too old to have some fun in Sapporo’s snow! Be sure to add winter horseback riding and snow-tubing to your winter activity bucket list.
