Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters winning !

by Kazu

The cheerleaders of the professional baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters cheered up the team and audience. They showed their regular dance between the innings. Most of the fans of Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters love the show and many girls want to become a member of the cheerleaders. 

Fortunately, we could see a home run by the hitter of Fighters and dancing lights of playing up the beautiful arch of the ball in the stadium. I experienced the enthusiasm of the people for the first time this year.  

The cheering-up drum, shouts and clapping resonated through the stadium and many fans of Fighters ordered another pints of beer in the seats. Drink-delivering girls went up and down the stairs between the seats in the stadium. That may be tough even for young girls with a tank of beer on their back.  

 

Escon Field in Kita Hiroshima on March 4, 2026 !

by Kazu

We visited Escon Field Ball Park in Kita Hiroshima to watch the  baseball game for the first time this year. Needless to say, we had Nippon Ham Special Hot Dog with a pint of beer  just after our arrival. The stadium was filled up with the fans of the baseball teams Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and Orix Braves.   

It had been six or seven months since we heard the cheering sounds and voice of the enthusiastic baseball fans and their families. I think we should be proud of the facilities and total concept of the ball park to entertain the visitors not only in baseball season but also in winter.

As a result, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters won the game with the score 2-0 but most of the audience stood up and left their seats at the end of the bottom of inning 8 in order to avoid crowded bus and train but some people tend to continued to savor the culinary delights sourced locally in the food court. 

 

February Special of Starbucks and Intercontinental Sapporo !

by Kazu

We had "the February Special" of Starbucks filled up with white peach and cherry aroma. The taste of the white peach was not so strong as the ones contained in "the August Special" last year. Both of them were served in the frappe but I thought the February Special put the accent on the subtle aroma of cherry blossoms.   

Besides, we visited Intercontinental Hotel Sapporo and had the casual French buffet lunch in the Restaurant Au Blanc. It costed about 40 USD/Person and a variety of culinary delights filled us up with happiness and satisfaction. 

We had to choose one main dish. We chose grilled chicken with gravy sauce and sauteed salmon other than buffet menu. Many citizens were also savoring then cuisine with the scenery of Toyohira River and downtown. It may be good to receive the guests from overseas in the space but I will not go there without my wife or guests.   

 

Somebody Made Snowman !

by Kazu

A happy guy made such interesting snowmen on the trees in Maruyama Park, Sapporo. On our way back from Hokkaido Shrine we visited for the purification, we found those snow works on the trees.  

Some snowmen on the trees had already been exhausted and fallen from the trunk of the trees. I love such works that make the people smile in the ordinary living life.  

A pretty snow bear survived in the bright sunshine and warm weather in Sapporo. It may freeze up in the night and stick to the trunk more tightly. I hope its survival for a while.

 

Doll's Festival in Hokkaido Shrine !

by Kazu

These are the sets of dolls for the Doll's Festival donated and displayed in the waiting room for the people who will have the ritual of purification. So aged and expensive dolls were there that were made praying for the sound growth of daughters.

I think the dolls are displayed until the Doll's Festival every year but it must be so tough for the staff of the shrine because even one set of the dolls requires hours of patience to set up. The small items should be put on the dolls so carefully.  

The beautiful dolls can be made by the skilled and seasoned craftsmanship but affected by the shrinking and aging population, the successors of the craftsmanship are also shrinking even in the ancient capital Kyoto and current capital Tokyo.    

 

Purification Ceremony in Hokkaido Shrine !

by Kazu

At the age of 42, 59, 60, 61, we males should have purification service like exorcism in the shrine in Japan. The timing of the purification is different depending on the sex but most of us Japanese believe and receive the service at the cost of five thousand Yen/ ten thousand yen or more.    

The ritual purification should be conducted at the beginning of February, around Setsubun, they said.  "Setsubun" means the day between two seasons. People throw beans to expel evil spirits and bring in good luck.

The waiting room for the people who will purification service in Hokkaido Shrine is very comfortable and many dolls for "Doll's Festival" on March 3 are displayed on the west side of the room. I think the dolls were donated by the families that had daughters.

 

Kushiro Coal Mine !

by Kazu

The stocked coal ash from the boiler of the mine will be crumbled to make the carbonate with the wastewater of the coalmine and carbon dioxide extracted from the exhaust gas of the boiler of the mine. All the miners finished their working hours have to wash up their body in the huge spa at the exit/entrance of the mine.  

After we checked up the system and facilities to extract carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas from the boiler in Kushiro Coal Mine, we headed to the ramen noodle bar in the food court near the train station of Kushiro City. We were so looking for the special oyster ramen noodle soup provided by a stubborn ramen master in the ramen bar.