12th August, 2010 - Tonight was a bit of a special night for us... we were having one of our fairly infrequent date nights which have been very difficult to organise since L-kun. Still, grandparents can be a life-saver in many respects. Tonight we were heading into the city to visit a great little cafe known somewhat Japanesey as Nuts Cafe Trip. Don't ask me why.
First off, it was off to the city by train, arriving into Sapporo Station, which is a great place to start any evening (can do a spot of shopping, or indeed, can even find somewhere to eat up on the 7th floor of Daimaru). Sapporo Station may lack some of the architectural pop of Kyoto Station, but it's a well integrated station and perhaps a little less controversial.
There are a few nice architectural touches however... like the elevator mechanism exposed almost as one might do a grand-father clock or watch. Actually - it also reminds me a lot of a pipe organ (but from memory, no tunes get created out of this elevator).
Public transport is big in Japan... but so are taxis. A form of transport that is perhaps often overlooked by tourists. And when faced with a sea of taxi's, it's perhaps not surprising. One day... one of these days - the signal will be given and the revolution will begin. And I can't say that I've seen too many "eco" taxi's in Japan... unlike the move to changing the fleets to hybrids that I've seen elsewhere in Australia. I wonder if that's true elsewhere in Japan?
Although it was summer... in Japan that can mean quite stormy weather. This night looked a little ominous... and we were prepared for some rain - like we'd been caught in previously.
The cafe can be found by just a short walk east of the main Sapporo Station exit.
The doorway's a little non-de-script, but just look for the big ball up above with Nuts Cafe Trip written on it. Once through the door, it's up the appropriately "what the..." stairway to the first floor (noting that Japanese count the ground floor as the first floor, unlike in Australia where the first is always above the ground floor).
And voila... you're here.
Perhaps because I was still getting used to the new DSLR Canon camera... or just the fun of being out in an adult environment (no, not that kind of adult environment...). I just couldn't resist taking photos of just about any old thing. And those bottles did attract my eye.
And just to show that I'm not totally insensitive to the needs of my wife...he says, making sure that no one thinks that I would order a cocktail for myself...
Actually, the think I like about Japanese cafe's is they often have a very good feature or style that can capture the imagination. I know it's totally off the wall, but I can't get out the feeling of being in the famous Liverpudlian club, the Cavern (of Beatles fame).
And we had quite a nice meal there too... but I only took a photo of an absolutely scrumptious pizza. And of course - pizza in Japan seems to be synonymous with Tabasco Sauce. Back home in Australia, I don't think I've ever seen anyone put Tabasco Sauce on pizza. It's funny how tastes differ. I can honestly say we had a wonderful meal and can thoroughly recommend this place.
The ambiance was fairly simple in the main area - however I believe they've re-modelled the decor. The interesting story was that as we left the cafe, I was taking a few photos of place (with blog in mind), when I noticed the table of foreigners (gaigokujin) on the right were looking at me as if I had two heads. I always sort of wondered why I was getting that attention. Are foreigners so rare in Sapporo that any new faces were a source of much curiosity... or was it the more likely answer that they all felt that "here's another totally hopeless tourist... [cringe]... how embarrassing". I will never know, and perhaps for my own ego's sake, I may not want to.
The other thing to mention is that the cafe has a wonderful lunch set... and cheap to. You might not get full on the amount, but the taste and variety is good. If you're in that neck of the woods, check it out.
Looks like a fun place and a nice selection of whiskey and bourbon, including one of my favourites Maker's Mark. Tokyo has quite a few Whiskey Bars that although small are amazing to visit with a magnificent selection of fine rare whiskeys.
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Of course - that's if you can afford fine rare whiskeys (half your luck!). But still, the great thing about Japan is that there's something for every taste, and every budget.
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