What a difference a day makes!  Today it reached 25 deg in Sapporo and after our freezing afternoon in Otaru yesterday, everyone was lapping up the sunshine in Ōdori Park.

Arrived by bus in Hokkaidō’s sprawling capital city by mid-morning in time for some exploring and an early lunch before an afternoon of painting in the beautiful Ōdori park, home to the annual snow festival.

Nary a snowflake to be seen today, though.  Brilliant spring sunshine and flowers everywhere.  We’ve arrived in time for the Lilac Festival and you could certainly get a whiff of the scent from the various trees lining the streets.

Tonight we dined on lamb — Genghis Khan style, as they call it here.  A cook it yourself BBQ with all the lamb you can eat, washed down with copious quantities of Sapporo beer.

Table B stuck it out to till the end.  Table A people — you know who you were!

A full day of painting in Sapporo tomorrow.