When we got up the next morning, we opened presents. Celia and Keith are wearing the hats we gave them. We received all kinds of interesting Japanese food items.
For lunch, we went downtown and ate ramen. It was a very busy shopping day, due to the upcoming holiday (New Years).
We took a tram to the top of Mt. Moiwa. At 1500 feet, it provides a panaramic view of the city to the north and the mountains to the south. All this below is Sapporo. 
We waited until dark and enjoyed watching the lights of the city come on. 
Before going home, we walked around Odori park and enjoyed an extensive display of Christmas lights.
The next day (30th) we ate sushi at a shop owned by a man who is a member of the church Celia and Keith work with. This was real sushi - the best! We had such adventuresome things as raw clam, scallop and some local Hokkiado fish. Everything was very tender. 
Later that day we had a unique cultural experience at the local Onsen. What is an Onsen? It is a place for bathing and soaking in hot pools. We don't have any photos of our time there, because, well, you don't wear a swimsuit. The men and women's pools are completely separate. In addition to the hot pools, there is a cold pool - really cold - and I managed to dip in it two times. Then it was right back to the hot pools. We preferred soaking in the outdoor pools where music was playing and we could watch the snow falling.
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