Finding Willy Wonka – Shiroi Koibito Park, Hokkaido, Japan

Shiroi Koibito Park is one popular attraction in Sapporo, and yes, it is a chocolate factory. The reddish edifice from the outside has more interesting facade once you enter the front gate – more like the exteriors of European castles from the cartoons I used to watch in my childhood. The theme park is most famous for producing mouth-watering Ishiya Biscuits which I didn’t know I have been eating every time a colleague from Japan (when I was still working for Pachinko devices) visits Singapore and brings me these yummy treats. This flagship product is made of 2 delicious thin butter cookies with white cream filling in between that will certainly make you forget your name after every bite. . Hehe. . I was actually not aware at first that this factory is well known in the northern island. I have exchanged Sapporo “to go” list with the three nomads I met in Nakafurano after my Biei trip – Charles, Sonya and Hue Yi – who fancied Shiroi Koibito and wanted to try baking their own cookies in one of the park’s baking classes. Sounds good to me too so when I reached Sapporo, I included the chocolate factory in my wandering list.

Ichito woke me up with his sweetest “good morning” in a soft toddler voice. I did’t wake up though, I wanted to sleep more, “one more hour” I murmured in my head. So, instead of going out of the room, I messaged Kazushige Ishiguro and apologised for wanting to sleep until 9 instead of getting up at 8 AM. I guess, I got tired from walking during my first day in Sapporo. After breakfast with the family (Mai – Kazushige’s wife – baked a yummy bread for us for breakfast) and shower, Kazushige drove me from his house towards Blue Line’s Fukuzumi station with his cute Ichito; I bid goodbye to the father and son and walked towards the blue line (Toho subway) train with my bones jiggling with excitement.

chocofactory- - 1 — a park outside Miyanosawa station, on my way to the Chocolate Factory

From Odori station, I transferred to the yellow line (Tozai subway) and alighted at the very last station at the north west of the map – Miyanosawa – which is, more or less, an hour from Fukuzumi. I walked towards the direction of the red bricked Chocolate Factory without any idea what to expect from the theme park. I didn’t bother googling about it, I love surprises anyways. As I got inside the park, I paid for JPY 600 admission fee and got the park’s passport in both Japanese and English (the one in Japanese looked better though) plus a complimentary pack of Ishiya biscuit. the 5-year old in me started to explore the park floor every floor.