[Hokkaido] Day 4 : First Time Skiing at Rusutsu

Besides known for its food, Hokkaido also known for their snow activities. In winter, every parts of Hokkaido will covered with very fluffy and powdery snow. This situation makes Hokkaido become the best place for skiing and snowboarding in the world. For this reason, I felt visiting Hokkaido is not complete without trying these sport activities. Despite my inexperienced, I was looking for the best place for skiing in Hokkaido, of course for the beginner. Some answers shown up. Since I only gonna had a daytrip for skiing, I chose the nearest place from Sapporo (where I stayed during this trip) with easy access. It's Rusutsu.

Rusutsu is a city which located just 2 hours away from Sapporo. There are 2 places in Rusutsu which famous for snow activities, Rusutsu Resort Hotel and The Westin Hotel. These hotels have adjacent location, and also connected. However, my destination was Rusutsu Resort Hotel because they have a snow park for children. We were visiting this place by taking a free shuttle from Sapporo (by bus), provided by Rusutsu Resort Hotel. Since they have limited seats and only one time departure, so you must make reservation by online in advance. Especially if you have large numbers of people on your group.

Mountain view while on the way to Rusutsu

Roadside Rest Area Boyo Nakayama

The bus departs from Sapporo at 8AM in the morning. During this 2 hours trip, we saw a very beautiful scenery of winter. In the middle of the trip, the bus made a quick stop at Roadside Rest Area Boyo Nakayama. At this place we could get out from the bus, and took pictures with snowy mountain as the background.

Arrived at Rusutsu Resort Hotel, we bought the lift ticket and also rent ski equipment immediately. Since we only have a limited time, we just bought 4 hours ticket and also rent the ski equipment for 5 hours. You can check the lift ticket price in here and rental price here. If you just want to play around with snow, enjoy the scenery, or just play with your children at Crayon Shinchan Kids Park, you don't need to rent any equipment.

Slide at Crayon Shinchan Kids Park

Beside those activities, you also can find other winter activities such as snow mobile, which available (with reservation) at The Westin Hotel. As I was saying, Rusutsu Resort Hotel and The Westin Hotel are connected. If you just want to looking around (without skiing / snowboarding), you can visit them both in 1 day. However since I was playing ski, I had no enought time to visit The Westin Hotel. Maybe another time I'll stay at one of this resort so I can explore more.

On the chair lift to going up

Breathtaking view from the top of mountain

The weather in Rusutsu was around -10 degrees celcius. But when I was there, it was a sunny day. This perfect weather made us didn't feel cold, at all. We really enjoyed our day trip to Rusutsu. Not just because of their outdoor activities, but also their indoor facilities. To be honest, this is 1 of many reasons why I chose Rusutsu instead Niseko (which is most popular for skiing). Beside the location which is close with Sapporo, a snow park for kids, they also have a shopping mall with some shops, restaurant, and indoor entertainment. So when the kids got bored and need a warmer place, we could take them to the shopping mall and play there.

The shuttle bus for going back to Sapporo only has 1 departure time, at 5PM. While waiting for the bus, we had a very late lunch at the restaurant inside the shopping mall. There are many restaurants inside, with different type of food. We chose a Japanese restaurant which serves Curry Rice with Tonkatsu at the Ground Floor (I forgot the name). Unlike other attraction places which usually serve a bad quality food with high price, the food was taste so good and also came with reasonably price. Perfect meal to ended our day in Rusutsu.

Overall, I just want to said that I didn't have any regret to chose Rusutsu as my first place for skiing. I could get anything I want in this place. Not just for me, but also for my children. They were so happy to play at the snow park where they could slide for unlimited time. The only regret was we only had a day trip, which gave us a limited time to explore this place. Well, if you ask me whether 1 day is enough to explore Rusutsu, I would say, "NO!". You need to stay at least 2 - 3 nights. Unless if you just want to strolling around without play any snow activities.

First Impression Review of Duplair Ceramide Lotion

Hi beauties.. 

Kali ini aku mau menulis tentang first impression review skincare dari sebuah brand yang baru aja soft launching di Indonesia, “Duplair”. Duplair merupakan salah satu luxury brand untuk perawatan kulit dari Jepang. Dengan menggunakan bahan alami yang berkualitas tinggi, produk – produk buatan Duplair sangat bermanfaat untuk membuat kulit menjadi sehat dan juga terlihat cantik. Salah satu produk Duplair sendiri telah memenangkan cosme beauty awardsdi Jepang selama 2 tahun berturut-turut. Produk yang tidak lain adalah Duplair Cleansing Gel ini mendapatkan award karena telah terbukti menjadi produk favorite para wanita untuk membersihkan wajah dari penggunaan make up. Hanya dengan sekali usap, Duplair Cleansing Gel dapat membersihkan langsung segala macam make up termasuk yang waterproofdengan lembut. WOW!! Mendengar rating yang dimiliki oleh produk Duplair, bikin saya makin penasaran untuk cobain produk mereka. 

Kulit kering, selalu menjadi masalah utama pada kulit saya, selama bertahun - tahun. Bukan hanya pada wajah, tapi juga di seluruh bagian tubuh. Kebetulan banget, aku mendapat kiriman produk yang juga bestsellerdari Duplair, yang dirancang untuk mengatasi kulit kering. Duplair Ceramide Lotion, dilihat dari namanya saja kita sudah tahu bahwa produk ini mengandung Ceramide, yang sangat berfungsi untuk menjaga kesehatan kulit. Sebelum aku membahas tentang produk ini, let me tell you more about Ceramide.

Pada dasarnya, Ceramide adalah lipid (biasa kita sebut lemak) yang terdapat pada lapisan paling atas kulit. 50% kandungan pada kulit kita terdiri dari Ceramide. Jadi ga usah diragukan lagi, Ceramide memegang peranan penting untuk menjaga kesehatan kulit kita. Bersama dengan kolestrol dan asam lemak jenuh, Ceramide mengikat sel – sel pada kulit dan membuat lapisan untuk menjaga kelembaban kulit dengan cara mencegah keluarnya air dari dalam kulit serta mencegah masuknya polusi dan hal buruk lainnya ke dalam kulit. Dengan adanya Ceramide, kulit kita akan tetap terjaga kelembabannya dan juga membuat kulit menjadi tetap kenyal.

Namun, seiring bertambahnya usia dan berbagai macam faktor, kandungan Ceramide pada kulit akan mulai berkurang. Oleh sebab itu, kita perlu menggunakan skincare dengan kandungan Ceramide, untuk mempertahankan kelembaban pada kulit. Duplair Ceramide Lotion, dengan kandungan utama Ceramide, bekerja dengan cara mengisi Ceramide pada lapisan korneum. Dengan begitu kulit akan tetap terjaga kelembabannya dan terhindar dari dehidrasi.

Pertama kali aku lihat Duplair Ceramide Lotion, aku langsung jatuh cinta sama kemasannya :P It comes with pink color – which is my favorite. Tapi yang bikin aku makin suka sama produk ini adalah teksturnya. Duplair Ceramide Lotion memiliki tekstur cair yang sangat ringan, sehingga mudah diserap oleh kulit dan tidak terasa lengket. Awalnya aku agak kaget karena setelah dipakai, aku ga merasa lembab banget seperti penggunaan lotion pada umumnya. Ternyata diusapkan pada kulit, Duplair Ceramide Lotion akan langsung diserap oleh kulit.  Bahkan saking ringannya, aku merasa seperti tidak menggunakan lotion. Bener – bener enak banget deh pakenya dan cocok digunakan setiap hari (pagi dan malam) karena meskipun melembabkan, lotion ini tidak membuat kulit menjadi berminyak. 

Teksturnya benar - benar ringan dan cair banget

Selain untuk wajah, Duplair Ceramide Lotion juga dapat digunakan untuk melembabkan bagian tubuh lainnya yang juga membutuhkan perawatan seperti rambut, kulit kepala, tangan, dll. Sama seperti pada wajah, penggunaan lotion ini pada bagian tubuh lainnya juga ga bikin jadi berminyak. Jadi jangan takut rambut jadi lepek ya setelah menggunakan lotion ini :) 

The last thing yang bikin aku makin suka sama produk ini adalah dia tidak menggunakan aroma apapun. Ini salah satu point yang penting banget buat aku. Jujur aja, aku ini orangnya agak sensitif terhadap wangi – wangian. Sering banget aku stop pemakaian skincare yang memiliki aroma tidak enak ataupun terlalu tajam, meskipun produk itu terbukti memberikan efek bagus terhadap kulit aku. Pemakaian skincare dengan aroma yang tidak enak membuat aku menjadi pusing bahkan mual. Makanya aku seneng banget pas cobain Duplair Ceramide Lotion, karena dia tidak memiliki wangi sama sekali. Jadi produk ini juga cocok banget bagi kalian yang tidak suka ataupun alergi dengan wangi – wangian.

So, that’s my very first impression mengenai Duplair Ceramide Lotion. I LOVE this product very much. Saking sukanya aku bisa pake lotion ini berkali – kali, terutama disaat aku merasa kulit aku mulai dehidrasi (karena aku selalu berada di ruangan berAC). Seperti biasa, aku akan update lagi untuk efek lebih lanjut setelah selesai menggunakan 1 botol ini. Bagi kalian yang mau cobain produk – produk Duplair, kalian bisa membeli produk ini secara online di website resmi Duplair ataupun di beberapa offline stores seperti Tokyo Belle, Ciel Sowal Salon (Radio Dalam), Lond Tokyo, dan Century. Oh ya, harga produk ini juga cukup terjangkau lho, dan menurut aku worth it banget. Hanya dengan Rp 300.000,- , kalian bisa mendapatkan 1 botol Duplair Ceramide Lotion dengan isi 500ml. Tunggu apalagi?? Yuk cobain Duplair Ceramide Lotion, dan dapat kulit lembab, kenyal, dan juga sehat. 

Note : Bagi kalian yang ingin mendapatkan info lebih lanjut untuk produk – produk lainnya dari Duplair, serta tips – tips untuk merawat kulit, kalian bisa follow akun resmi instagram Duplair Indonesia di @duplair.id.

See you at another post beauties….

[Hokkaido] Day 3 : Part 2 - Shiroi Koibito Park and The Chocolate Factory

If you ever did a research about the best snack for souvenir from Japan, there are several results shown up. Tokyo Banana, Tokyo Milk Cheese, Kit Kat, Pocky, those are the most popular snacks with many variant that you can get in every city in Japan. Among all those popular snacks, there is one snack which nominated as the best snack to bring home in Japan, Shiroi Koibito cookies. This cookies very popular for its delicacy. Thin yet buttery cookies, with white chocolate or milk chocolate in between, Shiroi Koibito have a perfect taste and sweetness level for its cookies.

Shiroi Koibito cookies is a popular souvenir from Hokkaido, precisely in Sapporo. Therefore, when we were visiting Sapporo, we didn't want to missed any chance to visit the factory of this cookies. Besides, they also have a park which looks magical on winter. We were going to the park after had a great lunch at Nijo Market. The nearest station to the park is Miyanosawa station which can be reached easily by a train ride - Tozai Line (¥290) from Odori station. From Miyanosawa station, we need to walk for around 700 metres (10 minutes) to go to the park. Actually, 10 minutes walk is not too far. However since the weather was really cold and windy, it felt quite far for us.

After run a little bit (because we couldn't stay last long to be outside), finaly we spotted the park and it's totally wonderful. With many Christmas decorations, and covered by snow, it's a paradise - especially for kids. Aurelia was asking permission to join with other kids at the park, but I didn't think it's a good idea because the weather was really really cold. So I told her to get inside first to warmed our bodies, and played later.

To get inside to the factory, we need to buy the tickets which costs ¥600 for adults and ¥200 for children. After bought the tickets, we were given a cookie for each person before start our walking tour. It's the first time I tried the cookies, and I understood why it's so popular. I got the white chocolate flavor and it's soooo tasty. No wonder people said that their white chocolate is the bomb.

The factory is not as big as I thought. However, it was designed beautifully with many antique stuffs. We were finishing this walking tour in less than 30 minutes before finally arrived at the famous Chocolate Lounge. The Chocolate Lounge is a cafe which located at the 4th floor. With wide window glass, you can enjoy a beautiful view outside from this height. This cafe was beautifully decorated with antique furniture from England. To be honest we were not too hungry at that time. We just wanted to try their dessert and hot white chocolate drink as it's their specialty. Since it was on a peak season, this place was really crowded. We were asked to wait for about an hour to get a table.

Queueing at The Chocolate Lounge

While waiting for the table, Aurelia joined "Shiroi Koibito Cookie-Making Lesson" which located right next to The Chocolate Lounge. There are 2 type of lesson that we could choose, bake cookies or just decorate the cookie. Since bake cookies would take a long time, so she just chose to decorate the cookie.

Kitchen Situation

Always wash your hand before touch food

Finished with the cookie making lesson, finally it's time for us to enjoy their desserts. We ordered their recommended menu, not forgetting the famous hot white chocolate drink. Well, I would said that Japanese desserts never failed me. It has a perfect sweetness level, and I also could smell the Hokkaido milk which makes all dessert taste better. We really enjoyed our time at this chocolate lounge.

If you hate waiting, some desserts also could be take away at The Chocolate Lounge

View from the window at The Chocolate Lounge

Before we're leaving this place, we took a time for play at the park. It was already night but it still crowded and full of children playing around. At night, Shiroi Koibito park looks more magical, especially with colourful lights from the winter illumination. Not just kids, but I also liked to be in this paradise. Even though the weather was really cold, but the laugh from happy children made us feel warm.

Shiroi Koibito Park at night seen from the 4th floor - The Chocolate Lounge 

Winter illumination at Shiroi Koibito Park 

P.S : If you want to take good photos of you, I would recommend to take pictures at the daylight. Even though the lights of winter illumination make the park looks more charming, but it's hard to get a good quality pictures with you in it. Unless you have a good skill in photography.