Hokkaido in July



We had such a fun trip to Hokkaido last week. Every where we went was amazingly beautiful!
Hokkaido is part of Japan, but it has a different feel to it. Big open spaces and wide roads. Its quite rural and we saw cows grazing in pastures for the first time in Japan. Hokkaido is famous for it milk, cheese and of course - soft ice cream!




DAY 1 - We flew to Asahikawa and rented a car. I knew it was Lavender Season in Hokkaido, but I was surprised by how much lavender there was EVERYWHERE. Lining the roads, all over the hills, in the shops, and even in the ice cream.

Our stop was to visit the Asahiyama Zoo. Very nice zoo! One of the unique features of this zoo was that they had several exhibits where people can get a very close look at the animals. Varied level exhibits so you can see underwater, or for the seals, they can swim up a tube! 
In the penguin exhibit there was a tube that went underwater through the middle of the exhibit and the you could watch the penguins swimming all around you.
All of the animals were pretty active. Truly an enjoyable zoo.
We stayed at the JR Inn right next to the Asahikawa train station. The first 3 night we stayed there and our trips were all out and back.

                                         




















DAY 2 - We took a ropeway to the top of Mt Asahidake. It was high alpine forest and the wildflowers were just starting to bloom. It's volcanic area and we saw several steam vents around the mountain.
After we came down we had lunch at the station house. I got the local vegetable curry - delicious!

Our next stop was to the Hagoromo Falls. It's supposed to be the longest waterfall in Hokkaido. The think I liked most about it was various levels of the falls.

On our way back to Asahikawa we stopped by Ueno Farms. Its a lovely manicured garden. Kimball wasn't into the garden that much so he got some of that famous Hokkaido soft cream and took a few pics of the bear statues looking over the fence.

Our final stop of the day was to the Nicolas Observatory. It was a "night view" but honestly the place was a bit cheesy. You can see that even though Asahikawa is small city compared to the Kanto plane/Tokyo area, its still got a lot of lights!




















































DAY 3 - We took a guided bike tour through Biei (pronounced BA). It was so fun - the electric bikes make it almost effortless to get around. 
Our fist stop was to Shirogane Waterfall. Next we rode through a forest of birch trees to the Blue Pond (that was the most crowded of any place we went). The rest of our tour was through the rolling hills and fields of Biei. Just incredibly pretty and the perfect weather that day!
After the bike tour we went to Shiksai No Oka which is a flower farm. Its pretty spectacular to see the rows of flowers. There were quite a few people there as well. And the had to take a pic of the dog in a dress.
Our final stop was to Tokachidake Observatory. Mt Tokachidake is an active volcano and they expect it erupt again anytime. Unfortunately the timing of our visit there was not too good with the clouds. We didn't get a very good view of the mountain.












































































SIDE NOTE - I added these pics of the bathroom at the JR Inn (all of the hotels in Japan have similar bathrooms) The tub is an a large room and everything in the room can get wet/sprayed with the water. Its like the room is a giant shower, but there is a tub if you want to soak after you wash. 





DAY 4 -  We left Asahikawa and drove through the Daisetsuzan-Sounkyo National Park. Along the way we stopped at several waterfalls. To view the Momijidake Waterfall we had to hike about a mile. I almost didn't make it because the trail got a little too sketchy for me, but I pushed through and I'm glad I got to see it.

After the hike we took another ropeway (Japan LOVES a ropeway), followed by a chairlift and then a hike to see a great view over the mountains and another waterfall!

Finally we made it to our destination for the night - Shikaribetsu Lakeside Onsen Hotel. It was little cloudy and rainy but the lake was till beautiful. That night we had an amazing kaiseki dinner! I was skeptical of the fish (see it's teeth), but it was very good! Everything was so good.

Our room had a lovely view of the lake! We enjoyed the open air onsen and the footbath. I also had a nice walk around part of the lake on a great paved trail.

Shikaribetsu's nickname is "Lips Lake" (in Japanese). Kimball took the picture at just the right moment in the morning to show why it got this nickname.























































DAY 5 - We continued on our drive towards Lake Akan. Along the way we stopped at Lake Onneto. Again, its a very volcanic area. Behind this lake is what they call "little Fuji"

When we arrive at Lake Akan, we checked into Hotel Gosensui. At the hotel we were able to buy tickets to the night show of traditional Ainu dancing. 

We also got tickets for a boat tour around the lake and a stop on one of the islands on the lake to see the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center. Lake Akan is the only place in the world where they have found "Marimo". They are balls of moss that form around a rock and the waves of the lake form them into balls. The balls then collect into a colony. Its very unique. The Observation Center has several exhibits that show how the Marimo form.

But before our boat tour we went to the Ainu Village area to get some lunch. Kimball had a venison dish that was super good (I had a bite) and I had a specialty "Pizza" with local veggies on a potato type crust. For dessert I ordered pumpkin dumplings. To die for - I need to find out how to make those!

We took a hiking trail around the lake and to see some hot pots (just like at Yellowstone). Also, in the town they had a footbath. I love those - so relaxing to seat and soak your dogs.























































DAY 6 - We headed back towards Asahikawa, but instead of staying in Asahikawa again, we stayed about an hour away in Furano at the Shin-Furano Prince Hotel. Super lovely! 

On the drive there we passed lots of road construction and we couldn't resit taking a pic of the funny Bunny barricade posts. Only in Japan!

Once we made it to Furano we stopped at the Furano Cheese Factory. They are famous for squid ink cheese. We tried it but didn't love it.

Next we went to a movie set for a Japanese TV series that ran from 1981 to 2002. I guess it was super popular and is Furano's claim to fame. The place we went were some of the houses that were part of the show. They were all made from recycled items. Now I need to find a way to watch the show so I can see these places. 

The next stop was to a Jam Factory (we decided they like to call things "Factory" but really its just a way to sell product) But the Jam Factory had great tasting jam and bought a few small jars. Right next store to the Jam Factory is an Anpanman store. It was so overwhelming! Too much!

On our drive down the hill we saw some very cool sun rays coming through the clouds. Pictures don't do it justice.

We had heard that Hokkaido had really good sushi, so we decided to splurge and get some high quality sushi. It was totally worth it - best sushi ever!

When we checked into the hotel we were amazed by how many activities they had on site. Segways, Park Golf, Ningle Terrace shopping village, a Ropes Course, a special wind garden, and of course and amazing onsen! (sadly, no pics of the onsens, but they were all great)





































DAY 7 - Before heading to Asahikawa, we played 18 holes of  Park Golf - such a nice course! Then we stopped at Tomita Farms to see more flowers and LAVENDER! (notice the poster for the soft cream, it advertises a "waffle corn". So funny!

Our final stop was to an observatory overlooking the patchwork fields of Biei one last time!

























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