Summer in Hokkaido (Aug 2010) Part 1

Day 1: Going Hokkaido

After returning from our Mt Fuji climb the day before, today we strapped our backpacks up and headed north to Hokkaido. We left our hotel near the Yotsuya metro station, took the metro on the red line (Marunouchi Line) to Shinjuku and changed to the pink line (Oedo Line) to the station of Daimon. From there we walked a short distance to the JR Hamamatsucho station which is connected to the Tokyo Monorail which took us to Haneda Airport. But if you carry a lot of bulky luggage, it can be challenging if you taking the metro like us and alighting at Daimon. Alternative way is to hop on the JR Yamanote Line and alight at the JR Hamamatsucho  station. It takes about 20mins to reach Haneda Airport if you take the Haneda Express train, and will be longer if you take the Rapid Train and even longer on the Local Train. We took a JAL flight from Haneda to New Chitose airport. There are many flights to Hokkaido, with majority of them flying into New Chitose which is the nearest airport to Sapporo.

We landed around 1pm in the afternoon at New Chitose Airport. We had booked a rental car as the means of transportation for us to get around in Hokkaido. There are car rental counters at the airport, but you have to collect the cars at another location close to the airport which the individual car rental companies will provide shuttle bus service. We confirmed our reservations at the counter and were told to board the bus. Japanese being efficient in their operational aspect, radioed their colleague at the car collection centre to prepare the paperwork for us. The journey from the airport to the car collection centre was about 15mins drive away and you can see other car rental companies all located in the same area. Big names like Toyota, Honda, Mazda have their own car rental company. In the end was all about price and car preference. There were 4 of us and all our bags, and we chose a Toyota Felder 4WD for our self-drive trip in Hokkaido.

Our rented car for the entire Hokkaido trip

Our first stop was Farm Tomita, located at Nakafurano.  As of now (July 2012), there is another way route as mentioned in Goggle map that goes by the way of highway 337, then switches to the Doto Expressway until the Chuo interchange and then changes to highway 237 to Nakafurano. But for us, it was the highway 36, then to 72 and up the Hokkaido Expressway all the way till the Takikawa interchange and then change to 38 all the way to Furano; and northwards on 237 to Nakafurano.

Wattsu Highway rest stop

After driving for just 30mins on the Hokkaido Expressway in the direction of Sapporo, we stopped at the Wattsu rest stop (12:30pm) for snacks and bottled water stock up for our self-drive trip in Hokkaido. I was always attracted by these overseas highway rest stop to have a taste of the food the locals take.

Fried Food Vending Machine

Even thought this was our 3rd trip to Japan, it was the first time that we came across a fried food vending machine.  It was not that we were hungry, but just wanted to see how it tastes. We ordered some potato wedges and it came out not too bad for a vending machine. Japan is not just the land of the rising sun, but the land of the unbeatable vending machines. After grabbing the supplies we needed, we continued on the long drive.

Buddhist Statue at Ashibetsu

After taking the exit at Takikawa Interchange, we started driving on mainly single lane road passing through Akabira and then to Ashibetsu. We intended to continue our drive until we caught sight of a tall white Buddhist statue that resembles the Goddess of Mercy. We drove into the compound and took a few pictures near the big car park. Not sure if it was closed as we couldn't see anyone people around except us.

Farm Tomita at Nakafurano

Rows of coloured flowers

Around 3:30pm, we reached the Tomita Farm to see the nice flowers. Even though the skies were gloomy and it was actually raining, it didn't stop us from walking into the farm. Parking was free and admission to the farm was free too. Guess they are making profit from the sale of their merchandise and F&B to keep the farm running. There were loads of tour buses as this is one of the main attractions in visiting Hokkaido in the area of Furano.

Lavender Flavour Ice Cream

Outside the ice-cream shop

A visit to this farm would not be complete without trying out their lavender ice cream. It was delicious and creamy, maybe not because of the lavender taste but the richness of the dairy products in Hokkaido. Hokkaido is also famous for rock melon and there were stalls there selling that, but it was very expensive costing about SGD$8 for just one slice. Some of our travel mates decided to try a slice to see if it was worth it or not. I didn't remember the feedback on that.

Inside one of the shops at Farm Tomita

Map of Farm Tomita

Most of the shops were selling products related to lavender, from essence oils, soap, soda, cream puffs, honey pudding, to dried lavender hanging on the walls. With the continuous raining on and off, we decided to call it a day at the farm and drove off to our 1st night accommodation at the Lavenir Hotel in the beautiful town of Biel, the place to see the patchwork hills.

JR Biei Train Station

We reached the town of Biei(美瑛町), the town of beautiful hills, around 5pm. Biei is a little town situated in the Kamikawa District of Hokkaido with an estimated population of  11,000. Biei is well known as the place to see vast fields and hills of brightly coloured flower fields forming patchwork on hills. After check-in at the hotel, we strolled around the town centre looking for a nice warm dinner to fill our stomach. Our hotel is just beside the JR station Biei. The exterior of the building was visually enhanced by the lighting effects done up on it.

Streets of Biei

 It was slightly chilly and not being the main season, the streets were very much quiet with more activity near the train station. 2 Empty taxis were queuing at the train station like waiting for the next train to arrive. Not wanting to wander too far to look at dinner options and might ended up being all closed, we settled out dinner at the restaurant near the station. It was Hokkaido Ramen, and some tempura and bento set for us and we were too pleased with the authentic meal from this restaurant. There were other tourists from Hong Kong from their Cantonese ascent. We ended the evening with a nice slow stroll along the quiet streets of Biel.

Day 2: Driving around Biei.



Breakfast at Hotel Lavenir

After a well-rested night, we were ready to begin our day to visit the Daisetsuzan National Park to climb Mt Asahidake (旭岳). The morning sun greeted us as I looked out of our room balcony and I was so anxious to drive up to the mountains. Around 7:45am, we were already at the dining area enjoying our hotel breakfast. I love the slow pace of enjoying free flow breakfast, esp. when the food was fresh and delicious. But the anxious enthusiasm in me wanted to get out to enjoy the fun.

The lake

Lake Chubetsu

We hit the roads about 30mins later and started taking main road leaving the town of Biei. We took the route 213 all the way heading east, passing through the 忠别湖. This huge forms part of a hydroelectric dam. We spent about 15mins stopover to look around but didn't really enjoy it as it was starting to drizzle. From route 213, we came to a Y-junction which continues on 213 and break left to route 1160. We took the 1160 route which led us all the way to the Asahidake Ropeway.

Hotel Bearmonte

Just beside the ropeway station, there is a grand hotel by the name of Hotel Bearmonte. This hotel serves as a very good location for climbers wanting to explore the mountain in summer and skiers to plough through the snow fields in winter.  Unfortunately when we reached the ropeway station, the cable car was closed due to bad weather with strong winds. The cable car line was like leading into the thick dark clouds above. We could not really see the Sugatami Ropeway station at the top. We hanged around the station for about an hour hoping the weather to change but it seemed to get worst. With a heavy heart we got back into our car and drove off.

River at the Tenninkyo Onsen

We drove downhill back to the Y-junction to continue on the route 213 to visit the Tenninkyo Onsen area. The road just ends at a small parking area surrounded by some of the Onsen establishments. There are only 4 small hotels in this area and all are very close to each other. It was still raining lightly and there weren't many people walking on the little small Onsen village there. We stumbled onto a waterfall signage and started our walk to the waterfall. It was raining at times the rain seemed to be heavier, but once we went under the canopy of the forest, it wasn't that bad. The air was crisp and fresh, we could really feel the negative ions generated by the forest and the waterfall.

Hagoromo Waterfall

About half an hour we reached the Hagoromo Waterfall (羽衣の滝). In Japanese, it is also called as Hagoromo-no-taki. The Hagoromo falls is the tallest waterfall in the island of Hokkaido, standing at 820m tall, and being the 3rd tallest waterfall in Japan.  There is another waterfall called Shikishima waterfall which is just another 1.5hour round trip from the Hagoromo waterfall. As it was still raining, we went back to our car and drove off from Tenninkyo Onsen area. 

Since it was raining, our eco tour had to come to a temporary stop and we decided to head into Asahikawa city for lunch. There is this famous Ramen Village at Asahikawa, so we just keyed in the phone number or Map-code into the car's GPS and we just followed the guidance till we reached Asahikawa.

Asahikawa Ramen Village

Customers queuing at their favourite shop

Hokkaido Ramen

Around 1:30pm, we reached the Ramen village. If you do some research on the internet, they will tell you to take a train from Asahikawa station to Minami Nagayama station  and do a 10mins walk. Once we were there, we just couldn't decide which one to patronize as there are about 8 shops all located side by side. It is not actually a village, just a building where all the shops are next to each other. There wasn't much siting space inside the shop and you actually savour your ramen watching the cooks do their cooking. In the end, we went for one with a long queue. We ordered the local ramen and gyoza, and once you are done, you have to leave as there are people still queuing.

Hall used for wedding session

After our meal, the weather was still the same as before, not knowing what to do, we looked at our tourist map decided to visit the Snow Crystal Museum within the city. From the outside it doesn't look much like a museum, but more like some European building or cathedral style. Maybe I am an outdoor nature person that an arty fellow. So in the end, guess it was just to kill time there. At least I got to know the types of snowflakes out there.  Around 3:30pm, we decided to call it off for the day, and started the 1.5hour drive back to Biei.

A flower park on the drive back to Biei.

Day 3: Climbing Mt Asahidake & Exploring Biei.

Morning weather at Biei (taken from room window)

Today's weather was much better and there were patches of blue skies. We went as usual for the included breakfast at out hotel before heading out again. We checked with the hotel receptionist to ask whether the Asahidake Ropeway was running on that day. Took  the staff us quite a while to figure out what we wanted them to check for us. Confirmation that the ropeway was running and off we went again on the same route back to the Asahidake Ropeway.

Short stopover

At about 8:30am, we reached the ropeway station, bought a return ticket for the gondola ride to the Sugatami Station (1600m). The ride takes about just 10mins to reach the station which is near the Sugatami Pond just below Mt Asahi. Mount Asahi or Asahidake (旭岳, 2291m) is the highest mountain in Hokkaidoō, which is also part of the Daisetsuzan Mountain range. The mountain is popular for hikers in summer (guess only walkable to the summit in Summer). It  was mentioned that this is the place where winter ends late and arrive early in winter due to its elevation.

Safety briefing at the Sugatami Ropeway Station

Outside the Sugatmai Ropeway station

When we arrived at the Sugatmai station, the station staff would give an introduction to the area in Japanese of course which we tried to listen out of courtesy. I think they talked about safety touring the area and of course the ever precaution of running into bears. Once we walked out into the open, we could feel the temperature drop but it was just nice. Unfortunately the skies were enshrouded in thick clouds and seemed like it was going to rain. We follow the recommended walking guide around the Sugatami station , circling the pond. At least we managed to see the Mt Asahidake before the clouds came and hide everything from us.

One of the smaller ponds

Sugatami Pond with Mt Asahi at the background.

Halfway through the walk, the rain and wind started to pick up and we were force to take shelter at the only safety hut. It was a long run, I would say 400m from where we decided to seek shelter. There were others walkers as well, but the hut was big enough for everyone. I really wanted to climb to the top of Mt Asahidake and since we were just less than 2 hours walk to the summit, I put on my waterproof pants, zip up my gortex jacket and off into the wind and rain to scale to the top. There were 4 of us and 2 chose to stay behind at the hut. We got walkie talkie to maintain communication.

We started onto the wrong trail due to the thick fog and so wasted say 10mins, but then once we got onto the right trail, it was all the way to the top. The trail was rocky at places and markings may not be clear, so we really have to look out for the hiking trail markings. As we were going up the ridgeline, we could smell the strong sulphur gases coming out from the ground. since it was a ridgeline, you would not get lost as it was the only path. At certain parts of the climb, it seemed we were crossing some wind tunnel. It was very strong and at times really causes us to side step to maintain our balance. Well the weather was not getting better or worse, just that high winds were carrying the clouds so at times it seemed quite extreme. Sometimes we thought we were the only fools climbing in this kind of weather. But still there were hikers coming down the ridgeline.

Summit of Mt Asahi

At the summit finally.

Directions to another summit.

Thick clouds with wind and lotsa moisture

After climbing for 2 hours, we reach the summit. As you might have guessed, there was not much to see even being on the highest point in Hokkaido. The wind at the top was milder than the hike up but occasionally the clouds that passed through brought lot of moisture in mist.  We took some photos of the summit and some of the signage that points to other trails leading to other parts of the Daisetsuzan National Park. In such a bad weather, I made sure we took back the same  path so as not to venture elsewhere in this bad weather. As we started the descend there were short glimpses of the sun breaking through the clouds, but the moments were short lived.  We returned to the Sugatami station to meet our friends and took the gondola back to the Asahidake Ropeway station. 

Ticket machine for food at the cafeteria

Back at the station, we headed to the cafeteria for some hot bowls of ramen and fried tempura. The cafeteria looks more like a canteen, but we were very happy with the food quality and ambience. We drove off the cloudy mountain road and headed back to Biei. As we descended, the skies cleared up and we finally saw the sunny skies on the road back to town. This gave us the enthusiasm to start the touring mood again to visit all the sightseeing locations in Biei. We started looking at the brochure of all the sightseeing locations with the map-code. Just by keying the map code onto our car's GPS, we started our tree hunting drive.

Road sign at Biei

  

Ken & Mary Tree

Well they are trees and we may misinterpret the wrong tree. Our first stop was the Ken & Mary Tree. This is a giant poplar tree that became popular after the Nissan car maker commercial. We parked our car at an open space car park and walked over the road to take pictures. This is a Ken & Mary pension which you can booked for accommodation.

The Parent & Child Trees

One of the roads

We drove to the Panoramic Road and the Patchwork Road to see the hills and fields. Again we just keyed into the GPS and follow the directions. Next we drove to see the Oyaku tree (Parent and Child Tree). From a distance you can see 2 adults "holding" the child between them. These trees are Emperor oak trees. 

The Philosophy Tree

Then we visited the Philosophy Tree along the Panorama Road, the way the tree arches when view from certain direction resembles of the thinker statue. 

Mild Seven Trees

 Next we proceeded to the Mild Seven Trees, the one that the cigarette brand "MILD SEVEN" commercial used back in the 80s. These are Larch trees which stand together to form a natural wall against the wind to protect the crops. In case if you don't drive, some tourists rent bicycles to cycle around these hills to enjoy the views. After visiting these trees, time was not on our side as the sun began to set and it was a short drive back to our hotel at Biei station.

Sunset with the Philosophy Tree

Day 4: Leaving Biel for Otaru.

Outside our hotel Lavenir

Today we had the best weather, the skies were clear and the sun was shining. We enjoyed our breakfast before checking out. Kind of sad to leave this place when the weather turned sunny but we had other places to cover like Furano. 

The Blue Pond

Today we planned to visit the Blue Pond (青い池, Aoiike) near Biei as mentioned in the tourist brochures. The turquoise blue pond is about 18km away from Biei and driving took us about 30mins as there were speed limits for the drive from town. We took the route 966 from the town centre and drove all the way to the Blue Pond. There is a free parking space near the Blue Pond and a short 15mins walk brought us to the pond itself. Why it was blue? It was mentioned at the information board that there about some eruption of Mount Tokachi back in 1989 that the authority built some structure to prevent damage to Biei. The blue colour is due to some minerals dissolved together with the hot spring water. There was nothing to do there but to enjoy the pond itself. 

The path to the Blue Pond

The morning walk was quite pleasant after days of rains and cloudy skies. We drove to the nearby hot spring town of Shirogane Onsen and did some short exploration. There is a steel bridge that span across a deep ravine where a raging river flows. From there is a mountain road that leads to Kamifurano and Tokachidake Observatory. This mountain road is closed in winter and is also named as route 966. 

The Tokachidake Observatory

Start of the hiking trsil

 After a short drive we reached the Tokachi viewpoint. There were many cars here for a sunny summer morning with groups of hikers starting off their climb to the nearby mountain peaks. Would like to do this hike as well, but since we didn't plan for and need to reach Otaru by night. Since we were on our way to Furano and near Tomita Farm, we decided to make another stop at the farm to get some lavender ice-cream again. With the sun all out to play, everything started to look beautiful. Prior to reaching Farm Tomita, a big field of sunflowers caught our eyes near Kamifurano and we just stopped by the roadside to take some shots. 

Field of Sunflowers

Along the road at Kamifurano

There is this pension called Woody Life which has a field of sunflowers near it. We did consider staying there for our 3 nights initially but in the end chose Biei as our base. From there, it was just a short drive to Farm Tomita. We also drove to another Farm Tomita just 1km away and decided to have our lunch there. It was real warm under the hot sun, but find any shade and you will feel cool. 

The farm on a sunny day

Always get good weather when we are leaving

Rows of Lavender (We came too early)

 

After lunch we drove to the town of Furano. Again something caught our eyes and we made a detour to a field of lavender which led us to the Furano Wine Factory, which is actually a tourist outlet where sale of everything made from grape can be found. 

Goodies for sale (all grape related)

Grape Flavor ice-cream & cheese cake

 

This place is at Shimizuyama, near the Gakuden train station. We were attracted to the cakes and ice cream that the cafeteria offers. The place was surprising crowded with a lot of tourists from cars and tour buses. While still exploring Furano, we stumbled upon the Anpan Man Shop located at Rokugo, Furano. getting to this location is quite difficult without own transport. The shop is 19km from  JR furano station and can be costly hiring a taxi which may take 20mins. Anpanman is a Japanese cartoon character and anpan actually means red beans. The place has jam making sessions, and even an art gallery just based on Anpanman. 

Anpanman Shop & Art Gallery

At the Cheese Factory at Furano

 

Our last stop at Furano was the Cheese Factory which is located 3.4km from the JR Furano station. The factory has a shuttle bus from the station to the factory. There were sale of different types of cheese and milk and ice-cream. There is pizza cafe at the factory which we had our early dinner before the long drive to Otaru. Lotsa exhibits to see at the cheese factory and it was good fun visiting.

It was about 5:30pm when we bid farewell to furano, taking the Ashibetsu National Highway 36 that leads north-west. We drove up the toll-paying Hokkaido Expressway that runs southwards towards Sapporo. We drove for about 2hours along the expressway and it was already night dark when we reached the Sapporo highway interchange where we took the right lane that heads towards Otaru. This stretch of the expressway is called the Sasson Expressway that runs along the coast all the way to Otaru. The expressway ended in the city of Otaru and we just followed the straight road on route 17 until we reached our hotel. Our accommodation for 2 nights was the Hotel Vibrant Otaru. Fortunately we managed to get the last parking space behind the hotel as the number of lots are limited.

The Famous Otaru Canal

Finally we checked into our rooms at 9:30pm. The hotel used to a post office of colonial design and the experience was different from the rest of the commercial hotels. The walk to the famous Otaru canal was just 5 mins away. With just a steady hand (did not bring tripod along), we took some night shots of the famous canal. Guess the place will be more attractive in winter. We cross the canal onto the opposite side which was dotted with seafood restaurants and drinking places. We walked along the streets and was surprise that some tourist shops were still open. It was back to the hotel for the night's rest.