we've arrived at shin-chitose airport first we will drop our luggage at our hotel the arcade was full of interesting shops and restaurants! The ground floor contains a small library you can borrow books to read in your room there's also a cafe space! the standard double room was clean and nicely decorated although it was a little small for two people with a carry-on suitcase the shower and toilet area was clean and spacious though! and I love the book theme! this ramen shop was right opposite the hotel and had over 4 stars rating I had shio ramen with extra seaweed topping, it was delicious! Although it was July, Sapporo was a pleasant 24 degrees flowers were blooming everywhere! this is a famous landmark in Sapporo inside is a museum about the building's history there's many kinds of coffee beans to choose from I had coffee soft cream (so rich and tasty!) iced latte was good as well! catching the subway to dinner Toriton is a sushi train chain in Hokkaido the queue was an hour long but we really enjoyed the sushi here everything was fresh and delicious, and the price was reasonable! it was melon season, so I got a slice of melon it was so juicy and sweet we ate so much, but it was sooo good enjoying the night view of Sapporo while walking back to the hotel there are so many interesting restaurants! even the street lamps are so retro and cute stopping by a traditional cafe not too far from the hotel it was early morning and barely anyone was there ordered egg sandwich, and butter toast the bread was so soft and gluteneous egg sandwich was delicious as well! today, we will take a day trip to Otaru it is about an hour's train ride from Sapporo always on a lookout for train stamps :P the famous Otaru Canal! it somehow feels like I am overseas the city was filled with the sound of wind chimes let's go find some lunch! there's many restaurants gathered in this area close to the canal but many of them seemed to be closed on weekdays the shops upstairs were closed as well but we got a nice view of the canal from here! Summer seems to be a good season for uni (sea urchin), so I had to try everything was so fresh!! the street was lined with many cute souvenir shops Otaru is famous for its glassware! love these cups, unfortunately I already have too many :x since we have some time, we decided to check out some hydrangeas this was about 30 mins away from central Otaru so it was quite far during hydragea season, there's additional fee for seeing the garden the area was small, but the hydrageas were in full bloom!! we also checked out the villa, but filming was prohibited Overall, a great day trip from Sapporo! Woke up early to have breakfast at Nijo Market Apparently, Ohiso is one of the popular places for seafood bowl There was a bit of a line, but we could get in within 20 minutes the three combo of uni, ikura and king crab seems to be popular! I thought yesterday's uni was good, and somehow this was even better Masa got salmon, tuna and crab meat We also ordered a crab gratin it was so delcious and I wanted to cry ;_; although it was busy, the shrine surrounded by nature felt peaceful there's also a cafe! only a few things on the menu, but everything was very affordable we ordered caramel latte and grilled mochi after being grilled, the mochi tastes somewhat like a wafer?! it was our last day in Sapporo and we didn't have any particular plans so it was nice to take our time getting to places while walking to the next location, we stopped by another cafe This cafe is located inside an old residence built in 1880 I was planning to only get drinks, but ended up ordering food as well ;; everything in Sapporo is so delicious and I had a bottomless stomach XD we ordered tamagoyaki sandwiches to share Orange cream soda and lemon milk soda (seasonal) exactly what I needed after a long walk on a sunny day! parfaits seem to be popular among other customers! ready to keep walking again! Sapporo Beer Factory was the first beer factory by Japanese people the small exhibit was free, and told the history of the brewery (filming not allowed) there's also a small beer hall where we could try some beers we ordered Kaitakushi Beer, made using traditional method of brewing but I am not a beer drinker, so I cannot really tell the difference :P finished with the museum earlier than expected, so we came to Nakajima Park this park appeared often in the Netflix drama First Love more hydrangeas! a historical building which started as a hotel in 1881 it was originally located near Odori Park But later was moved to Nakajima Park and became a wedding venue as we still had so much time left, I stopped by a cafe for a drawing session I brought my art supplies on this trip, but so far haven't had a chance to draw so I was glad to have some time on this day it was a happy time ♡ Masa ordered Crab Abura Soba (dry noodles) My order was Kani Miso ramen with extra thick soup Kani Miso is a part of crab organ, and has a unique and addictive taste mix everything all together!! because of the thick soup, it was so hot and I almost burnt my tongue :'D but it was so delicious and unique, and I would come back here again! on the final night of Sapporo, we decided to visit the TV tower observatory Odori Park at night was so beautiful it was time for our road trip adventure!! getting excited as we are leaving the city! it is about a 2.5 hours drive to Furano, so we will stop for coffee Found this cafe off google maps by chance it seems to also be a showroom to a furniture shop the view outside the window was 10/10 once again I couldn't stop myself and ordered desserts ;;; both the pudding and cake were very good and not too sweet this was definitely one of our favourite cafes on the trip! back on the road! we are approaching Furano! we arrived at lunch and many restaurants had long lines so we decided to have a quick burger here! a quick drive from Furano city to get to our destination What a picturesque view! the lavenders were past full bloom, but still beautiful lavender ice cream~ the farm was huge!! so many different flower fields There are also many food spots in the farm Let's check out this Melon House! These melons look really goooood... We got a melon shake, and a melon slice the melon was even sweeter than the one I had in Sapporo There are also various bulidings on the farm some are souvenir shops, some have activities or workshops in this one, we could try various lavender scents I am not good with strong scents... this is the dried flower house~ we stayed at Farm Tomita for hours! It's time for dinner we tried to come here for lunch, but the queue was over 2 hours long luckily when we arrived at 5pm, there was no line and got in right away the local vegetables were so fresh and the amount was a lot for the price but for now, Rojira Curry Samurai is still my favourite soup curry! a cute little village filled with arts & crafts store! not all the stores were open, but we had fun browsing different artists' works and just enjoying the wonderful atmosphere! hotels in Furano were booked out, so we had to book a hotel out of town it was so nice and comfortable though! had a long day, so it was nice to shower and sleep in a comfy bed didn't notice this at night, but there's a lavender field right next to the hotel! Fairfield is a sub brand of Marriott to lower the cost, Fairfield hotels have less amenities This hotel has a shared kitchen area and coin laundry! A quick coffee and walk in the lavender field back on the road! Although it is small, you can see a little inside the factory and you can taste and buy some hokkaido cheese and simulate milking a cow :D; We got a Furano cheese pizza at the cafeteria it was pretty good! but the factory is small, and it is not a must-do in Furano in my opinion! this is a lavender field with an observatory at the top apparently it is a location for wedding ceremonies and couples can ring this bell of love! Now we drive to the neighboring city, Biei! the drive in this area is scenic, with hills and fields along the way We planned to have lunch at a cafe that I found on google maps omg, it looks like the cutest place! *anticipation growing* I couldn't believe it, they just sold out on lunch.......... determined to eat here, I ordered dessert for lunch XD cheese cake~ it was really tasty! this is my cottagecore dream ToT I hope I can come back for lunch one day! the famous flower fields view!! for 2000 yen, you can rent a cart for 15 minutes be warned: it's very shaky and dusty XD my tip would be to get all the way to the end before you make any stops the park is huge, so it would be difficult to get to the end on foot! there are also paid tractor buses that takes you around the fields tip 2: take photos quickly and get back on the cart! 15 minutes was over in no time!!! we had to rush back to the return point it was extremely hot on this day, so we couldn't stay long but I'm glad I visited! just a quick 20 mins drive to the next location I've been wanting to visit this pond for the longest time the bright blue color was so beautiful although you can't see it, it was very touristy and crowded but I was so happy my dream came true! driving a bit more, we reached Shirogane Onsen this is a beautiful waterfall from an underground river! this area seems to be a little resort town in the mountains we're going to keep driving up the mountain to see an observatory Mount Tokachi is an active volcano There are several hiking courses with different levels of difficulty As there is risk of volcano eruption, you must register your name before hiking it was a little too late for us to hike that day but I would love to come back one day for the rest of this trip, we are staying in Asahikawa! It's the following morning, and we are driving to Hokuryu to see sunflowers we made a wrong turn and I found an interesting stop along the way... suddenly, we found a Catbus in the middle of nowhere!! couldn't believe I found this spot randomly lol sometimes getting lost is not so bad :D the sunflower festival is from end of July to mid August There's a section for different kinds of sunflowers around the world! I've never know about black sunflowers :O these look so much like the sun! there's also a sunflower maze sunflowers as far as the eyes can see it was so fun to walk among sunflowers there is an even bigger maze which have not yet bloomed Apparently the best time to visit is around early August! there is not much to do in Hokuryu, so we are heading back to Asahikawa This area is sacred to Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido Kamui Kotan means "village of gods" There used to also be a train station here, which is no longer operating we wanted to have ramen for dinner, but it was not open yet so we waited in a cafe near our hotel Caramel latte and iced yuzu there's also outdoor seating, but it was so hot on this day it was so nice to cool down and just rest for a little bit an Asahikawa style ramen shop which has been running since the 40s the broth is a mix of pork, chicken and seafood I didn't film much here, but it was very delcious and worth a visit! Quick visit to the zoo on our last day of Hokkaido it was raining on and off, but we got to see many animals! it's time to return the car and get to the airport! we were lucky that it didn't rain until the last day in a rush, we bought souvenirs and got on the plane and I got hokkaido milk as the last treat on this trip Hokkaido was so much fun I hope I can be back soon!
