Thursday, October 11, 2018

Beautiful Nature in Biei Town

My initial plan upon arriving in Asahikawa was to check in at Asahikawa Ride then come back to the station and catch the train to Biei. I had 46 minutes between train rides to do this. But speed walking is not my sport, so I ended up dumping my bags in a locker in Asahikawa Station (400 for a small locker, 500 medium, 600-700 large).

Biei is a small town known for its flower fields and that Macbook wallpaper of a blue pond. I had booked (online) a seat on the bus tour for these two destinations (Blue Pond and Flower Garden Course, 2000 yen) and all I had to do was bring a printout of the email confirmation and present myself at Shiki no Johokan 四季の情報館, just outside of Biei Station, no later than 930am.

The hill town of Biei

The first stop of the tour was Shirogane Blue Pond 白金青い池. We were given 45 minutes to explore the pond (the 45 minutes includes the 6-minute walk per way between the parking lot and the pond, so we technically had a little over 30 minutes to spend at the pond).

Walking to Shirogane Blue Pond

So this is the famous blue Macbook wallpaper sans snow. The pond is actually man-made: it was built as part of an erosion control system. It was just lucky that the water turned out a beautiful color thanks to the nearby Biei River and Shirahige Waterfall. Shirogane Blue Pond looked pretty, even in summer.

Shirogane Blue Pond



The pond is not big and there really is not much to do aside from dodging tourists as you try to find the best spot to take photos of the pond. Soon our 45 minutes was up and we were all herded back to the bus so we could be on our way to the next stop: Shikisai-no-oka 四季彩の丘.

At Shikisai-no-oka all guests were welcomed by very cute Roll-chan (a smiley character made of rolled bales of hay). We were given 45 minutes to take in the beautiful views of the flower fields. I visited in June and, though the plants were still small, it was still a breathtaking view (the best time to visit Shikisai-no-oka is in August, during full bloom).

Hay, Roll-chan! :)

Shikisai-no-oka has many flower fields and they offer these options to get around faster: tractor ride (15 minutes, 500 yen) and self-drive carts for four people (15 minutes, 2000 yen). I walked. And I never got to the far end of the fields because every few meters I would stop, do a three-sixty, take photos, and breathe it all in. It was so lovely. And 45 minutes was soon over.







Tractor ride

The hills beyond

Colorful barn

The bus tour was from 945am to 1220pm. By the time we arrived back at Biei Station everyone was hungry and we all scrambled to the nearest restaurant: Koi-Ya. Remember I am not a speed walker and when I reached the restaurant there was already a line of customers.

Outside Biei Station

Koi-Ya's specialty is Biei Curry Udon, cooked two ways: soup style or baked (with a ton of cheese). Though I am not a big mouse much of a cheese eater, I chose the baked one because, well, it looked more appealing to me. And I was not disappointed. It was so good that I ate every last bit of the meal (yes, every last scrap of cheese), not minding the two strangers in front of me. (The restaurant was so full they had to seat strangers together.)

Koi-Ya's baked Curry Udon (950 yen)

After lunch I weighed my options: go to the north side of town on foot or on a bike. Ha! I don't know how to ride a bike. So it was a no-brainer. Walk. Under the heat of the summer sun.

On my 30-minute walk to Hokusei-no-oka 北西の丘, cars and bikes zoomed past me. I was the only one walking. I kept blaming my mother for not buying my sisters and I a bike when we were little. But then, I was also thankful that I have two legs and the energy to walk uphill. And that I could stop for interesting sights and beautiful landscapes.

An abandoned snack shop I found while walking

I was all sweaty when I reached Hokusei-no-oka 北西の丘. Everyone I saw was going up the pyramid structure and I followed. The pyramid structure's view deck, though not at all high, offered a windy 360-degree view of the park and beyond. A good place to rest after that 30-minute uphill walk.

The pyramid viewdeck of Hokusei-no-oka

Biei Town as seen from Hokusei-no-oka

Green as far as the eye could see

Hokusei-no-oka is actually a park, and it had walking paths around lavender patches and tree groves. Across the park were some small shops selling snacks and souvenirs, and a rest stop with vending machines and a large tanuki. Such rural charm.

Lavender

Rest area

Shops across Hokusei-no-oka

I made another stop just one kilometer from Hokusei-no-oka. The Ken and Mary Tree. Yes, a tree. I went there just to see a tree! It's a lone giant poplar made famous by the Nissan Skyline commercial in 1976. Why Ken and Mary? The characters in the commercial were named Ken and Mary. :D

Ken and Mary Tree


Walking a long way just to see this tree was worth it. Plus, I found a lady selling cherries on the roadside! I love cherries!

Ohhhh! Cherries!

I was thinking to go to nearby Zerubu Hill, but the heat had drained my energy. I decided to go back to Biei Station and catch the next train to Asahikawa.

It was mid-afternoon and the sun was beating down. I wanted to stick my thumb out to passing cars, but was too embarrassed to do so. Thankfully, I reached the station without getting burned to a crisp, but I was a too late. I had missed the train to Asahikawa and it only comes once per hour. I killed time by going to the town center, to Shiki-no-tou 四季の塔 at the Biei Town Office to be exact. It was just 500 meters from the station and it had a tower with a free viewdeck. I was the only visitor there and the view of the colorful houses was pretty cool. It looked like Legos. It pays to read brochures.

Biei Town

Zooming in on some houses

This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.
No comments: Labels: , ,

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride

Asahikawa Ride, just a kilometer from Asahikawa Station, is a small guesthouse with dorm beds. There are 4-bed and 8-bed mixed dorms, and a 4-bed female dorm. Each bunk has a curtain for privacy, a reading light, a socket, a laundry line, coat hooks and hangers. The dorm rooms are not that big but the bunk is quite spacious (you can keep your luggage in the bunk, beside the futon). The dorms share toilets (one for each gender) and shower rooms (one for each gender). The guesthouse also has a common room and a small kitchen. From the station to the hostel, there are many restaurants and convenience stores.

Upon entering the guesthouse, I noticed two things: a fat cat and a reception area full of sports stuff—bikes, skis, tools, etc. Looks like the owner, Tetsu, is into sports...biking, skiing, mountain climbing, etc... and has thought of ways to make it easy for his guests to keep their sports equipment. Tetsu would be happy to assist his guests, whether sports–related or not. His cat, Tama, would be happy just stalking about in the guesthouse.

Guesthouse Asahikawa Ride
2F Nissho Building, 6-jodori 7-chome, Asahikawa City
+81 166737923
facebook page: @asahikawaride
A dorm bed costs around 3700 yen per night
Book a bed at Asahikawa Ride through booking.com

 Common area
6-bed mixed dorm

Note: Photos of Asahikawa Ride were grabbed from booking.com

What's to see in Asahikawa? Not much. On one afternoon when I had a bit of free time, I just went for a walk in the area near Asahikawa Ride. That little walk brought me to Tokiwa Park (just 500 meters from the guesthouse), where, because it was summer, there were many booths set up. Locals were selling food, some had set up small summer games for kids (such as catching little fish using a paper scoop). There were also people giving out fans (the fans were actually ads). It was pretty nice to see an ordinary local event.

 Booths at Tokiwa Park

A little girl caught some fish!

Why, then, did I stay two nights in Asahikawa? Although I had a Hokkaido Rail Pass for this trip and, therefore, could have stayed in Sapporo the entire time and could have just gone on day trips to wherever, I wanted to save some time on journeys to/from Biei, Nakafurano, and Daisetsuzan National Park. By train, Asahikawa is 1.5 hours from Sapporo; then from Asahikawa, Biei is 40 minutes by train, Nakafurano is 1 hour 10 minutes by train, Asahidake (part of Daisetsuzan National Park) is 1.5 hours by bus.

Staying in Asahikawa did save me time and Asahikawa Ride did give me some good(?) memories:

Japanecdote #1: I booked a bed in Asahikawa Ride using booking.com. I booked it early. And over the next few months, I'd check again for other options (hoping for cheaper rates and/or other options closer to the station) and every time I found the price at Asahikawa Ride had dropped, I would cancel the booking and book a new one. I think I did it four times until finally, the owner, Tetsu, suggested to book directly on the guesthouse's website. He probably thought I was such a cheapskate to change my booking for a 200–yen difference!

Japanecdote #2: During my stay, there were maybe four or five other guests. But I only had a conversation with one guy, and he enthusiastically told me he was in Hokkaido on a biking trip. Over the course of our conversation, I asked him, "Are you from Singapore?" Surprised, he answered, "Yes, how did you know?" I pointed to his cap with the flag of Singapore. (It was his accent really, but I didn't tell him that.)

Japanecdote #3: I just came back to the guesthouse and had brought with me a small container of cherries which I had bought from Biei earlier. I shared the cherries with Tetsu. He took maybe three or four cherries. After our small talk, I looked in the container to get some cherries for myself and saw there were some seeds I had spit out earlier in the day! Yipes! Guess that's why he only took a few!



Japanese Summer 2018
Otaru on Foot
Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride (you're here!)
Beautiful Nature in Biei Town
Lavender Fields in Nakafurano
Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu
Six Short Hours in Hakodate
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Walking Through Abandoned Places in Toya
Hokkaido Rail Pass
Itinerary and Expenses: 9D/9N Hokkaido and Sawara Town
No comments: Labels: , , ,

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Otaru on Foot

Beautiful snowy Hokkaido canal scenery makes for an enticing photo. But, ugh, snow. And so I went to the city of this famous canal on the most un-winter-y season of all: summer.

This canal is called Otaru Canal and is in—surprise!—Otaru City, just a little over 30 kilometers west of Sapporo. (To get to Otaru from Sapporo Station, take the JR Hakodate Main Line to Otaru. The journey takes 50 minutes and costs 640 yen.)

Otaru's manhole cover features Otaru Canal

Summers in Hokkaido are supposed to be mild, with temperatures from low to mid 20s Celcius. For one who endures summers that border into hellish temperatures, the summer Hokkaido temperatures made for a good, comfortable 600-meter walk from Otaru Station to Otaru Canal.

Otaru Canal sans snow

On one side of the canal are old warehouses, and on the opposite side a cobblestone walking path with old gas lamps where one can admire these warehouses from across the water and where, while strolling, one might come across a local artist selling his wares.

The canal is just a kilometer long, and most people just bother with the southern 250-meter end of it, where the warehouses are. Maybe I was too early or maybe it was the low tourist season—there weren't too many tourists to crowd my camera's viewfinder.


I decided to walk the entire length of the canal for I was curious to see what was beyond the tourist area. I found myself in the deserted northern half of the canal where the only sounds were of birds, of creaking boats docked along the canal, or of water lapping on the boats.

No tourists on the northern end of the canal

A sculpture along Otaru Canal

Near the northern tip of Otaru Canal, I took a break at Unga Park. Right in the middle of the park was a fountain and, on two corners, a building each. The buildings were open as a rest area, but I thought it was much better to be take a break and munch on my snack under the trees.

Unga Park

Across Unga Park was a nice looking old building, which is called the Former Nippon Yusen. Too bad I did not know that it was open to the public (admission fee of 300 yen).

Former Nippon Yusen, a nice looking historical building across Unga Park

I made my way back to the Canal and this time I saw a boatload of tourists on an Otaru Canal Cruise. And when I reached the southern end of the canal, where I had first started my Otaru Canal walk, there were now many rickshaw drivers (or should I say rickshaw puller?) inviting tourists to take a Rickshaw Tour.

Otaru Canal Cruise

No cruise, no rickshaw for me. Just good ole walking shoes, thank you. My shoe tour took me to the street parallel to Otaru Canal, where I found that the warehouses I had seen along the Canal were not merely warehouses but have been turned into restaurants and shops. One of them was the Otaru Beer Warehouse No. 1. If my sister were with me, we'd have taken a step inside, but as it were, I was alone and I did not like beer, so onward I went. 'Til I reached the end of the block where there was nothing of interest to my eye.


Otaru Beer Warehouse No. 1


I thought I'd call it a day and made my way back to Otaru Station. But an old railway line made me stop in my tracks, or rather in its tracks. The Old Temiya Line was transformed into a park and I abandoned my plan of going back to Sapporo right away. My stroll along the 500-meter preserved railway line was a pleasant one with beautiful hydrangea bushes and curious sights along the way. And along the way, I realized there was one more place I should go to.

Old Temiya Line

A curious sight along Old Temiya Line

Sakaimachi-dori 境町通りor Sakaimachi Street. Man, I almost forgot about this place. Good thing that walk along the railway jogged my memory. Sakaimachi Street is a preserved merchant street, just a 3-minute walk from the touristy end of Otaru Canal. Yes, merchant street. Shopping street is what we'd call it in modern times. It was restaurants and souvenir shops and restaurants and souvenir shops all in interesting western-style buildings all the way to the tip of Sakaimachi-dori.

Sakaimachi-dori

Shops and restaurants along this street


And at the end of Sakaimichi Street is the Otaru Music Box Museum, which is open daily from 9AM to 6PM for free. By this time I was getting tired and decided to skip the music boxes and just go back to Sapporo.

Otaru Music Box Museum

Another free-admission museum I skipped was the Bank of Japan Museum. I saw this museum on Nichigin Street, just as I had left the Old Temiya Line to make my way to Sakaimichi Street. The Bank of Japan Museum is open from 930AM to 5PM (Thursday to Tuesday).

Bank of Japan Museum

When I returned to my hostel in Sapporo, the receptionist was shocked to see my face. "Are you okay?" she asked. I said yes I was okay. And when I looked in the mirror, I laughed in shock: I was as red as a lobster. That mild Hokkaido summer was indeed mild in temperature, but was as fierce as the sun has always been.


This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.

No comments: Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)