Tomita Farm @ Nakafurano

I have had so much trouble in putting out this post and the only reason was too many pictures to choose from. It took a long time to decide which to post. It is all about flowers, flowers and more flowers. We went totally head over heel in love with this place and I think for once none of us were complaining about hunger as our senses were so filled with the wonders of colors and scents.

From Furano we took the JR sightseeing 'Norocco-go' train to the special 'Lavender Station' which only operates during the summer months.

An old steam train but refurbished into a very quaint automobile made this short trip very disneyland-like.

The sunflower field along the Furano-Narafurano route.

This station only operates during the two summer months, June and July.

Only the Norocco-go train stops here. If taking a normal JR train, get off at Naka Furano station and it takes about 25 minutes to walk to the farm.

About three minutes walk from the Lavender Station will bring you to Tomita Farm, a paradise for all flowers lovers.

Entrance to the farm is free and you can wander around at your own pace. Besides the flower fields, there are many other attractions like the Hanabito House, Dried Flowers House, Potpourri House, Perfume House, Green House and a distillery workshop.

These were the first flowers that greeted us. Despite the rainy weather and cloudy sky, it gladdened our hearts to see such a lovely sight.

This is the most well known image of this farm - the rainbow field which is created by rows of different flowers and herbs planted on a gentle rolling hill. This image is made famous when they were used in the nationwide Japan Railway calender.

The wheat plants created a golden hue for the rainbow field.

These provided the lilac shade,

Another shade of purple.

And a sea of white.

The entire farm was blanketed in rainbow colors and the air perfumed with the most relaxing and refreshing fragrance of the lavender.

Lavender bushes in a field was mesmerizing, visually and aromatically, felt like I have arrived in heaven. It was a feast for the eyes, mind and soul.

I felt we arrived at the farm a week too late as the lavender were beginning to wilt and ready to be harvested.

But I managed to find a few newly bloomed stalks. Individually, a stalk of lavender exudes exquisite aura and delicate sweetness. An amazing display of wonder of nature but such short life span...

Caught this young budding photographer in action. He was so totally engrossed with his endeavor, he didn't realize I was shooting him. The flowers do have that effect on most of us...

Except for these two beauties who were happily competing with the blooms...

Every shrub was shown the same tender loving care by the hundreds of workers scattered all over this farm.

Young lavender plants for sale. So tempted to bring home one but knew it would not survive our environment here in Malaysia.

A green house in the farm that enables visitors to witness the beauty of the lavender bloom even in the cold winter month.

Looking out from the greenhouse.

The many beauties in the greenhouse.

This trip would not be complete without shopping... the potpourri house.

Amazing display of dried flowers and plants.

Dried flowers wreaths and things.

Bouquet of dried lavender for about 1500 yen.

Look what I found!

and me too....

And many other spin-off products of lavender.

Another famous produce of Hokkaido and also of Tomita farm... the rock melons.

Ultra sweet and succulent... definitely lived up to it's reputation and price.

Sweet sweet indulgence...rock melon ice-cream

and lavender ice-cream.

A simple lunch but one of the best potato croquette I have ever had.

These and...

these to further brighten your day!

Have a lovely weekend.

Daisetsuzan, Hokkaido

Mui Fong did most of the research for places of interest n Hokkaido before we set off. She insisted on visiting this National Park. She read that this place is most beautiful in Summer and coldest in winter.

We took a train from Furano to Asahikawa, the second largest city after Sapporo in Hokkaido. From there we hopped on to a bus at Asahikawa JR Station which took us for a scenic one and a half hour ride to Asahidate Station.

Daisetsuzan (big snow mountains) is the largest national park in Japan. This park comprises of a group of mountain ranges which includes Mt. Asahi, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido .

We took the ropeway to the Sugatami Station which cost 2800 yen per person.

Mt. Asahidake. A breathtakingly rugged beautiful mountain. It is the highest peak in this mountain range. The term 'dake' is used instead of 'san' as in Fujisan is for this very reason as it is not a 'lone' mountain. It takes about two days to hike to the summit. Apparently it is not a difficult climb but the weather can be very fickle and temperature is known to dip suddenly. Just a few days before we were there, there was a group of hikers who lost their way and by the time they were found, ten died. Weather in the mountain changes very quickly and one has to be very well prepared.

Evidence of volcanic activity.

Steam activitiy.

Closest we could go to these sulfurous vents called fumaroles.
A bell to warn of any unusual volcanic activity.

Parts of the 60 minutes circular trail that begins at the ropeway's upper station.

1st view point of the trail.

Beautiful alpine plant along the trail.

These alpine flora are small but so, so exquisitely vibrant in their colors and shapes.

Maybe they sensed the fleetingness of summer and want to make the most of it.

These amazing beauties are found peeking from every nook of the rocky range.

'Husband and wife' ponds

We encountered about five of these lovely pristine ponds along the 1.7 circular path.

Furano, Hokkaido

The place where we stayed in Furano for the first two nights is called Pension Furanui. Located at the foothill of the Kitanamine ski resort and gondola station (about 5 minutes walk). About 10 minutes taxi ride from Furano train station. Location was ideal but the rooms were spartan, just 2 beds with rather thin mattresses and it cost 6900 yen per person with no meals. We had to open the window in our room to air it as there was strong cigarette smell. I won't return to stay in this place but I love the area surrounding it and would certainly return to stay if ever get another chance to visit Hokkaido. The reason we chose to stayed in Furano is because of its proximity to two destination we wanted to visit.

There are abundance of lodgings to choose from.

Even back packers lodges.

This is the gondola station for the skiers in winter.

The ski tracks are at these hills behind the station.

It is a very picturesque area. Reminded me of how our Kinabalu National Park could have looked like if we had taken more care of the natural environment of the place when building infrastructures.

A small lavender farm 2 minutes walk from where we stayed.

Viewed from the terrace of another hotel.

Lavender bushes. It's everywhere here in Furano at this time of the year. These were found near a temple.

A small temple a stone throw away from Furanui.

A very quaint 'soto' cafe. Don't think they serve soto ayam though.

I am as crazy about flowers as I am about food. This is the first one I am posting but definitely not going to be the last. Hokkaido at this time (summer) is a heaven bursting with beautiful flowers... I have more flowers shots than food shots taken here in Hokkaido.

Second one and counting...

After the rain... it rained almost the whole time we were in Hokkaido. The rain we encountered here was very pleasant. It drizzled like fine mist, very lightly and very softly but continuously.

One more for the road... These were all taken in Furano near where we stayed.

Otaru, Hokkaido

Otaru is a harbour city about half hour train ride north-west of Sapporo. It reminds me of KK, our home town but of course, a much cleaner version. It has a beautiful canal lined by old warehouses.

This has now become one of my favorite cities in Japan which you will later find out why. On this Hokkaido trip, this place was the only destination we visited twice for a very specific purpose. So glad we didn't follow a tour group.

These buildings used to be warehouses but are converted into stylish cafes and restaurants. The canal was used by barges but now is just a scenic tourist attraction.

One of the many artists displaying and selling his version of this canal.

He featured every season of the canal.

These medieval looking couple blended in perfectly with the surrounding. They were plying some intricately hand-made bicycle models in wire.

And this young man who so obliging posed for me,

works one of these trishaws for tourists who don't like to walk.

Met this couple who travel in style. Note the sizes of the bikes. His and hers Harley's?

We found this place quite by accident. After walking around the city and thought we had seen enough we headed back to the station area. Right next to the left of station was a 100 yen shop and we thought we'd take a look. Then something else caught our attention a few meters away...

We saw this entrance to a market place and as you know, we can never walk away from any market place without getting a sniff of the food stuffs.

This was what awaited us in this small one lane market. We hit mother lode of seafood!!!!

These and...

These...We were like children let loose in a candy store when we saw these endless glorious seafood.

Dried scallops

Dried seaweed

Live oysters, clams and more...

Scallops! 11 pieces for 1000 yen, less than 100 yen each.

Every stall we passed offered these yummy tasting stations.

Then we spotted these swimming in huge tanks.

This is THE reason we came to Otaru twice. No, not because of Betty, it was that crustacean she was holding. Hokkaido famous king crab.

This one cost 5000 yen which translated to ~ Rm180 and worth every single sen/yen. They are best eaten plain boiled.

This has to be the best crab meat I have ever had in my entire life. Sweet with a touch of sea saltiness, succulent, firm and of a smooth texture. It was the dish I dreamed about the whole time when we were traveling around Hokkaido.

So, on the day we were to leave Sapporo for Tokyo, we headed here again for another feast. Knowing that we may not be back here again for a long long time we sampled almost everything there was on display.

This stall has only two dining tables.

This was what we had in this heavenly market beside the king crab...

Grilled scallop was very good but...

Sashimi scallop was even better. Every morsel was a fresh crunchy sweetness and a to-die-for taste of the sea...

Another two different crabs we tried. Both were good but nothing compares to the king crab in flavor and texture.

But I love these roe found in this red spiky crab.

A lesson in cracking open a crab. The shells of these are unlike those of our water. They are much thinner and softer, so much easier and faster to get to the meat.

Smoked fish marinated in wine.

Don't know the name of this fish but it was the best grilled fish ever. It had a texture very much like frog meat but creamier.

It looked like this before it was cooked. Its dorsal fins open out like wing.

Hubby saw this post in the making and decided this is THE place in Hokkaido he most wanted to visit...I have offered to be his tour guide!

Tokyo Station

I Love all the train stations in Japan. Especially Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. They have the most amazing shopping facilities anywhere. Tokyo station, one of the busiest railway stations, is no different. We had to take the shinkansen from here to Sapporo and we had a few hours to 'spare' trans:shop.

What better way to kill time.........

Mui admiring her newly purchased bag. In with the new, out with the old. See that poor bag on the floor? : (

Waiting for our train to Sapporo.

Pre-elementary school children on a field trip.

Very disciplined, two-by-two and holding hands. Their little hats made me look twice, sooo cute.

This shinkansen took us from Tokyo to Hachinoche which is one of the northernmost cities of Honshu island in less than 3 hours (2 hours and 50 minutes to be exact). To compare how fast the shinkansen travels, the same distance by car would take 8 hours. From here we transferred to another train to Aomori, an hour ride. From Aomori we travelled to Sapporo in 7 hours and 25 minutes. Traveling through the night, we didn't get to see any scenery.

My lunch before the long journey. Ebi tempura with soba and some sushi. The leaf-wrapped bundles were mackerel sushi. I wasn't able to photograph my sisters' meals as they had 'dug' in before I could get my camera ready.

We had a lot of these bento meals bought at stations. Very convenient, economical and filling when traveling.