Trappistine Convent （トラピスチヌ修道院）| Hakodate

The Trappistine Convent （トラピスチヌ修道院）, the Lady of the Angels' Convent, was founded in 1898 by eight nuns from the convent in Ubexy, France. Bishop Berlioz of the Hakodate diocese asked them to come here because he felt there was a great need to spread Christianity in this area. The nun's living conditions at the beginning were so poor, so much so, that the headquarters in France was considering to recall their nus to France.
Most of the present building was reconstructed in 1927 after a big fire in 1926.

Let's go!

First, the statues of St. Michael （聖ミカエル像） and

the Virgin Mary （聖母マリア像） welcome us to the convent!

We are now allowed to enter the building, but it's worth visiting here! The nus has mainly three jobs; praying, working in the agricultural fields, and reading every day.

We had a wonderful time in front of the Lourdes Cave （ルルドの洞窟） for a while.......

Let's go to the highest point!

I love the contrast of the blue sky, the redbrick building, and green!

 Look at the beautiful scenery from the top!

The statue of St. Teresa （聖テレシア像） always makes us happy.

We had a peaceful time here in the Trappistine Convent （トラピスチヌ修道院）.

P.S.

Are you interested in delicious vanilla ice cream? If so, let's go to the parking lot, and drop by this souvenir shop named the Forest Shop （市民の森売店）!

 

They serve very delicious vanilla ice cream with 8% of milk fat content!!! Yummy x 2!!!

■Where is "Trappistine Convent （トラピスチヌ修道院）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Niikuraya Souhonpo （新倉屋総本舗）| Japanese Sweets Shop | Otaru

If you want to eat genuine Japanese sweets in Otaru, I recommend "Niikuraya Souhonpo （新倉屋総本舗）", which has more than 100 years history↓

"Niikuraya （新倉屋）" reminds a lot of people of rice dumplings↓ Of course this is the No.1 popular item in this shop.

There are five kinds of toppings; sweet sauce, sesame, white bean, red bean, and green tea flavored been paste.

I ate the sesame one. Yummy x 2!!!

This is rice dumpling with some walnut, the No. 2 popular item in this shop.

Of course I bought it! It has long loved by a lot of people!!

How about seasonal specialties?
This is a tomato rice dumpling!

It has tomato-flavored bean paste in it. They use "Peach Boy（桃太郎）", local brand tamatoes!

Looks very cute, isn't it?

This is also a seasonal product, summer orange cake.

I think this is a perfect summer gift!

Wow! Tastes citrus and delicious! 

They serve something innovative, too. Look at this↓ This is a new type of Dorayaki （どら焼き）, which is traditionally a bean paste pancake, but the new version has a fresh cream and rum raisin! 

When you come to Otaru, why don't you try something very Japanese? We can eat their Japanese sweets with free green tea service at this shop.

■Where is "Niikuraya Souhonpo （新倉屋総本舗）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

SAKANA ISSIN （魚一心）| Conveyor Belt Sushi Bar | Otaru

Otaru is famous for its fresh seafood. Even Kaitenzushi bars serve unbelievably high-quality sushi. Today I'll show you one of the recommendable bars.

"SAKANA ISSIN （魚一心）" is in "WING BAY OTARU （ウィングベイ小樽）", a shopping mall adjacent to JR Otaruchikkou （小樽築港駅）↓

This reasonable sushi bar is on the 2nd floor at Gobangai （五番街） in the shopping mall.

-Useful information-
This shopping mall has been renovated recently, and we can enjoy this discount service from the 22nd to 28th of June!! Hurry up, everyone!!! Hahaha!!

Well, let's enter it!

First, I enjoyed today's specials, especially fish caught off this area. Actually, the first two dishes were treated as Ike jime （活〆）, a special skill to drain blood from a live fish (from the above the gills and at the base of the tail) to keep it fresh. Sounds perfect to me!! 

■Fox jacopever (caught off Habomai)

This is very local fresh, and I enjoyed this fresh fish texture and taste!! 

■Flounder (caught off Kamienai)
I usually enjoy white meat fish first, and then oily fish...............

■Splended alfonsino
How wonderful this subtle sweetness is!　　　

■Tokishake (Salmon) (caught off Hidaka)
Salmon season is Autumn, right? Salmon in this season is still young, and contains more nutrient and condensed delicious fat! I love it!!

■Sea bream
Did I eat a lot? But I cannot miss my favorite↓ I ate it with salt, not say sauce so that the original taste can easily stand out!

Next, I ordered three pieces series!

■Shellfish three brothers
Scallop, Sakhalin surf clam, and whelk are popular local shellfish! All of them are very fresh and tasty!

■Grilled fish three brothers
My favorite salmon, scallop, and fluke fin are slightly grilled, and topped with thinly-sliced Naganegi leek! I like raw sashimi, but always ordered grilled sushi so that I can compare the difference each other!

■Toro three brothers
This salmon tasted compeletely diffrent from Tokishake or grilled salmon! Interesting!!! Of course two kinds of chu toro (high-quality tuna) were very delcious!

Do you have any idea how much it is totally?

↓

↓

↓

It was about 2,000 yen!!!

Why don't you enjoy sushi at a reasonable price like this?

■Where is "WING BAY OTARU （ウィングベイ小樽）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Mathematics Walking Trail （数学の道）| Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園）

Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園） is located about 30 km north of Hakodate, the third largest city in Hokkaido. This park consists of Mt. Komagatake, an active volcano, and three lakes; Lake Onuma （大沼）, Lake Konuma （小沼）, and Lake Junsai （じゅんさい沼）, all of which were formed through a volcanic activity about three hundred years ago.

This park is so picturesque that a lot of tourists as well as artists and celebrities often visit this area!

See?? It's beautiful!!

One of the fans is Heisuke Hironaka （広中　平祐）, a worldwide mathematician who got a Fields prize! He loves this park, and named a walking trail by Lake Onuma the "Mathematics Walking Path （数学の道）"↓

Every year the "Ingenuity Seminar （創才セミナー）" is held at the "Hokkaido Onuma International Seminar House （大沼国際セミナーハウス）"↓, and elementary and junior high students, who are the winners of the Mathematics Olympics, are invited to this activity.

Let's walk along the walking path for a while!

Wow! We've found some holes which were made by brown beers!

Look at the hole made by black woodpeckers! Now a different bird is using it!

We really enjoyed the walking path with a nature guide!

P.S.
Would you like to try very local sweets? Located near JR Onuma Koen Station （JR大沼公園駅）,

Friendly Beer （フレンドリーベア）, a souvenir shop, serves very unique flavors of soft ice cream, such as

milk, chocolate, Toyoura Strawberry （豊浦いちご）, Yubari Melon （夕張メロン）, and Squid Ink （いかすみ）!!!!!

Of course, I tried it!!!Hahaha! It's really recommendable! Have you tried squid ink pasta? It's delicious, right? Why not squid ink soft ice cream???

■More information on the Park

Please refer to my other posts!

・ Island Tour Walking Path (50 minutes)→→→Please click here!

・ Sunset Walking Path (25 minutes)→→→Please click here!

・ Oshima Island Walking Path (15 minutes)→→→Please click here!

・ Sightseeing Boat Tour (30 minutes)→→Please click here!

・ Beef Restaurant→→→Please click here!

・ Microbrewery's beer→→→Please click here!

■Where is "Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園）"?

View Larger Map

■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Oshima Island Course （大島の路）| Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園）

Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園） is known for its scenic beauty containing Mt. Komagatake （駒ケ岳） and lakes such as Lake Onuma （大沼）, Lake Konuma （小沼） and Lake Junsai （じゅんさい沼）. As one of the oldest quasi national parks in Japan covering an area, equivalent to Kanagawa prefecture, this park is refereed to as the birthplace of a resort in Hokkaido.

Four attractive walking courses let us explore the lakes' peninsulas and 126 islands, several of which are connected with each other by small bridges, in easy 15-60 minute walks. Now, I'll show you the "Oshima Island Course （大島の路）", which is the flattest and shortest walking trail of the four.

First let's cross Nishiooshima Bridge （西大島橋） near a sightseeing boat landing-place.

We can enjoy small islands and Mt. Komagatake along the walking trail.

Between Nishioshima Bridge （西大島橋） and Higashi Oshima Bridge （東大島橋）, there is a famous view point like this↓ Very beautiful, isn't it?

Do you know "Please do not stand at my grave and weep"? Writer unknown.

A then-12-year-old girl read this poem at Ground Zero for many who died in the 9/11 attacks, and instantly moved a lot of people throughout the world.

Man Arai （新井 満）, a famous writer, translated the poem into Japanese, while feeling a thousand winds in this park. "To be a thousand winds （千の風になって）" sung by Masashi Akikawa （秋川　雅史） was a big hit in Japan several years ago, and this monument was contracted in the view point by the lake↓

Just for reference.....................

Please Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

I am not there, I do not sleep

I am in a thousand winds that blow

I am the softly falling snow

I am the gentle showers of rain

I am the fields of ripening grain

I am in the morning hush

I am in the graceful rush

of beautiful birds in circling flight

I am the star shine of the night

I am in the flowers that bloom

I am in a quiet room

I am the birds that sing

I am in each lovely thing

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there, I do not die

We had a very peaceful moment in front of the monument for a while!

Well, well, well, let's move on to the walking tour!

The trail is very flat, and even children and elder people can enjoy this course.

Located near the end of this walking path, Tai Park （太公園） has a big fishing pond, where we can enjoy carp fishing!

Yes!!
Local high school students enjoyed fishing while we had the tour. They talked to my tour guests in English! Nice try!!!

It takes only 15 minutes to walk along the trail. Please enjoy the birch and maple forest along Lake Onuma!

■More information on the Park

Please refer to my other posts!

・ Island Tour Walking Path (50 minutes)→→→Please click here!

・ Sunset Walking Path (25 minutes)→→→Please click here!

・ Mathematics Walking Path→→→Please click here!

・ Sightseeing Boat Tour (30 minutes)→→Please click here!

・ Beef Restaurant→→→Please click here!

・ Microbrewery's beer→→→Please click here!

■Where is "Onuma Quasi National Park （大沼国定公園）"?

View Larger Map

■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!