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Saturday, August 04, 2012

Limited Express Furano Lavender Express (特急フラノラベンダーエクスプレス号)| Sapporo⇔Furano

This is good information for travelers to Hokkaido. Without renting a car, you can enjoy sightseeing in Furano very comfortably!

Voila!
This is the "Limited Express Furano Lavender Express (特急ラベンダーエクスプレス号)"↓

This double-decker train goes through to Furano from Sapporo directly. Perfect!

Let's to go to the lavender town! It takes only about two hours from Sapporo!

The train inside is like this↓

Wow! It has earphones like ones in the airplane!

You can enjoy tourist information on the TV monitor on the way to Furano.

Time goes very quickly! You've arrived in Furano!

Furano reminds you of lavenders!

Don't worry about the public transportation system in Furano.

JR provides the Twinkle Bus (ツインクルバス) for train users, and you can go to almost all tourist attractions in the town!

Please enjoy Furano without driving!

■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!

Friday, August 03, 2012

Furano Ropeway (富良野ロープーウェイ)| Sea of Clouds (雲海)| Furano

You may think ropeways in Furano are for skiers and snowboarders during the winter time only, but it's wrong!!
I enjoyed very beautiful scenery with my tour guests the other day.

The Sancho station (山頂駅) is on the way to the summit of Mt. Furano-Nishidake (富良野西岳).

Let's go!

First, you can see Mt. Furano-Nishidake (富良野西岳) and Mt. Ashibetudake (芦別岳) on your left.

Next, you can see the Furano Basin (富良野盆地) and Daisetsuzan mountain range (大雪山連峰) behind you!

You may be getting excited as the ropeway goes up!

This is from the Sancho station (山頂駅). It is very beautiful, but...............

If you get up early, and go up to the station, you can see..............




a sea of clouds like this! How beautiful it is!

Actually we were so excited to see the beautiful natural phenomenon at the mountain!

■Where is "Furano Ropeway (富良野ロープーウェイ)"?

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!

Rokkasansou (六花山荘)| Japanese Restaurant in the Forest | Nakafurano

If you like a calm, peaceful and sophisticated restaurant in a forest, I recommend "Rokkasansou (六花山荘)" located in Nakafurano.

This restaurant serve by appointment only. Please make a reservation in advance! After crossing the bridge, you will arrive at the secret restaurant! Why secret? Their website doesn't have their map. After the reservation, they will tell the visitors the location. 

"Welcome to our restaurant!"

There are six tables only. Children under 12 years old are not allowed to enter this area. Yes! This is a space for adults who would like to enjoy peaceful atmosphere!

The courses are changeable depending on the month. Well, well, well, I'll show you a lunch course menu in June.

Rices are selectable among the two kinds: bean rice (including runner beans, soybeans, red beans, kidney bean, black beans, and young soy beans) and scallop rice. I chose the latter one. Yummy x 2!
The miso soup has slices of turnip and deep-fried tofu. My guests really loved this soup, and had second helpings.
The snap garden peas with pasted tofu are also delicious. We felt they use carefully selected ingredients only!

Actually, the dishes are served in a big plate, and dished it out.
The cucumber pickles are sweet, sour and a little bit spicy. How yummy it is!

This dish looks simple, but actually really complicated. The burdock roots, minced chicken, and kidney beans are cooked separately, but served in the same plate. Sounds very professional, doesn't it?

I love this very creamy croquette!!! Prawns are not minced, but used as they are!

The steamed pork dumplings are very juicy! I really love them!!

After finishing these courses, the cook come to the dinning table with white asparagus picked on that day, and ask how many asparagus the guests would like to eat. How wonderful the service is! After the order, they start to boil the delicious local asparagus!!!

Last, but not least, the desserts are also selectable among two kinds; baumkuchen and almond jelly.

And I chose the first one because I love baumkuchen produced by Rokkatei (六花亭), one of the leading confectionery companies in Hokkaido.
Yes, this restaurant is produced by the famous sweets company.

After lunch, we enjoyed ink paintings in the restaurant, and then went out to the veranda to enjoy the nature!

This restaurant is surrounded with the forest, and we enjoyed the sounds of the winds, and singing birds.

The time tickled by very slowly here...............

If you have a chance to come to Furano, please visit here, and enjoye the delicious Japanese food with the perfect surroundings!!

■Where is "Rokkasansou (六花山荘)"?

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!

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Farm Okudaira (ファーム奥平)| All You Can Eat Furano Melons (富良野メロン食べ放題)| Furano

We came to "Farm Okudaira (ファーム奥平)" to eat Furano melons as many as possible today! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

Let's go to his garage! Why garage?

This is the venue of all-you-can-eat-Furano melons! Are you ready? Hahaha!

"Please enjoy my melons as much as possible!", said Mr. Okudaira (奥平さん), the owner of this farm. He is so friendly that we became his big fan instantly!!!

Voila!!!
He cultivates melons with a lot of loving care!

Once we finished the melon, he took another melon from a refrigerator, and cut it for us! Yummy x 2!! It's very sweet!!! He harvested these melons adjusting the day we came here!

After enjoying his melon from our heart, we visited his melon farm. I immediately felt he made every effort to raise these delicious melons!

This is his farm of sugar beets.

We really enjoyed his tasty melons and conversation with Mr. Okudaira!

P.S.
He is a chairman of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Fan Club, Furano Branch (北海道日本ハムファイターズふらの後援会). Cool!

■Where is "Farm Okudaira (ファーム奥平)"?

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!

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Otaru Milk Plant (小樽ミルクプラント)| Soft Ice Cream Parlor | Otaru

Today we visited  "Otaru Milk Plant (小樽ミルクプラント)", a popular soft ice cream parlor in Otaru.

It is always packed with local ice cream lovers especially during the summer time.

Why is this parlor popular?
Look at the menu. They have several kinds of flavors in four sizes; regular, long, jumbo, and N.Y. jumbo.

How big is the New York Jumbo?

This is Hokkaido milk flavored soft ice cream in the jumbo size. Surprisingly, it is not the biggest size!!

Voila!!!
This is Yubari Melon flavored soft ice cream in the N.Y. jumbo!

I tried Melon and Hokkaido milk flavored one! Yummy x 2!!!

It is very delicious, but difficult to eat it up before it starts to melt........... Hahaha!
They serve 11 flavors; vanilla, chocolate, chocolate marble, strawberry, strawberry marble, Hokkaido milk, Yubari melon, Hokkaido milk & Yubari melon, yogurt, Kyoho grape, and Kyoho grape & yogurt. 
If you are ice cream lovers, please conquer ice cream Everest!

■Where is "Otaru Milk Plant (小樽ミルクプラント)"?

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!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Lake Kussharo (屈斜路湖)| Sand Bath (砂湯)| Akan National Park

Would you like to enjoy a big caldera lake and natural sand bath at the same time? If so, how about Lake Kussharo (屈斜路湖) located in the eastern part of Hokkaido?

This is Japan's largest and the world's second largest crater lake.

Kussyaro (屈斜路) means an outlet of the lake in Ainu language. It is connected with Kushiro River.

When you come here, please enjoy the natural sand bath!

Hot water is oozed out from the ground, and wherever you dig around here, you can enjoy hot spring for your feet!

The water is so hot that I recommend you to dig near the lake! It's very comfortable!!!

This lake has a legend, too. Like Nessie in Loch Ness, Kusshie (クッシー), a monster, is believed to inhabit Lake Kussharo. Hahaha!

They sell Kusshie goods, such as cookies, key rings, and T-shirts and so on.

After enjoying foot bath, how about drinking hot spring?

You can be healthier from both inside and outside!

■Where is "Lake Kussharo (屈斜路湖)"?

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!