Caledonian Sky （小型船カレドニアン スカイ）| Cruise Ship

I'm now working for Ms. Caledonian Sky （小型船カレドニアンスカイ）↓

Let's have lunch on the deck!

Wow! Wow! Wow! We have a nice view from the cruise ship!

Voila!

They tried to make sushi! Looks wonderful!

This is a salad corner!

There are a lot of pickles and dressings here!

I love cheese!!!

Look at this! I tried soba salad with blue cheese dressing! How innovative it is! Hahaha!

The sushi looks very pretty, but tastes interesting!! I love the cook's nice try!

Last but not least, I've found a dessert corner!

This dark chocolate bread pudding looks yummy x 2!!!

I love it!

Don't miss vitamin C!

Do I eat lunch too much?

This is a cabin↓, which is much much more comfortable than I imagined!

The bath room is very cozy!!!

The Japanese painting makes me very happy!

I really recommend cruise ships to come to Hokkaido! 

■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!

GRAND HOTEL NEW OJI （グランドホテルニュー王子）| Tomakomai （苫小牧）

I'm in Tomakomai with my tour guests.
This is "GRAND HOTEL NEW OJI （グランドホテルニュー王子）", our hotel located near JR Tomakomai station↓

The room is not bad, compared to other so-called business hotels.................

Good morning! Let's go to the breakfast venue!!

The buffet looks normal......................

I'm looking for something special which we cannot find in other areas..........

I've found it!
They serve "Sakhalin surf clam curry （ホテルオリジナル特製 ホッキカレー）"!!　This city is proud of 30% of national share of Sakhalin surf clams!!! Of course it is No. 1 share in Japan!!!

Yummy x 2 in my tummy!!!

When you come to Tomakomai, please enjoy its delicious Sakhalin surf clam!!

■Where is GRAND HOTEL NEW OJI （グランドホテルニュー王子）?

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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!

Star Festival and Kyokusui no Utage （七夕と曲水の宴）| Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum （男山酒造り資料館）| Asahikawa （旭川）

Otokoyama （男山） is a more than 340 year-old sake brewery, and has got gold medals at Sake Competition （酒類コンテスト） for 36 years in a row.

After enjoying this sake brewery museum, tasting awarded sake, I always collect natural water in the compound which is from Daisetsuzan mountain range （大雪山の伏流水） in order to make their delicious sake. This is very delicious, and recommendable!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I've found a special event here!
Have you heard "Kyokusui no Utage （曲水の宴）"?

This is how to enjoy this event.

First, write down you wishes on star festival paper strip. Yes, Star Festival （七夕） is held on the 8th of August in Hokkaido, and we have such a custom.

Then wait a sake cup flowing from the upstream, which is regarded as Milky Way in the space.

Use a bamboo bar to catch the cup, and drink sake! Yummy x 2!!!

Lastly, hang up your strip on a bamboo, and make a wish!

We really enjoyed this traditional summer event, and Japanese garden very much!!

■Where is "Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum （男山酒資料館）"?

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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!

FARM TOMITA （ファーム富田） in Early August | Lavender Farm | Naka-Furano

FARM TOMITA is one of Hokkaido’s premier flower farms. Originally a simple lavender farm, today the farm has expanded to include a number of large fields of various flower types, including Poppies, French Marigolds, and many more.

The most famous image of the farm is that of the ‘rainbow field’ created by planting rows of different flowers along the gentle rolling hills. The image is unforgettable and each year visitors come to photograph the fields made famous by their use in a nation wide Japan Rail calendar.

The farm has several different flower fields like this↓

Among them, we visited "HANABITO field" near the parking lot, because it is the most beautiful in this season!

Wow wow wow! We were so impressed with the wonderful flowers!!!

Lavenders are over the peak season, but the other flowers are more than perfect!

The park is packed with a lot of people, and you may not park a car near the park..... Please be careful!!

But it's worth coming here! I love this farm!!

It's like a rainbow carpet!

The field now includes the lobelia, agereatum, soaproot, poppy, periwinkle and so on.

After enjoying this farm, please enjoy lavender and melon ice cream! Yummy x 2!!

The farm serve other delicious desserts such as lavender cake, lavender cream puff, lavender jelly, lavender pudding, melon buns and so on.

In the previous post, you can also see the details of the lavender goods in the biggest lavender shop called "HANABITO House" and flowers in the late-May in FARM TOMITA.

In the late May to late August, you can enjoy the different flower combinations depending on the season! Why don't you enjoy the beautiful flower garden in Furano!

If you are interested in this flower field in other seasons, please refer to my other posts!
■Mid July---→☆ (Best season for lavenders)
■Early June---→☆ (including a snow-capped mountain pic)
■Late May----→☆ (including lavender souvenir information)

■Where is Farm Tomita?

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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!

Takara Sushi （宝すし）| Sushi Bar | Otaru

If you'd like to go to local authentic sushi bars, not sushi bars for tourists, how about "Takara Sushi （宝すし）" in Otaru?

It's not a big sushi bar with a counter and a few dine tables.

Personally, I recommend today's special. They use only carefully selected seafood! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

First, miso soup with sea lettuce was served. Well, well, well, the sushi show will start! Hahaha!

Look at these!! Looks obviously different from normal sushi, right? The chef's choices today were (from right) herring roe, king crab, botan prawn, toki shirazu salmon, striped jack, Pacific bluefin tuna, and kelp-marinated hime. Yummy x 2!! You don't have to dip it in soy sauce. The chef selects the best soy sauce for each sushi, and brushes it on each one! Look at the tuna! It was melting in my mouse!!!

How about three kinds of shellfish; abalone, Sakhalin surf clam, and scallop? All of them were, of course, caught off Hokkaido! Taste more than perfect!!!

The chef at this bar makes new sushi, just after I eat up the previous ones. I love this timing!

Otaru reminds a lot of people of mantis shrimps, which are really delicious and recommendable!

When you come here, you cannot miss conger sushi, which is the most popular sushi in this restaurant! It is crispy outside, and very juicy inside!

Just for reference, this is a reasonable set named "Takara Nigiri （宝握）"↓

If you'd like to enjoy an authentic sushi bar, I really recommend "Takara Sushi （宝すし）" in Otaru.

■Where is "Takara Sushi （宝すし）"?

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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!

Asahiyama Zoo Train （旭山動物園号）

Decorated trains..... Japan does it SOOOOOOOOOOOO well!!
How about Asahiyama Zoo Train （旭山動物園号） from Sapporo （札幌） to Asahikawa （旭川）?

Isn't it fun to use such a cute train with your friends or family members?

Personally I also recommend Lupin the Third Wrapping Train （ルパン三世ラッピングトレイン）↓

(See the details→★)

This special train runs in the Hanasaki Line （花咲線） located in the eastern part of Hokkaido. 

■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!

Le Calme （ル カルム）| Chiffon Cake Shop | Ebetsu

When I want to eat chiffon cakes, I often go to "Le Calme （ル カルム）", located in Ebetsu, 20 minutes away from Sapporo↓

They serve a lot of kinds of shiffons, tarts, and cakes.......

Almost all of a piece is only 250 yen! How reasonable it is!!!
Among regular cakes, I often order cheese tart↓

pudding cake and

chocolate chiffon↓

I regularly come here, partly because they make special shiffons and tarts in each season, such as sweet potato tart in the spring↓ Yummy x 2!!

How about cherry blossom chiffon? Tastes very flower fragrant!!!

Only this weekend, they serve basil chiffon↓ It looks so delicious that I bought six pieces of this special chiffon♪

When I opened the bag, it strongly smells very basil!!! I love it! 

And from tomorrow, cherry tarts will be on sale! As I'm a regular customer,  I luckily can buy the new tart before usual customers will get it!!

If you are interested in a unique cheese cake, how about this?

Amazake Cheese cake （甘酒チーズケーキ） contains sake cake, and has sake flavor a lot...... Yummy x 2!!!

I'm really looking forward to other seasonable cakes in the next seasons!!!

■Where is "Le Calme （ル カルム）"?

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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!