Japan Diaries 4: Day 341
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Day 341 – October 8, 2022
Saturday – 10.8-10 Family Road Trip D1
It's the weekend again. It can only mean one thing, another opportunity to explore Hokkaido. What's more, it's still another long weekend since Japan celebrates Sports Day on Monday. |
| It's a beautiful morning. Bye for now Rumoi City! |
We got up early to load our bags into the car and eat breakfast before hitting the road. Our first destination for the day is the town of Tsukigata (月形町). The town is known for its watermelons and melons.
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| A quick stop at 711 Tsukigata to buy some breakfast |
The first place we visited in Tsukigata was the Kabato Shrine in the heart of the town. Like always, we paid respects and offered some prayers for a safe trip. From there, we bought some breakfast at 711 Tsukigata before we proceeded to Kairaku Park.
Kairaku Park was lovely and ideal for camping. It would undoubtedly be on our list of locations for the next camping season.
From there, we continued on to the village of Shinshinotsu (新篠津村). This village is the smallest and only village in the Ishikari Subprefecture. It is popular for its Doburoku Sake, kimchi, and miso. Our first stop in Shinshinotsu is the Shinshinotsu Shrine followed by the Shinshinotsu Roadside Station.
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| Shinotsu Park |
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| Shinotsu Park Observation Deck |
Shinotsu Park is a beautiful park near the roadside station. My family and I didn't miss out on visiting the cake-looking observation platform located on a hill in the heart of the park.
Our next stop is the town of Nanporo also Namporo (南幌町). This town produces one of the best cabbages in the region hence its kimchi products are said to be one of the best. Our first stop in town is Nanporo Water Park. Sadly, the observation deck was already closed for this season.
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| Former Horomuka Station |
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| The main entrance of Bodaiji |
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| Bodaiji |
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| Namporo Shrine's Torii Gate |
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| Namporo Shrine |
We didn't waste time and headed to the town center to see the Former Horomuka Station and the nearby Bodaiji temple. Before leaving Namporo, we visited the Namporo Shrine to offer prayers and pay respects.
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| Driving along Route 337 going to Naganuma |
The next stop is the town of Naganuma (長沼町). A town whose name came from the Ainu word “tanneto” which means narrow swamp, which when translated to Japanese becomes naganuma. Our first stop in town is the Naganuma Shrine.
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| Farmer's Market at Naganuma Roadside Station grounds |
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| Naganuma Roadside Station / Maoi no Oka Park Roadside Station |
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| Cream puff from Sweets by Café Kaldino |
Before leaving the town, we stopped at Maoi no Oka Park Roadside Station to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally. My wife also bought some vegetables from the local market. We also bought cream puff from Sweets by Café Kaldino.
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| Next stop: Yuni |
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| Yuni Shrine's Torii gate |
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| Yuni Shrine |
The town of Yuni (由仁町) was the next town we visited as we continued our journey south. Our first stop was Yuni Shrine to pray and pay our respects.
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| Yuni Garden |
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| The famed kochia plants of Yuni Garden |
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| The beautiful wedding venue in side Yuni Garden |
Yuni is not only endowed with abundant agricultural fields, but it is also home to Yuni Garden, which is well-known for its kochia plants, which turn the field crimson from mid-September to early October. The garden is probably one of the highlights of today’s trip.
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| Abira Roadside Station / Abira D51 Roadside Station |
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| Inside Abira Roadside Station |
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| Restored D51 displayed inside the Abira D51 Railway Museum |
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| Oiwake Hachiman Shrine's Torii gate |
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| Oiwake Hachiman Shrine |
Our next destination is the town of Abira (安平町). The town is a train lover’s paradise. This town has several old trains on display. As a matter of fact, we got to see some during our visit to the Abira D51 Roadside Station. We were able to see the Steam locomotive D51 no. 320 inside the Abira D51 Railway Museum and the KiHa 183 displayed outside. Before leaving Abira, we visited Oiwake Hachiman Shrine to pray and pay our respects.
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| Crossed the railway on our way to Tomakomai City |
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| We were blessed with a beautiful sunset |
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| Lake Utonai Roadside Station |
When we left Abira, it was already afternoon. We then traveled to Tomakomai City (苫小牧市), our final destination for the day. We made a brief stop outside of town at Lake Utonai Roadside Station to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally.
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| AEON Mall Tomakomai |
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| We checked out what we could buy at Kaldi Coffee Farm |
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| The colonel welcoming us to KFC Tomakomai |
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| KFC Chicken |
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| We bought coffee at Starbucks before leaving AEON Mall Tomakomai |
We then proceeded to AEON Mall Tomakomai for supper in the food court. We had KFC fried chicken and the miso ramen of Sapporo Ramen Misogen. Before leaving we ordered coffee at Starbucks.
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| Dormy Inn Tomakomai |
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| Our room for the day |
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| Dormy Inn Tomakomai - Room 818 |
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| The view from our hotel room |
We finished our day by checking into Dormy Inn Tomakomai officially wrapping up Day 1/3 of our long weekend road trip.
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| Good night! |
Overall, today was a fulfilling day. We visited 6 towns and 1 city. We are getting closer to completing our #Hokkaido179 goals.
Read more:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 49Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 49
Japan Diaries 4: Day 342
Kabato Shrine
Kairaku Park
Shinshinotsu Shrine
Shinshinotsu Roadside Station
Shinotsu Park
Namporo Water Park
Former Horomuki Station
Namporo Shrine
Naganuma Shrine
Maoi No Oka Park
Naganuma Roadside Station
Yuni Shrine
Yuni Garden
Abira D51 Roadside Station
Namporo Water Park
Former Horomuki Station
Namporo Shrine
Naganuma Shrine
Maoi No Oka Park
Naganuma Roadside Station
Yuni Shrine
Yuni Garden
Abira D51 Roadside Station
Abira D51 Railway Museum
Oiwake Hachiman Shrine
Lake Utonai Roadside Station
Oiwake Hachiman Shrine
Lake Utonai Roadside Station
10 Things to Do in Shinshinotsu
10 Things to Do in Nanporo
10 Things to Do in Naganuma
10 Things to Do in Yuni
10 Things to Do in Abira
10 Things to Do in Tomakomai City
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