Day 383: November 19, 2022
Saturday – Tomamae Road Trip
We were finally blessed with beautiful weather after several rainy weekends spent at home. We would have been back on the road by now if it hadn't been for my wife's package, which was supposed to arrive today.
 |
| I saved some money with this haircut |
 |
| Delivery: Vietnamese mangoes |
We were able to get a lot of housework done while we waited for the package. Aside from that, my wife was able to cut my hair. The delivery arrived just as we were about to finish the haircut. It was a box of Vietnamese mangoes. It was a green light for us to get on the road. I told my wife that since I hadn't planned anything for the day, we'd just go to an onsen.
 |
| Driving along Route 239 also known as the Ororon Line |
We intended to drive to Asahi Onsen in Embetsu. On our way to the onsen, I told my wife that I wanted to stop at Tomamae Roadside Station to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally.
 |
| Onsen time |
The newly renovated roadside station has an onsen, which surprised me. I immediately proposed that we bathe here instead of going to Asahi Onsen. She didn't mind.
 |
| You can buy and enjoy your soft cream here while watching the sunset |
 |
| Ella and I got the caramel soft cream |
After the onsen dip, we tried the delicious caramel soft cream at the roadside station. It was good and was worth every yen. Since it was still early, my wife and I talked about other nearby places that we could visit. There were several places that I brought up like the Konpira Shrine in Shosanbetsu and the Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident location in Tomamae.
 |
| Driving through Route 1049 |
 |
| Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident Area is already closed for this season |
We chose the latter since we didn’t need to drive further north. We left the Tomamae Roadside Station to visit the Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident location. Sadly, the road to the location was closed for winter so we just drove back to town and visited the Kotanbetsu Shrine instead.
 |
| We made a brief stop at a "rest stop" along the Ororon Line |
 |
| Tomamae's Candle Rock |
Before leaving Tomamae, we made a brief stop at a "pitstop" along the Ororon Line on the outskirts of Tomamae to take a picture of the scenic Candle Rock. Later on, I found out that there are similarly named islands in Yoichi and Muroran.
 |
| Nishinbanya Restaurant |
From there, we drove to Obira to eat dinner at Rest House Rio (レストハウス理尾). However, the restaurant still opens at 5 PM. That means we have to wait about an hour outside the restaurant. To burn time, we made a stop at Herring Cultural Historical Park and then at the Obira Roadside Station.
 |
| Historical and Cultural Preservation Exhibition Hall |
 |
| Owner's Room |
We were amazed that the Obira Roadside Station has the Historical and Cultural Preservation Exhibition Hall on the second floor that served as a mini-museum. We actually missed this part when we visited last August 12, 2022. Aside from that, there is also the Owner’s Room which is quite picturesque and would bring you back to the olden times of Japan.
 |
| Kare Taisho |
 |
| Katsu Curry |
 |
| Itadakimasu! |
We left shortly after 5 p.m. When we arrived at the restaurant, however, we were disappointed to discover that it was closed for the day, so we drove home. We chose Kare Taisho in Rumoi City because we were all hungry. This is our second time dining here, and just like before the katsu curry that we ordered was amazing.
 |
| Grocery shopping at COOP |
 |
| Whale bacon is for sale today |
 |
| KitKat Melted Caramel |
 |
| KitKat Sachertorte |
Comments
Post a Comment