Day 503: March 19, 2023
Sunday – Tsukigata x Tobetsu x Ebetsu Road Trip
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| It's a sunny day today, so Team Nicerio heads out for another road trip. |
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| Driving through the snowy Fukagawa-Rumoi Expressway |
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| The snowcapped Shokanbetsu mountain range as seen from Route 275 |
It’s another Sunday! It’s going to be sunny the whole day, according to the weather forecast. It only means one thing! It’s a perfect day to go on a road trip. I got up early to cook breakfast, but instead of eating it at home, we decided to eat it somewhere.
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| The road going up to the Tsukigata Maruyama Viewing Platform. |
We left Rumoi City (留萌市) at a little past 7 AM to go to Tobetsu, which is a 2-hour drive. Since my pregnant wife is driving, we need to have frequent rest stops. So for this trip, our first stop was the town of Tsukigata (月形町). We planned to go to the Tsukigata Maruyama Viewing Platform to eat our breakfast, but the road up was still covered in snow. So we decided to look for another place to eat instead.
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| Tsukigata Onsen Hotel |
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| We found a spot in the Tsukigata Onsen Hotel to eat breakfast |
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| My wife enjoyed the warmth of the place but my daughter and I enjoyed sliding in the snow pile outside (see video below) |
We drove by the Kabato Shrine while looking for a place to eat. We were surprised to discover that it had collapsed, most likely due to the severe snowfall in the region. We ultimately settled on Tsukigata Onsen Hotel. We entered the annex building, and there was a big table for guests. Since the place is open to the public, we decided that it’s a good place to eat our food. The hotel staff was accommodating even if we weren’t guests.
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| Off to our next town destination - Tobetsu |
After eating breakfast, we continued our drive to the town of Tobetsu (当別町). Because most of the places in the prefecture are still buried in snow, we had to skip the outdoor places in our itinerary.
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| Seicomart Yayoi Branch in Tobetsu |
The first place that we visited in Tobetsu is the Tobetsu Shrine. My daughter and I paid our respects and offered our prayers before heading our way. Of course, we didn’t forget our “first-time visit wish” tradition, which was to make a wish. Before leaving the town proper, we made a quick stop at Seicomart in the Yayoi District of Tobetsu to buy some drinks.
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| Sweden soft cream mix |
From there, we drove to the Tobetsu Roadside Station / Roadside Station The Nordic Winds Tobetsu. We got the roadside station stamp and also tried out some of the unique products sold there, like the Tobetsu dorayaki and the Sweden Soft Cream. Why the name Sweden? That’s because the soft cream is colored yellow and blue, which are the primary colors of the flag of Sweden.
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| Next stop: Ebetsu City |
After eating our snacks and taking our toilet break. We proceeded to our next destination, which was Ebetsu City (江別市). The first destination that we visited was the Ebetsu Shrine. Like in all the shrines that we visited, my daughter and I paid our respects and offered our prayers.
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| There is also an exhibit of preserved butterflies |
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| The museum staff was really kind. He went to give us brochures when he found out that we were exploring the city. |
We then drove to the nearby Ebetsu City Local History Museum. We learned a lot about the history of Embetsu City because of the numerous displays inside the museum. What I liked most was the butterfly room, as it reminded me of what my father and I did together before, which was to catch and preserve butterflies. Aside from that, the museum staff here was nice. He gave us several brochures and was genuinely interested when he learned that I’m an ALT in Rumoi and Filipino.
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| One of the art installations installed in Nishikiyama Green Space |
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| Ebetsu City Local Museum Annex / Tonden Museum |
From there, we drove to Nishikiyama Tenmangu Shrine, another historic shrine inside the city. Beside the shrine is the Ebetsu City Local Museum Annex/Tonden Museum. Sadly, it was still closed for the season. |
| 2nd Street Ebetsu Shop |
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| Inside 2nd Street Ebetsu Shop |
As part of the deal, we then went to the 2nd Street Ebetsu Shop to check if there were any good deals on items and products for babies. Of course, there were, as we got to buy some clothes and a seat for bathing, which cost less than a thousand yen.
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| Hard-Off Ebetsu |
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| Ella found some toys here for her collection |
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| Inside Hard-Off Ebetsu |
We also went to Hard-Off Ebetsu, but they have very few products for babies. What we enjoyed there were the toys and the numerous gadgets on sale. However, we didn’t buy anything as we were there for baby products. Regardless, I’d bring my younger brother there as he collects toy cars, and there were hundreds there.
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| They sell a variety of milk and milk-based products |
We were supposed to go to Ebetsu City Ceramic Art Center, but it was almost 4 PM and we still needed to drive for about 2 hours to get home, so we decided not to pursue the plan but to visit it on another day instead. Before going home, we drove to Machimura Farm / Milk Garden Ebetsu, located on the outskirts of Ebetsu City. Aside from enjoying the ambiance, we went into the big red barn and bought their famed milk to bring home.
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| Driving through National Route 275 |
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