Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 74

Weekend 74: April 1 – 2, 2023

Day 516: April 1, 2023

Saturday – Birthday Road Trip Day 1

We're going on a 3-day Road Trip to celebrate my birthday

We drove south using the scenic Route 23

We had a coffee break stop by Seicomart; Otaru Shioya

Route 753 from Otaru City to Akaigawa

It’s another weekend. However, this one is special as it is the first day of my 3-day Birthday Road Trip with my family. We left our house in Rumoi City at around 6 AM and then drove south for about 3 and a half hours going to our first destination which was the beautiful village of Akaigawa.

Akaigawa manhole cover 1

Akaigawa manhole cover 2

Welcome to Akaigawa (赤井川村)

Here are the places that we visited in the village of Akaigawa (赤井川村):

Caldera Observatory

🔴 Caldera Observatory

Akaigawa Shrine

🔴 Akaigawa Shrine

Akaigawa Roadside Station

Breakfast at Akaigawa Roadside Station

Akaigawa Pokemon manhole cover

🔴 Akaigawa Roadside Station

Akaigawa manhole cover 2

It's time to leave Akaigawa village

Next destination: Kutchan (倶知安町)

Kutchan manhole cover

From there, we continued our drive south. Our next stop is the town of Kutchan. These are the places that we visited in Kutchan (倶知安町):

Lerch Memorial Park

Toilet break at Lerch Memorial Park

🥔 Lerch Memorial Park

Kutchan Shrine's torii gate

Kutchan Shrine

🥔 Kutchan Shrine

Next town: Kyogoku (京極町)

Kyogoku manhole cover

We then drove southeast going to the town of Kyogoku. These are the places that we visited in Kyogoku (京極町):

Kyogoku Roadside Station

Ella enjoying her visit to the roadside station

💧 Kyogoku Roadside Station / Roadside Station Meisui no Sato

Fukidashi Park's hanging bridge

Fukidashi Park's famed spring

💧 Fukidashi Park

Kyogoku Hachiman Shrine's torii

Kyogoku Hachiman Shrine

💧 Kyogoku Hachiman Shrine

We originally planned to go to the towns of Kimobetsu and Rusutsu but because it was almost 3 PM and we still had several towns and a village to visit, we decided to skip the said towns and proceed to Makkari Village which is nearer our accommodation for the day.

Mt. Yotei as seen from Hokkaido Road 97

The view of the mountain was so scenic that we had to make a stop and take a picture with it.

Makkari manhole cover

A quick stop at Makkari 711 to buy some snacks

These are the places that we visited in Makkari (真狩村):

Makkari Kasen Park

🏔  Makkari Kasen Park

Makkari River

Makkari River as seen from Makkari Kaisen Park

🏔  Makkari River

Makkari Roadside Station

Inside Makkari Roadside Station

🏔  Makkari Roadside Station

Makkari Shrine's torii gate

Makkari Shrine

🏔  Makkari Shrine

The view of Mt. Yotei from Route 97 inside Makkari village

We crossed the Niseko Bridge going to our destination on the outskirts of Niseko

Niseko manhole cover

From there, we drove to the town of Niseko. These are the places that we visited in Niseko (ニセコ町):

Annupuri Gondola Station

There were still a lot of skiers in the afternoon

We weren't able to ride the gondola up to the mountain as it was almost closing time when we arrived

🏂 Annupuri Gondola Station

Niseko Kaributo Shrine's torii gate

Niseko Kaributo Shrine

🏂 Niseko Kaributo Shrine

Niseko Roadside Station

Inside Niseko Roadside Station

🏂 Niseko Roadside Station / Niseko View Plaza Rest Area

Kutchan manhole cover

Our home for the night - Q Fox GMG Hotel

Enjoying the lobby while waiting to be checked in

There were other places that we wanted to visit in Niseko but they were still closed for the winter season so we decided to check in at our accommodation for the day which is Q Fox GMG Hotel on the southern outskirts of Kuchan.

We were given Room 102

The "after driving rest position"

We were probably not used to driving long distances anymore as we were pretty much drained. After unpacking our luggage, we only wanted to take a nap before eating dinner but the nap turned into a full 12-hour sleep which pretty much ended the 1st day of our road trip.

See you on the next leg of our trip!

Day 517: April 2, 2023

Sunday – Birthday Road Trip Day 2

Good morning from Q Fox GMG Hotel in Kutchan

It’s a warm sunny morning. Although we had a long relaxing sleep, we weren’t able to do important stuff last night like take a bath and update our itinerary for today. That’s why it took an hour off our itinerary for today.

The breakfast was served in the building in front of the hotel

The breakfast area was small but it looked really nice

The food selection was limited, but everything tasted good.

Itadakemasu!

Regardless, we had a simple but surprisingly delicious breakfast at Q Fox GMG Hotel. It was enough to fuel us for the whole day.

Back on the road. Our first stop is the town of Niseko

We're back at the Niseko-Annupuri Gondola Station

We finally got to ride the gondola up the mountain

We got an amazing view of Mt. Yotei from the gondola

But the view is better at the Annupuri Gondola Summit Station

From our accommodation in Kutchan, we drove back to Niseko to ride the gondola in Annupuri Gondola Station to the gondola station near the peak of Mt. Niseko-Annupuri. The view was breathtaking. We got to see Mt. Yotei from another vantage point. We also saw the scenic view of the mountains and plains of Niseko and Rankoshi.

It's time to head back down after enjoying the view from the mountain

How I wish I had the skills to snowboard like this guy

Next stop: Rankoshi

Rankoshi manhole cover

Before exploring the town, we filled up the tank of Ruru at Hokuren Rankoshi self SS / JA

We didn’t stay long though. After riding the gondola down the mountain, we drove to the next town in our itinerary, Rankoshi. These are the places that we visited in Rankoshi (蘭越町):

Shiribetsugawa Lan Lan Park

💧 Shiribetsugawa Lan Lan Park

Rankoshi Roadside Station

💧 Rankoshi Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “Rankoshi Furusato no Oka”

Rankoshi Menayahata Shrine's torii gate

Rankoshi Menayahata Shrine

💧 Rankoshi Menayahata Shrine

Next stop: Kuromatsunai (黒松内町)

Kuromatsunai manhole cover

From there, we drove to the town of Kuromatsunai. These are the places that we visited in Kuromatsunai (黒松内町):

Kuromatsunai Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “Kuromatsunai”

The bakery inside the roadside station sells delicious bread

🐦 Kuromatsunai Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “Kuromatsunai”

Matsuryuyamahorasan Temple

The jizo and the Buddhist statues inside the temple grounds

🐦 Matsuryuyamahorasan Temple

Otori Shrine's torii gate

Otori Shrine

🐦 Otori Shrine

We were still far from Hakodate City so we skipped Oshamambe from our itinerary and then proceeded to the town of Yakumo instead.

Next stop: Yakumo (八雲町)

Yakumo manhole cover

These are the places that we visited in Yakumo (八雲町):

Black Rock Formation (Shumakamuy)

There was also a distinct small shrine near the Black Rock Formation

📍 Black Rock Formation (Shumakamuy)

Yakumo High School

📍 Yakumo High School

Yakumo Shrine's torii gate

Yakumo Shrine

📍 Yakumo Shrine

Asahigaoka Parking Area with the panoramic view of Mt. Komagatake

On our drive out of town, we stopped at the Asahigaoka Parking Area along National Route 5 to admire the panoramic view of Mt. Komagatake.

Next stop: Mori (森町)

Mori Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “You-Yu-Mori”

Mt. Komagatake as seen from the observation deck of Mori Roadside Station

Our next stop is the town of Mori (森町). We almost skipped it too but since the Mori Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “You-Yu-Mori” was along the way, we decided to stop by so that we could get its roadside station stamp for our Hokkaido Stamp Rally roadside station stamp collection.

You can see Mt. Komagatake from National Route 5 

Next destination: Hakodate City (函館市)

Hakodate City manhole cover

From there, we skipped the town of Nanae to reach Hakodate City earlier. These are the places that we visited in Hakodate City (函館市):

Goryukaku Tower

Goryukaku as seen from Goryukaku Tower

✯ Goryukaku Tower

Hakodate Gokoku Shrine's torii gate

Hakodate Gokoku Shrine

✯ Hakodate Gokoku Shrine

Hakodate Park

Hakodate City Pokemon manhole cover

✯ Hakodate Park

Children’s World

✯ Children’s World

Statue of Sakamoto Ryoma

✯ Statue of Sakamoto Ryoma

St. John’s Church

✯ St. John’s Church

Russian Orthodox Church

✯ Russian Orthodox Church

Catholic Church Hakodate Motomachi

✯ Catholic Church Hakodate Motomachi

Monument of Shoichiro Kamei Birthplace

✯ Monument of Shoichiro Kamei Birthplace

Nijukkenzaka

✯ Nijukkenzaka

We bought our two-way Hakodate Ropeway tickets

Hakodate Ropeway

Team Nicerio at Mt. Hakodate Observatory

The night view of Hakodate City as seen from the Mt. Hakodate Observatory

To wrap up our sightseeing in Hakodate City, we rode the Mt. Hakodate Ropeway to the Mt. Hakodate Observatory. There were lots of tourists there and it was hard to find a spot to watch the night view of the city. Regardless, I was able to take a timelapse video of the view and then plenty of photos when most of the crowd already left.

Lucky Pierrot Bay Area Main Shop

Dinner time! Itadakemasu

Before leaving Hakodate City, we ate at Lucky Pierrot Bay Area Main Shop. I ordered the Chinese Burget Set meal and my wife and daughter tried the Lucky Burger. It was truly a perfect meal to end our first day in Hakodate City. Since I am on leave tomorrow, we will come back to visit other places that we missed today.

Toyoko Inn Shin Hakodate Hokuto Eki Minamiguchi

Hokuto City manhole cover

Zushihokki Statue

We drove to nearby Hokuto City (北斗市) to check in at Toyoko Inn Shin Hakodate Hokuto Eki Minamiguchi. My daughter and I didn’t miss taking photos with the Zushihokki Statue in front of the Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station.

We were given Room 404

Time to rest. Thanks for joining us on the second day of our trip!

Before sleeping, we made sure to do the essential things like taking a bath and updating our itinerary so that we wouldn’t have to skip any more towns like yesterday. I'm very excited to see the new destinations that we'll visit tomorrow.

Overall, we visited 2 cities, 7 towns, and a village in Hokkaido for the first time. That brings us to 85 of 179 of our #Hokkaido179 goals.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Week 74
Japan Diaries 4: Day 516
Japan Diaries 4: Day 517
Caldera Observatory
Akaigawa Shrine
Akaigawa Roadside Station

Akaigawa Roadside Station Revisited 2023
Kutchan Shrine
Kyogoku Roadside Station / Roadside Station Meisui no Sato
Fukidashi Park
Kyogoku Hachiman Shrine
Makkari Roadside Station
Makkari Shrine
Annupuri Gondola Station
Niseko Roadside Station / Niseko View Plaza Rest Area
Niseko Kaributo Shrine
Annupuri Gondola Station
Shiribetsugawa Lan Lan Park
Rankoshi Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “Rankoshi Furusato no Oka”
Rankoshi Menayahata Shrine
Kuromatsunai Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “Kuromatsunai”
Otori Shrine
Kuroiwa Strangely Shaped Rocks (Shumakamuy)
Yakumo Shrine
Mori Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area “You-Yu-Mori”
Goryukaku Tower
Hakodate Gokoku Shrine
Hakodate Park
Statue of Sakamoto Ryoma
St. John’s Church
Russian Orthodox Church
Catholic Church Hakodate Motomachi
Nijukkenzaka
Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station

Hokkaido 179

Japan's Awesome Manholes

Hokkaido Manhole Covers

Hokkaido Pokemon Manhole Covers

10 Things to Do in Rumoi City

10 More Things to Do in Rumoi City

10 Things to Do in Otaru City

10 Things to Do in Akaigawa 

10 Things to Do in Kutchan

10 Things to Do in Kyogoku

10 Things to Do in Makkari

10 Things to Do in Niseko

10 Things to Do in Rankoshi

10 Things to Do in Kuromatsunai

10 Things to Do in Yakumo

10 Things to Do in Mori

10 Things to Do in Hakodate City

10 Things to Do in Hokuto City

Hokkaido 179

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 73

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Japan Diaries 4: Week 75

Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 75