Weekend 80: May 13 – 14, 2023
Day 558: May 13, 2023
Saturday – Wedding Anniversary Road Trip
It’s a beautiful Saturday morning. The weather forecast said that it would be sunny the whole day. Hence, we didn’t miss the opportunity to go on a road trip once again after a month of hiatus.
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| It's our anniversary today, and we're off to another road trip |
This would be my first time driving here in Hokkaido after getting the Japan Driver’s License last Tuesday. Aside from that, this road trip is extra special as it is also our 11th Wedding Anniversary. Hence, we named today's trip the “Wedding Anniversary Road Trip”.
From our place in Rumoi City, we drove for about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the town of Kuriyama (栗山町). These are the places that we visited in Kuriyama:
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| Yubari SL No. 21 |
🍈 Yubari SL No. 21
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| Kuriyama Tenmangu Shrine's Torii Gate |
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| Kuriyama Tenmangu Shrine |
🍈 Kuriyama Tenmangu Shrine
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| Kobayashi Sake Brewery |
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| Inside Kobayashi Sake Brewery |
🍈 Kobayashi Sake Brewery
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| Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Museum |
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| Inside Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Museum |
🍈 Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Museum
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| Hinode Classic Park |
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| Inside Hinode Classic Park |
🍈 Hinode Classic Park
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| Next stop: Yubari City |
From there, we then drove to our destination, which is Yubari City (夕張市). These are the places that we visited in Yubari:
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| Yubari The Yellow Handkerchief Memorial Park |
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| Inside the memorial hall of Yubari, The Yellow Handkerchief Memorial Park |
🍈 Yubari The Yellow Handkerchief Memorial Park
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| Yubari Shrine's torii gate |
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| Yubari Shrine |
🍈 Yubari Shrine
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| The tunnel, which was once part of the theme park of the city |
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| Yubari Coal Mine Museum |
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| Inside Yubari Coal Mine Museum |
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| The museum's curator talked about the history of the town and the coal mine. |
🍈 Yubari Coal Mine Museum
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| Yubari Roadside Station "Yubari Merodo" |
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| Inside Yubari Roadside Station "Yubari Merodo" |
🍈 Yubari Roadside Station "Yubari Merodo"
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| Natsuzora 2nd Store |
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| Natsuzora 2nd Store |
🍈 Natsuzora 2nd Store
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| Last destination for the day - Ushigoya Ice |
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| Ice cream break at Ushigoya Ice in the town of Yuni |
Before heading back home, we made a side trip to Ushigoya Ice in the town of Yuni (由仁町) to try their famed ice cream. It tastes good, but we came a bit late, so there were only a handful of flavors left on the menu.
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| I filled up Ruru's tank for our next adventure tomorrow. |
We got back to Rumoi City a little after 7PM. Before heading home, I filled up the tank of Ruru at Moda Serufu for our next adventure tomorrow. My day didn’t end there, though. While my wife and daughter were resting, I attended the Kamalayang Panlipunan author’s meeting, which lasted until 9PM. I was exhausted after hence I fell asleep immediately after.
Overall, it was a very memorable road trip. It's officially my first long drive here in Hokkaido, and I can't get enough. I'm looking forward to the next part of our adventures tomorrow.
Day 559: May 14, 2023
Sunday – Mother’s Day Road Trip
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| We're heading on another road trip. This time, south to Ishikari City. |
Originally, I wanted to drive eastward today to visit towns in the Okhotsk Subprefecture that we haven’t visited yet, but since it's Mother’s Day today, I had my wife plan our trip for a change. It was not a surprise that she wanted to go on a shopping trip instead. Hence, we drove south to Ishikari City (石狩市) where the nearest Costco is located.
We left Rumoi City at around 9:30 AM. Since it was a long drive, we made a brief stop at the Shirogane Falls Parking Area so that I could stretch and use the restroom. Of course, I did not miss the opportunity to take photos of the majestic Shirogane Falls.
We made another stop at Ishikari Roadside Station. To check out what local produce they are selling. Sadly, it seems like we weren’t early enough as there were only a handful of vegetables for sale. |
| Second Street Ishikari |
We then continued our drive south and upon reaching Ishikari City proper, we went straight to Second Street Ishikari before heading to Costco Ishikari.
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| Next stop: COSTCO Ishikari |
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| Grocery shopping at COSTCO Ishikari |
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| A visit to COSTCO Ishikari wouldn't be complete without eating their famed pizza |
We had a great time grocery shopping at Costco Ishikari. There were a lot of things that we wanted to buy, but we only had a limited budget. Aside from shopping, my family and I also had fun trying out the numerous free tastes there.
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| On our way home, we stopped by Hamamasu Furusato Park |
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| This park has an amazing view of Ishikari Bay |
We started our drive back home at around 4:30PM. We stopped by Hamamasu Furusato Park so that I could stretch my legs and rest for a bit. My daughter and I also took this opportunity to play badminton as it wasn’t that windy. |
| We made another stop at Shirogane Falls |
We made another stop on our way home at Shirogane Falls Parking Area so that my family could use the restroom. Although I had already taken photos of the falls earlier, the afternoon sunset made Shirogane Falls more scenic, so I had to snap more photos of it.
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| Driving along National Route 231 |
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| We enjoyed the beautiful sunset on our drive back home |
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| We watched the sunset at Betsukari in the town of Mashike |
Just as we were nearing home, we made one more stop at Betsukari in the town of Mashike (増毛町). This time, to watch the beautiful sunset. We reached home at around 6PM.
Overall, this weekend was very productive. We visited the Kuriyama and Yubari City for the first time. We also revisited the towns of Yuni, Mashike, and Ishikari City. Although I was nervous to drive at first, I finally overcame it, and now I am looking forward to where we’ll go next week. Please join us again on our next adventure, see you guys!
Read more:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 80
Japan Diaries 4: Day 559
Kuriyama Park
Nakayoshi Zoo
Yubari Tetsudo Steam Locomotive No. 21
Kuriyama Tenmangu Shrine
Kobayashi Sake Brewery
Kyu Sakamoto Memorial Museum
Hinode Classic Park
Yubari The Yellow Handkerchief Memorial Park
Yubari Shrine
Yubari Coal Mine Museum
Yubari Roadside Station "Yubari Merodo"
Ushigoya Ice
Shirogane Falls Shirogane Falls Revisited 2023
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