Day 573: May 28, 2023
Sunday: Flower Festival Road Trip Part 2
It’s a cloudy morning and the weather forecast said that there would be a small chance of rain in the afternoon. With that said, we didn’t waste the opportunity to head out early for the second part of our Flower Festival Road Trip today.
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| Flower Festival Road Trip Part 2 |
We set our alarms at 4:30 AM so that we can prepare breakfast to bring with us on this trip. What we have learned from our numerous road trips was that preparing our breakfast is economically wise as it lessens eating out or stopping at many convenience stores along the way.
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| We ate our breakfast first before exploring Shibazakura Takinoue Park |
We left Rumoi at around 5:40 AM and reached the town of Takinoue (滝上町) at around 8:30 AM. Our first stop was the Shibazakura Takinoue Park to experience the Takinoue Shibazakura Festival 2023. However, before exploring the park, the first thing that we did was eat the breakfast that we prepared earlier today.
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| Takinoue Shibazakura Festival 2023 |
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| We enjoyed exploring the Shibazakura Takinoue Park |
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| We even tried the Shibazakura soft cream |
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| Team Nicerio attends the Takinoue Shibazakura Festival |
After our hearty meal, we went around the vast park and enjoyed the sea of pink shibazakura. These beautiful small pink flowers are called pink phlox in English. We also tried the shibazakura soft cream which had an interesting taste like that of a cherry. It was an amazing experience as we saw a sea of yellow yesterday and now it’s a sea of pink. |
| Takinoue Shrine's torii gate |
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| Takinoue Shrine |
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| Rainbow Bridge |
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| The view from the Rainbow Bridge |
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| Ella trying out the slide of Rainbow Bridge |
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| Liberty Bridge |
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| Check out this fairytale decoration on Liberty Bridge |
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| Sakuru River as seen from Liberty Bridge |
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| Shokotsu River and Rainbow Bridge as seen from the Liberty Bridge |
Just below the shrine is an interesting-looking bridge called Rainbow Bridge. The bridge has a built-in slide for kids. It looks like a small medieval watch tower that you’d usually see in fairytale books. The bridge has a nice view of the Shokotsu River and the Shibazakura Takinoue Park. It's not the only bridge that we visited though. We also checked out the nearby Liberty Bridge which has an interesting fairytale decoration. It also has a nice view of the Sakuru River, Shokotsu River, and Rainbow Bridge.
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| Takinoue Roadside Station / Roadside “Kaori no Sato Takinoue” |
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| Pikoro - Takinoue's mascot |
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| Ella as Pikoro |
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| Before leaving, we got the stamp of Takinoue Roadside Station |
Before leaving Takinoue, we visited another fairytale-inspired establishment which is the Takinoue Roadside Station / Roadside “Kaori no Sato Takinoue”. The roadside station has a souvenir store that offers woodwork products and some delicious food. My daughter and I didn’t miss out on the roadside station stamp for our collection.
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| Welcome to Mombetsu City |
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| Oyama Mountain Top Garden |
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| Okhotsk Sky Tower |
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| Okhotsk Sky Tower's Observation Area |
Our next stop was the city of Mombetsu / Monbetsu (紋別市) on the eastern coast of Hokkaido. We first drove up the hill in the Oyamacho District to visit the Oyama Mountain Top Garden and the Okhotsk Sky Tower. The tower has a picturesque panoramic view of Monbetsu City. There is also free coffee in the establishment.
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| Kogenji |
From there, we drove to the city center to visit its main shrine. We parked at the Kogenji parking area and of course, I didn’t miss the opportunity to take photos of the beautiful temple.
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| Mombetsu Itsukushima Shrine's Torii Gate |
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| Mombetsu Itsukushima Shrine |
Mombetsu Itsukushima Shrine was just a few meters away from the temple. As always, my daughter and I did our tradition when visiting a new shrine and after doing it, we walked back to the parking area and discovered that the Okhotsk Garden was also nearby. |
| Okhotsk Garden |
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| Mopetu Falls |
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| Family picture with Mopetu Falls as our backdrop |
Inside Okhotsk Garden is the scenic Mopetu Falls. We were the only ones there during our visit so in a way, we had the place for ourselves. It was quiet and relaxing. Had we had no other plans for the day, we’d probably stay longer.
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| First-generation Garinko exhibit of Kaiyokoen |
.jpg "Okhotsk Tokkari Center (Seal Land)") |
| Okhotsk Tokkari Center (Seal Land) |
However, we were still halfway through our itinerary for the day so we decided to proceed to our next destination which was the Kaiyokoen Area of Mombetsu City. There were several attractions in Kaiyokoen like the Okhotsk Tokkari Center and the Seal Sea Paradise but we just went to see the Mombetsu Pokemon Manhole Cover and the Mombetsu colored manhole cover.
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| First Generation Garinko Exhibit |
%20-%20Seal%20Statue.jpg "Giant Elephant Seal Statue") |
| Giant Elephant Seal Statue |
As a bonus, we also took a lot of photos of the First-generation Garinko and the giant elephant seal displayed in the park.
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| Crab Claw Statue |
From there, we drove a short distance to see the iconic Crab Claw Statue. They said that you have not visited Monbetsu City if you didn’t have a picture with the giant crab claw.
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| Monbetsu Roadside Station |
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| Inside Monbetsu Roadside Station with the friendly polar bear |
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| Mombetsu City seal mascots |
Near the Crab Claw Statue was the Monbetsu Roadside Station / Roadside Station “Okhotsk-Monbetsu”. It houses the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum which was a museum that I really wanted to visit but then again we were pressed for time so we decided to skip it and visit it sometime in the future instead so after getting the roadside station stamp, we went on our way.
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| A brief stop at the 711 in Yubetsu to buy some snacks |
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| We didn't miss the opportunity to take photos with the standee in Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park |
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| Kamiyubetsu Tulip Festival |
To complete our Flower Festival Road Trip, we drove south to the town of Yubetsu (湧別町) to see the Kamiyubetsu Tulip Festival held at Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park. We arrived just in time as the staff were already clearing the fields to mark the end of the festival. We still got great pictures before leaving.
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| To my horror, I discovered that Ruru's coolant was leaking |
On our way home, we decided to gas up at the Shell Serufu in the next town of Engaru (遠軽町). To my horror, I discovered that the coolant of Ruru was leaking. I called up my father-in-law for his wisdom and knowledge about vehicles so with that, we decided to not risk driving the car back to Rumoi and instead call the car insurance.
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| The insurance company sent a tow truck to pick up Ruru and bring him to Yellow Hat in Rumoi City |
After contacting the car insurance, they sent a tow truck to pick up Ruru to bring it to Yellow Hat in Rumoi. I also informed my supervisor who in turn provided me with information after he thoroughly discussed the matters with the car insurance company. He also helped us plan our trip back to Rumoi to the extent of contacting rental cars and taxi services.
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| We walked to Engaru Station |
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| We caught the last train to Asahikawa City and it was the Taisetsu Express Train |
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| It was a two-hour train ride to Asahikawa Station from Engaru Station |
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| Asahikawa JR Station |
With that, we walked from the gas station to Engaru JR Station. We managed to ride the last train going to Asahikawa JR Station at 7:19 PM. From there, we rode a taxi from the taxi bay of Asahikawa JR Station to our home in Rumoi City. The 75.2-kilometer taxi ride costs 24070 yen.
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| The taxi ride from Asahikawa JR Station to our home in Rumoi City |
Overall, I think that whatever happened today was God’s will and is meant for us to experience. Hence, we are thankful that we were all safe and the damage was minimal. As for our weekend trips we were able to attend three big flower festivals. We also visited one new town and one city which means we have already visited 90 / 179 municipalities of Hokkaido.Read more:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 82
Japan Diaries 4: Day 572
Shibazakura Takinoue Park
Takinoue Shibazakura Festival 2023
Takinoue Shrine
Rainbow Bridge
Takinoue Roadside Station / Roadside “Kaori no Sato Takinoue”
Okhotsk Sky Tower
Monbetsu Itsukushima Shrine
Okhotsk Garden
Kaiyokoen
Crab Claw Statue
Monbetsu Roadside Station / Roadside Station “Okhotsk-Monbetsu”Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park
Kamiyubetsu Tulip Festival 2023
10 Things to Do in Takinoue
10 Things to Do in Monbetsu City
.jpg "Okhotsk Tokkari Center (Seal Land)")
%20-%20Seal%20Statue.jpg "Giant Elephant Seal Statue")
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