Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 89

Weekend 89: July 15 – 16, 2023

Day 621: July 15, 2023

Saturday – Father and Daughter Road Trip 5: Northeastern Hokkaido Trip Day 1

It’s a cloudy morning here in Rumoi City. According to the weather forecast, it will rain in the afternoon. That sounds like perfect weather for sleeping and relaxing at home, but Ella has an appointment again at Nakabe Dermatology Clinic in Asahikawa City.

Father and Daughter Road Trip 5:  Day 1

Aside from that, it’s also the start of a long weekend as Monday next week is Marine Day (海の日), which is a public holiday here in Japan. That’s why Ella and I decided to go on a road trip and visit municipalities that we hadn’t visited yet. However, since the weather is predicted to be rainy the whole weekend, including Monday, we can’t camp; hence, we came up with the brilliant idea to look for a free camping area and just sleep in the car.

We left Rumoi City at around 8:30 AM. Our first destination is Asahikawa City (旭川市). These are the places that we visited;

Banana Pavilion

Inside Banana Pavilion

You can try the "Rain Experience" activity for free

The Asahikawa manhole card the the bronze Asahikawa manhole cover

⭕ Banana Pavilion - We got the Asahikawa manhole card here and saw the bronze Asahikawa manhole cover

Asahikawa Roadside Station

⭕ Asahikawa Roadside Station

Nakane Dermatology Clinic

⭕ Nakane Dermatology Clinic

After Ella’s appointment, we drove out of Asahikawa City to go to the town of Toma (当麻町). These are the places that we visited in Toma:

Modasekiyu R 39 Tomaten

⬤ Gased up at Modasekiyu R 39 Tomaten

Toma Roadside Station

I saw these Densuke Watermelons. Check out the price

⬤ Toma Roadside Station

⬤ Toma Roadside Station Restaurant

I had Ginger Ramen for lunch

🠊 I ordered the Ginger Ramen

Ella had the shoyu ramen

🠊 Ella ordered Shoyu Ramen

Watermelon soft cream

🍦 We then bought Watermelon soft cream for dessert

Driving through Shibetsu City

Iwaonaikotenbo Parking Lot and the Iwaonai Dam

We didn’t stay long at Toma as the next destination was 73.1 kilometers away. However, since it was a long drive, I made one stop at Iwaonaikotenbo Parking Lot along Route 61 at Shibetsu City (士別市) so that I could do some stretching.

Welcome to Shimokawa

Shimokawa manhole cover

From there, we drove straight to the town of Shimokawa (下川町). It’s our first time visiting this town. These are the places that we visited in Shimokawa:

Shimokawa Bustling Square

⨷ Shimokawa Bustling Square

Shimokawa Shrine's torii gate

Shimokawa Shrine

⨷ Shimokawa Shrine

Keirinkan

Inside the Municipal Keirinkan

⨷ Municipal Keirinkan

Other places were on our itinerary, like Sakuragaoka Park and Zo no Hana Forest Park Observation Deck, but the weather was not on our side, which is why we decided to skip them.

Nishiokoppe manhole cover # 1

Nishiokoppe manhole cover # 2

We left the Shimokawa at around 3:40 PM. Our next stop is the village of Nishiokoppe (西興部村). It’s also our first time visiting this village. These are the places that we visited in Nishiokoppe:

Nishiokoppe Roadside Station

🟠 Nishiokoppe Roadside Station

Milk Chocolate Mix Soft Cream

🍦We tried the milk chocolate mix soft cream of Nishiokoppe Roadside Station

Kamiokoppe Railway Museum

The preserved diesel train outside the station

🟠 Kamiokoppe Railway Museum

Nishiokoppe Village Folk Museum

Some of the exhibits inside the museum

🟠 Nishiokoppe Village Folk Museum

Hotel Rimu

Onsen time

After exploring the museum, Ella and I went to Hotel Rimu to take a relaxing dip at its onsen. It costs 500 yen per person. The onsen here is one of the cleanest that I have seen so far. We also took the opportunity to rest at the Japanese-style tatami rest area and also use the nearby coin-operated massage chair.

We bought dinner at 711 Nishiokoppe

Time to call it a day. Good night everyone

From there, we planned to eat dinner at Hungry Hall (はらぺこ堂), but sadly, the owner said that they were done for the day, so my daughter and I had no other option but to buy food at Seicomart Nishiokoppe. We then drove to Nishiokoppe Forest Park Camping Ground’s parking area to eat our dinner and prepare to call it a night. We wanted to watch a movie, but we were both tired from the trip, so we settled on watching one episode of the 5th season of Slam Dunk.

Overall, we visited 2 new municipalities today, and we also got to revisit Asahikawa and Toma. Tomorrow, we will continue our drive eastward to visit three municipalities that we haven’t visited yet. See you in tomorrow’s adventure!

Day 622: July 16, 2023

Saturday – Father and Daughter Road Trip 5; Northeastern Hokkaido Trip Day 2

I envy Ella; she can sleep comfortably in the car

It's drizzling here in Nishiokoppe 

Nishiokoppe Shrine's torii gate

Nishiokoppe Shrine

It was still raining when we woke up. We started the day by eating breakfast and freshening up. When the rain briefly subsided, Ella and I took the opportunity to head up the hill to pay respects and offer prayers at Nishioppe Shrine.

We bought breakfast at 711 Nishiokoppe before leaving the village

Afterward, we headed back to Nishiokoppe Forest Park Camping Ground to arrange our stuff before heading to our next destination, which was the town of Okoppe (興部町). This was the first time that we visited this town. Before leaving, we passed by 711 Nishiokoppe again to buy breakfast. 

We saw some deer along Route 239 heading to Okoppe

Okoppe manhole cover #1

These are the places that we visited in Okoppe:

Okoppe Shrine's torii gate

Okoppe Shrine

🔵 Okoppe Shrine

Saruru Shrine's torii gate

Saruru Shrine

🔵 Saruru Shrine

Pioneer Monument

🔵 Pioneer Monument

Saruru Beach

🔵 Saruru Beach

D51 365 Driving Wheels

🔵 Steam Locomotive D51 365 Driving Wheels

Okoppe Roadside Station

🔵Okoppe Roadside Station

Creamy milk soft cream

🍦 We also tried the creamy milk soft cream (300 yen)

Rugosa Express

🔵 Rugosa Express

Okoppe Town Hall

🔵 Okoppe Town Hall

Okoppe manhole cover # 2

Okoppe colored manhole cover

Next stop: Omu

Omu manhole cover #1

From Okoppe, we drove northwards via Route 238 to our next destination, which is the town of Omu (雄武町). This was the first time that we visited this town. These are the places that we visited in Omu:

Cape Hinode

🟢 Cape Hinode

Cape Hinode Observatory La Luna

Inside the observatory

🟢 Cape Hinode Observatory La Luna

Omu Shrine's torii gate

Omu Shrine

🟢 Omu Shrine

Omu Roadside Station

🟢 Omu Roadside Station 

Omu manhole card and the Omu colored manhole cover

🎴 We got the Omu manhole card and also saw the Omu colored manhole cover inside the roadside station.

Esashi (Soya) manhole cover

After exploring Omu, we continued to Route 238, going to the town of Esashi (枝幸町). It’s our first time visiting this town. These are the places that we visited in Esashi:

Roadside Rest Area "Marine Island Okashima”

🟡 Esashi Roadside Station / Roadside Rest Area "Marine Island Okashima”

Seafood set curry

Hotate curry

🦀 We ordered the seafood set curry (1100 yen) and hotate curry (1100 yen) for lunch.

Mikasayama Tenbokaku Observatory

🟡 Mikasayama Tenbokaku Observatory

🍹 We tried the twice float (500 yen) and mystery float (600 yen)

Okhotsk Museum Esashi

🟡 Okhotsk Museum Esashi

Esashi Itsukushima Shrine's torii gate

Esashi Itsukushima Shrine

🟡 Esashi Itsukushima Shrine

Apollo Station Esashi

🟡 Apollo Station Esashi

Usutaibe Senjoiwa Rock

🟡 Usutaibe Senjoiwa Rock

After admiring the beautiful rock formation, the drizzle turned into a downpour, so we decided to skip other stops in Esashi, like the 45th North Parallel International Square and the Kitami Kamui Cape Park. Instead, we drove straight to Sarufutsu Park Camping Ground in the village of Sarufutsu (猿払村), where we planned to stay for the night.

The Sarufutsu Tourism Festival is held in the camping ground beside the Sarufutsu Roadside Station

Sarufutsu Park

When we arrived, we were surprised to see that the camping ground was the main venue for the Sarufutsu Tourism Festival. We checked it out a bit, but the cold wind and continuous rain made it difficult for us to stay outside for long. That’s why we stayed inside the Sarufutsu Roadside Station for a bit before deciding to go to Hotel Sarufutsu to avail ourselves of their day spa facility. However, to our disappointment, the onsen facility was closed due to the event.

Hamatombetsu Roadside Station

That prompted us to leave Sarufutsu and drive back the way we came and head inland to the town of Hamatombetsu (浜頓別町) to stay for the night. We have already camped in the Kutcharo Lakeside Campground last year, and thankfully, there were only a handful of campers when we arrived. Before proceeding to the campground, we made a quick stop at Hamatombetsu Roadside Station to take a toilet break. 

Hamatombetsu Onsen Foot Bath

It's super relaxing as I was driving almost the whole day

Hamatombetsu Onsen Wing

Onsen time!

Before parking our car, we first drove to the Hamatombetsu Onsen Foot Bath to try it out, as we missed it on our last visit. We then went to Hamatombetsu Onsen Wing to avail of their day spa facility, and just like last time, we enjoyed its rejuvenating waters.

Seicomart; Hamatombetsu Midorigaoka 

We left the Hamatombetsu Onsen Wing at around 7:50 PM. Since taking a dip in an onsen made us hungry, we drove to Seicomart, Hamatombetsu Midorigaoka, along Route 275 to buy food.

We parked our car at Kutcharo Lakeside Campground and called it a day after eating dinner

From there, we drove back to Kutcharo Lakeside Campground and parked in an area facing the lake. Since it was raining and it was dark, we weren’t able to go out and enjoy the view of Kutcharo Lake. Instead, we enjoyed the food that we bought from Seicomart while watching several episodes of Slam Dunk.

Overall, it was a fulfilling 89th weekend exploring new places and bonding with my daughter. Tomorrow is Marine Day, so it only means that we still have one full day to explore northeastern Hokkaido. I hope the weather is better compared to this weekend.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Week 89
Japan Diaries 4: Day 621
Japan Diaries 4: Day 622
Banana Pavilion
Asahikawa Roadside Station
Toma Roadside Station
JR Train Shimokawa
Shimokawa Shrine
Keirinkan
Nishiokoppe Roadside Station
Kamiokoppe Railway Museum
Nishiokoppe Village Folk Museum
Hotel Rimu
Nishiokoppe Forest Park Camping Ground
Nishiokoppe Shrine
Okoppe Shrine
Saruru Shrine
Okoppe Roadside Station
Cape Hinode
Cape Hinode Observatory La Luna
Omu Shrine
Omu Roadside Station
Esashi Town Roadside Station
Mikasayama Observatory
Okhotsk Museum Esashi
Esashi Itsukushima Shrine
Usutaibe Senjoiwa Rock
Sarufutsu Roadside Station
Wind and Snow Tower
Hamatombetsu Roadside Station
Hamatombetsu Onsen Wing
Kutcharo Lake Campground

Hokkaido Manhole Covers

Japan's Awesome Manhole Cover
10 Things to Do in Asahikawa City

10 More Things to Do in Asahikawa City
10 Things to Do in Toma
10 Things to Do in Shibetsu City
10 Things to Do in Shimokawa
10 Things to Do in Nishiokoppe
10 Things to Do in Okoppe
10 Things to Do in Omu
10 Things to Do in Esashi
10 Things to Do in Sarufutsu
10 Things to Do in Hamatombetsu

Hokkaido 179

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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