Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 90

Weekend 90: July 22 – 23, 2023

Day 628: July 22, 2023

Saturday – Sibling Road Trip # 1 – Eniwa & Tomakomai

Sibling Road Trip # 1

It was a cloudy morning, but thankfully, the weather forecast showed very little chance of rain. This was a relief since my siblings and I had planned a road trip to Eniwa City and Tomakomai City.

Kairaku Park

We left home around 7 AM, and since it was a long drive, we made a brief stop at Kairaku Park in Tsukigata (月形町) to enjoy some food we had bought from a nearby convenience store.

Eniwa manhole cover design #1

Eniwa manhole cover design #2

From there, we continued to one of our main destinations for the day: Eniwa City (恵庭市). While in Eniwa, we visited the following places:

Eniwa Roadside Station / Flower Road Eniwa Roadside Station

We got the Eniwa manhole cover card from the roadside station

Eniwa Pokémon manhole cover

Eniwa Roadside Station Stamp

🌺 Eniwa Roadside Station

Megumono Station

🌺 Megumono Station

Toyosaka Shrine's torii gate

Toyosaka Shrine

🌺 Toyosaka Shrine

Turn left to Mt. Tarumae

At first, we were driving on smooth, paved roads, but halfway to the mountain, the road turned rough and uneven.

After exploring Eniwa City, we headed further south to Tomakomai City (苫小牧市). For this leg of the trip, we met up with my friends from Tomamae Commercial High School to hike Mt. Tarumae, an active volcano.

Hiking Mt. Tarumae

In hindsight, I underestimated Mt. Tarumae and overestimated my physical condition. The sulfuric smell at the jump-off point made breathing difficult, and I found myself coughing frequently. I also didn’t expect the trail to consist of a continuous uphill climb from the start.

Mt. Tarumae summit reached!

After what felt like an eternity of climbing, we finally reached the summit. The peak was shrouded in clouds, making it cold and windy. While the cloud cover made the weather tolerable, since the bare peak is typically hot on clear days, it obstructed the view of Mt. Tarumae’s main crater.

Mt. Tarumae Shrine

At the summit, our group decided to split up. The Tomamae Gang took the more challenging northwestern route, while my siblings and I opted for the southwestern trail leading to Mt. Tarumae Shrine. After offering prayers at the shrine, we had initially planned to ascend Nishiyama, another mountain connected to Mt. Tarumae, but we decided against it for various reasons. Instead, we walked back to the jump-off point.

The clouds slowly cleared on our way down Mt. Tarumae

View of Lake Shikotsu from Mt. Tarumae marker

On the way down, the clouds occasionally cleared, offering stunning views of Lake Shikotsu. It took us just over an hour to reach the parking area, where the Tomamae Gang arrived shortly after, taking a different route.

Eniwa Onsen La Foret

Inside Eniwa Onsen La Foret

They planned to drive to Sapporo for ramen, but we returned to Eniwa City (恵庭市) to relax in an onsen. Though I originally wanted to visit Eniwa Onsen Honoka, we ended up at Eniwa Onsen La Foret.

It's the first time for my sibling to try the onsen

The onsen was quite crowded, but it wasn’t an issue for me and my daughter, as we were accustomed to the onsen culture. However, it was a new experience for my siblings. To make them feel more comfortable, my daughter and I took turns going to the onsen area instead of accompanying them. They found it awkward at first, but ultimately memorable.

Sanpachi Eniwa

You can see the menu displayed on the facade of this ramen restaurant

I tried the spicy miso ramen

Itadakimasu!

Afterward, we drove to Sanpachi Eniwa for dinner. My siblings and I ordered their famed miso ramen, while my daughter opted for the spicy miso ramen. The food was fantastic—perfect after the onsen experience.

We made a brief stop at 711 in Tsukigata

Aya treated us with ice cream

Following dinner, we began the long drive back to Rumoi City. Since the drive took nearly three hours, we made a brief stop at a 7-Eleven in the town of Tsukigata (月形町) to stretch and grab some ice cream.

By the time we got home, we were completely exhausted. We unloaded our belongings, changed clothes, and fell asleep almost immediately. It was a good decision to call it an early night, as we had another road trip planned for the next day.

Day 629: July 23, 2023

Sunday - Sibling Road Trip # 2 – Flower Parks and Blue Pond

Sibling Road Trip #2

We’re off on another road trip! This time, we’ll be heading to Kamikawa Subprefecture, located in the central part of Hokkaido. We left Rumoi City at around 9 AM. According to the itinerary I prepared, our first main destination was the town of Nakafurano. However, since it was a long drive, we made several stops along the way.

Catbus

View from Totoro Pass

The first stop was on the outskirts of Fukagawa City (深川市), where we parked at the Totoro Pass Parking Area. From there, we walked to the Catbus. We took plenty of photos here and also enjoyed the view from the parking area.

Ashibetsu Roadside Station

Ashibetsu Roadside Station's star-shaped toilet

Hoshinofurusato Bridge

Hokkaido Kannon

Next, we made a stop at the Ashibetsu Roadside Station in Ashibetsu City (芦別市). It was a necessary break since the toilet at Totoro Pass Parking Area was closed. While there, I took the opportunity to check out the Hokkaido Kannon / Dai Kannon from the Hoshinofurusato Bridge.

We didn’t stay long, as we still had about 30.5 kilometers to drive to reach our main destination, Nakafurano (中富良野町). Here are the places we visited in Nakafurano:

Hokuseiyama Lavender Garden

You can ride the ski lift going to the observatory on top of the hill

The lower part of the hill is various colorful flowers

The top is dominated by lavender plants

You can see the town of Nakafurano from the observatory on top of the hill

❀ Hokuseiyama Lavender Garden

Tomita Melon House

❀ Tomita Melon House

Team Nicerio visits Tomita Farm

Tomita Farm

❀ Tomita Farm

We tried the Lavender soft cream

Lavender & Melon soft cream mix

We couldn’t miss the town’s special soft-serve ice cream flavors! We tried the Furano Red Melon and Furano Green Melon at Tomita Melon House and then the Lavender and Lavender Melon mix at Tomita Farm.

Tonton Tei

My siblings ordered the katsukare (top), and I ordered the Sagariyaki set meal (bottom)

It was past noon when we left Nakafurano and headed to the next town, Kamifurano (上富良野町). Our first stop was Tonton Tei for lunch. We ordered their top dish, the Sagariyaki set meal. It was delicious—the meat was so tender it could have been mistaken for wagyu, though it was pork.

After lunch, we visited the following places in Kamifurano:

Hinode Park Observatory

Hinode Park

🌼 Hinode Park

Kamifurano colored manhole cover

Kamifurano Pokemon manhole cover

🌼 Kamifurano colored manhole cover and Kamifurano Pokémon manhole cover

From Kamifurano, we proceeded to the town of Biei (美瑛町). While Shikisai No Oka, a scenic flower field, was on our list, my sister had had her fill of flower fields and suggested we skip it, which I agreed to.

Instead, we visited the following places in Biei:

Roadside Station Biei Shirogane Birke

Roadside Station Biei Shirogane Birke stamp

💙 Roadside Station Biei Shirogane Birke

Shirogane Blue Pond

Shirogane Blue Soft Cream

💙 Shirogane Blue Pond

Shirahige Waterfall

💙 Shirahige Waterfall

Shirogane Shrine torii gate

Shirogane Shrine

💙 Shirogane Shrine

We left Biei at 5 PM, grateful to have daylight for the drive compared to yesterday, when I nearly fell asleep while driving home. 

Quick stop at COOP Rumoi

We arrived back in Rumoi City around 7 PM. Since we still had some energy, we headed to COOP to buy groceries. I also managed to wash Ruru at the coin-operated car wash near the Suzuki dealership in Motokawa-cho.

That evening, before calling it a day, my siblings and I had a nomikai. It was the perfect way to end the week. Tomorrow, I’m back to work, and Ella will be reporting to school. I’m looking forward to what the coming week has in store for us.

Read more:

Japan Diaries 4: Week 90
Japan Diaries 4: Day 628
Japan Diaries 4: Day 629

Kairaku Park

Eniwa Roadside Station
Toyosaka Shrine
Mt. Tarumae
Mt. Tarumae Shrine

Lake Shikotsu
Eniwa Onsen La Foret
Totoro Pass & Catbus

Catbus Revisited 2023
Ashibetsu Roadside Station
Hokuseiyama Lavender Fields
Tomita Melon House
Tomita Farm
Hinode Park

Hinode Park Revisited 2023
Roadside Station Biei Shirogane Birke
Shirogane Blue Pond

Shirogane Blue Pond Revisited 2023
Shirahige Waterfall
Shirogane Shrine

Hokkaido Manhole Covers

Japan's Awesome Manhole Covers

Hokkaido Pokémon Manhole Covers

A Guide to Collecting Eki Stamps
10 Things to Do in Tsukigata
10 Things to Do in Eniwa City
10 Things to Do in Tomakomai City
10 Things to Do in Fukagawa City
10 Things to Do in Ashibetsu City
10 Things to Do in Nakafurano
10 Things to Do in Kamifurano
10 Things to Do in Biei

10 Things to Do in Rumoi City

10 More Things to Do in Rumoi City

Hokkaido 179

Japan Diaries 4: Summary

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