Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 93
 |
Weekend 93: August 12 – 13, 2023
Day 649: August 12, 2023
Saturday – Rumoi x Rest Day
 |
| It's a hot sunny day here in Rumoi City |
 |
| Ella bonding with Kai |
It’s a hot sunny day. Sadly, we don’t have any plans to go on a road trip today. However, we decided to spend the morning resting and doing personal tasks. I spent most of the day taking care of Kai and also updating my blog.
 |
| I have lost track of how many times we visited the Rumoi Roadside Station |
 |
| Senba Park |
 |
| Family time at Senba Park |
In the afternoon, we went to Rumoi Roadside Station to buy soft cream, but we were a few minutes late as it had just closed when we arrived. With that, we just headed to Senba Park behind the roadside station. Ella and I played catch until almost sundown.
 |
| Last stop for the day before heading back home: MaxValu |
Before going home, we drove to MaxValu to buy ice cream as it was the perfect food for the hot days. That evening, I suggested to my wife the possibility of going on a road trip tomorrow. She was OK with it. So, right there and then, I spent the night crafting an itinerary for tomorrow’s trip.
Day 650: August 13, 2023
Sunday – Minamifurano, Shintoku, and Memuro Day Trip
 |
| Minamifurano, Shintoku, and Memuro Day Trip |
For today’s road trip, we will only go on a day trip to the towns of Minamifurano, Shintoku, and Memuro.
 |
| Utashinai Roadside Station |
 |
| Utashinai Pokémon manhole cover |
Since the trip to the town of Minamifurano, the nearest among the three, is about 3 hours, we decided to make a stopover at Utashinai Roadside Station in Utashinai City (歌志内市). We had already visited this roadside station last year, but what made it worth revisiting was the fact that it now houses the Utashinai Pokémon manhole cover, which is one of the five newest Pokémon manhole covers in Hokkaido this year. Before leaving, my wife bought some locally grown cucumbers and eggplants at a very cheap price.
 |
| Ate Ella doing her big-sister duties |
From there, we drove for an hour and a half straight to Minamifurano (南富良野町). These are the places that we visited in Minamifurano:
 |
| Minamifurano Roadside Station |
 |
| The souvenir shop inside Minamifurano Roadside Station |
 |
| Minamifurano Roadside Station stamp |
🔴 Minamifurano Roadside Station
 |
| Nanpu Forest Bakery |
🔴 Nanpu Forest Bakery
 |
| Montbell Minamifurano Shop |
🔴 Montbell Minamifurano Shop
 |
| Minamifurano Sewage Treatment Plant |
 |
| Minamifurano colored manhole cover inside the sewage treatment plant |
🔴 Minamifurano Sewage Treatment Plant
 |
| Ikutora Station |
 |
| Inside Ikutora Station |
 |
| Preserved train beside the Daruma Shokudo Restaurant, which is also a filming location for "Poppoya" |
🔴 Ikutora Station
 |
| Minamifurano Shrine's torii gate |
 |
| Minamifurano Shrine |
🔴 Minamifurano Shrine
 |
| National Route 38 |
After paying respects and offering a prayer at Minamifurano Shrine, we continued to the next town, which is Shintoku (新得町). These are the places that we visited in Shintoku:
 |
| Karikachi Plateau Park |
 |
| The SL 59672 is on display in the park |
🔵 Karikachi Plateau Park
 |
| Shintoku Town SL Square |
 |
| The preserved SL D5195 is displayed in the square |
 |
| Karachi Poppo Road |
🔵 Shintoku Town SL Square
 |
| Shintoku Station |
 |
| Shintoku Station stamp |
 |
| Shintoku colored manhole cover design |
 |
| Shintoku Pokemon manhole cover |
🔵 Shintoku Station
 |
| Shintoku Shrine steps |
 |
| Shintoku Shrine |
 |
| Shintoku manhole cover design 2 |
🔵 Shintoku Shrine
Our last stop in Shintoku was the Shintoku Station, where my daughter and I got the station stamp. Aside from that, we were also able to see and take photos of the Shintoku Pokémon Manhole Cover.
 |
| Memuro manhole cover |
We were supposed to visit the town of Shimizu (清水町), but we were pressed for time, so we decided to skip it and continue to the town of Memuro (芽室町), which was the last town in our itinerary. I included the town in the itinerary last night as my wife wanted to dine at a conveyor sushi restaurant, and Memuro was the nearest town in the Tokachi Subprefecture to have it.
 |
| Hagoromo-tei Memuro |
.jpg "Team Nicerio dines at Hagoromo-tei") |
| Team Nicerio dines at Hagoromo-tei |
Hence, our first stop at Memuro was Hagoromo-tei Memuro. It was the only conveyor belt sushi in town, and it was worth the long drive. The sushi they served was of high quality.
After satisfying our sushi cravings, we proceeded to visit the following places in Memuro:
 |
| Memuro Town Library |
 |
| Inside the Memuro Town Library |
🟡 Memuro Town Library
 |
| Memuro Shrine torii gate |
 |
| Memuro Shrine |
🟡 Memuro Shrine
 |
| Hokuren Memurodai 2 Serufu SS |
Since it was a long drive home, we filled up Ruru at Hokuren Memurodai 2 Serufu SS.
 |
| 711 Ashibetsu Kita-Yojo |
During our 3-hour + long drive home, we only had one stop at 711 Ashibetsu Kita-Yojo in Ashibetsu City (芦別市) to buy coffee, stretch, and also use the toilet. From there, we continued straight home.
We got home at around 9:30 PM, and since we were all tired from the long trip, we only had the energy to unload our stuff before calling it a day.
Overall, it was a fun and memorable weekend. It’s also Kai’s first out-of-town road trip with us. My family and I visited three new towns in Hokkaido. In total, we have visited 101/179 towns. It’s a welcome addition to our #Hokkaido179 goal. Hopefully, we get to visit all before my term as an ALT here ends.
Read more:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 93Japan Diaries 4: Day 650
Rumoi Roadside Station
Senba Park
Utashinai Roadside Station
Utashinai Roadside Station Revisited 2023
Minamifurano Roadside Station
Ikutora Station
Minamifurano Shrine
Karikachi Plateau Park
Shintoku Town SL Square
Shintoku Shrine
Shintoku Station
Minamifurano Roadside Station
Ikutora Station
Minamifurano Shrine
Karikachi Plateau Park
Shintoku Town SL Square
Shintoku Shrine
Shintoku Station
Hagoromo-tei Memuro Branch
Memuro Town Library
Memuro Shrine
Memuro Town Library
Memuro Shrine
10 More Things to Do in Rumoi City
10 Things to Do in Utashinai City
10 Things to Do in Minamifurano
10 Things to Do in Shintoku
10 Things to Do in Memuro
10 Things to Do in Utashinai City
10 Things to Do in Minamifurano
10 Things to Do in Shintoku
10 Things to Do in Memuro
Hokkaido 179
Japan Diaries 4: Summary
Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 92
Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 94
Japan Diaries 4: Summary
Previous:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 92Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 92
Next:
Japan Diaries 4: Week 94Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 94
 |
Comments
Post a Comment