The Backpack Adventures

10 Things to Do in Takikawa City Takikawa ( 滝川市 ) is a city in the Sorachi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan . Takikawa City gets its name from the Ainu term " Sorapuchi ," signifying the "area under the waterfall." Located along the mid-streams of the Sorachi River, this region boasts a unique topography with a small waterfall caused by a difference in elevation. The Ainu people aptly named it " Sorapuchipetsu " (Taki no kawa), meaning the " waterfall river ," and hence, the area became known as Takikawa. For those planning to visit the city of Takikawa to check what it has to offer, here are the 10 Things to Do in Takikawa City : Takikawa Manhole Covers 1. Take a picture of the  manhole cover of Takikawa . So far, I have seen one unique manhole cover which is common in the Sakaemachi District. There was also a colored manhole cover inside the Takikawa Tourist Information Center but it was moved to Takikawa Town Hall according to the staff. Takik

10 Things to Do in Shintotsukawa Shintotsukawa ( 新十津川町 ) is a town in the Sorachi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan . The town got its name after many of the victims of the Great Totsukawa Flood in Totsukawa Village in Nara Prefecture moved and settled in the Tokku wilderness in Hokkaido. They named their settlement Shintotsukawa which means “ New Totsukawa ” after the name of their old village. For those planning to visit the town of Shintotsukawa to check what it has to offer, here are the 10 Things to Do in Shintotsukawa : Shintotsukawa manhole covers 1. Take a picture of the  manhole cover of Shintotsukawa . So far, I have seen one unique manhole cover which is common in the central part of town. The colored version of it is displayed inside the Shintotsukawa Town Hall. Shintotsukawa Product Center 2. Visit the  Shintotsukawa Product Center  and buy products that are produced or made in the town. You can also get the town stamps here. This place isn’t hard to miss as its façade is

10 Things to Do in Uryu Uryu ( 雨竜町 ) is a town in the Sorachi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan . Although the name of the town is derived from the Ainu language, its actual origin is unknown. One proposed explanation is Urir-o-pet , which translates to " cormorant river ." Conversely, the Japanese spelling of the town's name uses "ateji" or kanji characters that phonetically represent either native or loaned words. Specifically, the first character 雨 , meaning " rain ," is paired with the second character 竜 , meaning " dragon ." For those planning to visit the town of Uryu to check what it has to offer, here are the 10 Things to Do in Uryu : Uryu Manhole Covers 1. Take a picture of the  manhole cover of Uryu . So far, I have seen two unique manhole cover designs which are common in the central part of town. Uryu Roadside Station 2. Visit the  Uryu Roadside Station  which is formally called  Roadside Station Den-en-no-sato Uryu  ( 道の駅田園の里うりゅう

10 Things to Do in Chitose City Chitose ( 千歳市 ) is a city in the Ishikari Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan . Chitose was originally named shikot in the Ainu language, which means " big depression or hollow ," similar to Lake Shikotsu, which is a caldera lake. This sounded too much like dead bones (死骨, shikotsu ) in Japanese, so it was altered to Chitose. For those planning to visit Chitose City to check what it has to offer, here are the 10 Things to Do in Chitose : Chitose City manhole covers 1. Take a picture of the manhole cover of Chitose City . So far, I have seen one unique manhole cover which is expected in the city. There is a colored version of this installed in front of  Michinoeki Salmon Park Chitose . Chitose Roadside Station 2. Visit the  Chitose Roadside Station  /  Michinoeki Salmon Park Chitose  and buy products that are produced or made in the town. You can also get the roadside station stamp here for the Hokkaido Stamp rally booklet. This roadside statio

10 Things to Do in Date City Date ( 伊達市 ) is a city in the Iburi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan . The name of the city comes from the Watari Date Clan who settled in the Tohoku region in the early Meiji period. For those planning to visit Date City to check what it has to offer, here are the 10 Things to Do in Date : Former Ohtaki village manhole cover 1. Take a picture of the manhole cover of Date City . So far, I have seen one unique manhole cover. It was the manhole cover of the former village of Ohtaki which merged with Date City in 2006. I saw this during our stay at Midorinokaze Resort Kitayuzawa . Date Roadside Station 2. Visit the  Date Roadside Station  /  Roadside station Date rekishi-no-mori  and buy products that are produced or made in the town. You can also get the roadside station stamp here for the Hokkaido Stamp rally booklet. This roadside station has an Otemon which would remind you of the Japanese castles back in Honshu. Date Shrine 3. Visit the  Date Shrine .