I finally got my first good night’s rest. It was a relief when my mum woke me up with her voice and not her snoring – she hustled me to go to the hot springs early before we went down for breakfast. I loved the hot springs facilities at this place. It was just so clean and big and all my favourites were outside in the open-air. I would go the hot water bath, then force myself into the cold water bath, then I’ll go into the sauna and lie there for 10 minutes, then back to the cold water bath. Repeat.
Cutest pictures at the hotel. Above is a wood carving done by one of the Ningle craftsmen.
This would’ve been so difficult to do out of one piece of wood.
Breakfast was pretty amazing too. I’ve been enjoying some big hearty breakfasts this week as opposed to my usual oats and yoghurt. I don’t know how my stomach is going to handle not eating as much when I get back home. Then we checked out and went to the Furano farms. There we were greeted by autumn flowers of all colours. It was such a sight to behold.
We then trucked along to Farm Tomita, first stop – Melon House. Melons are a treasure in Japan. They are known to be so super sweet and expensive that we had to try a few. Luckily there was a melon shop to try a few bites as opposed to buying one ($16 AUD) or a box ($75 AUD). Sometimes they can get as crazy as a few hundred dollars. They are a delicacy. I enjoyed a melon soft serve and the others also got some melon cream crepes and buns.
We then made our way to the fields. Lavenders are unfortunately already out of season but we did get to see some other flowers. I was under the impression we wouldn’t see any flowers so to see these fields made me so happy. I bought myself some lavender tea which is so delicious for anyone who loves tea. We also all shared a lavender soft serve.. I do love lavender as a flavour. I made lavender cream once at home and it was an extra yummy oomph. The rain started falling so we decided to start making way towards the airport. First we hit the little town of Biei.
Biei is known for its countryside. The undulating hills of green, red and yellow pastures coupled with the fresh air put me to ease. It was beautiful and simple. While everyone stopped off at the Tourist Information Centre, I explored some a side hut where a man was busy working on his craft. It looked like bone but he said it wasn’t. Our limited languages didn’t allow for an exchange of details but his art was definitely interesting. He showed me some deer antlers and then we talked for a little bit. I think I made a friend in a matter of minutes. I wonder how he earns enough to survive. Same with Ningle Village.. I wonder if they were more rather employees of Prince Hotel rather than running their own shop stands and expenses, because it would be very difficult to come by large crowds in .. a forest.
We went to another hidden cafe submerged in a forest called Blanc Rouge. How are there so many cafes like this? They all just look like fairytale backdrops. This fancy log cabin was exquisite. Whole logs formed the foundation. Whole logs formed the stools. Whole logs formed the tables. Amazing. I had the most hearty and amazing beef stew with soft and tender beef, it was perfect to beat the cold.
After Biei, we went to Asahikawa. It’s the second biggest city in Hokkaido but with not much to offer. It’s probably most famous for the airport. I mean there was still beautiful nature surroundings but we followed a sign saying there’s a big park.. and when we got there, it was kind of just okay. A space for a camping spot. What was amazing was that there was this massive structure for monorail bicycles over the lake.. kind of like a forever horizontal roller coaster over a lake beside trees. A child would love that. Unfortunately I didn’t get to take a photo.
We dropped off our rental van with a taint of post holiday blues creeping up and then headed to the airport. I bought some Royce chocolates which is apparently well known. A lot of things are well known in Hokkaido! And wow, it was delicious! Almost like a powdered, creamy ganache.. I don’t really know, but it just melted in your mouth. YUM.
I love that everything is wood in Hokkaido, even the security check trays.
Once we arrived at Haneda Airport, we had tonkatsu for dinner. I’ll probably have it again when I leave from Narita airport too. It is just too good! We then pottered on different trains to get to our hotel in Kanda – it was definitely a shady area on a Saturday night. Time to rest now.
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