Via Noboribetsu to Furano

From Hakodate, we jumped on the train and made our way to our next stop, Noboribetsu (enjoying a nice Bento lunch on the train). Now, on each visit to Japan, we indulge ourselves at least once in a high-class Ryokan (Japanese Inn). The best ones are typically located in Onsen or hot spring towns. And apparently, Noboribetsu is the place to enjoy your Onsen in Hokkaido.

We'd booked a Ryokan just outside the main street of Noboribetsu, called Kashotei Hanaya Ryokan. The place has pretty much everything one can expect from a Ryokan. Our arrival was handled to perfection, with an umbrella-equiped gentleman there to welcome us outside the Ryokan. The interior of the Ryokan and our room was just as one expects - traditionally Japanese, decorated with taste and class. No complaints about the Onsen either - they had a nice outdoors bath with a view over the garden. 

After dropping off our things, and just chilling out for a bit, we headed off to explore Noboribetsu. There isn't much to see in the town itself, the main drag is populated by Onsen hotels, a few restaurants and shops, nothing much of interest. (well, we did find a fair few devils actually, more about that later!)

Of course the main reason to come to Noboribetsu (apart from enjoying the onsens) is the beautiful nature. We headed straight for the main attraction - Jigokudani (or Hell Valley). It's basically a valley filled with geysers and sulphuric smoke, just the kind of place where one could imagine finding Oni - Japanese devils (that explains all the devil statues we saw around town earlier).

it's a pretty interesting place to walk around - the highlight was probably the walk up to Oyunuma, a rather impressive volcanic lake, with sulphurous fumes constantly spewing out of the lake. Well worth the hike.

The "hiking to work up an appetite" bit out of the way, we made our way back to our Ryokan, eager to sample the Kaiseki meal, which is possibly the main reason to go to a Ryokan. A Kaiseki meal is Japanese cuisine (which already at its simplest is a pleasure to behold and consume) elevated to what can only be described as art. And we weren't disappointed this time either - the meal was one of the absolutely best ones I've had in Japan (which is about the same thing as saying it's one of the best ones I've had anywhere in the world).

So we were quite happy to crawl into bed, our appetites sated (well, I did of course take the opportunity to enjoy a bath in the onsen before that). The morning started very nicely too, with another delicious meal. A bit less sophisticated than the dinner, but still, definitely something to write home about!

That, unfortunately, marked an end to our visit in Noboribetsu. Time to jump on the train and head to Chitose airport, where we were picking up our car for the remainder of our visit in Hokkaido. 

"Speeding down the highway", I came to realize one thing - Japanese people aren't quite so law-abiding in everything after all. The speed limit on Japanese highways (at least the one we took), was actually 60km/h. I did you not! However, everybody seemed to be driving at least 100, so I followed suit. 

Our first destination was Furano, a rather sublime agricultural region in Hokkaido, famous for its farms. We stopped by at one of the farms for lunch - a place specializing in curry. Really cool place, and some very nice curry, too! And we were quite happy to see the sun was out for a change, too!

Our next stop was Farm Tomita, a wonderful place known for its flower plantations. Now, I'm a bloke, right, so flowers are not typically my kind of thing. But I have to admit I was rather taken with the multi-coloured flower fields at Farm Tomita, and needless to say, I put my camera too good use. 

Farm Tomita is particularly famous for its Lavender fields, which unfortunately weren't in bloom during our visit. In fact, Farm Tomita is the first place in Hokkaido where Lavander was cultivated - the flowers were imported from Provence in France, where else ? There was a quite interesting exhibition about the farms history, with some cool photographs on display (what's happening to me - since when was I interested in exhibitions about flowers !?)

Now, as far as accomodation is concerned, we really went from one extreme to another. The night before, a classy Ryokan, and tonight, Furano Log Cabin! Now, you'd be hard pressed to find more quirky accommodation in Japan - the ramshackle cabins certainly have their charm. But don't come here if you like your comfort - our tiny cabin was just big enough to fit a double bed, lighting being provided by a light bulb hanging from the roof. And don't expect any onsuite bathtoom either. The very definition of cheap 'n cheerful. 

Not really fancying staying at the log cabin all evening, we headed off to explore Furano town centre. There isn't that much to see there in terms of tourist attractions, but, luckily, there was a kind of local music festival on when we visited. So we had quite a nice night out, having a couple of beers and enjoying the delicious street food.

The next day, it was time to head off towards Daisezusan national park. We did have a fair bit of driving ahead of us, though, so we decided to stop at a rather curious place on the way, called Patchwork no Michi. It's what could best be described as a "collection of famous trees". It's an area covering a few square kilometres, of rolling farmland. And dotted along this landscaper, are various trees and groups of trees that have featured in various Japanese TV adds. All very quirky and very Japanese. At least now we know who Ken and Mary are (just google "Ken and Mary Skyline Ad" - well Ken and Mary have a tree named after them here).