Hokkaido Suggested Itinerary

7 August 2009

• Stay a night at Otoii.
• Check in at Toyoko Inn Haneda Otoii Hotel after 12am because it provides CINDERELLA package with cheaper room rate. FREE shuttle bus to airport too.

8 August 2009

• Check out. Take the earliest shuttle bus to Haneda airport.
• Take 640am flight from Haneda airport to New Chitose airport.
• Buy 5 days JR pass at visitor information center.
• Buy Furano twinkle bus package + Biei twinkle bus package.
• Otaru -> Sapporo -> Wakkanai.
• Check in at Wakkanai hostel.

9 August 2009

• Take HeartLand Ferry from Wakkanai station to Rebun Island.
• Rebun Island: Nekoiwa (cat rock) -> Jizo rock.
• Take ferry back to Wakkanai.
• Check out hostel and travel to Furano.
• Check in at Bibaushi Liberty Hostel.

10 August 2009

• Lavender field: Saika no Sato. Try lavender ice-cream.
• Furano twinkle bus package: Recycled House -> Goro's Stone house -> Furano Jam Garden -> ANPANMAN shop -> Furano Cheese Factory
• Farm Tomita

11 August 2009

• Check out hostel.
• Biei twinkle bus package: Takushin Kan photo gallery -> Flower field
• Travel from Furano to Sapporo.
• Shiroi Koibito Park
• King crab feast
• Check in at Sapporo Youth Hostel.

12 August 2009

• Check out hostel.
• Take 8am flight from New Chitose aiport to Haneda airport.

Biei / Sapporo

[August 11, 09]

We check out of hostel and arrived at Biei station for another short trip in Biei. This trip actually more suitable for those art lover. First destination we visited Takushin Kan photo gallery. We are not allowed for shooting in this gallery. Those photos taken by Takushin Kan are really amazing. Anyway I just finished viewing all his art work within 10 mins. Showed that I am not art lover. :P

Next we went to flower field. Forgot the name of that field.

After the tour, we took another 2 hours+ train to Sapporo. Get the famous chocolate at Shiroi Koibito Park. It is more like a theme park.

Had our king crab feast at House of crab which is recommended by most of crab lover in forum. Indeed king crab is really expensive. We even can try different cooking style of crab such as boiled crab, stewed crab, tempura crab, sashimi crab and etc. For me, I love crab porridge very much! Very Oishi! ^_^

That night we had a night at Sapporo Youth Hostel. We slept on Tatami again!!! =)

Furano Lavender Trip

[August 10, 09]

Today extremely hot. Hard to get used to this burning hot weather although I was born in tropical country. We took local train from Bibaushi to Nakafurano station. From there, actually we can reach Saika no Sato and Farm Tomita easily. Due to we have bought the 4-hours Furano Twinkle bus tour, we have to hop on the bus by 12pm at Furano bus terminal. Therefore we only have few hours before go to Furano station. We decided to go Saika no Sato first since it is near to NakaFurano station. We went to Farm Tomita after tour.

On the way to Saika no Sato, we have to climb up the hill. Over the hill, you will pass by a small jungle. After that you will get to see endless lavender farm from far. But during the time we visit the farm, the lavender are almost dried. T_T Anyway the scenery here is still as beautiful as what I expected.

Due to the hot weather, we felt exhausted easier. We stopped by the ice-cream shop. We got L-A-V-E-N-D-E-R ice-cream. It is sooooo delicious! Must try if you get to Furano because you will not find this flavour of ice-cream elsewhere.

12pm we hopped on the tour bus and start our trip at Furano. Tour guide speaks in Japanese. We just followed people and do what supposed to do... hehehe... First we visited Recycled House. Everything in the house are made of recycled materials. How simple is it. Sometimes would like to keep my life as simple as i could. No stress, no worries, no arguments. How nice!

Goro's Stone house is made for the drama "From the Northern country". Have to pay 200 Yen entrance fee. Therefore we save 200 Yen and see it from far. :P

You can find more than 30 flavours of hand-made jam at Furano Jam Garden. Lavender souvenirs can be get from here too. Just next to it, you can find ANPANMAN shop (popular Japanese animation).

Furano Cheese Factory. Black cheeses are available here. Looks unique. Another thing you can find here is Furano's rich milk. Must try! It is really fresh although it tastes weird for the first sip.

After tour, as plan, we went to Farm Tomita from Furano bus terminal. There are a lot of lavender souvenirs to be grab, from facial things to food all made of lavender. Sounds attractive right?

Just next to Farm Tomita, you can find honeydew shop. You can get your honeydew with cheaper price.