Back to Hokkaido

The plan is to fly to Tokyo (Haneda or Narita). Stay a day or so at Narita.

There is a Unagi Restaurant we're trying to find. If we can't, well, there are other things to look for in Narita.

Then we fly to Asahikawa.

I should have checked if there were a train link to Asahikawa Airport.

There is none.

There is a shuttle bus from the Airport to Asahikawa Train Station. And there is always taxis to fall back on. But we plan to try with the bus.

We will stay a few days in Asahikawa, and visit Asahiyama Zoo. The last time we came, the zoo was closed for the season.

This time, it will be spring, so it should be fine.

We hope.

After a few days reacquainting ourselves with Asahikawa, we will rent a car and explore Hokkaido - revisit Takinoue, Kamiyubetsu, and points in between.

With the agenda of eventually eating at Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant in Chitose.

This was our journey.


Day 1 (Sunday)
Leave Singapore. Flight is at 08:10 AM! We had to wake up at 5!

Land in Narita at about 4:20 pm.

Check into the Narita Tobu Hotel Airport. There is a free shuttle from Narita Airport. We found it easily!

Day 2 (Monday)
Explore Narita Town, looked for and found the "Unagi street". (It's called Omotesando)

Lunch of Unagi at Surugaya, then we explored that shopping street. We also visited the Aeon Mall that is also served by the same shuttle service.


Day 3 (Tuesday)
Check out Narita Tobu Hotel

Tak-Q-bin luggage to Smile Hotel Asahikawa

Train to Haneda to catch the 1400 hrs JAL fight from Haneda to Asahikawa. Arrive at about 1535.

[Except that I did not realise that there were TWO terminals at Haneda, and we were at Terminal 2 looking for JAL when it was ALL ANA flights. 30 minutes before our flight we were still at Terminal 2, and we approached ANA ground staff to ask about our flight. They told us we were at the WRONG terminal. So I tried to find my way to Terminal 1... with less than 30 minutes to spare.

Fortunately, the ANA staff ran towards us, checked our flight and bookings, and ran with us to the shuttle bus, caught the shuttle bus to Domestic Terminal 1 and put us on it. At Terminal 1, we hunted for the JAL check it, connected with their "Smile" service, and the woman immediately sprang into action! (We also asked a security guard for help and he sent us to the second floor to the check in counter).

The JAL ground staff took our documents, and checked us through.

It was less than 15 minutes to our flight.

She tagged our luggage to be checked in and we ran for the gate. 

Fortunately, the flight was delayed for 5 minutes. For us? I do not know. Didn't think so,

The flight crew did not mentioned that. We did not seem to have caused any undue delay, so the 5 minutes holdup might just have been lucky coincidence.]

We landed at Asahikawa airport and were out of the airport, at about 4 pm. Wife found the shuttle bus and we were on our way to Smile Hotel.

Day 4 (Wednesday)We took the bus from the bus station to Asahiyama Zoo. You get the tickets from the Lawson convenience store. There are ticket vending machines in the. You get a return ticket. Our child is too young and travels free.


Day 5 (Thursday)

We spend the day at Tokiwa park. The kid wanted to go to a playground. And we know there's one at Tokiwa Park.

At the park, people were feeding ducks, crows and some kind of raptor.

The kid liked the interaction with the ducks and the ducklings.

When we returned to the hotel, we checked if our Taj-Q-Bin luggage had arrived. It has!

Day 6 (Friday)

Sea Hawk? Over Tokiwa Park

Checked out of Smile Hotel, and went for breakfast. Last chance for kid to have Choco Cro for breakfast. There are no Choco Cro (or St Marc Cafe) East of Asahikawa. We're in the wild wild... East.

I got the rental car at about 10.30, and the next 5 days will be a road trip.

First stop: Takinoue and Pink Phlox hills.

First of all, although they are called "Pink Phlox", not all of them are pink. Some are almost red. Some are more violet or purple. And some are pure (?) white.

After that, we headed to the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum where there is a -20C room where you can blow soap bubbles and watch them freeze!

We did. And the soap bubble film did freeze!

The kid liked bubbles and frozen bubbles were even more fascinating.

One of the iconic symbols of Okhotsk/Membetsu, is the Giant Crab Claw (picture below). Sort of like how the Merlion is Singapore's "symbol".

After that we head to our next hotel, the Mombetsu Prince Hotel.

It would have been so helpful if they put their name in English.

Dinner was at an Izakaya where the owner/proprietor had decorated the interior his restaurant with a lot of toys.

It was... fascinating to the kid who is attracted to all toys.

Dinner was great (it usually is at Izakaya). The proprietor (it seemed like a one-man operation took orders, serve drinks prepared the food, and serve the food.

The appetiser was Hotate Sashimi (scallop sashimi, raw). I was surprise how nice it tasted. Sweet. And tender.

Day 7 (Saturday)
On the way to Kamiyubetsu, we stopped at Hokkaidotachi Okhotsk Ryuhyo Park which has both an indoor and outdoor playground (right). 

We didn't linger long because we haven't had breakfast. But the wife and kid don't seem to need breakfast.

We arrived at Kamiyubetsu Tulip Farm and it was crowded. 

There was an open air food court with about 7 or more stalls.

Note the tray return counter in the background of this
Hello Kitty restaurant at Chitose Airport.

And no trash bins!

Some food were served in proper utensils and cutlery and these would be returned to the stalls. This is the custom here (see photo on right). 

As for the disposables and food wastes, you also return it to the stall you bought it, and they stallholders would sort out the trash from the recyclables, and I even saw them rinsing the recyclables (which you are supposed to do, but which many people do not), and then sort them accordingly.

Then we went into the Tulip Farm (photo below). 

It was as I remembered.

But it was... just flowers. So after a while we left.

And brought the kid to another playground. This time it was an amusement park.

The Family Ailand You (photo of entrance below) has rides for the young and older kids.

And the operators seem to be older persons - retirees?

Well, good job! The wife changed 2000 yen and got 22 tickets (bonus for changing 1000 yen otherwise one ticket is 100 yen. However most of the rides are 3 tickets or more per ride. So it could get really expensive. One retiree operating the first ride that the kid rode twice on was enamoured by my kid and offered a third ride free. Kid and wife got to go all by themselves in that ride (no other paying customers!)

Anyway, when we had bankrupted my wife, we went on our way.

And stopped at Saromako, where my not-yet-wife-then and I had stopped in 2012 to get directions and clues as to where the tulips were. 

As I noted then, I was an idiot who thought we could just drive along the roads and see miles and miles of tulips and wildflowers.

The kid wasn't sure why we had stopped at Saromako (it is a michinoeki or Roadside Station or rest station. Drivers and their passengers would stop to use the washrooms, or grab a meal or a snack, and maybe shop for local produce.) 

We headed to Abashiri and our hotel, Hotel Route Inn Ekimae Abashiri.

I had dinner at Victoria Station in 2012 and had fond memories. I reacquainted myself with that restaurant. The kid liked that they gave kids a toy.

And they had changed the name a little to "Steak Victoria". Which made more sense than Victoria Station. And as we find with many of our memories, trying to re-capture that first magic is often elusive.

Day 8 (Sunday)

There was free breakfast at the hotel. The kid loved it cos there was crispy seaweed. Wife took some for the road.

Main shopping street in Akanko

We checked out and headed towards Akanko.

Lake Akan Ainu Kotan (village) is a aboriginal (Ainu) village, or a preserved one.

We spent a few hours there, but did not gain much of an appreciation for the Ainu culture, way of life, or values.

I know. Such snobs we are.

We headed to Kushiro.

The GPS brought me to the docks, and then I discovered that Kushiro Prince Hotel IS in the docks.

It is a nice hotel. Had its own convenience store within the lobby area.

Probably because for some reason there are not many convenience stores in the area.

Also not much in terms of food or restaurants. It may be because its a Sunday (I tend to lose track of time when I'm on holiday), but nothing was open. We ate at the in-house restaurant which served western style dinners. We had a choice of chicken or beef. Inspired by airline menus. It wasn't bad, but not what I came to Japan for.

The alternative was Chinese Restaurant food (also in that hotel).

Kushiro Prince Hotel has a paid parking system. But if you are a guest, you can get the front desk to validate your parking, so its free.

Day 8 (Monday)
Checked out of Kushiro Prince Hotel and headed towards Biei.

Stopped for lunch at a mall (I think it was Aeon Obihiro, but they all seemed alike after a while).

But here's a tip for good cheap eats. Find the nearest Aeon Mall (they are quite ubiquitous. At least in Hokkaido), and you would find a food court. You can also get bento boxes or ekiben from the Aeon supermarket. Those are really affordable.

And you would be eating like a local!

After lunch we continued onto Hotel L'avenir in Biei.

I don't know what I expected, but Biei was... underwhelming.

And charming! We are not big city people, so quaint charming towns like Biei really appeals to us.

Biei is like a one-horse town. Or at least a one main street town. At least as far as we could see. 

The Hotel L'avenir actually locks down (curfew) after 11 pm!

Of course, there is nothing much to do after 11 pm anyway. The pub closes at midnight, and MAYBE, the convenience store is open all night.

Day 9 (Tuesday)

We checked out after the free breakfast (we were the last - or only? - guests and I felt bad to make the restaurant staff wait for us), and headed to the Shirogane Blue Pond (right).

Well, it IS a blue pond.

I've also seen the Pink Lake near Perth Australia.

What other colours are there?

Well, there is the Black Sea. And the Red Sea.

Then it was a three hour drive towards Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant in Chitose.

This was what I came for!

And as I always said, I like food more than I like photography. So I have NO photos of my time at the Log House. You can google "Log House Bibi Restaurant" and find lots of photos, probably better than any I could take.

It's a charming restaurant with logs for walls. There were a few long tables with a charcoal grill built into the centre. I can imagine at other times it could be crowded, but at 2 pm on a Tuesday, there were only two tables occupied, and we were seated immediately.

After we placed our order, one of the staff brought a bucket of glowing charcoal to fill the charcoal pit of our table grill. Then they put the grill over the pit and leave a piece of fat (pork I believe) to oil the grill. 

Then our orders were served.

We ordered a steak (#5 on the menu), then a mix of 5 beef (wagyu) cuts (#2 on the menu), then a selection of sausages, pork belly, and a basket of assorted bread and some mustard and butter.

Now, besides wagyu beef, I am also a sucker for bread, and this basket of bread was fantastic. I could just come here for the bread (personal preference. Please DO NOT TELL PEOPLE that I said the bread here was BETTER than the beef!)

And while the wagyu beef was great, I ALSO LIKED the pork belly! 

I liked EVERYTHING!

And I missed not ordering beer (because I was driving)!

Finally, after dying and going to heaven, I had to pay the bill. I thought it would exceed 10,000 yen. After all I had paid more in Kobe.

And I had a lot more here, and had really eaten my fill here.

But it was LESS than 10,000 yen. IIRC, it was about 9400 yen! 

Amazing! Even with a beer, it would have just cracked 10,000. 

Maybe.

I can die happy now. With wagyu fats coursing through my veins.

We had plans for the late afternoon (Shiroi Koibito in Sapporo, but the sky was threatening, my stomach was bloated, so we headed to our next hotel - Hotel Areaone Chitose.

After checking it, the weather turned more promising and so we went out for a walk. 

The kid wanted a playground, I found one nearby on Google maps and we walked there (5 minutes). 

We also found an Aeon Mall nearby and we headed there when the kid had enough of the playground (10 minutes walk).

Before we got there, we found a 100 yen shop and that diverted us for a bit.

The Aeon mall had a food court (just like every other Aeon), and we settled for a simple dinner after the feast at lunch.

Day 10 (Wednesday)
We checked out of Hotel Areaone Chitose and arranged to Tak-Q-Bin our Luggage to Hotel Lungwood. While the front desk staff was busy ensuring that our luggage would arrive in time, I studied the front desk and found sachets of instant coffee, tea, and even consommé soup! All free! I missed this! I made up for my earlier oversight by replenishing my stock of emergency beverages.

Then we were off to return the rental car. 

When I picked up the car in Asahikawa, the staff told me I was to return the car with the tank full. However, he also said that the Chitose branch where I was returning the car had a petrol station within so if I did not return it full, they would fill up and I would just pay the cost of topping up the fuel tank. 

I liked that, so with 3/4 of the tank full, I simply drove into Nippon Rent-a-Car at Chitose. I told the receiving staff that the car had not been refuelled, he said no problem, and that he would refuel it.

A few minutes later the counter staff called my name, I presented myself, she told me the car had been refuelled to about 2400 yen, I was prepared to pay that, but she stopped me and told me that because I had returned the car about an hour early, they would be required to refund me some of the rental fee.

Huh?

Anyway, after off-setting the early return, they OWED ME (and refunded) about 371 yen (IIRC) which was about S$4.75! 

Then we caught the shuttle bus (free) to Chitose Airport!

We had lunch at Chitose Airport (the kid ate at the Hello Kitty restaurant), I wandered off to see the rest of (the non-child-focused parts of) the airport. 

Chitose Airport is really child-friendly - there are two indoor playgrounds (at least!), a Doraemon activity centre (where you can paint figurines or make other arts and crafts), there are Doraemon and Hello Kitty photo studios where you can posed with those characters (I assume. we didn't go in because the kid was not into photography or posing for photos).

We were there from 10 am, but our flight was only at 4 pm, so we had a lot of time to explore the place. I was hungry for lunch, but as mentioned earlier, my wife and kid are not breakfast people and didn't need to eat. I found a Freshness Burger at the food court and gave in to temptation for a burger for breakfast.

After lunch I told the kid about the observation deck from the food court where you could see planes taking off and landing. 

While the planes distracted the kid, I got myself a beer and long potatoes from Freshness Burger.

Well, I did share my long potatoes with the kid and wife.

At Haneda Airport, we spent some time locating the pick-up point for the free shuttle bus to Hotel Mystays Haneda

We eventually found it after asking a few persons (who gave various answers sending us all over the place).

And we were settled for the evening. Except for dinner.

We ate at an Izakaya near the hotel. To be honest, I cannot recall what we ate. But it was an Izakaya. I'm sure it was great. We were seated in the "family" room  (a.k.a. tatami room) as per the custom (I do not know why this is the custom). After dinner we explored the place, found a railway crossing and the kid could see a train in motion up close.

We also found the Anamori-Inari station where we would need to take the train the next morning.


Day 11 (Thursday)

We checked out and headed towards Nippori. From our exploration the night before, we made our way easily to the train station, figured out the fair and the transfer station (Shinagawa) to take the Yamanote line. 

I was a little pleased with myself to recognise that Shinagawa is a major train hub, and the Yamanote line is the workhorse line which connects to virtually every line.

We arrived at Nippori, had a little trouble finding Hotel Lungwood, but eventually did. And then because it was too early to check in, we left our luggage and went in search of a late breakfast. 

The kid wanted Choco Cro again, because all the St Marc Cafe in Singapore has closed down and this was the last few chances to get Choco Cro before we returned to the Choco Cro desert that is Singapore.

Then we headed to Ueno Zoo. 

Admission was free for the kid, but we had to pay 600 yen each for adults. Then once inside the kid wanted a stroller. Rental was 500 yen for the day.

We stayed until the zoo was almost closing then we headed out towards the Ameyokocho. For old times sake and also for dinner.

We settled on a smokey Izakaya. I ordered a beer, and cucumbers with spicy miso. Then a few skewers of kushiyaki - chicken thighs, bonjiri (chicken tail or chicken butt) (as far as I can remember), and edamame (IIRC).


Day 12 (Friday)

We headed to Asakusa and Hanayashiki.

To enter Hanayashiki (Japan's oldest amusement park), the adults had to pay 1000 yen each. The kid was free.

But as the kid wanted to go on the rides we got a day pass for unlimited rides. That was 1800 yen for kids below 6. And because my kid is just 4 years old, an adult was required to ride along for every ride. Which was great for the kid!

Remember how Wife had to buy tickets at Family Ailand You? 2000 yen for 22 tickets and most rides were 3 tickets and she had to pay for her rides as well?

Well, here it costs just 1800 yen for the kid, unlimited rides, and the adults ride free as the guardian.

The kid loved the Crazy Taxi ride and went about 20 times on that. That would have bankrupted Wife about 3 times over if it was the same system as Family Ailand You!

Even at 100 yen a ride, we got our money's worth just from the Crazy Taxi ride.


Day 13 (Saturday)

We checked out but as we wanted to explore the Yanaka Ginza, we left our luggage at the hotel to be collected later.

I wanted to bring the kid to Candy Craft Yoshiwara Yanaka shop where they made candy by hand.

I had also checked that the shop was only open on weekends. So that was why we had to come on a Saturday, before we fly off.

But all that was for naught. The shop was open, but there were no candy crafting being done. Just one  out of luck staff manning the sales register on a Saturday morning. There were a few crafted candy on a stick, but no chance to watch the artisans in action. I was disappointed.

On the way to the candy shop we passed a few shops along the Yanaka Ginza. We bought some "donuts" from Yanaka Shippori, saw some really affordable bento/ekiben, but decided against them.

We returned to the hotel, got our luggage, and headed to Nippori station to catch the Keisei Skyliner to Narita International Terminal 2.

We had lunch at the airport, the kid found another playground and became the protector of the foam elephants in the playground, rounding them up and lining them up, and retrieving them when other kids had rustled them.

Then it was on the plane and back to Singapore.