Third Quarter of Hokkaido Trip

Sorry for the long wait, guys. Was busy watching Jigoku Shoujo, an anime which is quite interesting. Will talk a bit about that later. For now, let's continue with Hokkaido..

Actually, this is going to be quite a boring post.. That's one of the reasons I didn't really want to update on this. But if I don't update, that Calvin bising bising pula.

So, where were we? Sapporo right? We stayed at Hokudai(Hokkaido University) for 3 nights. I've posted up the pictures for the first day. Where did we go the second day? Going by our friend's suggestion, we planned to go to the Hokkaido Historical Village. The place is about 30 to 40 minutes(bad memory) from Sapporo by train.

When we reached there and got the map, we realized that it was not just the historical village there. There were lots of museums and 触れ合い(touching,as translated from my dictionary) centres. And the paths were mostly through the jungle, with distances of over 2 kms.. First stop was this tower.


Sapporo's 100 year commemorative tower. 百年記念塔.

Second stop was the Historical Museum of Hokkaido.


In front of it was this little statue.. cute? no, I don't think so.. but it's interesting coz when you clap your hands near it, you'll be able to hear a bird's cry. I tried, and there was a subtle sound like a bird's cry.. but sorry, no video..

The first thing in the museum was this little attempt to bring back the stone ages.
Not to mention, mammoths too..
Which bear is more likely to bite? *wink*
Japanese version of the voodoo doll.
Ancient Ainu(the natives of Hokkaido) clothing.
The general interior of an Ainu hut(house?)
If you're interested in hunting seals... they have as many spearheads as you have fishing hooks..
Some old rusted swords
Does this remind you of the Vikings? Be grateful these Ainu were not as vile!
Anyone for Bear worship? "Oh, Mighty Bear, lend me your ClAwS!"
These photos show how Hokkaido was stained by the foolishness that is called Civilization over the decades.
After that, a long walk around the place for the whole afternoon before reaching the Historical Village. I will not be posting the pictures of those boring adventures, except this..
Notice the leaves turning orange and red? That's the sign of autumn! Tanoshimi!

So, we reached the Historical Village.. Lots of buildings.. Including Western buildings.. From a conversation with an old lady in one of the houses, we got the information that the village was rebuilt from the ruins of the flood in Asahikawa a long time ago. Geographically, Asahikawa is actually very far from Sapporo. The flood actually carried off the whole town down somewhere far from Asahikawa, and they used the materials from the ruins to rebuilt the Historical Village.

There were a lot of old building including a Post Office and a barber shop and grocery stores.. But I won't be putting them up coz they're just not interesting to put up. There was also a railroad in the middle of the path, like tram tracks.. Actually, a horse pulled the car and brought the tourists around. We didn't try this (costs money of course). And I'm not putting up the picture of the horse either, coz it looked so pitiful.. sighs..

This is a sort of farmhouse or some kind of structure that Calvin mentioned looked something like those Dutch(Holland) farmhouses. Since the weather was cloudy until then, Calvin began fussing on getting a good picture of the building and the blue sky background. Okay, I admit I was trying to get a good shot too, but I'm not a camwhore, at least. =P

And a bit further up was a farm, and there was also this apple farm.. (Did I mention Calvin seems to be an apple fan freak?)

Hmm..... who's that?? Seems like they're stealing some apples..
Uh Oh! Caught red handed(literally)! Too bad couldn't get Calvin's face.. If not can blackmail him and make him confess about his girlfriend.. >.< And a fishing village..The place wasn't near the sea, although the real village was near the sea.. So, they built a lake beside the model so that it "felt" like the sea.
Here's a preview of the Historical Urinal. That's all for the Historical Village.

For dinner, we went to an Indian Restaurant, Taj Mahal.
First dish, Tandoori Chicken! Nyum Nyum..
And Naan! There are no Roti Canais in Japan, btw. Only Naans.. Boring~
And Nasi Briyani with curry! woohooo!

Okay that's all for Sapporo. The next morning, we took the train up to Furano.. The plan was to see the lavenders of course.. But when we reached there and went to ask at the Tourist Information counter, we were told that the lavender season was almost, if not already, over..But of course we still had lots of time, so we went around the city on this rental bicycle.
I like the keychain. ^^
With the bicycle, we went up some hills and reached this cheese factory(or park).
Got Milk?
Yes, we got milk, and a small cheese cake too.The milk was fresh and thick, unlike the ones sold at supermarkets.. And the cheese cake was very nice too!
And this is supposed to be Cheese Ice Cream.. right.. just the flavor, anyways..
This is the bridge we crossed to get to the place.. The statue's cute.. One of the reasons I stopped to take the picture.. heh..
After that, we went to a Wine Factory on the other side of the city..
100 years capsule.. these wine will be kept for 100 years.. high quality.. >.< Wine with a touch of lavender taste.. I drank a small cup of sample, but didn't taste much like lavender.. too bad.. If it did, I would've bought it straight away.. heh..

After that, we went to a nearby Grape Factory. Nothing much there, but there was a pony and a donkey there..
Calvin said they were both male (I'm gender blind when it comes to animals). Gay? ^^;