Sunday, September 30, 2007

3rd Quarter of trip Part 2

Couldn't take any more space on the first post...
So, after that, we went up by train again to Naka-furano, the place we wanted to go for the lavenders..It's supposed to be quite a small city.. But this overhead bridge looks rather classy, eh?
This is a small lavender farm(or park).. Still some flowers in bloom.. But the whole area on top was green(or barren?), without any more lavenders.

After that, we walked further up to the lavender farm we were supposed to visit, Tomita Farm. And I quickly bought the lavender soft (I realized that the Japanese don't call it ice cream.. they call it soft.. well, it is true it's not ice and it's soft.. heh).

Darn, this lavender soft is really nice!! I want more >.< But compared to the last time I had my lavender soft, this time wasn't that nice coz there was no smell of lavender around.. This is an ice cream you've got to try if you haven't! Nothing beats this one(not even durian soft!).
There were different lavenders here.. white and purple mix.. quite nice.. like the lavender and vanilla mix soft.. arghhhh I can't get my mind of the lavender soft.. NOOOO!!
Here's a part of the farm which was in bloom.. The other parts were mostly green(or barren?)..

After that, we took a train up again to Asahikawa.. and found a sushi shop around 30 to 40 minutes walk from the station..
Notice the difference in the plate designs? some had white lines on the outer part and some don't.. We didn't realize that until we were almost finished.. For me, I usually only eat around 5 plates.. This time I had around 7 or 8, coz the sushi in Hokkaido tastes great.. But the real victim of this little trick was Calvin, who ate around 11 plates I think.. his bill was over 2000 yen! haha.. serves him right! wakkakaka.. But worth it lar, can eat such delicious sushi.. sigh.. I hungry d.. >.< The next day, we went to the Asahiyama Zoo around 40 minutes from Asahikawa Station by bus..
First of all were flamingoes..
And swans and ducks..
And monkeys..
Penguins..
Reminds me of Happy Feet.. haha..
Seal..
Proud Tiger..
The Mighty Lion with an attitude.. (cute attitude in this case)
The Sun Bear of Hokkaido.. Does he look dead or what?
Polar Bears.. Doesn't look white to me.. Lack of snow?
Reindeer.. I think..
Giraffe.. Okay, at least he's taller than Calvin, right?

Actually, most of the animals were not that active when we were there.. And we didn't see most of the feeding too(they call it mogu mogu time..don't ask me why).. I took videos of the penguin feeding, but they're gone.. maybe on Calvin's computer..

After that, for dinner, Calvin and I ate Shouyu Ramen (Soy Sauce Ramen).

Nice! Quite nice!

Okay, so that's all for this time.. will update later on Hakodate.. Actually, I planned to post on some of the visits in more detail, but I don't think I want to anymore.. haha.. sorry, but if you want to see the photos, just tell me.. I'll try to make it interesting..

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Monday, September 24, 2007

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? ^^;
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