Snap shot: A fantastic final `sightseeing day`

Date: Saturday 16th August 2015

Weather: I was presented with a beautiful blue sky until about 5pm ... when it threw it down.

MP3 track of the day: Flowers in the window - Travis

Now before I go on, I suppose I should explain what 'snap shot' means within the title of this blog. It basically means that this blog will be a shortened version of my usual blogs, due to a variety of reasons. It is, in effect, a 'snap shot' of my trip.

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I woke up with a sad but determined look slapped across my face. Though tomorrow was the last official day of my holiday, I knew that most of that day would be spent travelling. I therefore realised that today was the final full-day of sightseeing and, after yesterday, I was determined to make the most of it. I was up at 7:30am and I left my hotel half an hour later. Due to it still being quite early, I decided that I would eat breakfast once I got to my destination.

So far on my trip, I have ventured into the area of Furano however, I haven't really explored it. I couldn't leave Hokkaido without discovering Furano`s sights as it is a very beautiful area. My guidebook has described Furano, and the surrounding villages, as `though it would have looked at home within southern-England` (Personally I felt that the area had a hint of north-western France). This area was supposed to be covered in flowers and fruit; it's most famous of these were it's lavender and melon fields.

Fortunately for me, the most northern village within the area of Furano - Biei - was only fifteen kilometers from Asahikawa. It is amazing just how much can change in fifteen kilometers. The city of Asahikawa is Hokkaido`s second largest city and is within the basin of a huge mountain range. It also has two or three rivers, directly from the mountains, flowing through it and the area is largely flat with many man-made square boxes which, the Japanese call `buildings`. In contrast, Biei is an area of rolling hills with each one, it seemed, devoted to a different agricultural purpose. Scattered within this patchwork of farmland are small communities where the tallest building is only three storeys high. On the outskirts of the village, I noticed a flower farm out of the corner of my eye. I made a late right-hand turn into the car park and stopped. The sky was blue and an array of colour lay on the hill before me.

As excited as an eleven year old school boy, with three new packs of football stickers, I grabbed my camera forgetting that I was actually pretty hungry. The farm consisted of a huge field - where you could hire a quad-bike to drive around the perimeter of said field; I didn't bother - full of rows of flowers. The flowers had been organised into type and colour. I stood at an angle where I could get the maximum amount of flowers within my shot and photographed the area to death. Once done, I moved into the gift shop. I wasn't planning on buying anything; the gift shop had a balcony which over-looked the farm. I went up and was surprised to find that the view wasn't actually that good. Once done I proceeded back to my car and headed into the village of Biei. I was getting really hungry.

Wanting to make the most of the weather, I stopped at a convenience store and purchased a `snack breakfast` to keep me going. I then, believe it or not, drove to another lake.

It took about twenty minutes to reach said lake. I know what you're thinking; after yesterday, why go to another lake? Well this one had been recommend to me by a friend because it's waters were apparently turquoise blue. Though this alone didn't win me over, the fear of missing something did and so, after being told about it, I had to see it.

As I approached the lake, I discovered that there were parking attendants directing visitors to a car park close to the lake and that, there was a small queue of cars waiting for a parking space. I took the fact that, at 9am the car park was already full, as a good omen; I therefore decided to wait.

As it turned out, I was only waiting for a matter of minutes. As soon as I'd parked, grasshoppers (or maybe locus... I have no idea about bugs) swarmed my car. I paused for a second to make sure that they weren't supported by mosquitoes before leaving my car. The noise was eminence and the croaking sound could be heard all around; there were `bug bodies` littering the ground due to the fact that cars and bugs don't mix. I proceeded onto the lake which was indeed turquoise. It was pretty beautiful and I did take a lot of photos however, I did also move through the area quickly. What puzzled me was that most of the Japanese had congregated, for photos, where this beautiful light-blue lake met a horrible muddy-brown river which flowed through a man-made funnel. I didn't take any photos of this area and proceeded back to where I could only see the blue lake. With water at the bottom, trees in the middle and a beautiful blue sky at the top, I felt as though these photos would be pretty dam good. I filled up my second memory card before proceeding back to my car.

When I turned my engine on, all of the grasshoppers / locus / whatever, flew away ... all bar one. One chap - now named Brian - sat in the middle of my windscreen and wouldn't move. "he'll move in a bit", I thought to myself however, he did not. As my speed increased I watched him grip onto the screen ever-so tightly (and I am sure his eyes widened) and I was shocked to see that the g-force neither squashed him or threw him off the car. Fortunately for Brian, I was heading up a nearby mountain therefore, my speed never really increased above 25mph. Once near the top of this mountain, the road ended in a huge car park full of cars. Not knowing why, I got out of my car and had a look around. It would appear that I'd found the start of a two / three day hike over the Daisetsu mountain range. Being so high, the landscape did resemble Mars a little, and I saw many a group head forever upwards to the summit of the surrounding mountains and into the clouds. Part of me wished that I was going with them, and part of me knew that their accommodation for tonight (plus toilet facilities) would be less than basic. I therefore wished them well and proceeded back to my car.

Brian was still hanging onto the windscreen. I guessed that he was either dead, homesick or he just couldn't believe that the ride had finished however, it mattered not. The next part of the trip would see me descend and that meant higher speeds. In fear of what the g-force might do to him I gave him an encouraging nudge and he landed on a leaf. Satisfied, I got into my car, waved Brian goodbye and started to descend.

The route down the mountain was different to the route up. I therefore found myself entering another village which my guidebook had stated was a `must see`. This village may have been a `must see` back in 2008 when my guidebook was written but, as I drove through it, it look derelict and tired. I made my way to the picturesque train station where an information board showed a detailed map of the town. Like my guidebook, it would appear that this map was also out of date because, when I went to find the tourist office, it was not there. Due to it being Japan's `O-bon` season hardly anything was open. Mistaking a hospital for a local government office, I briefly spoke to a security guard who gave me the impression that he really didn't want to help. He gave me some directions to a police office which, surprise surprise, wasn't where he had said it was.

I was actually getting pretty fed-up with this village therefore I left, finally heading for the town of Furano itself. I was almost in the town when I saw a giant balloon in the shape of a melon. Directly below the balloon were lines of colour. I knew instantly that it was another `flower farm` and so I drove their quickly.

Unknown to me at the time, this farm turned out to be the biggest farm within the Furano area. It was therefore drowned in tourists, most of which seemed to be Chinese. Of course, the nearest things to the car park weren't the flowers; it was the gift shops. For the first time, this was actually a blessing as the heat of the day had taken it's tole and what I really wanted was a sit down and an ice cream. Fortunately for me, this flower farm also sold melon therefore, they had made a `melon ice cream` which I had tried before within the Onuma-Quasi National Park and had enjoyed it immensely. I ordered the melon ice cream and wasn't disappointed.

Once consumed I made my way into the flower fields. Before entering, a colourful map explained where everything was and so I devised a walking route within my head. The sun was beaming down and so my route did favour the shade. I therefore stuck to paths with buildings close by or trees covering them. The flowers were in full bloom and were beautiful. Everywhere I went, colour filled my world though, the flower's sent wasn't that strong. I took my time and routinely changed between photographing the flowers, to just looking at the flowers and taking it all in. There were many benches placed all over the field; they were usually in a shaded spot therefore, they provided an excellent place to sit and take in the world. It would have been a beautiful place to relax, if it wasn't for the hordes of tourists whom continually arrived in the biggest coaches I've ever seen.

Finally it was time to move on. I continued to head into the town of Furano, peering at any sign I saw to make sure that I didn't miss a single farm full of flowers. Before entering the town, I did find another farm however, compared to this morning's one, it was pretty disappointing as it consisted of one steep hill with only a few rows of flowers. Sadly, all flower farms had cut their Lavender stock and I was beginning to face the fact that I wouldn't be able to see huge fields of purple.

Once in Furano its self, I noticed that it was very busy indeed. I now found myself in the middle of the Japanese holiday season and there were thousands of people within this cramped little town. Where they all stayed, I had no idea. I went to McDonald's for a quick bite before finding Furano`s tourist information site. I'd tried to find it before lunch however, just like in other places within the world, the signs directing you to the tourist information centre stopped prematurely and I'd missed it. During this second attempt, I stopped within the train station's car park. Due to the car park being full, I'd stopped within the `waiting bays`. I then rushed over to a small police station - which was located to the right of the train station - and asked a very pleasant officer where the towns tourist information office was. He pointed to the left of the train station and said "there". My next question was "where could I park?". He ummed and arred for a while; he noticed that the train station's car park was full therefore, he gave me directions to a `pay and display` car park. I thanked him and, just as I got into my car, a car pulled out of the train station's car park. I quickly went into said car park and occupied the space. Once out of my car, the police officer gave me a nod of approval.

Last week, Furano`s tourist information centre had just given a job to a lovely old Australian woman who'd lived in the area for the last few years. Her English was as good as you would of expected from a colonial and she was a very pleasant lady too. Though she had only worked for the office for two weeks, she seemed to be a natural as she came armed with a map and a highlighter. I'm not sure what it is about tourist information staff but, they seem to really enjoy highlighting things. After I asked the question `what was there to do around Furano?` - and she had asked if I had a car and what I'd already seen - she started to draw huge highlighted circles upon this A3 map. She was having a great time and she really did know her stuff. In a flash I had the below list of attractions to see:

- Hokkaido`s centre stone

- An old film set

- An observatory (which apparently, hadn't cut it's lavender yet)

- A craft village

- The fields around Biei

She confirmed to me that I had seen the best flower farms and that there were no more worth seeing. I thanked her and I went on my way to check-out the first attraction.

Hokkaido`s central stone was located right here in Furano, within the grounds of an Elementary school. I parked my car within McDonald's car park and crossed the road. I found the stone with ease. This stone marked the exact centre of Hokkaido. I took a few photos before heading back to my car.

The old film set, and observatory, were located in the same area, about 40kms south-east of Furano. It took a while to drive there. Once I'd arrived at the film set, I noticed that it was extremely popular with the Japanese. This was a set that was actually used for a series which ran from the early 80`s, through and into the 90`s. It was about a man, and his family, who gave up living within the congested southern cities of Japan and headed north to a life of freedom and self preservation. It was very popular because, deep-down, this is probably every Japanese salaryman`s dream ... to escape the rat race. Due to not knowing the program, I took a cheeky photo from outside of the `pay barrier` and left; I came here because, maybe, some of my students might have heard of this program.

Next up was the observatory. To get there, I had to drive past the `Anpanman`s - a Japanese cartoon character - jam factory` and through it's car park. This place was manic with parents trying to keep their toddlers under control. Once past the jam factory the traffic died down to just a handful of cars. When I reached the observatory, it wasn't what I had expected.

I though that the observatory would be a building of some sort with a telescope. What I actually found was a car park, on top of a hill, and that was it. It was a beautiful place to observe the area of Furano within the valley below (I think that is why the Japanese call it an observatory). At the top were a few rows of beautiful flowers and, yes indeed, the lavender hadn't been cut ... but there still wasn't as much as I'd thought there was going to be. I enjoyed the place; unlike the flower farms, this place didn't have a gift shop therefore the crowds were minimal and I found that I could actually relax.

With the observatory done I got back in my car and drove cautiously past the jam factory, making sure that no child found themselves under my car's tires. I then increased my speed. My next attraction was a craft village, located next to a posh new hotel. This hotel was located within the mountains on the other side of Furano and, due to the traffic within Furano, I had picked a route that, though longer, I reckoned would be quicker as it would avoid large lines of congestion. This route took me past the cheese factory I'd visited six days ago (was it really that long ago).

I don't normally like craft villages. Usually I find then in a run-down part of town with hippies trying to sell acorns they'd found twenty minutes before you arrived, which they had labeled as `pure`. This was totally different. First off, the village consisted of ten or eleven wooden huts buried within a woodland setting. In-between the huts ran a board walk and the whole place looked as though it had dropped out of `Star Wars - Return of the Jedi` and that, at any moment, an Ewok would appear. Also, the items for sale - though useless - were of a good quality. I went into one hut and discovered that the guy who ran the shop had made everything in it. Unfortunately, though interesting, nothing made me reach for my wallet and so I left the craft village.

Time was getting on and the visits to both the out-of-town film set and out-of-town craft village had taken their tole. The sky was getting darker. I checked the map given to me by the Australian tourist information officer and concluded that Furano was finished. I turned my keys and the car started. I drove out of the hotel's car park heading for Biei, where I would spend sometime looking at the rolling fields.

I must have been only meters away from the village of Biei when the heavens opened. It rained so much that the road was flooded in some parts. The Australian lady had suggested that I spend an hour or two driving along the country-lanes within Biei to take in the rolling hills of `southern England`. Due to the rain, I was thinking about just heading back to Asahikawa as I was a little worried as to what state these country lanes would be in. In the end however, I decided to go forth: this was my last day of sightseeing, I might not come back here ever again and I'd paid for `full cover car insurance` were my main reasons. I therefore turned left down the first country road I saw.

Actually, the country roads were in a better condition than the main road. It would appear that the rain cloud above me had huge holes where rain had not fallen. Most of the rain seemed to be directed at the main road and, at some points on these country roads, it was bone dry. The view had been ruined by the dark clouds however, I zig-zagged along Biei`s country roads for about forty minutes. Bails of hey, hedges with trees in the middle of them and grassy fields filled my windows. When I was able to get a panoramic of Biei`s hills, they were a patchwork of dark browns, light brows and greens. Life was good, but it was also getting dark. I took a few photos before heading back to Asahikawa.

I made it back to my hotel at around 6pm. The owners greeted me at the door and asked what my plan was for this evening. "I'm heading to the train station for something to eat and to buy souvenirs" I said. They looked a little shocked and said that a huge band of rain was on its way. `It must have been the band of rain I'd driven through in Biei`, I thought to myself. I asked when it was due to arrive and they said within an hour. I thanked them and then went into my room where another dessert and drink were waiting for me.

Once I'd put my bags down I quickly ate the dessert and drank the drink. After handing the plate and cup back I almost ran out of the hotel and towards the train station. This new weather front had changed my plans some what; I had to buy souvenirs for friends and work colleges. Luckily I'd been to Asahikawa`s train station two days earlier and I knew what I wanted and where I could get it. Instead of going for dinner after, I decided that I would instead return to my car to put away my presents. I hoped that this would all be done before the rain started to pour. Once that was complete I could relax a little. I would then go to a local Indian restaurant, I'd seen two days ago, for my final meal.

Everything went well. I managed to put my gifts into my car before spots of rain fell. It was still spitting as I entered the Indian restaurant. Realistically, this would be my final holiday tea and so I pushed the boat out. I ordered whatever I fancied which, as it happened, came to a coconut chicken curry, a plain nan and a mango lassy. The meal was good for an Indian restaurant in Japan, but not a patch on the restaurants back at home. Once consumed I walked back to my hotel at around 8pm. I have no idea if it rained hard that night or not. The rain had held until I got back to my hotel and then, after an hour or so, I fell asleep. This was a good thing as tomorrow, I wanted to get up early so that I could take a few photos of Asahikawa - the city I was currently in - before driving back to Tomakomai and handing back my car - which I have named Charles.

As I lay in bed I realised that it would be a painful drive. No longer was I driving to discover something new. Now I found myself driving towards the end of my holiday.

Toodle Pip!

Snap shot - What could have been

Date: Friday 14th August 2015

Weather: The weather wasn't bad however, as the day progressed, more and more clouds filled the sky.

MP3 track of the day: Bad day - Daniel Powter

Now before I go on, I suppose I should explain what 'snap shot' means within the title of this blog. It basically means that this blog will be a shortened version of my usual blogs, due to a variety of reasons. It is, in effect, a 'snap shot' of my trip.

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I woke up at 7am, within my beautiful onsen hotel room, fully relaxed. I had a long shower, got ready and slipped back into my Yukata. Breakfast was served in the same room as yesterday and, as I walked there, I noticed that my mosquito bites had much improved. So far, all was well in my world.

Breakfast was another buffet consisting of both Japanese and western food. Being me, I had a mix; I grabbed some cooked salmon and miso soup from the `Japanese` quarter, before stopping for fruit, waffles and toast in the `everywhere but Japan` quarter. Almost immediately, I noticed that there was a chocolate fountain surrounded by children. As if I was parting the seas, I pushed my way to the front and took no less than five marshmallows covered with chocolate. Other adults looked at me with a `that`s for the children` expression - plus, I am sure I saw a small glimpse of jealously - but I didn't care. The chocolate wasn't the best; but it wasn't bad either.

After breakfast I returned to my room where I became western again. I packed my bags and left the hotel. As I put my bags within my car I looked back at the hotel fondly. God it was ugly, but it had been a great experience. Before leaving the area, I took a few photos trying to find angles of this beautiful valley where the buildings didn't ruin the view.

Before I begin explaining the day, I feel as though it would be a good idea to give you a little more detail in regards to the area of Hokkaido which I found myself in. I was currently on the outskirts of the Daisetsu National Park. This is Japan`s largest national park and is commonly referred to as the `roof of Hokkaido` as it holds Hokkaido`s tallest mountains. It covers an area of 230,000 hectares. It`s best to think of the park as a giant clock, with the numbers of the clock creating a perimeter. As mentioned above, the park is home to some of the tallest mountains in Hokkaido and it is the only park - which I`ve found away - that actually allows you to go off the beaten track and discover it`s secrets. Due to this, there are no roads linking, say, ` three O`clock` to `nine O`clock`; If driving you have to, pretty much, circle the park ... and quite right too. My onsen hotel was located at `two O`clock`. Ashikawa was at `twelve O`clock` with the main urban areas of Hokkaido - Sapporo, Chitose and Tomakomai - running from `nine O`clock` all the way down to `six O`clock`. Today, there were some `okay` attractions located at about `three to four O`clock` plus the beautiful town of Furano - which I`d been too; but I hadn't looked around the area in any great detail - at about `eight O`clock`. With the `okay attractions` being the closest, I planned to visit them first, spending only the smallest amount of time possible before circling the park and heading to Furano. I`d completely under-estimated just how big this park is.

I stopped for fuel and then proceeded in a southern direction whereas, almost everyone else who`d stayed a night within the onsen complex, headed north towards the highway and Asahikawa. The line of cars heading north was bumper-to-bumper and I did wonder why more people didn't take the opportunity to explore this wonderful valley - where the onsen hotels were located - before joining the traffic when it was lighter. Anyway it mattered not; I was heading south on the eastern-side of the park with nothing in front of me.

You would have thought that, with the loss of traffic, progress would have been swift however, it was anything but. Once again Hokkaido`s legendary wide straight roads were nowhere to be seen and I spent, what felt like, hours on roads which clung to the perimeters of mountains and lakes. I stopped once at a dam to take a few photos and then, after a further forty minutes of driving, I made it to my first attraction ... a stone bridge.

A stone bridge doesn't sound like much however, depending on which season you come to visit it, the bridge could be crossing a dried wasteland or, submerged under a lake of water. Unfortunately for me, I`d arrived when there wasn't a single drop of water; I had hopped to see the bridge at least party submerged. As I looked at the bridge, I must be honest and say that it didn't fill me with excitement however, I did wonder how on earth this bridge survived being totally covered in ice cold water during the winter months. The bridge seemed to be built in the classic European style with arches all the way along. I took a few photos and left pretty quickly.

The lake took just as long to get to and provided the same feeling of disappointment. The clouds had closed and, having seen many lakes on this trip, I felt that this lake was possibly a `lake too far`. I quickly took a photo and got back in my car.

The time was already getting close to 1pm. Using my clock, I`d started the day at around `2 O`clock` and I`d only traveled as far as `four O`clock` therefore, it was obvious that, trying to get to Furano today - located at `eight O`clock` - was futile. I looked for something around the south of the national park and found the city of Chitose. The city held Hokkaido`s main airport which, I've been to however, I've never spent anytime within the city itself. Though there was no entry within my guidebook for Chitose, I decided to check it out.

Once at the southern part of the park, I found Hokkaido`s straight roads again. It was true that I had a car or two in front of me however, surprisingly, I wasn't in a mood today to drive fast therefore, I kept inline and drove at around 54 - 59kms (which is still speeding).

At one point, I was descending down a long straight when a car from behind me over-took me and the two cars in front. The guy had indicated, chosen his location for the over-take well and had completed the move safely. A part from travelling over the speed limit, I felt as though it was a `textbook` over-take providing no hint of danger to the trees, mountains and grass which surrounded us. Suddenly, from the bottom of the road, a policeman flew a red flag which indicates that the leading car must stop. This caused a chain reaction in the rest of us and we all braked until we were within the speed limit.

In Japan, there are very few static speed cameras. Most speeding fines are handed out when the police set-up a `speed trap`. This consists of a hidden policeman, holding a speed camera, radioing a policeman further down the road to stop anyone travelling at least ten kilometers or more over the speed limit. As I drove past the man, I felt sorry for him; it looked as though this was a standard police sting. What was weird was that, next to the police officer, stood a line of `local pensioners` holding banners (which could not be seen from any great distance) and wearing a ta bard. It would appear that the town I was about to enter - which I shall name `town of speed camera death` - was holding a `speed awareness` weekend and, as I found out later, these groups had been setup all over the town.

Naturally, I kept my speed to within the speed limit as I crossed this town. Due to this, I found myself with plenty of time to think. My first thought was `if the town wants to run this kind of initiative, then they can at least make their town look a little prettier and give me something to look at`; the place was just a standard farm village with a few run-down shops. Secondly, the `sting` had occurred on the approach to the town, and not within the town itself. I hoped that, the guy who was stopped, had only been given a lecture because, the area where the over-take had occurred was full of trees. I proceeded though the town occasionally spotting the `do-gooders`; an unexplained hatred was building towards then and I decided that I wouldn't spend a single yen within this town. As soon as the towns `you are leaving blar blar blar` board came into view, it felt like the start of the race as every car`s speed instantly increased.

There was a good reason why Chitsose had been left out of my guidebook; there was nothing there. I spent only a handful of minutes driving around before filling up with fuel and heading back to Asahikawa. This did mean that I would have to go back through the `town of speed camera death` again however, not for very long. As I drove back to the town, I got myself mentally ready for the 50km drive.

Going back to my clock; I found myself at about `6:30pm` and finally, I was on the western-side of the park. Once through the `town of death` I stumbled upon a beautiful road numbered the `452`. It was everything you could want in a road; it was surrounded by a beautiful mountain landscape, it had the odd corner - so you didn't get bored - yet I could maintain a good speed. Best still, there wasn't a single car on the road heading in my direction ... not one! I was therefore loving the flow of the road and, with the sun setting, the terrain was gorgeous. There were, however, a lot of foxes on the road; some of which ran away as soon as they saw me coming however, some decided to claim the road as their own and it was me that, after checking for oncoming cars, had to swerve to avoid a collision.

This road went on and on and, I was quite sad when it finally finished in the town of Furano. As it was dark, I proceeded through the town and continued north to Asahikawa; this is where I`ll spend the next, and my final two nights in Hokkaido.

I arrived in Asahikawa at around 8pm. Due to entering the city from a different angle to two days ago, I missed the round-a-bout. Luckily, I had manged to set my car`s satnav (it`s all in Japanese) therefore, as I travelled through the city centre's idiotic one-way system, I managed to stop within my hotels car park without incident. Sadly, even through the dark I could still see the building where I would be spending the next two nights. The building looked as though it was a mash of two of three buildings, held together by corrugated aluminum. I gingerly approached the hotel and went in. I was greeted by the most lovely elderly couple who proceeded to help me with my bags; they then showed me my room and where everything was within the hotel. Though the inside was certainly better than the outside, it was extremely old. The shower room made me laugh: due to being within the centre of the building, it had no external windows therefore, no view. The owners had through of that and, on the rear wall, had erected a fake window, with a poster of a mountain inside, surrounded by fake plastic flowers. I`m pretty sure that it was designed with the intention of making you feel relaxed as you showered.

Once back within my room, the couple had left me a small drink of ice tea and a small bowl of ice cream. My room seemed comfortable enough and, for the first time on this trip, I had internet connection within said room; I ate the bowl of ice cream quickly and returned the bowl to the couple. I then headed out into town and towards the train station I`d visited today's earlier. My plan had been to go into the shopping centre connected to the train station and use their foot court however, sadly, it was shut. I therefore went to a convenience store, bought some sandwiches and snacks before heading back to my hotel and consuming them, within my room, as I watched some TV on YouTube.

So today was a `what could have been day`. Once leaving the hotel, I really should have headed north with everyone else and gone to Furano, by-passing the bridge and lake I`d seen today. Tomorrow I won`t make the same mistake; I shall wake up early and head straight to the Furano area. I won`t leave until I am fully satisfied that all has been seen.

Toodle Pip!

Snap shot: Killer Mosquitoes

Date: Wednesday August 12^th 2015

Weather: The morning sky was filled with clouds and then, during the afternoon, the heavens opened which signalled an early finish to the day.

MP3 track of the day: Thriller – Michael Jackson

Now before I go on, I suppose I should explain what 'snap shot' means within the title of this blog. It basically means that this blog will be a shortened version of my usual blogs, due to a variety of reasons. It is, in effect, a 'snap shot' of my trip.

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I was quite sad to be leaving my Comfort Inn hotel room as the past two days had been exceptional. I always have mixed feelings when I leave a town, city or area where I have had a superb time. I'm excited to be going somewhere new but, at the same time, I always wonder if it can live up to what I have already witnessed. I was pretty sure that today wouldn't 'live up to' either yesterday or Monday, due to the fact that there was very little to see between where I was currently located – Kitami – and where my next hotel is – Asahikawa. I therefore got ready slowly, had breakfast and checked-out around 9am. Once in the car I planned my route.

Today I would be heading west, to Hokkaido's second largest city. As it was only a two hour drive away, I'd decided to head north first to visit three lakes. This proved to be the worst decision of my entire trip.

As I had no idea about what was to come, I happily headed north towards my first lake. Though, on the map, this lake seemed quite close to Kitami, in reality the drive was quite long. I went past a medium-sized airport where there didn't seem to be any flights either taking off or landing. Eventually I made it to the first lake where views of said lake were difficult to come by and, stopping places were non-existent. With the sky filled with dark grey clouds the photos would have been poor anyway therefore, I moved on.

I wish I'd not found the second lake (named 'notoro-ko'); I wish I'd just driven past the lakes 'scenic spot car park' however, I didn't. I pulled into the car park and, as soon as I'd turned off the engine, the car was plagued with small insects. If I'd taken a closer look, I would have noticed that, these insects were actually mosquitoes however, I was far too busy identifying the lake in my guidebook. Apparently the lake in front of me was quite famous because, every autumn, the long grasses which cover the lake turn red. Every autumn; it was summer therefore the lake looked like most other lakes except, there were huge patches of brown marshland covered with brown grass. I ventured out of my car and took a few photos; I knew that they wouldn't be good however, some part of me wanted proof that I'd visited this lake.

As I drove away the results of my decision started to show. Now, I have no idea what type of mosquito lives in Hokkaido however, all I can say is that there bite is excruciatingly itchy. As I looked at my legs, I noticed that I'd been bitten about five times. Most of my bites were around my ankles and both ankles had become red and swollen. I drove away from the lake as fast as I could.

Once I'd put a bit of breathing space between the lake and I, I stopped the car immediately for three very good reasons. Firstly I went into the boot of my car and opened my bag; inside was a medical kit with some mosquito cream. I instantly felt a little better though, I had to re-apply many doses throughout the day. Secondly, when I had opened my car door at the lake, I noticed that at least four mosquitoes had decided to board. I therefore went systematically through the car and didn't stop until I had at least four dead bodies within my piece of tissue (one of which, I am sure, had bit me during the short car journey). Thirdly, I'd stopped my car because the view wasn't too bad; rolling hills flowed out in front of me ending to form a sharp coastline. Bails of hay were in the fields and the sea was quiet pretty too; sadly though the sky was still grey. Though the sight was lovely, it could not distract me enough to allow for me to forget about my bites. I therefore took some photos and got back in the car before venturing on towards the final like.

I must have paused within the final lakes car park for quite some time. I needed to apply more cream to my bites however, the main reason for the pause was to make sure that this lake wasn't also infested with mosquitoes. It was not. Once the coast was clear I got out of my car and proceeded to the edge of the lake where the view, though not staggering, wasn't ugly either. The lake was currently quiet low and a lot of the lake bed was showing. I cared not; the gentle breeze was soothing my legs and so I stayed for quite a while just looking out.

After about forty minutes the rain came down. I rushed back to my car and, with yesterday being pretty tiring – plus today's attractions being less than impressive – I decided to call an early night. I therefore drove to Asahikawa which took about another hour.

I hit Asahikawa at around 3pm. Though today had been pretty bad, things were looking up. Being Hokkaido's second largest city, Asahikawa was quite big however, it was probably no bigger than the city of Bath within the UK (and no way near as pretty). It did however provide the biggest smile of the day when, as I was getting close to my hotel, a round-a-bout appeared. Now, in Japan round-a-bouts are very uncommon; this is a guess however, I think that there are less than twenty in the whole country. What was even more pleasing was that this one was being used correctly. I put my brain back to 'UK driving mode' and made it safely around this wonderful invention … only to be stopped, three hundred meters later, by a set of traffic lights. Finally I made it to my hotel and parked within their car park, still raving about the round-a-bout. Unlike the Comfort Inn, this hotel was twice as expensive with no free parking and no free breakfast. When I checked-in, I'd been told that I had been 'upgraded' and, if the room I had was indeed an 'upgrade', I'm glad that I hadn't seen the room I'd originally booked. Though bigger than the comfort Inn hotel, this room was old; it had a sofa, TV and a desk however, all looked dated. A part from the front entrance the whole hotel reeked of past glory days and I was glad that I was only spending a night. I put my stuff in my room, freshened up and put more cream on my bites.

As mentioned above, this is Hokkaido's second largest city and yet, there was only one main shopping street. It was a lovely long shopping street; but there was still only one. It was flanked by medium-sized buildings until it made it to the new Asahikawa train station. Now this was a beautiful building. 'L' shape in design, it had a long wing which was a huge shopping centre with three floors. The station itself was tiny however, it served its purpose and was spacious enough. Lots of glass had been used giving the whole area a modern and open feel. In sharp contrast to the size of the station, it's paved area outside was huge and, currently, it housed a small summer beer festival. I had a poke around the station before going into the shopping centre trying to get ideas for suveniors. I left with a few ideas though, none of which had culminated into actually buying anything. I then went to a ramen restaurant for dinner – where all the staff, including waiters, seemed 'retirement age' – before walking back to my hotel.

I love my holidays and treasure each day. I did have fun today however, and I am sure that you will agree, today will not be regarded as one of my best days. Now tomorrow should be another story. Though there is a lot of driving, I shall be heading north to the port town of Wakkanai – Japan's most northern town. Here I will visit the most northern point of Japan. Now that does sound fun!

Toodle Pip!