Day 4 – Furano (富良野)
It was time to say good-bye to Sapporo and explore the other parts of the island. We picked up our cars from Toyota-rent-a-car and were off. It is slightly more expensive to rent a Toyota over other local brands such as Mazda and Nissan but the benefit is they come with English sat navs. The GPS system in Japan is so advanced that all you have to do is enter a phone number and it will take you to your destination. There is no need to enter addresses which is very handy for foreigners.
Our first stop was a near-by farming town, Furano. It was a two hour drive out of Sapporo and once out of the city, it was a smooth drive along well maintained freeways. The speed limit on the island is extremely slow and we initially abided by it but soon we just followed the speeding traffic. We visited the cheese and lavender farms which were interesting but not all that exciting.
For lunch, we headed to a restaurant which is well known for its beef sashimi rice. In order to serve raw beef, the quality and cut of the beef is extremely important. Thinly sliced marbled beef on top of a bed of warm rice served with premium soy sauce and freshly grounded wasabi. To my surprise, the beef is actually very similar to toro (a type of tuna belly), slightly oily and melt in the mouth. What a treat.
Another famous Hokkaido produce is rockmelon. One top quality rockmelon can retail for over A$100! We found a road-side rockmelon ice-cream shop nearby and it was dessert time. Each serve consisted of half a rockmelon with your choice of soft serve. We picked one with a rockmelon and vanilla twist soft serve and a second with vanilla soft serve and red bean sauce. The soft serve was made from local dairy and extremely smooth but the highlight was the rockmelon. Every spoonful left a crater of juice in the melon. It was super sweet and juicy. At the end of our meal, we started to play with the melon shells. We argued whether the two halves belonged to the same melon and tried to match the lines of the two halves. After some minutes, one observant companion noticed something – both halves have stalk marks. We bursted out in laughter at our silliness and stupidity, and that’s how we ended our debate.
There isn’t too much to do in the countryside except relax and absorb the beauty. We watched the sun set behind the horizon and waited for dinner. Behind our hotel is a family-run Shabu-shabu restaurant (a type of hot pot). The restaurant is located in their family home, which has been partially converted into a warm and inviting restaurant. We were seated in a small tatami-matted room and offered the menu. Like many other small restaurants in the country, the menu is short and specialises in only one dish. The beef and vegetables were sweet and tasty simply by boiling them in broth. When the produce is fresh, there is no need for complexity. There is of cause a dipping sauce for those preferring stronger tastes.
Day 5 – Asahikawa
(旭川)
The next day we drove north to our next destination. We passed by fields of green and gold. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite spring yet so the fields were flowerless. We reached our destination in under an hour and stopped by the Asahikawa Ramen Village. Ramen again…lol. After this bowl, I can truly declare I’ve had enough for the trip.
After lunch, we walked around town. To my surprise, the town is extremely quiet. The streets and shops were almost bare. I guess we’re just used to city life, traffic jams and crowds. We visited another family-run restaurant for dinner, this one specialises in tofu. We had tofu steak, fried tofu sushi, tofu stew and even tofu ice-cream. All were delicious and introduced us to a new side of tofu. Tofu doesn’t have to be boring and bland. It proves that cooking with creativity and love can turn any ingredient into a magnificent dish.
Day 6 – Abashiri
(網走)
On our way to Abashiri, we stopped by the Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park. Unfortunately, it was a cold, windy and wet day. This shortened our stay and we were off after a brief tour of the park.
The next stop was the Abashiri Prison Museum. It was a fun and interesting look at the lives of inmates stranded on an island prison, where the winters are harsh and feelings of isolation strong. It reminded me of Port Arthur in Tasmania.
I couldn’t wait to check into our accommodation. After a long hot shower, I was ready to tackle dinner. Our ryokan (Japanese inn) was a great find. For approximately A$100 per person, we got an 8-mat tatami room (twin share) and a seafood dinner feast plus breakfast. Now, I’m not exaggerating when I said seafood feast. Just look at my photos. Every person got a whole hairy crab, half a king crab, pipis, crab legs for hot pot, plus a load of entrees and sides including sashimi and various seafood. There was so much food that it didn’t fit on our bench (yes bench!) and they had to serve some of it during the meal. This is seafood heaven. Apparently the owners of the ryokan run a local seafood wholesale business and so they have access to fresh seafood at low costs.
Day 7 – Lake Akan
(阿寒湖)
Our journey took us south to the centre of the island. On the way we stopped by the Abashiri Phlox Park. Phlox are small flowering plants and comes in vibrant colours like violet, pink, red and white. They may appear quite ordinary individually but the Japanese always has a way of enhancing the visual experience and this is their presentation.
The area is known for its National parks and lakes. We drove past the famous Lake Kussharo and Lake Mashu before reaching our destination. I heard that the area is covered in fog most of the time so it's a matter of luck to be able to see the lakes clearly. Heading down the mountain we witnessed the fog rolling in. The mountain route is scenic with postcard views every angle you look.
Our accommodation is located by Lake Akan with a full view of the lake from our room. Everything screams luxury in this hotel. A hotel staff took us through check-in, kinmono selection and a hotel and room tour. Each room has its own private onsen (natural hot spring), massage chair, Bose sound system and free mini bar with ice-cream. In addition, the hotel also has three communal foot baths and hot springs, with one located on the rooftop overlooking the beautiful Lake Akan.
We spent all afternoon utilising the hotel facilities. Dinner and breakfast are also included and each group is allocated a private room for meals. When we got to the meals room, a row of staff were kneeling on the floor bowing to greet us. This is traditional Japanese hospitality. One staff was allocated to serve us for our stay and led us to our dining room. We were given English menus illustrating our degustation for the evening. All the ingredients were from local produce and included sashimi, kinki fish, wagyu beef, pork, crab legs, abalone, rice and a rather western cheesecake dessert. The meal was definitely on par with any 3 hated restaurants in Sydney.
Breakfast was slightly more traditional with tofu, miso soup, scallops, pickles, seaweed, steamed rice and fruit.
