Our Angels: Hokkaido - August 2008 (Day 1

I finally got down to writing about our Hokkaido trip. It was a trip as a couple after we had Kaelyn. We had contemplated bringing her along but after thinking about the logistics, we decided against it. In terms of the timing, we planned it such that it was after her first birthday celebration, and coincided with the time I could take my mandatory block leave of 2 weeks. So first week will be for the trip and 2nd week to come back and spend time with Kaelyn in case she forgets me after our 8 day absence.

Here are some photos and what we were up to during the 8 days, enjoying our little break from our daughter.

Day 1 - Chitose, Furano (1 Aug 08)
We flew from Singapore into Chitose airport and from there, took a train all the way to Furano (land of flowers). At Furano station, we collected our rented car and proceeded to look for our accomodation near the Furano ski area. Till now I still didnt quite remember why i booked a place near the ski area (which is out of the way) when it's summer... We still had some time before the sun set for a short visit to Farm Tomita, followed by the famous Gengkhis Khan BBQ dinner. I still can remember how the lamb, chicken, pork liver etcy tasted.. yummy!!!

Day 2 - Around Furano, Asahikawa (2 Aug 08)
The weather on the 2nd day wasnt very good, so we postponed a second visit to Farm Tomita (we had only visited part of the farm the day before). So we drove round visiting cheese and wine factories in Furano before deciding to head to Asahikawa, the second biggest city in Hokkaido (after Sapporo). Along the way to Asahikawa, we made 2 fantastic discoveries - a lovely field of lavendars (although starting to dry up) and another flower farm, Kami Furano farm.

Field of Lavendar and scenic background

Kami Furano flower farm

GPS - the greatest invention for all drivers (or rather drivers like me with no sense of direction!)

With the GPS, no need for maps, no need for a navigator while the other drives, no need to worry about getting lost in a foreign land!

Some photos at the Asahiyama zoo. Here, we could get real close to the animals!

Day 3 - Furano, Sounkyo (3 Aug 08)
On the third day, the weather was slightly better, and we went back to Farm Tomita before setting out for Sounkyo (a place with natural waterfalls and gorges). Along the way, we stopped by the 3D Trick Museum. We reached Sounkyo in the evening and enjoyed our first hot spring bath in this trip at our accomodation. It was so relaxing and heavenly!

Farm Tomita

3D Trick museum - David's actually standing in front of a painting

And I am sitting on a small stool in front of a painting of the armchair - not actually sitting on the chair...

Day 4 - Sounkyo, Sapporo (4 Aug 08)
I like Sounkyo best in this trip - lovely scenery (waterfalls, mountains etc). This is also the place where David dropped his SLR camera and damaged his lens = ( He was so upset the whole day that we decided to go hunt around Sapporo that evening for a repair shop or to by a standby lens. We eventually bought a simple lens at Bic Camera in Sapporo. By the time we had dinner, it was already almost 10pm...

Beautiful scenery at Sounkyo