2 Weeks in Hokkaido Part 2 – Asahikawa, Biei, Furano (ᴇɴ & ɪᴅ sᴜʙs)

In this video, come join us as we explore more of Hokkaido, covering Asahikawa, Biei, and Furano!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction to Asahikawa, Biei, & Furano
00:43 Driving to Asahikawa, Komeda Coffee
01:20 On the road: Sapporo-Asahikawa
02:00 Asahikawa Ramen Village
02:55 Otokoyama Sake Brewery
04:08 Aeon Mall
04:42 Heiwa-dori
05:00 Miyakoshiya Coffee
05:30 Gokoku Restaurant
05:45 Asahidake Mountain
06:00 Fugetsu Okonamiyaki
06:30 Shikisai no Oka
08:02 Shirogane Blue Pond & Shirahige Waterfall
08:45 Farm Tomita – Furano
08:58 Cafe Rene – Farm Tomita
10:39 Tomita Melon House
11:40 Furano Cheese Factory
12:24 Ningle Terrace
12:57 Ramen Santouka
13:20 Asahikawa – Otaru Drive

Music by Epidemic Sound:
– Headed to the Hillside by American Legion
– Maybe We’ll Meet Again by baegel
– I Choose You by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
– Green Morning by Plain Strolls
– Summer Feelings by Onda Norte
– When Spring is Coming by Ever Yearning
– Daydreaming About You While Drinking a Cup of Tea by baegel
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[Music] Hello friends! Welcome to part two of our Hokkaido vlog series documenting our two-week road trip in this beautiful Japanese island. In this episode we explored Asahikawa, Biei, and Furano. Asahikawa is the second biggest city in Hokkaido and Biei and Furano are famous for their flower fields and scenery. If you stumble into this video, you may want to check out part one on Sapporo. You may also want to hit subscribe for more similar travel content. Let’s get right into it. [Music] The morning of our drive to Asahikawa we had coffee at Komeda’s Coffee in Sapporo We found this coffee chain everywhere in Hokkaido. We thought the coffee was just all right but they had a comfy space and a good extensive breakfast menu, which we would get to try later on in Hakodate. And then we were on the road. Driving in Hokkaido was easy and pleasant. Our rental car came with an ETC device and card, that’s Electronic Toll Collection system, which allows us to pay tolls on the highway automatically without stopping the car. Drivers in Japan are generally careful and courteous, they did drive a bit above the speed limit though. We reached Asahikawa in time for lunch and headed straight to Asahikawa Ramen Village. Here you get to try a number of Asahikawa most well-known ramen shops in one location. We opted for Tenkin ramen and had their signature Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen We love trying the different Ramen in different parts of Japan so many of them are really tasty in their own unique ways. [Music] [Music] After lunch, we visited the Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum. Here we were introduced to the sake brewing culture in Japan and got to try different kinds of sake. On the third floor, we watched a video on Otokoyama history and the sake-making process. The various tools used were also exhibited here. To make sake, rice has to be polished. The outer grains melt away to shave away the protein and fat leaving the starchy interior to be converted to sugar to brew alcohol. Generally speaking the more polished the rice, the higher quality and more expensive the resulting sake becomes. Seimai-buai the rice polishing ratio is the percentage of grain that remains after a part of the rice has been polished away. This determines the desired taste profile of the final product. Higher ratio results in rich Umami and fuller body, lower ratio results in cleaner fruitier taste notes. Many Brewers make products with different ratios to cater to different preferences. We ended our day with dinner and some shopping at the Aeon Mall Asahika wa station just beside JR Inn where we stayed for the night. We highly recommend you stay here if you visit Asahikawa for its convenience I love going to a grocery store in a foreign country, everything is so new and interesting. Don’t you? [Music] [Music] We started our second day in Asahikawa by exploring Heiwa-dori, a pedestrian-only shopping street stretching 1 km north from the Asahikawa train station. Our first stop was Miyakoshiya coffee because well, coffee. The cafe was cosy and we enjoyed a warm breakfast The owner was nice and friendly too, even offered to help us take a photo before we left [Music] As the day started to drizzle we went back to Aeon mall for lunch. This place, Gokoku, specialized in rice and grilled fish and the meal was simple but delicious and satisfying We then drove to Mount Asahidake, about an hour away from Asahikawa. Unfortunately the weather got worse and the ropeway up the mountain was suspended for safety reasons so we had to drive back to Asahikawa, just in time for dinner which was okonomiyaki yakisoba and other grilled food DIY style. [Music] Don’t worry they give you clear instructions on how to cook everything and everything turned out delicious. [Music] On our third day we took a day trip to Biei and Furano. Starting with Shikisai-no-Oka in Biei. The name means Hill of Four Seasons and it is filled with flowers from April to October. Obviously, you’ll see different flowers depending on the time of year. We were free to roam around the park, but because the area was quite large, we took the tractor bus [Music] The guide only spoke in Japanese, but it was still a nice way to get around the park easily. [Music] There’s also an Alpaca Farm here. The alpacas were quite friendly, and you could buy greens to feed them [Music] Just 20 minutes away from Shikisai-No-Oka we stopped by the Shirogane Blue Pond [Music] If the scene looks familiar to you it might be because you’ve seen it as one of your Mac OS wallpapers [Music] Just a 5-minute drive further you’d find the Shirahige waterfall It suddenly started raining at this point, so we had to cut our sightseeing short and headed to our next destination. Farm Tomita in Furano is 30 minutes away from the waterfall and what do you know by the time we arrived, the rain had stopped and the sun came out to play. But before we explored the farm we had lunch at Cafe Rene I love how bright this Cafe is, with its big glass windows. We had curry rice and potato gratin, all made with local ingredients. [Music] Bellies full, we started exploring the grounds the area is not as big as Shikisai-no-Oka, but the flower Fields were no less beautiful You can get a great view from an elevated viewing platform where most people stop to take photos [Music] how cute is this purple mini tractor? Just across the street from Tomita Farm is Tomita Melon House. Do you know that Furano, or Hokkaido in general for that matter, is famous for their melons? They’re sweet, juicy, and you can enjoy them fresh or in various forms of desserts like this soft ice cream for example Back in the car and heading to our next stop the Furano cheese factory. [Music] Hokkaido produces about 50% of Japan’s milk With its climate and pastures, it is said to be the perfect stress-free environment for cows which in turn helps them produce great quality milk. It’s no wonder Hokkaido is famous for its dairy products [Music] [Music] As the sun set we made our way to Ningle Terrace [Music] Ningle Terrace is this collection of wooden Cottages selling local arts and souvenirs. We planned to be here by dusk as they turn on the fairy lights around the place, creating an otherworldly feeling and made it really beautiful for photo-taking To cap of our long day we decided to eat at Ramen Santouka’s first branch in Asahikawa. This is one of our favourite Ramen chains in Singapore. Nothing beats a hot piping bowl of ramen on a cold evening and the ramen tasted exactly the same as it does in Singapore [Music] The next day was the day we left Asahikawa for another long drive to Otaru but before we hit the road we thought we’d try another local cafe In contrast to Miyakoshiya Coffee this place is modern Airy and bright they also sell various merchandise and souvenirs [Music] The coffee was good and we enjoyed it while sitting by the window watching the world go by. Now it’s time to say goodbye to Asahikawa, the beautiful Biei and Furano and continue our drive to Otaru the canal City. it’s a long drive but we’ll see you there [Music]