Rainbow-coloured Shikisai Hills: Hokkaido
Shikisai Hills has an Alpaca Farm and rainbow-coloured flower fields!! Except… the blooms were just hinting at what they will become as they were still in the process of growing. In the fullness of...
View ArticleKen & Mary Country House: Hokkaido
A Nissan Skyline ad from the 70’s featured an aspirational American couple, Ken and Mary, which became so popular with the Japanese. The couple inspired this Country House accommodation for tourists in...
View ArticleHokkaido Dairy, Corn, and Other Produce
Hokkaido is famous for its premium dairy products… cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, and milk. Its undulating picturesque hills are perfect nurturing pastures for its cows and sheep. It is also famous...
View ArticleHinode (Sunrise) Park, Kamifurano Hokkaido
Hinode (Sunrise) Park has rolling hills of lavender and other flowers. In the fullness of its time, rows of bright colors will look like a glorious rainbow field. Though not quite at this time. More...
View ArticleRest Area Hokkaido
You spend two hours on a highway. All you need is to stretch your legs or go to the Jane (or John). Then you come to a surprise! That’s what happened on this day… After our Hokkaido Tour, our guide,...
View ArticleSapporo City Trek
After watching the Filipino film Kita Kita, I got so excited to see Hokkaido which was filmed in this region! [Kita Kita Filming Locations] Hokkaido’s capital, Sapporo, is a convenient base for the...
View ArticleOtaru 1: Market & Sakaimachi
Otaru is a charming little harbor city less than a half hour by train from Sapporo; in light of this, it has become a “bedroom community” or commuter town wherein people live here while working in the...
View ArticleOtaru 2: Canal Cruise
Otaru’s iconic symbol, the Otaru Canal, was completed in 1923 when Western influence penetrated Japan and ships coming in to Hokkaido came through Otaru’s port. Large shipping vessels used to unload...
View ArticleSweet Secrets at Shiroi Koibito Park, Hokkaido
Behind this wall, Cookie Disneyland! Langue de Chat [Lengua de Gato] sandwich with white chocolate filling. Maybe you’re familiar with the famous cookie! In the unlikely event that you are not, Langue...
View ArticleHistorical Village, Hokkaido
One of the most elaborate and relatable interactive museums on Japanese culture and history I’ve been to is Historical Village, Hokkaido. It is an expansive open-air museum that contains sixty typical...
View ArticleForest Bathing in Historical Village, Hokkaido
Forest-bathing, apparently… is a thing! The Japanese concept called Shinrin-yoku (森林浴) is a therapeutic leisure activity of being in a forest, taking in the fresh air while doing nature walks and is...
View ArticleThe Little Prince Museum, Hakone
“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince The Little Prince has become a phenomenon: 200 million books sold worldwide translated into 290 languages; a...
View ArticleVenetian Glass Museum, Hakone
Twinkle, twinkle, little star! Er….. I mean glass! Thousands of them! In broad daylight! Little pieces of Venetian Glass gently sway to and fro to the blowin’ in the wind as they hang from trees and a...
View ArticleSengokuhara Pampas Grass Fields, Hakone
Lustrous silvery-gold heads of Pampas grass dance gracefully to the rhythm of the wind on the rolling fields of Mount Hakone. Perfect setting for a romantic movie scene 😍😄❤️🌈💐 . Sengokuhara Pampas...
View ArticleOwakudani, Hakone
Breathtaking not only for the full circle majestic nature views but also for the air’s sulphuric vapor [#cough]… around 3000 years ago, Hakone Volcano had an eruption which formed this valley called...
View ArticleLake Ashi Cruise Hakone and Taxi Information
I’ve been on a Lake Ashi Cruise before but I’m so thankful that this time, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise we took, takes a different route altogether. [I showed Driver-san the picture of the red pirate...
View ArticleHakone Checkpoint (Hakone Shekiso)
Imagine you were a young girl and had to leave your family to be sent to a heavily-guarded compound to work under a strict feudal rules. Day in and day out, all you did was work, work, work. Violators...
View ArticlePlanning Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo
Driver-san took us to the mountain top to see this: He said, “Kaba.” That was because the gorgeous scenery in front of us was on the cover (kaba) of the Hakone travel magazine!!!😍 What a lovely view...
View Article“Spring of the Gods”: Oshino Hakkai Springs
Not-to-be-missed Mt. Fuji World Cultural Heritage Site and Japanese national monument, Oshino Hakkai Springs is situated in an idyllic, picturesque village in the Fuji Five Lakes region where you can...
View ArticleTenjo Yama Park Mt. Kachi Ropeway
For a Mt. Fuji Sighting Site, take the Lake Kawaguchi Mt. Tenjō Ropeway to get to the peak of Mount Tenjō, famous for being the place of the Kachi-kachi Story. If you have time to go to the Fujiya...
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