This article is reprinted from a WeChat public account shared by a reader in the group, Lazy 33's Food, Drink, and Fun. Original link.

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After packing our bags, we were off again! That day we rented a car again, picking it up at Nippon Rent A Car's Odori Station. This time we got a boxy model called the Roomy. It had more space than the Yaris we had before, but aside from that, we felt the experience was worse in every way than the Yaris; maybe that was also because the car was quite old. It felt a bit floaty on the road, wasn't as comfortable to ride in, and didn't support CarPlay. And there was no way to switch cars—Nippon just parks the car at the door and lets you drive off, with no other choice.

The seasoned driver was back on the road~ Starting that day, we reached the main focus area of this trip, and also one of the places in Hokkaido you have to visit in summer—Furano and Biei. They are located in central Hokkaido and are must-visit spots for summer flower viewing and pastoral scenery. We chose the end of July, when all kinds of flowers were in their best bloom, so we were really lucky!

Accommodations in Furano and Biei are very hard to book during this season, so it's best to start reserving as early as possible. I booked a hotel in Furano with a Visa card after nearly half a year of advance planning, just barely making it.

Our route was from south to north, ending via Asahikawa back to Sapporo. That day, we went to Furano first.

Everything along the way was a tender green, which was especially soothing to look at.

Visa

Our first stop was Lake Kanayama Lavender Field. Because of its location, this attraction is relatively off the beaten path, but I think it's well worth a visit. The lavender field is right by the lake, and the lake view plus the lavender make for a beautiful scene. Apart from us, the park was almost entirely filled with couples there for wedding photos, so this must also be a very popular wedding-shoot location. The only downside is that the lavender is planted quite sparsely, and by this time of year it had already passed its peak a bit. For people like us who have never studied photography, it was a little hard to find a good angle.

The newlyweds who came to take wedding photos.

We had originally wanted to stay a little longer, but no one had used the restroom along the way, and our whole family was about to burst... This attraction only has one portable toilet, and after peeking inside, we couldn't bear to look, so we backed out. It was only then that I learned Japan can have toilets this dirty too...

In the end, we solved this life problem at the restroom in a nearby park. There were all kinds of oddly shaped moths, butterflies, dragonflies, and the like inside the toilet stall, but it was still better than that portable toilet... Next to the park there was also a campsite, and a few families were camping there.

There was also a plant by the roadside that looked a lot like a lotus leaf; I don't know what it's called.

We continued driving to our next stop—the Cheese Factory. The factory is tucked away in the forest, made up of several connected buildings with an outdoor area as well. Right at the entrance is the Cheese Factory, and the kid was immediately drawn in.

By then we were already starving, so we headed straight for the restaurant in the park. Here too, you buy meal tickets from a vending machine. We ordered a pizza. It was baked fresh, so we had to wait about 45 minutes.

While waiting, we first took the kid to buy ice cream.

Ice cream also had a line, though fortunately it wasn't long. We got a classic cheese-flavored ice cream and a corn-flavored one the kid wanted.

The cheese ice cream was absolutely amazing!!! I strongly recommend that anyone coming to Furano try it! The texture was unlike anything I'd ever had—delicate, smooth, and velvety—and the flavor was a light dairy aroma, not too sweet. Even I, who don't really like sweets, have to say this is the best ice cream I've ever had, bar none. I heard that the Sapporo Agricultural College brand is about the same, but unfortunately we never managed to buy it on this trip.

The corn flavor was relatively ordinary, but the corn taste was very strong.

After finishing our ice cream, the pizza still wasn’t done baking, so we headed upstairs to check out the gift shop. The shop had a cheese tasting counter, and one of the cheeses was actually pretty good — my kid and I each tried two or three small pieces.

The pizza was finally ready! We ordered a half-and-half, and the mushroom-onion side was better.

The factory also offers activities like making cheese and making ice cream, but you need to reserve in advance. We were still worried that our kid wouldn’t understand Japanese, so we just took a quick look and left.

We kept driving north toward Hokuseiyama Lavender Garden. The weather started turning very gloomy.

By the time we got to Hokuseiyama Lavender Garden, it had started raining... This lavender garden is on a big slope, and you can take a ski-lift-like ride up the hill, but because of the rain, the lift was shut down. We had to leave disappointed, and I quietly planned to come back the next day if the weather improved.

The weather wasn’t on our side, so we had to turn back south and head to the optional stop: Ningle Terrace.

Ningle Terrace is next to the Prince Hotel, and parking is convenient. It’s also a pretty nice place for photos, especially in the evening, when the string lights come on in the quiet forest and the little cabins are all handmade craft shops.

Each craft shop here sells different things, which made me appreciate again how well Japan designs and plans its tourist spots — the merchandise inside attractions is not very homogeneous. That said, the small items here are expensive, and the artisans really take care of their goods; they get very nervous when they see kids coming into the shops. In a few stores, the owners were making crafts, and watching them work was really soothing.

Our kid was super excited and kept wanting to take pictures of us, and we were happy to go along with it. In the end, we got two relatively inexpensive fridge magnets.

Because of the rain, we couldn’t go to any other attractions, so we headed back to the hotel to check in.

As I mentioned earlier, we booked La Vista Hotel in Furano. On the official website, rooms that can sleep three people can only be selected for 2 people. After I booked, I called the hotel to add our child.

Furano may seem very rustic, but this hotel is in the “downtown” area, and parking is a pain — something we definitely didn’t expect. The hotel rents or owns several small parking lots nearby. You have to drive to the front of the hotel first and then follow the staff’s instructions. If you park in one of the farther lots, there’s also a shuttle. The guys handling parking were all pretty cold in their attitude.

The front desk wasn’t very warm either, but check-in went through smoothly. Some items for bathing, plus our kid’s yukata, toiletries, slippers, and so on, had to be picked up in the lobby yourself; they aren’t stocked separately in the room.

There were only two beds in the room. It wasn’t big, so we had to use the oldest trick in the book and push the two beds together. That also happened to be the first time since our kid was born that we slept in the same bed with him.

After resting for a bit, we went out looking for food. This day was bound to be a bit special: not only was it the first time we slept in the same bed with our kid, it was also the first time in Japan that we queued for dinner without a reservation.

After a full day of fun, I didn’t want to settle for ramen for dinner. It seemed like the only decent, well-reviewed restaurant in the area was this place, kumagera: https://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0104/A010403/1000298/

The parking lot is across the street, and it wasn’t too hard to find.

There wasn’t a single person on the street, so why couldn’t they build a bigger parking lot near the hotel...

I went to line up on my own. The line was long, but it moved pretty quickly, and we got in after waiting a little over half an hour. We were taken to a tatami room on the second floor. They had a small stool ready for our kid, which was thoughtful. The restaurant looked like it had been around for a while, but it was still kept very clean. There were also quite a few single seats on the first floor, which makes it friendly for solo travelers too.

The staff’s English was pretty good. We ordered a classic hot pot, with deer meat, chicken, and one other thing that I can’t remember now — very much a mountain-style meal. Overall, it tasted pretty good.

Our kid wanted sukiyaki again, and his favorite part is the wagyu in it. This sukiyaki was cute — after it was served, we had to cook it ourselves, and the restaurant gave us a card with the instructions. Honestly, it wasn’t hard at all! I could probably recreate it at home after getting back to the US.

That said, the quality of the meat was visibly not as good as what you’d get at a dedicated sukiyaki restaurant, but it still tasted fine.

The signature Hokkaido pork sausage tasted okay, but it wasn’t particularly amazing either.

This wagyu rice bowl was on almost every table, and the thing on the side is the sauce poured over it. The warm rice made the wagyu fat melt in your mouth — really good! But the portion size was awkward: too much for one person, not enough for two.

After eating, you have to take the bill downstairs to pay. The elderly lady at checkout looked very old and told me my card couldn’t be used, so I thought they only accepted cash and paid in cash right away. Later, I checked Tabelog and found that they actually do accept Visa — they just don’t take AMEX, which was what I had. When we left, there were still people lining up outside, so this place always seems to have a crowd.

This lavender-flavored ramune was bought at the gift shop at Hokuseiyama, and you can also buy it at Tomita Farm. Put simply, it’s ramune that clearly tastes like lavender.

We went back to the hotel to change and soak in the hot spring. This public bath was the most crowded one I’ve ever been to — even showering required waiting for a spot. Towels need to be brought yourself, and it’s best to bring your own facial cleanser too. There were only a few baths in total, and each one — especially the outdoor ones — almost always had at least two or three groups of people. The hotel is a bit old, and so are the baths. Its distinctive feature is two large wooden tubs you can soak in, but they’re just filled with hot water, not spring water. The vanity area also had Dyson and ReFa hair dryers, just like the hotel in Hakodate.

Oh, and one thing worth mentioning: the yukata at this hotel doesn’t seem very friendly for people with allergies. After my partner wore it, he got very itchy all over. My kid and I were fine, though.

Every night, the hotel serves free ramen in the first-floor restaurant in a semi-self-service format. My partner said he wasn’t going to eat, but once we got to the restaurant, his body was more honest than his words... This bowl of ramen was actually pretty good! The broth was just right, neither too salty nor too bland, and a late-night bowl of clear soup wasn’t greasy at all.

The restaurant has children's tableware available for guests to take themselves. Even though we were already very full at dinner, after soaking in the hot spring we got a little hungry again, and the three of us still ended up eating quite a bit..

Good night, Furano~

2023 Japan Trip Series

This series documents the author's travels in Japan after returning home for a visit and before heading back to the United States.

About the Author

This article is reposted from the WeChat public account “懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐” by a reader in our WeChat group. All of the articles are original and very high quality; if you're interested, feel free to follow.