HOKKAIDO TOKYO WINTER SELF DRIVE - PART 3

Konnichiwa minasan~ Ogenki desu ka? :P

After a few days gap, (busy with works and upcoming flight) finally have time to continue my trip sharing again! *cheer*

After Sapporo and Niseko, coming trips to Hakodate, Noboribetsu, Furano & Biei were exciting too!

23 DEC 2016 - Hakodate (Coldest day ever in the whole trip :O ) *shaking*

From Niseko to Hakodate, it takes around 2.5 - 3 hours road trip.
Our hotel in Hakodate is Hotel Hakodate Royal which is quite near to the town :) Biggest room ever if were to compare with other hotel that we used to stay. *laugh* Cost us in a total of RM940 for 3 rooms 1 night.

Our first place to go in Hakodate, is their Morning Market! Well, I must say that if you want to shop something inside their drug store, don't miss out the drug store in this market! They got the best price after went to a few other drug store and compared the prices *laugh*

I couldn't recall why we chose Hakodate Morning Market's food court as our breakfast place, but don't try out over there. The food is just - SO.SO lol
Try on those stalls that in the pictures! :) They seem offered plenty of good food! *slurp*

Japanese Wagyu beef curry rice! Taste not that bad! :)

Some of the foods that we had ordered!

Head to our next destination! Yunokawa Hot Springs! *yuhoo*

Free "Ashiyu" Footbaths Await Your Weary Feet

It was really crazy to try this thing out in winter, especially windy day! OMG. Freaking cold. Lol. Ashiyu footbaths are basically miniaturized hot spring baths designed for soaking one's feet. Is a unique way of onsen that you can try out in Hakodate! :)

How to go there?
Access from Hakodate Station:-
30 minutes by streetcar to the "Yunokawa Onsen" streetcar stop then 1 minute on foot
Hours: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm (Closed on scheduled maintenance days)
Address: 1-16-5 Yunokawa-cho, Hakodate

After that, we went to Hakodate City Tropical Botanical Garden. It was a super windy day that you might thought is having Typhoon or what. LOL. *just an aggressive descriptive word for typhoon* So I don't really have that mood to visit those monkeys! >.< One of the famous spot in Yunnokawa street! Well, we still went for it :)

 Check Out the Hot-Tubbing Monkeys!

The monkeys warm themselves in a pool of steaming mineral water from December 1st through the beginning of May.

City Tropical Botanic Garden.

Access from Hakodate Station
20 minutes by Hakodate Bus to the "Nettai Shokubutsuen-Mae" bus stop then 1 minute on foot
Hours: April - October; 9:30 am - 6:00 pm November - March; 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Address: 3-1-15 Yunokawa-cho, Hakodate
Entrance fee: 300 yen per adult

Hmm.. this garden giving me a feeling of "I'm Home." LOL. All those flowers that you can actually see frequently in Malaysia & Singapore :) ... For me, this is not a necessary place that you must visit! :)  After a short visit to the garden, we move to Kanamori Red Brick Warehouse!

Hakodate Port was among the first Japanese ports to be opened to international trade towards the end of the Edo Period (1600-1867). Several red brick warehouses from past trading days survive along the waterfront in the bay area of Hakodate, and have recently been redeveloped into an atmospheric shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

Address: Japan, 〒040-0053 Hokkaido Prefecture, Hakodate, 末広町14番12号
Opening hours: 9.30pm - 7pm
If you go by car there is a large car park. Parking fee/200 yen for the first hour Then,100 yen for every thirty minutes. If you spend 1,000 yen or more the parking is free for two hours.

Sesame Soft serve ice cream! Yummy yum! *love*

It's raining over there, so I did not take many photos. There is quite a lot of shop that you can actually either buy for yourself or as a souvenir! They have a large drug store there, but the price is a bit pricey *shhh* I love their souvenir store inside the red brick warehouse. Is pretty cute and unique! I'm deeply in love with one of their snack! Not the potato strips but is 

OH! Yaki Toukibi! Got addicted by this snack >3< Must try it out!

Another must try cookies will be this!

It looks like a book for me *laugh* But their milk cookies inside are definitely worth to try it! :)
And well, many more inside the warehouse for you to find it out! :D
It had been a crazy night for us, fighting with the strong wind and rains. *Goodness*Guess what? By a certain timing, our stomach will be having a concert *laugh* So we head to our dinner place after visited at Red Brick Warehouse.

Daimon Yokocho

There is plenty of shop inside Daimon Yokocho! :) .. But the problem is almost all the shop were occupied with their guest and is 6 of us! So we have to look for a spacious shop. Unfortunately, almost all of the shop were small, but I love it! Is their 居酒屋 concept stall!
And so, we stop at a stall which famous with their dumplings! *love* Dumplings oh Dumplings~ All of us love dumplings! *blush*

In love with their sakae too! Ichiban (y) !!! *blush*
While we are eating inside, started to snow again! Awww... after raining and strong wind, finally the snow is here! :)

Is that all for our dinner? Nono :P .. We head to Lucky Pierrot after had our gyoza! Hehe

Lucky Pierrot is also one of the must visit places in Hakodate. Well, what so special about it? This is the first thing that came to my mind *laugh*

Everything has changed after got the first bite on it! LOL *I'm not trying to exaggerate it*
Their hamburger is fantastic! *slurp* Lucky Pierrot boasts 14 outlets in the Hakodate area, all with a different theme. They have quite a lot of different taste for their burger, but if you have not decided which one to try yet, try out their No.1 burger! Cheap and Tasty! 350 yen a burger, that's really consider cheap in Japan!!! LOL.

The time is still early (obviously is for us not for Japan. Lol), so we decided to have onsen again! *laugh*
Unfortunately... most of the onsen has closed and one of it is fully occupied!!! *cry*
The lesson is, check the time first! Lol.

So, we went to Starbucks for some coffee chill *laugh*

After chilling at Starbucks, we go to 7-11 again before going back to the hotel! *laugh*

That's the end of our day in Hakodate. Is pretty amazing if think of it now. We experience the strong wind ever and witness the snow after raining. We get to see the Christmas celebration that happening in Red Brick House too! Unfortunately, it was raining so did not take any photo of it! But is all inside my mind my memories :) I've got a picture with the Santa Claus at Red Brick Warehouse, just need some time to sort out the photo! *laugh* Hakodate is a small and lovely town :) .. You may stay up a 2 day 1 night to exploring around :) Enjoy their food, shopping, and onsen! Hmm, maybe 3 days 2 night instead? *laugh* Oh ya! Not to forget their night view from Mt. Hakodate! Due to the bad weather, we decided not to take the risk to get their cable car and up to the mountain.

24 Dec 2016 - Noboribetsu

Next day morning! Snowy view from my room :)

Having my breakfast inside the car while on the way to Noboribetsu! :)

Is a beautiful day with bright sun, blue skies, and snowy view! *feeling blissful* lol

From Hakodate to Noboribetsu it takes about 3 hours to go and you will pass by Lake Toya before reach Noboribetsu. After an hour drive, we stop at a resting station. Guess what? The picture below were taken from the resting station! OMG right!? *laugh* Beautiful scenery :) Hokkaido is too lovely with their scenery! Imagine that you are seeing this scenery with someone you love. *Korean drama comes up to my mind again* LOL *blush*

Strong wind? Don't care! Selfie first! LOL. After selfie and video, my phone shut off again due to is too cold. *sad* Lol.

After an hour drive again, here we are! Lake Toya ~

Remember to amaze yourself with the lake's view. Don't keep see it through your camera lens :P Basically, Lake Toya is just a place for you to stop and have a look around. Nothing much there besides the amazing view.

Next station - Look for the bears :P ..

Noboribetsu Bear Park

Opening hours: Mon - Sun 8.30 am - 4.30 pm
Admission fee: 2,592 yen/adult; 1,296 yen/children
Address: 224 Noboribetsu-Onsen-cho (Noboribetsu onsen town), Noboribetsu Onsen, Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaido, 059-0551, Japan
For more information, please click >> Noboribetsu Bear Park <<

Point of Interest (Info from Bear Park website)
First Farm
Get in the cage and feel the force of brown bear.
Second Farm (Females only)
Females are active and clever, just as you can see. When they ask for food, they don't just ask; they stand up, wave at you and make you just want to give.
Cubs Farm
Cubs just like those teddy bears you have
Bear Show
Shows are held several times a day at the indoor stage throughout the year. Stage performances include soccer, basketball, and mathematics.
Duck Race
Pretty duck racers with colorful ribbons will show you heated side-by-side battles.
Brown Bear Museum
The only bear specialist museum in the world. 500 pieces of themed exhibitions, varying from specimens to explanatory panels, cover various sides of bears' biological, historical and background stories.
Yukara Village (Noboribetsu Ainu Kotan)
This mock Ainu village revives the lifestyle of Ainu (native Hokkaido) peoples in the late 19th century. Traditional Ainu dance is demonstrated where you could drop in and take part. You can also get snapshots wearing Ainu clothes.
Bear Mountain Restaurant
Genghis Khan Barbecue and other snacks are available.

I thought I've seen wrongly, is not! The fish, food for those bears! Lol.

Catch the cable car and get ready to see the giant bear! :O

Super big size :O

Rawrrr :O

The bear that always holds on her feet *laugh*

The female bears are very cute and interactive! Some of them know how to pose and asking for food! :P You can purchase bear's food before entering the park! :)

Unfortunately, we unable to see the duck race maybe cause is kinda late already. We just make in time there before they close :O lol.

If you are a bear lover, purchase them before back! :P .. So cute and soft *love*

The most memorable part for me is those female bears! We even gave one of the bears a nickname *laugh* Namely "拜托拜托", which means "Please, Please" Find this bear out :P! For me, is not a must go place if you have seen brown bears before :) Otherwise, you can pay a visit and look for those cute bear! :3

Last stop before the sky turns dark again! Hell Valley! :3

Obviously, the sky started to turn dark again :( .. Oh ya! Remember to wear shoe grip! It is really slippery and it will be very hard for you to get down if you are just wearing a normal shoe.

Jigokudani (Hell Valley)

Jigokudani (地獄谷) or "Hell Valley" is a spectacular, appropriately named valley just above the town of Noboribetsu Onsen, which displays hot steam vents, sulfurous streams, and other volcanic activity. It is the main source of Noboribetsu's hot spring waters.

We missed the chance to enjoy Oyunumagawa Natural Foot Bath :( Well, after the foot bath at Yunogawa, I think that's enough for us too *laugh* Is crazy cold LOL.

Well, there is more to explore in Jigokudani. We didn't go in that much just stopping at Demon's Fire Trail (The most slippery road ever. Lol)

Click this >> Great Nature Walk in Noboribetsu << to get more point of interest to go! :)

If you planning to have a day there, you can check out the link! How to walk and which destination to go :) From a 30 min walk up to 4 hours! :O .. Well, enjoy yourself there! Not forget to mention, you will have this special smell when you are there. LOL *laugh*

After this, we can't wait for our dinner again :O Goodness! *laugh*

We always went for wrong timing *damn* Again, most of the restaurant closed at the timing that we went which is about 5-6pm. They will reopen again later at night. So we got no choice but head into this famous restaurant, 温泉市场. Well, they are one of the top rated restaurants in Noboribetsu, in fact, most of the article would actually recommend you to go and try it out!

One of their famous dish! :) .. Forgotten the name, but you may just try it out! :) 

Sea-urchin with the eggs! 

This Unagi rice, awesome! Served in big portion! Shared with one of my friends, and both of us were so full after it! :) .. About 3,000 yen per bowl, but for me is definitely worth it! Their unagi is so yummy :3

However, we are so disappointed by their service :( One of the female waitresses are so unfriendly! Showing off her "black face" to us and having the bad attitude! Well, we are your customers and doing nothing wrong, I believe we don't deserve this kind of rude attitude! When we ask for ordering food, she even tries to ignore us and after that only come to us when we call for the second time again. She came with her "black face" again and even stare her eyes to us. How rude this could be!? I did not expect this will happen in Japan! Is Japan! *Goodness* .. Overall, their food is really tasty! We even get to try out their giant scallop! :) Is fresh and nice. Disappointing part was the female crew's service attitude :(

After feeding ourself finally is time for us to check in! LOL *laugh* It has been a day :O

We checked into Takimoto Inn which cost us in a total of SGD 505 for 3 rooms 1 night, the onsen is included! :D Yahoo!!! This is the best onsen we ever get to visit :P The hotel location is also really convenient, close to hell valley and bear park as well! :)

We share the onsen with Dai-Ichi Takimotokan, 第一滝本館 which is a 4-star hotel. You may also stay in this hotel! Just opposite of Takimoto Inn. We are really blessed with this :) Did not expected that we will have the chance to enjoy free onsen here again with Takimoto Inn! :) So, what is so special about their onsen? For me, it is a really big onsen! It situated in Dai-Ichi Takimotokan, and we have to wear the kimono and run over due to the cold weather! *laugh*

There is a few of different "汤" inside and is a woman's heaven. Lol. They have those like good for skin, detoxify, body health or general onsen. We almost tried out all of them! *laugh* As well as their outdoor onsen! Just nice it is snowing that time *love* Well, we really enjoy ourself there with the onsen! :) You may feel awkward for the very first time, but you will love it at the end! :)

Is Christmas eve that night! :) So we had a little Christmas party inside our room. *laugh*

Is a memorable night at Noboritbesu! It would be great if you are here for 2 days 1 night. You will get the chance to visit most of the places and relax a bit. For our schedule is too rush that we have to keep a look at the watch and head for next destination. Although is a rushing trip in Noboribetsu, but I believe all of us did enjoy our own there! :)

25 Dec 2016 - Furano & Biei

THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING DAY FOR ME! LOL. Going to my dream place~ *laugh*

This is also an amazing day for all of us! :) Get to see all those beautiful sceneries while we are on our way to Furano. Amaze by nature!

Above all those pictures were taken inside the car through the car's window! Lol. I really love this kind of scenery :) If you are people who love to see beautiful scenery, immerse yourself in nature. Biei is the best place for you to visit! :)
Biei is located between Asahikawa and Furano, about a 30-40 minutes car or train ride from either city. The train ride cost 540 yen from Asahikawa and 640 yen from Furano. There is about one train per hour.
More information about >> Biei <<

After long hours driving, finally, we are here at Shikisai-no-aka 四季彩の丘!

Why are we here? :3 This is an exciting place and good to visit for all the season! Located at Biei :)

Facility Name: Panoramic Flower Gardens Shikisai-no-oka
Company Name: With You Co., Ltd.
Address: 〒071-0473北海道上川郡美瑛町新星第三
Opening hours by season:
April to May/October 9：00～17：00
June to September 8：30～18：00
November 9：00～16：30
December to February 9：00～16：00
March 9：00～16：30

From late April to late October, enjoy the green season~ Enjoy the colorful flowers and spectacular views in the Shikisai-no-oka flower garden while riding around Shikisai-no-oka and the surrounding areas on the popular Norokko and on carts and buggies.

From Early December to early April, enjoy the winter season~ The snow turns the flower garden into Snowland during the winter period. Snowland is designed so that even first-time visitors can enjoy the snow and nature while riding snow rafts, snowmobiles, and other such vehicles.

The most exciting for me is to ride the snowmobile! You can either choose single-seater or two-seater! :) Is pretty cool for riding the snowmobile! The tour leader was very nice and polite! Keep on checking on us *laugh* However, it could be great if get to ride faster!

Snowmobile: Regular fare

Acrobatic rides: 1,800 yen
Snow Raft: 600 yen, 1,000 yen per person
Banana Boat: 600 yen, 1,000 yen per person
Sled: 200 yen per person
Tube: 200 yen per person

They will provide you with helmet, gloves, and the shoes. Don't forget to get yourself more heat pack! :O

After the ride, try out their famous Korokke :D AND! Their Lavander soft serve ice cream! Ichiban! :)

You can also visit their Alpaca farm! :) アルパカ牧場

After a short spend at Shikisai Hill, we head to those famous tree! Lol.
Christmas Tree
Mild Seven Hill (from a cigarette commercial)
Ken and Mary Tree (from a car commercial)
The Seven Star Tree (which appeared on cigarette packages).
A group of oak trees is known as the Parents and Child Tree.

Congrats to my friends too who propose successfully below the tree of parents & child! *Hooray*! A big big surprise! :D

Next destination, The Blue Pond (青い池, Aoiike).

You may access there via bus as well if you are not driving! :) Click for more info >> Blue Pond <<

The night view of Blue Pond :) Well, is frozen! *laugh* Just a normal field which full of snow. However, they illuminated it since last season! :)

【The illuminated Blue Pond Schedule】
Date : Nov. 1 2016 〜 Feb. 28. 2017
(Starting date could be changed by the weather)

Time : 17:00 〜 21:00
(Time could be changed by sunset time)

Well, I'm actually wanted to see the scene like this! *tears* But it only appears like this started on late November :( .. Which mean I've missed the chance! Sigh.

It has been a long day for us! Time for dinner again :P .. We drove to Furano town area to look for those restaurants who operate after 5 pm. Most of them closed at 5 pm. Please do take note of it yo! :D  We accidentally spotted this restaurant! 燒肉秀, Yakinikuhide! If you are a fan of Wagyu beef, don't miss this out!

The feeling of melted inside your mouth! :3 Hmmmm *love*

Our homemade of "Wagyu beef sushi" *laugh*
For their menu and more information please click on the link below! :)

焼肉 秀
Address: Nishikimachi Kamifurano-chō Sorachi-gun Hokkaidō
北海道 上富良野町錦町1-1-13
Operating Hours: 17:00～22:00

Wagyu Beef <<  Click on the link for more info about the Furano Wagyu!

I miss wagyu beef badly! *tears* I wish I could back to this restaurant again! :) *drooling*
After visited all the places, time for us to check in our hotel again. We are going to stay at Park Hills Hotel tonight which cost us around SGD294 for 3 rooms 1 night! :) The best part of this hotel is, they included Onsen as well! Woohoo. Another onsen night for us. *blush* The overall experience with the hotel was great too :)
That's pretty much about our day in Furano & Biei! Time for rest *snooze*

26 Dec 2016 - Sapporo

The next day morning! The most beautiful frozen waterfall that I ever see!

しらひげの滝 Shirahige Waterfall

The amazing part is, this waterfall is just located right behind our hotel! *laugh*

Is not a 3D photo :P 

Not forget to mention, the snow in Furano & Biei are the most powdery and pure snow ever see in the whole trip! *love*

Still not giving up off seeing The Blue Pond *laugh*

Daytime Blue Pond. It is a frozen pond *cry* Lol. 

Is a good place for *PICHA PICHA* anyway! :P

Selfie first before getting into the car! :P

Our Vell-Vell ~ Lol. I miss it so much after landed in Tokyo. *laugh*
By the way, guess where is this? LOL. Is a public toilet house!

Hunting for lunch after a short break! *laugh*

We had our lunch at Kumagera Furano!

Their curry rice is a must to order! *oishi* !

Wagyu beef again~ *love* Shabu Shabu this time!

We finished almost all! *laugh* After having another good meal, ready for our road trip again back to Sapporo! :)

Finally, after a long hours drive, we have reached Esta Mall in Sapporo. It was freaking jam! :O
We had to park our car at another building instead of inside Esta Mall cause of the bad traffic in town. We did some shopping inside the shopping mall and had our dinner there too! :)

Our dinner place - Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku !

There is plenty of ramen shop inside. The concept is similar to the one that I visited at New Chitose Airport, the Ramen Dojo if you have read my post about part 1 :P We would like to order gyoza but it has been sold out! Must be very good :) Well, you guys might try it out next time! :P

Dessert time after dinner! :P Love this above Match thingy. Forgot the name for it *laugh* Taste kinda nice! Maybe it's hot but well, taste not that bad! hehe. #matchalover

It has been a relaxing night for us to fill up our tummy and shopping :)
We will be checking into Airbnb tonight! One of the snow paradise house in Sapporo :P

It cost us about RM560 for a night :)
Well, it's been a great stay at Sebastian's homestay. They have tatami style as well as a folding sofa-bed. The only thing needs to note about is that if you are visiting there during winter time, is very hard to drive on the road there LOL. If you are not driving, make sure you get yourself a taxi there otherwise is not advisable if you carry with lots of luggage :O

If you are interested with this homestay please do PM me or comment your email on below! I'll email the link to you :)

Finally, it has come to an end for our trip to Hokkaido. All of us love the place here :3
We will definitely miss the snowing time, the time when we keep having "snacks shopping" inside convenient store *laugh*, Onigiri as our breakfast for almost every day, drinking beer/wine/Sakae for almost every night, *laugh*,  cold until shaking at Hakodate, the slippery road, and everything in Hokkaido! Time to say goodbye to Hokkaido and say Hi to Tokyo!

Get SGD50 OFF for your stay with AIRBNB by clicking HERE!

Stay tuned for next post about TOKYO! :D

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post about my trip at Hakodate, Noboribetsu, and Furano & Biei. I hope this post has brought you some information especially if you are going to plan to have a trip to Hokkaido! :)

Welcome to share this article if is useful for you and your friends! :D

CIAO~

Click for Hokkaido Tokyo Winter Self Drive Trip- Part 1 (Information about the whole trip)
Click for Hokkaido Tokyo Winter Self Drive Trip- Part 2 (Trip about Sapporo & Niseko)