Japan Diaries 4: Day 321

 

Day 321: September 18, 2022

Sunday - 9.17-19 Family Roadtrip D2

It's day 2 of our 3-day 9.17-19 Family Road Trip. We woke up early and packed up our camp quickly as we still had a lot of kilometers to cover to reach our next campsite. 

Beautiful morning from Maruseppuikoinomori Camping Ground

The sound of the flowing Murii River was very relaxing

北海道遺産 森林鉄道蒸気機関車 雨宮２１号
Hokkaido Heritage Forest Railway Steam Locomotive Amemiya No. 21

スハ43 703
Suha 43 703

Maruseppu manhole cover


Maruseppu Shrine's torii gate

Maruseppu Shrine

We left Maruseppuikoinomori Camping Ground in Maruseppu, Engaru (遠軽町) at around 8AM. before leaving Maruseppu, we first visited Maruseppu Shrine to pay respects and offer some prayers. 

From there, we drove to the central part of Engaru. Our first stop was Engaru Roadside Station "Engaru Mori-no-Okhotsk" where I got the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally. We also found the Engaru Pokemon manhole cover on the roadside station grounds. 

Hill of the Sun Engaru Park

Team Nicerio visits Taiyo no Oka Engaru Koen

Of course, we didn't miss that chance to have our family picture taken

The thousands of cosmos turned the field pink and orange

From there, we drove to the Taiyo no Oka Engaru Koen / Hill of the Sun Engaru Park to see the colorful cosmos flower fields. It was a wonderful experience as it was the first time for us to see thousands of cosmos in full bloom. 

Next stop: Engaru Park

Enjoying the food during the Cosmos Festa

Steam locomotive D51 No.859

Snow Shovel Ki282

The playground of Engaru Park

Engaru Shrine torii gate

Engaru Shrine

There were several squirrels in Engaru Park


After enjoying the beautiful view, we drove down the hill to Engaru Park where the Cosmos Festa (Festival) is happening. Aside from the food stalls and game stalls, we also saw the Snow Shovel Ki282 and the Steam locomotive D51 No.859 displays in the park. Before leaving Engaru, we visited Engaru Shrine which is a few minutes away from the park. 

Driving northwards to our next destination: Yubetsu

Kamiyubetsu Railway Museum

My daughter and I checked out the trains on display

Kamiyubetsu manhole cover

Roadside Station Kamiyubetsu Onsen Tulip Hot Spring

We next traveled to the town of Yubetsu (湧別町). Unfortunately, it began to rain shortly after we arrived. As a result, we had to skip most of the destinations on our itinerary. Regardless we still visited and took photos at the Kamiyubetsu Railway Museum and the Roadside Station Kamiyubetsu Onsen Tulip Hot Spring where I got the roadside station stamp for the stamp rally. 

711 Kamiyubetsu

Our favorite 711 iced coffee

Yubetsu Shrine's torii gate

Yubetsu Shrine

We then proceeded to Yubetsu town center to visit and pay our respects at Yubetsu Shrine. Initially, we made a stop at 711 Yubetsu to enjoy our favorite coffee before making our way to the shrine. 

Driving along National Road 239

Roadside Station Ai-Land Yubetsu

ファミリー愛ランドYOU
Family Ailand YOU

To wrap up our journey in Yubetsu, we also visited Roadside Station Ai-Land Yubetsu to collect the stamp for the roadside station rally. We wanted to try the rides at Family Ailand YOU but it was raining so we decided to skip it for now.

Saroma manhole cover

Continuing on our adventure, we traveled to the town of Saroma (佐呂間町), where we visited the Roadside Station Lake Saroma to get its roadside station stamp and to Saroma Shrine to pay our usual respects and offer some prayers.

Next stop: Abashiri City

I appreciate my wife's driving skills that brought us here

The entrance to Abashiri Prison Museum

博物館 網走監獄
Abashiri Prison Museum

Inside Abashiri Prison Museum

From there, we moved on to our final destination in the itinerary, Abashiri City (網走市). Due to a longer stay in Engaru and unfavorable weather conditions, we were only able to visit one destination in our itinerary for the city, which was the Abashiri Prison Museum. Despite having just an hour to explore, the museum provided us with valuable insights.

Abashiri manhole cover

Sukiya Abashiri

For dinner, we drove back to the city center in search of a dining spot. We eventually settled on Sukiya Abashiri. While waiting for the rain to subside, we lingered there, but the rain persisted. Our desperation led us to inquire about available rooms in nearby hotels. Fortunately, they were fully booked.

Before leaving the city center, we made sure to fill up our tank

Hotel Abashirikoso

We took a dip in the onsen of Hotel Abashirikoso

With no other options, we made our way to Abashiri Lakeside Hotel Hot Spring, which is an amenity of Hotel Abashirikoso. We enjoyed the hot spring until closing time at 10 PM, hoping the rain would cease. Although the rain continued, it transitioned into a drizzle, giving us the confidence to proceed with our original plan to camp at Yobitoura Camping Ground, albeit very late at night.

Thankfully the weather cleared a bit giving us enough time to pitch and "waterproof" our tent.

Despite a heavy downpour starting around 2 AM, we managed to sleep soundly, thanks to our makeshift waterproofing measures, including a shower curtain and an aluminum foil camping mat.

That concludes our adventures for today. See you on the third and final day of our journey.

Read more: 

Location: 1-1 Yobito, Abashiri, Hokkaido 099-2421, Japan

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 1, 2024 at 8:59 AM

    I'm excited to read about the Prison Museum in Abashiri and the 10 Things to Do in Abashiri City.

    ReplyDelete

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