Japan Diaries 4: Day 341

Japan Diaries 4: Day 341

Day 341 – October 8, 2022

Saturday – 10.8-10 Family Road Trip D1

It's the weekend again. It can only mean one thing, another opportunity to explore Hokkaido. What's more, it's still another long weekend since Japan celebrates Sports Day on Monday. 

It's a beautiful morning. Bye for now Rumoi City!
It's a beautiful morning. Bye for now Rumoi City!

We got up early to load our bags into the car and eat breakfast before hitting the road. Our first destination for the day is the town of Tsukigata (月形町). The town is known for its watermelons and melons. 


Quick stop at 711 Tsukigata to buy some breakfast
A quick stop at 711 Tsukigata to buy some breakfast

The first place we visited in Tsukigata was the Kabato Shrine in the heart of the town. Like always, we paid respects and offered some prayers for a safe trip. From there, we bought some breakfast at 711 Tsukigata before we proceeded to Kairaku Park. 

Kairaku Park
Kairaku Park

The red bridge of Kairaku Park
The red bridge of Kairaku Park

Check out the melon toilet
Check out the "melon toilet"


Kairaku Park was lovely and ideal for camping. It would undoubtedly be on our list of locations for the next camping season.



From there, we continued on to the village of Shinshinotsu (新篠津村). This village is the smallest and only village in the Ishikari Subprefecture. It is popular for its Doburoku Sake, kimchi, and miso. Our first stop in Shinshinotsu is the Shinshinotsu Shrine followed by the Shinshinotsu Roadside Station. 




Shinotsu Park is a beautiful park near the roadside station. My family and I didn't miss out on visiting the cake-looking observation platform located on a hill in the heart of the park.


Our next stop is the town of Nanporo also Namporo (南幌町). This town produces one of the best cabbages in the region hence its kimchi products are said to be one of the best. Our first stop in town is Nanporo Water Park. Sadly, the observation deck was already closed for this season. 

Former Horomuki Station
Former Horomuka Station

The main entrance of Bodaiji
The main entrance of Bodaiji

Bodaiji
Bodaiji

Namporo Shrine's Torii Gate
Namporo Shrine's Torii Gate

Namporo Shrine
Namporo Shrine

We didn't waste time and headed to the town center to see the Former Horomuka Station and the nearby Bodaiji temple. Before leaving Namporo, we visited the Namporo Shrine to offer prayers and pay respects. 

Driving along Route 337 going to Naganuma
Driving along Route 337 going to Naganuma

The next stop is the town of Naganuma (長沼町). A town whose name came from the Ainu word “tanneto” which means narrow swamp, which when translated to Japanese becomes naganuma. Our first stop in town is the Naganuma Shrine.


Cream puff from Sweets by Café Kalkino
Cream puff from Sweets by Café Kaldino

Before leaving the town, we stopped at Maoi no Oka Park Roadside Station to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally. My wife also bought some vegetables from the local market. We also bought cream puff from Sweets by Café Kaldino. 

Next stop: Yuni
Next stop: Yuni

Yuni Shrine's Torii gate
Yuni Shrine's Torii gate

Yuni Shrine
Yuni Shrine

The town of Yuni (由仁町) was the next town we visited as we continued our journey south. Our first stop was Yuni Shrine, where we prayed and gave our respects.

Yuni Garden
Yuni Garden

The famed kochia plants of Yuni Garden
The famed kochia plants of Yuni Garden

The beautiful wedding venue in side Yuni Garden
The beautiful wedding venue inside Yuni Garden



Yuni is not only endowed with abundant agricultural fields, but it is also home to Yuni Garden, which is well-known for its kochia plants, which turn the field crimson from mid-September to early October. The garden is probably one of the highlights of today’s trip. 


Abira Roadside Station / Abira D51 Roadside Station
Abira Roadside Station / Abira D51 Roadside Station

Inside Abira Roadside Station
Inside Abira Roadside Station

Restored D51 displayed inside the Abira D51 Railway Museum
Restored D51 displayed inside the Abira D51 Railway Museum

Oiwake Hachiman Shrine's Torii gate
Oiwake Hachiman Shrine's Torii gate

Oiwake Hachiman Shrine
Oiwake Hachiman Shrine

Our next destination is the town of Abira (安平町). The town is a train lover’s paradise. This town has several old trains on display. As a matter of fact, we got to see some during our visit to the Abira D51 Roadside Station. We could see the Steam locomotive D51 no. 320 inside the Abira D51 Railway Museum and the KiHa 183 displayed outside. Before leaving Abira, we visited Oiwake Hachiman Shrine to pray and pay our respects. 

Crossed the railway on our way to Tomakomai City
Crossed the railway on our way to Tomakomai City

We were blessed with a beautiful sunset
We were blessed with a beautiful sunset

Lake Utonai Roadside Station
Lake Utonai Roadside Station

When we left Abira, it was already afternoon. We then traveled to Tomakomai City (苫小牧市), our final destination for the day. We made a brief stop outside of town at Lake Utonai Roadside Station to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally.

AEON Mall Tomakomai
AEON Mall Tomakomai

We checked out what we could buy at Kaldi Coffee Farm
We checked out what we could buy at Kaldi Coffee Farm

The colonel welcoming us to KFC Tomakomai
The colonel welcoming us to KFC Tomakomai

KFC Chicken
KFC Chicken

We bought coffee at Starbucks before leaving AEON Mall
We bought coffee at Starbucks before leaving AEON Mall Tomakomai

We then proceeded to AEON Mall Tomakomai for supper in the food court. We had KFC fried chicken and miso ramen from Sapporo Ramen Misogen. Before leaving we ordered coffee at Starbucks. 

Dormy Inn Tomakomai
Dormy Inn Tomakomai

Our room for the day
Our room for the day

Room 818
Dormy Inn Tomakomai - Room 818

The view from our hotel room
The view from our hotel room

We finished our day by checking into Dormy Inn Tomakomai officially wrapping up Day 1/3 of our long weekend road trip.

Good night!
Good night!

Overall, today was a fulfilling day. We visited 6 towns and 1 city. We are getting closer to completing our #Hokkaido179 goals.




Location: 2-chōme-1-22 Nishikimachi, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0023, Japan

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2024 at 9:41 AM

    Take care, Team Nicerio! I'm looking forward to hearing all about your new destinations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2024 at 9:00 AM

    Enjoy your road trip, Team Nicerio.

    ReplyDelete

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