Japan Diaries 4: Weekend 49
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Weekend 49: October 8-9, 2022
Day 341 – October 8, 2022
Saturday – 10.8-10 Family Road Trip D1
It's another weekend. It only means one thing... It's another chance to explore Hokkaido. What's more astonishing is that it's another long weekend because Japan is celebrating Sports Day on Monday.
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| Driving along Route 275 to our first destination |
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.
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| Tsukigata manhole cover |
We visited the following places in Tsukigata:
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| Kabato Shrine |
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| Before going to our next stop, we bought breakfast at 711 Tsukigata |
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| Kairaku Park |
From there, we continued to the village of Shinshinotsu (新篠津村). This village is popular for its Doburoku Sake, kimchi, and miso.
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| Shinshinotsu manhole covers |
These are the places that we visited in Shinshinotsu:
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| Shinshinotsu Shrine |
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| Shinotsu Park |
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| Shinshinotsu Roadside Station |
🎂Shinshinotsu Roadside Station
Our next stop is the town of Namporo also Nanporo (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.
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| Namporo manhole cover |
These are the places that we visited in Namporo:
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| Namporo Water Park |
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| Former Horomuka Station |
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| Bodaji |
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| Ella and I checked the interesting door design in Bodaiji |
⚫Bodaji
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| Namporo Shrine |
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.
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| Route 337 to Naganuma |
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| Naganuma manhole cover |
These are the places that we visited in Naganuma:
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| Naganuma Shrine |
▶ Naganuma Shrine
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| Maoi No Oka Park Roadside Station |
▶ Maoi No Oka Park Roadside Station
As we continued our drive south, the next town that we visited was the town of Yuni (由仁町). The town is probably one of the hidden gems of Hokkaido. It is not only blessed with fertile lands for agriculture, but it is also home to Yuni Garden which is popular for the Kochia plants that turn the field red in mid-September to early October.
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| Yuni manhole cover |
These are the places that we visited in Yuni:
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| Yuni Shrine |
🔴Yuni Shrine
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| The kochia plants of Yuni Garden |
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| The wedding venue in Yuni Garden |
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| Yuni Garden |
🔴Yuni Garden
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. We got to see some during our visit.
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| Abira manhole covers |
These are the places that we visited in Abira:
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| Abira D51 Roadside Station |
🚂 Abira D51 Roadside Station
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| Abira D51 Railway Museum |
🚂 Abira D51 Railway Museum
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| Steam locomotive D51 no. 320 |
🚂 Steam locomotive D51 no. 320
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| KiHa 183 |
🚂 KiHa 183
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| Oiwake Hachiman Shrine |
🚂 Oiwake Hachiman Shrine
It was already the afternoon when we left Abira. We then drove to Tomakomai City (苫小牧市) which was our last stop for the day.
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| Lake Utonai Roadside Station |
We made a quick stop at Lake Utonai Roadside Station outside the city proper to get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp Rally.
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| AEON Mall Tomakomai |
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| Strolling around AEON Mall Tomakomai |
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| My wife bought some ingredients at Kaldi |
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| Fried chicken from KFC... |
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| ... and Miso Ramen from Sapporo Ramen Misogen for dinner |
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| Bought some frappuccino at Starbucks |
From there, we drove to AEON Mall Tomakomai to eat dinner in its food court. We bought fried chicken from KFC and Miso Ramen from Sapporo Ramen Misogen. To wrap up our stay in AEON Mall Tomakomai, we ordered some frappuccino at Starbucks before we drove and checked in at Dormy Inn Tomakomai.
Overall, today was a fulfilling day. We visited 6 towns and 1 city. We are looking forward to what tomorrow has to offer.
Day 342: October 9, 2022
Sunday – 10.8-10 Family Road Trip D2
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| Our morning view from our room in Dormy Inn Tomakomai City |
Good morning everyone. It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. It’s the second day of our long weekend road trip. For today’s itinerary, from Tomakomai City (苫小牧市) we would head southwest to the city of Muroran City (室蘭市).
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| Itadakimasu |
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| Tomakomai manhole cover |
Before we left, we ate breakfast at Dormy Inn Tomakomai and then checked out. We next explored Tomakomai City (苫小牧市) stopping at the following locations:
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| Tarumaezan Jinja Shrine |
⭐ Tarumaezan Jinja Shrine
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| Midorigaoka Observatory at Tomakomai Midorigaoka Park |
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| Tomakomai Midorigaoka Park |
⭐ Tomakomai Midorigaoka Park
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| Tomakomaki Pokemon manhole cover at Idemitsu Culture Park |
⭐ Idemitsu Culture Park
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| Tomakomai City Technology Center |
⭐ Tomakomai City Technology Center
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| Mir Spacecraft Museum |
⭐ Mir Spacecraft Museum
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| Steam Locomotive C11 No. 133 |
⭐ Steam Locomotive C11 No. 133
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| Mega Don Quijote Tomakomai |
⭐ Mega Don Quijote Tomakomai
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| 2nd Street Tomakomai |
⭐ 2nd Street Tomakomai
We next traveled to Shiraoi (白老町), located in Japan. The Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park is a major attraction in the town. We weren't able to see it since we had spent too much time in Tomokomai City. Regardless, we got to see the following places in Shiraoi:
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| Shiraoi manhole cover |
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| Shiraoi Hachiman Shrine |
🐻 Shiraoi Hachiman Shrine
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| Sendai Domain Shiraoi Jinya Museum |
🐻 Sendai Domain Shiraoi Jinya Museum
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| Kani Goten |
🐻 Kani Goten
Our next stop is Noboribetsu City (登別市). The city is known for the Jigokudani or Hell Valley which is also the highlight of today’s trip. We visited the following places in Noboribetsu City:
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| Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe |
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| Noboribetsu City Pokemon manhole cover in Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe |
👹Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe
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| Jigokudani / Noboribetsu Hell Valley |
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👹Jigokudani / Noboribetsu Hell Valley
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| Oyunuma Pond |
👹 Oyunuma Pond
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| Okunoyu |
👹 Okunoyu
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| Welcome Demons |
👹 Welcome Demons
It was already raining when we left Noboribetsu City. Thankfully, we would be heading to our last destination in today's itinerary, Muroran City (室蘭市).
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| Mega Don Quixote Muroran |
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| APA Hotel Muroran |
When we arrived in Muroran City, the first thing we did was hunt for a parking spot near our hotel for the night. To our amazement, the parking lot that we found was also near Mega Don Quixote Muroran. This only meant one thing, we got to do one more shopping before we checked in at APA Hotel Muroran.
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| We ate dinner before we wrapped up the day |
Overall, we explored Tomakomai City and visited 2 other cities and 1 town today. I’m looking forward to the new destinations that we will visit tomorrow.
Read more:
Japan Diaries 4: Day 341
Japan Diaries 4: Day 342
Kabato Shrine
Kairaku Park
Shinshinotsu Shrine
Shinshinotsu Roadside Station
Namporo Water Park
Former Horomuka Station
Namporo Shrine
Naganuma Shrine
Maoinooka Park Roadside Station
Yuni Shrine
Yuni Garden
Abira D51 Roadside Station
Lake Utonai Roadside Station
Tarumaezan Jinja Shrine
Tomakomai Midorigaoka Park
Tomakomai City Technology Center
Mir Spacecraft Museum
Steam Locomotive C11 No. 133
Shiraoihachiman Shrine
Sendai Domain Shiraoi Jinya Museum
Jigokudani / Noboribetsu Hell Valley
Oyunuma Pond
Okunoyu
Welcome Demons
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