Day 355: October 22, 2022
Saturday - "10.22-23" Family Road Trip D1
For Day 1 of our "10.22-23" Road Trip, we drove eastwards from Rumoi City to the town of Higashikawa (東川町). We plan to visit Daisetzusan National Park and then hike Asahidake which is Hokkaido's highest peak.
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| Off to another road trip with the family |
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| I was able to take a photo of this scenic railroad track in Numata |
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| It's already autumn and the foliage looks amazing |
We made sure to stop at Higashikawa Shrine in the town's heart to pay respects before departing from Higashikawa town proper to go to our next destination located on the outskirts of town. The trip to Daisetzusan Asahidake Ropeway is approximately 35 minutes from the town proper.
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| We found a sentence that we could easily understand. |
Once we arrived at Sanroku Station, we rode the Daisetsuzan Asahidake Ropeway ride to Sugatami Station which took another 10 minutes and cost 2,200 yen each for me and my wife and 1500 yen for Ella.
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| We had a briefing upon arriving at Sugatami Station. |
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| We did the Kamuimintara Walking Course |
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| Sugatami Lake |
The safety officer informed everyone about the hiking trail and weather forecast for Asahidake and Daisetzusan National Park after we arrived at Sugatami Station. He said that there was little visibility up the summit and that there was a good chance that the weather would deteriorate about noon. He did, though, assert that it is safe to stroll around the area using the Kamuimintara Walking Course.
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| Sapphire Pond |
Even though we had everything we needed for the two to three-hour climb up Asahidake, I didn't want to take a gamble. My wife and I spoke about it and ultimately opted to merely do the Kamuimintara Walking Course, which can be completed in 1 to 2 hours, depending on how many stops one makes. Naturally, we lingered longer than planned and shot countless pictures.
We took the ropeway back down to the mountain's ropeway station. We made the decision to eat a late lunch at Sugatami Restaurant before we left. I ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen with Tripe Stew, my wife ordered Spicy Miso Ramen with mini curry with rice, and Ella ordered curry rice with a pork cutlet.
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| Driving back to Higashikawa town proper via Route 1160 |
From there, we drove back to Higashikawa and visited the Higashikawa Roadside Station so that Ella and I could get the roadside station stamp for the Hokkaido Roadside Station Stamp collection.
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| Centopure II |
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| We found some beautiful foliage near Centopure II |
We then headed to Centopure II (Higashikawa Complex Exchange Facility) to take photos of the Higashikawa Pokefuta (Higashikawa Pokemon Manhole Cover). After taking the photo of the Higashikawa Pokefuta, we left Higashikawa and then drove to the next town in our itinerary which is Higashikagura (東神楽町).
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| Driving to Higashikagura via Route 294 |
The first place we visited in Higashikagura was the Higashikagura Shrine where we paid our respects and offered a prayer.
Since it was still early, I persuaded my wife to drive to the famed Shirogane Blue Pond in the town of Biei (美瑛町) today instead of visiting it tomorrow. She agreed and we got there at around 4:30 PM which turned out to be a blessing as the tourists were already heading home one by one leaving the whole place for us.
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| Biei Roadside Station "Shirogane Biruke" |
Before leaving Biei, we made some brief stops at Biei Roadside Station "Shirogane Biruke" and Biei Roadside Station "Oka no Kura". Although they were already closed when we arrived, we were still able to get the digital version of their roadside station stamps for our Hokkaido Roadside Stamp collection.
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| Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi |
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| Waiting while mommy is checking in. |
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| We were given Room 1017 |
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| Inside Room 1017 |
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| The view from our room |
We then drove to Asahikawa City (旭川市) at 5:20 PM to check into the Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi, which would serve as our home for the day. About halfway through our drive, it started to rain. Thankfully, by the time we reached Asahikawa City, it had turned into a drizzle.
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| AEON Mall Asahikawa Ekimae |
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| We tried the Starbucks Halloween Special |
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| My wife's feedback: "It's super sweet! 😖" |
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| We bought food at the grocery before going home |
My wife and I went grocery shopping at the adjacent AEON Mall Asahikawa Ekimae after checking in. We also purchased the Starbucks Halloween Special, which we consumed in our hotel room. The rest of the night was spent resting and preparing for the second day of our road journey.
Your daughter is really adventurous.
ReplyDeleteYes she is. =)
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