Weekend 51: October 22-23, 2022
Day 355: October 22, 2022
Saturday - "10.22-23" Family Road Trip D1
It's another weekend. It has been two weeks since our last family road trip. Since there was still no snow, we decided to head out and explore new places.
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| Off to another road trip |
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| Driving through Route 98 going to our first destination |
For this week's road trip, we drove eastwards from Rumoi City to our first stop, 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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| The mini-park behind Centopure II |
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| Inside Sanroku Station while waiting for the ropeway |
The ropeway ride to Sugatami Station takes another 10 minutes and costs 2,200 yen each for me and my wife and 1500 yen for Ella.
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| Outside Sugatami Station |
Upon reaching Sugatami Station, the safety officer briefed everyone about the hiking trail and weather conditions of Daisetzusan National Park and Asahidake. According to him, the visibility going to the peak is low and there is a high possibility that the weather would turn bad sometime around noon. However, he said that it's safe to stroll around the Kamuimintara Walking Course.
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| We did the Kamuimintara Walking Course |
Although we were fully equipped for the 2-3 hour hike up Asahidake, I didn't want to risk it. I discussed it with my wife and we just decided that we will just do the Kamuimintara Walking Course which takes around 1 - 2 hours depending on how many stops one makes. Of course, we stayed longer than expected and took a hundred photos.
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| Boarding the ropeway at Sugatami Station going down the mountain |
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| I had ramen at Sugatami Restaurant |
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| Katsu-curry of Sugatami Restaurant |
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| Driving back to Higashikawa town proper via Route 1160 |
We rode the ropeway back down the mountain to the Sanroku Station. Before leaving, we decided to eat a late lunch at Sugatami Restaurant.
From there, we drove back to Higashikawa to visit the following places:
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| Centopure II (Higashikawa Complex Exchange Facility) |
🍀Centopure II (Higashikawa Complex Exchange Facility)
These are the places that we visited in Higashikagura:
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| My wife and daughter enjoyed the gelato and soft cream that they ordered |
Since it was still early to end the first day of our road trip. I urged my wife that we drive to the town of Biei (美瑛町) to visit the famed Shirogane Blue Pond instead of visiting it tomorrow.
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| Biei Roadside Station "Shirogane Biruke" |
She agreed and we got Shirogane Blue Pond 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 by 5PM. After leaving, we made brief stops at Biei Roadside Station "Shirogane Biruke" and Biei Roadside Station "Oka no Kura". They were both closed by the time we arrived, regardless, we got the digital roadside station stamp of each place instead.
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| Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi |
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| Our home for the day - Room 1017 |
It was around 5:20 PM when we decided to drive to Asahikawa City (旭川市) to check in at Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi which is our accommodation for the day. It started raining halfway through our trip. Thankfully, it turned into a drizzle by the time we arrived in Asahikawa City.
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| My wife and I walked to AEON Mall Asahikawa Ekimae to buy food |
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| We bought the Halloween Special Flavor Frappucino from Starbucks |
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| We also bought some food from the grocery |
After checking in, my wife and I did a quick grocery shopping at the nearby AEON Mall Asahikawa Ekimae to buy dinner which we ate in the hotel room. After which, we spent the remainder of the night resting and preparing for the 2nd day of our road trip.
Day 356: October 23, 2022
Sunday - "10.22-23" Family Roadtrip D2
We woke up to a cold rainy morning here in Asahikawa City (旭川市). To make matters worse, the weather forecast states that it will rain the whole day too. I had no choice but to alter our itinerary for the day. Thankfully, we visited Shirogane Blue Pond yesterday instead of the original plan to visit it today.
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| A beautiful view from our room in Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi |
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| Coffee time before checking out |
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| Checked out and ready to go to our first destination |
That's why we decided to chill in our hotel room a little longer. We checked out of Toyoko Inn around 10 AM. From Toyoko Inn Asahikawa-eki Higashiguchi we visited the following places in Asahikawa City:
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| 2nd Street Asahikawa Toko shop |
☆ 2nd Street Asahikawa Toko shop
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| 2nd Street Nagayama Kanjo Shop |
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| Shopping at 2nd Street Nagayama Kanjo Shop |
☆ 2nd Street Nagayama Kanjo Shop
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| Lunch at Yoshinoya along National Route 39 |
Before leaving Asahikawa City, we had lunch at Yoshinoya along National Route 39.
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| Driving to Chippubetsu via Route 12 |
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| Chippubetsu Bell Arch |
From Asahikawa City, we then drove to the town of Chippubetsu (秩父別町) for some "Ella Time". We visited the following places in Chippubetsu:
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| Chippubetsu JR Station |
🔔 Chippubetsu JR Station
Ella and I played at Kid's Square Chikkuru until its closing time, 6 PM. It was fun playing with Ella, as it reminded me of my carefree youth and the fun play brought me before the stress of adulting hit me square in the face. We got home at around 8PM, officially wrapping up our "10.22-23" Family Road Trip.
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| It's time to leave Chippubetsu and drive back to Rumoi City |
Overall, it's another weekend well spent. We visited two new towns (Higashikawa and Higashikagura) and revisited Asahikawa City and the towns of Biei and Chippubetsu. We're all looking forward to next weekend, as it's a special day for the family, as we will celebrate my wife's birthday. See you guys!
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