We visited Hokkaido in late summer and it has been a few months since we returned. Armed with a 8 GB CompactFlash card, I took 600 plus pictures using my new DSLR cam. I did not manage to finish reading the camera manual before the trip (what else is new?). So a lot of experimentation went along the way… aperture, shutter and in all frustration, I decided to use scenic/auto/program modes! What an idiot.
I have selected a total 57 pictures and shall present them in 3 parts. Too tiring to resize, upload and write everything in one breath.

The moment we touched down at Sapporo-New Chitose Airport, we went around hunting for the Toyota Car Rental through which we booked our Toyota Vitz. It was the exact version of the Toyota Yaris in Singapore, except the Japanese gave them a more creative name in their home country - Vitz! And here, the rental lady was trying her best to explain to Croaky how to use the car in 5 minutes.

See our Japanese GPS! Cool gadget which speaks English. Must book the English GPS in advance - it’s not a commodity as most of their driving tourists are native Jap. And this amazing panel flips over to reveal the CD/DVD player - we almost thought our Vitz does not come with a music player! And as part of our usual routine, we brought 40 over music CDs from home. Music + beautiful scenery rocks!

And our first destination was Tomita Farm at Furano where the lavendar blooms every summer.

Lavendar is the theme everywhere on this colourful farm. They even have lavendar ice-cream which is a must-try! It’s superb.

And lavendar fields - used for their distillery to produce lavendar essential oils, perfumes, potpourri, ornaments, soaps, bath lotions, shampoos etc. I bought a bit of everything. There is a garang guni in me!

And we drove past more lavendar fields along the way. The whole Furano is infested with - LAVENDARS! If you come in at different times of the year, you see other blooms though - Marigold, Roses etc. But lavendars are the main reason for the tourist draw.

Marimo balls are sold everywhere as souvenirs. These are living algae plants which come in the form of balls, and are native to this region. They even have it in cans so that it’s less messy for you to bring home. Apparently these algae balls can survive for months in the cans - without sunlight. How can I not bring these lovely plants home?

And us in the Yukata (one piece cotton kimono) provided at Choyotei hotel. Its a tatami room with a small living room where you can make tea and watch TV.

And you may wear your Yukata straight to the onsen in the hotel. The hotel room also provides a small plastic duffel for you to carry your towel there. Onsens are free-to-use and are available around the clock! Choyotei has 3-4 onsens for males and females (separately, no doubt). And the practice was to switch over at a certain hour - meaning X hr - Y hr is open to females, Y hr - Z hr is open to males.
One Japanese woman I met in the shower area brought her own shampoos, bath lotions, plastic tub and pail. I’d never thought of such elaborate fan-fare.

And we wore the same yukata to the tatami - dining area. Everyone was wearing the same yukata and queueing up for the buffet in an orderly fashion. (You would never see them jostling around or piling up their plates high as if there is no tomorrow!)
Their civility extends to their impeccable road manners. Once, Croaky drove into a wrong lane and was about to make a 3 point turn. Half-expecting the other driver to give him a noisy horn, Croaky made an apologetic signal. And guess what? The driver actually smiled and bowed to him - in his car!

And yes - that’s me! With all my camera bags. I look like a chrismas tree.

On the tram to Daisetsuzen Park.

The chair lift to Daisetsuzen. Croaky was actually giving me a glare and telling me to keep my DSLR.

Our free-hanging feet on the chair lift. This chair lift does not have a belt to secure you to your seats. If you don’t hang onto the sides, you can jump off and be a flying rabbit. Croaky was very proud of his (free) sneakers. Haha.

And us on the mountain top overlooking a pile of smoke. Weather was hazy and the lime-green ponchos were provided for the visitors. Don’t think I’d carry two ponchos and go travelling, yah? Temperature hovers around 8-10 degrees and you see smoke from your mouth when you speak. A bit windy.

Hokkaido is well known for its ramen. We stopped at a ramen shop for lunch, only to find ourselves trapped in a situation where no one understood what we were gesturing about. None of the shop keepers spoke a word of English, and their menu was in Jap with no pictures. In the end, we pointed to a couple and ordered what they were eating. Despite the communication barrier, the restaurant staff was completely patient with us. Thumbs up for their high standards of service!

And we drove to a Sake Brewery Museum. This was a beautiful koi pond outside the museum. Such tranquility.

We bought a bottle of sake from the museum, after being offered several to taste. The counter staff made known to us that the alcohol limit for driving in Japan is an absolute zero! So I was given the sweet task of wine tasting and making the decision of which sake to buy. And even before we informed them of our purchase, they gave us two free wine cups as souvenirs. Wah. Free cups when admission is free? Hoho.

Experimenting with the Pop Art mode on my cam. The sky is bluer and the roof is redder. Croaky is walking towards me - to throw rubbish.

And me on cloud nine whenever I find Daiso. This was the smallest outlet I have visited in Japan - there’s only one storey. Nonetheless, the goods were stocked neatly in place and there was hardly a soul weaving through the rows, except ME! Some items are exclusive to their Japanese stores and can’t be found here! I’d know since I am so familiar with their inventry here in Singapore.
… the rest to be continued in Hokkaido Part 2 and 3.