• Farm Tomita – Furano
• Rolling Hills Tour – Biei
• Takushinkan + Flower Hills Tour – Biei
Gosh. I never thought in my life I could fall so hard for a “place”. But I did. It was Furano that stole my heart. It’s only a small village in the middle of Hokkaido – which is a rural area in the very north tip of Japan. From my house (at that time) in Jakarta, it’s 30 hours journey just to reach this village. Seriously. Freakin 30 hours! There’s no direct flight, so I took flight Jakarta – Bangkok – Osaka – Sapporo then took a train to Furano.
In the very long way there, I thought to myself, gosh, this better worth it. I got my own reason why I was so determined to go there. Well, it was an accident actually. I was so broken hearted that I can’t go to the original travel destination that I want (keep reading this blog, soon or later I’ll spill it out – maybe - ha ha) – and I stumble upon these 2 gorgeous pictures in the internet. The first picture was this amazing lavender hill in front of a winery under this gorgeous blue sky. The second picture was another flower hill, but this one displaying different color of flowers – sequenced in a way that it looks like giant stripped banner. And those took my breath away. Just like that I set my heart on Furano. Of course it’s not cost effective to go just to 1 place, so definitely this backpacking trip will consist of visit to other cities (Biei, Sapporo, Osaka, Himeji) which is just a great mix between nature, city vibe and culture.
Being a rigorous planner that I am, you bet I have surveyed the best time to visit. It’s the peak of summer in July. But when I stepped out the train in Furano, I was surrounded by this mirky grey clouds with drizzle. And it’s freakin 14 degrees on daylight. And THIS is supposed to be summer??? The grey sky stays until the following day, when we’re supposed to go to the flower fields.
First stop, Farm Tomita. No it’s not a petting zoo. For some reason Japanese refers to their flower fields as “farms”. This is one of the most famous flower field in Japan. Hokkaido is really rural that even house stands a distance from each other, but only in front of Farm Tomita I see cars queuing up just to get in.
When I got in – WHOA – it’s a sensory overload! It was just SUPER GORGEOUS!!! The view, the sweet smell, I panicked and forgot all the photography basic I've learnt this past 2 years. I just snapped away randomly. I'll let the pictures speak for itself :)
Aaaaa - look at that! Isn't that just dreamy?? Wouldn't mind having that in my backyard.
They don't only plant lavender, but also sunflowers, poppies, babies breath, daisies, lilies, and bunch of other flowers that I don't even know the name. They plant it in rows so it literally looked like a huge striped flag. And to add extra happiness – God opened up the sky and let the sunshine in with this gorgeous clear blue sky. Aaawwww…
O and I forgot to mentioned, this flower farm is FREE to enter. No charge at all. To raise money, they sell fresh melons (which is extremely expensive there - like 250 yen per SLICE), lavender ice cream, perfume, potpourri (dried flowers) and bunch other purple knick knacks. If you want to try segway you can also rent it.
One thing I notice in Japan is there are lots of photography enthusiast. Bunch of Nikonians and Canonians - with special lens (some require a small trolley bag to carry). Some even bring ladder, on top of the tripod.
It’s a perfect day. With the one you love, fresh air, breezy, gorgeous view. What else can I girl asked for? Then we wander around to neighbouring fields, less people. Then we found a bench at the top of the lavender hill - right facing the Tokachidake mountain. We had lunch there with the simple pack lunch that we prepared. Perfect. Just perfect.... I think to myself, these things are exactly the reason why I worked my ass off. Why I trained at the gym 3 times a week. Why I live humbly back in Jakarta. To have such perfect vaca time with the one that you loved, to be fit enough to do whatever we want to do...
Despite of the gorgeousness, we had to catch a train to a neighboring city of Biei as we got 2 tours to join! Btw these 2 tours were free as its included in our JR Furano ticket. But you have to reserve in advance at the station tough because seats do fill up really fast.
The first tour took us to see the rolling hills of Biei. It looks like patchworks from a far, a little bit of Tuscany feel into it. Its like autumn although its summer. They also took us to famous trees such as Ken and Mary, Seven Stars, Father and Son - but I really don't get it why its so famous in the first place. To me it just look like bunch of trees ha ha… We also passed by potato field and the famous Calbee chips factory.
The 2nd tour is more interesting as it took us to several flower fields! Hill of Shikisai was special. Not as neat as Tomita, but they also have similar rolling flower fields feeling. They have these cute snowman made from haystack. There are mixed flower fields, but there are some which is dedicated to certain variant such as sunflower field. They also have tractor train in case you don’t want your Manolo’s to stuck in the mud. And yet again, gorgeous blue sky with the Tokachidake mountain as the background. Very perfect to photograph the flower field.
We've been blessed. Very memorable and special day it was. Arguably the most gorgeous place I’ve ever been – so far. More places to discover! My backpack trip in Japan is not over yet – keep reading! You know you want to he he…
Hotel: Furano Natulux (16,000 yen/night/double room) – right across the Furano station, basic but comfortable, modern, clean, very recommended. In a rainy day they will lend you their umbrellas and store your bag for free.
Flight: Thai Airways + JAL (domestic)
Train: it was a free 2 days round Sapporo to Furano (can also stop over in Asahikawa, Biei, etc) and including some free local tours – price I think was about 6,000 yen/person bought in Sapporo Chitose airport.
Tour: FREE! (included in the train package)
Entry Fee: FREE! (for some reason these gorgeous places doesn’t request compulsory payment)
Tips:
- Make sure you got the train & bus schedule. It’s drop dead punctual but very seldom come. Miss one and you can wait for 1-2 hours before the next one came.
- Do try the lavender melon soft ice at Tomita
- Bring you camera, extra battery, extra memory card
- Start early! The later it is, the light is too harsh for your camera, too many people and less time for you to enjoy.
- If you’re interested in the local tour in Biei, book your tours in advance (at least 2 days before), just book even though you're not sure whether you'll take it or not.