A Japanese Summer: Chapter Two (ii)

We're Off To The Farm!

Before we began, I must say this has got to be the prettiest entry ever! The scenery is simply breath-taking! The first picture up there kinda set the bar on what to expect below.

*******

Now, before I've ever set foot in Japan, never did I thought I would love Hokkaido. In my mind, Hokkaido offers me nothing much but awful cold snow and mouth-watering seafood. Quiet, peaceful and boh... ring! Which was mind-boggling for me to see a tour to Hokkaido cost so much more than a tour to Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka all combined.

BUT! The "returned-from-Japan-me" has changed. *cough cough* So kua-jiong right? But it's true. I sooo wanna go to Hokkaido again! And this time at a colder climate *grumbles about summer* though winter still scares the hell out of me. But the air, the view, the nature, the culture, not to mention the whole biggy "other half" of the island that we have neglected *much due to our ignorance and silliness in thinking Hokkaido is boring* is waiting for our return. To sum it up...

HOKKAIDO SAIKOU!

北海道最高!

And no, I'm not getting paid to promote Hokkaido. Though, at this point I'll probably be that suspicious too. *sigh* I wish. But this just goes to show how sincere this post is. HAHAHA...

*fast forward*

Continuing from where we left off from the morning after. We packed and we left the hotel without breakfast. Gotta catch the train again!

We're off to the farm!

And of course, you don't ride the modern bullet train to the farm. You ride the old fashion locamotive. So cute, right?

Took a picture outside of the train before it depart.

BARBECUE CAR

*shrugs*

Though I did feel a tinge of kepanasan during the ride because no air-con mah. So at times like this, you need the
POLAR BEAR CREAM PUFF!

Snacking on the train. Hehehe...

Here we go again! The View!

Maaa... live version *dreamy eyes*

Cubbie took the picture from the train at one of the stops. No idea what she's selling but we don't even see that here right? Such a scene only reminds me of baseball games where a guy shouts out "hot dogs, delicious hot dogs!" going around the stands. Not that we have them here but tengok all the ang moh show, so got brainwashed since young.

Finally we have arrived! That is our very colourful Barbeque Car we ride on. Macam primary students going on a school trip no? Heee..

Lavendar Farm Station!

Hiyalish Lesson 101: Budget Trip Advisor 03
This very station and the ride here is only available during Summer. Yup! Only this specific time of the year that you get to enjoy this ride to this station which is an estimate 5 - 7 minutes walk to the farm. Other times, you'll ride the normal train and reach a station 25 - 30 minutes away from the farm. That's a looooooong walk people. LOOOOONG!

Helpful linkie: Scroll down till you see the Furano & Biei Norokko-go with the image of the colourful train

FARM TOMITA
And "Aweee.... pweetty" session began!

Pweeetty!

Pweeeeeetty!!


Pweeeetty scenery pweetty me! HAHAHA.. kulit muka tebal betul.


Must lah proof that I am truly standing at Farm Tomita.


Also to proof that I was not there alone. LOL. Pweeetty x 2

Every picture is like standing in front of a backdrop.

*______*

Cubbie took picture of me...

... so I took picture of her also loh. Sama-sama.

******

Flowers are pretty.

Though capturing life amidst them are even more lovely.

Beeeeeesss.... Buzzzz....

And buzzzzzz somemore....

probably the most rewarding of the lot...

LOL. And so it did turned into a school field trip on flowers and insects after all.

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It looks so English looking neh. That's another unique feature of Hokkaido I guess. The food served here is more western than any part of Japan. Hmmm... now for more Lavender goodness!

Lavender Ice-creams!

Honestly... lavender taste like.... detergent! HAHAHAHA... imagine the washing liquids you bought in the supermarket with lavender scents. That's exactly how it taste! No kidding. I ate an ice-cream that sorta taste like washing detergent. *swt*

And as if that wasn't enough...

I ate my lunch with that same taste in my drink as well. Brocolli my favourite! Told you it's pretty westernised here. ^^;;

The only "Japanish" thingy here is the people!

A true Japanese boy there for you. Cubbie tookie many "people pictures" but we are not the people in those photos. o__O

One last shot on the prettiness of the entire place.

*sigh*

Lovely!
♥

We spent the entire afternoon at Farm Tomita. After covering the entire area with some extra time left before our pick-up, we just sit back and relaxed and enjoyed the view of the entire place. =)

Just before we left we spotted something BIG!

DOGGY!!

And just to show how big doggy was.
That's Cubbie right there with it.

BIG!

Had a short conversation with the owner with lots of awkward smiles and all since he only understand half of what we said and vice-versa. Cubbie attempted to comment on how the dog's fur is as white as sheep and the guy ended up insisting that it's a dog and not a sheep. -.-;; As if we don't know how to differentiate between the two. Still, we made it through the small talk. Though it was more like I was there attempting to talk to him while Cubbie continues to pat and play with doggy there. Hahaha... eh... if I stand there diam diam beside uncle very awkward mah, and not nice also. Furthermore, we were the first two Malaysians he have ever met and talked to in his life. Yup. Therefore what we said and did was his first impression of how nice Malaysians are. HAHAHA... in which I hoped we did a good job. Not too shabby I would say so myself.


Finally our pick-up came. We were expecting Tetsuya-san but instead it was Mrs Tetsuya who came. Uwah... and Mrs Tetsuya drives fast as we went on a ride through the countryside, seeing nothing but the mountain range until we finally reached our home for the night, Akane-yado.

Akane-yado

Just like its description on its website:
Akane-yado is a small inn that was reformed from the private house.So we have no spacious room and luxurious stuff. There is no private bath and toilet in the room. But Akane-yado is located in very beautiful place.You can enjoy a grand view of Tokachi mountain range and colorful fieldsfrom your room. You can also have a homely dinner and breakfast with a lotof vegetables. Conversation with the other visitors after the supper will make your trip good memories.

And indeed it was true. Our room might be very simple but once again, the view from the window is something...

... I wish I can wake up to every morning.

Oh! And we bought pudding from the farm earlier and attempt a mood shot of the "buddies". That's round 2 of Japan love for puddings. And nope, they're not lavender in flavour. XD

And remember the description about conversation with other guests in the house. We did just that over dinner!

The couple behind us was from Taiwan while the other couple which arrived to the table later was from Hong Kong. So we were splitted right in the middle between the two, me talking in Mandarin to the Taiwanese and Cubbie to the Hongkies in Cantonese. Yup, we got praised for being well... multi-lingual. Cheers to being a Malaysian! *big big smile*

Oh and on another note, don't ask me why is Mr Taiwan doing a "Loser" sign in the picture. *shrugs* We really wonder... hahaha...

We step out to the vast open space to enjoy the night breeze. Cubbie came ready with her binoculars and went into "astronomic" mode. It was happiness 100% for Cubbie as she went on and on telling everyone about the stars and constellation that night. Yup, we were all there, even Joe-san, our very humble host of the house.

Cubbie's piece of artwork. =)

Note: We went to bed very very content that night.

Good morning Furano! *dreamy eyes*

I miss the place already.

Farm life with internet connection is the life for me. XD

Guess who greeted me in the morning while doing my "big" business in the toilet?
*cuteness 100%*

Breakfast was yummy and yes the portion was big. It always will be so in Japan. We left directly after breakfast to catch the train again to our next destination...

...of Polar Bears and Odd Balls alike.