Lake Toya 洞爺湖
2 weeks ago, my family and I were in Japan for the very first time. Hokkaido, specifically. I was really excited because gosh, I have been trying to learn the language for about 3 years and maybe I could finally use it? *hopeful face* But... What a joke, I was terrible at it. Hahaha. Here's an example:
ガイド: Which language do you speak?
Me: Umm 英語と中学 chuugaku で話せます。(I speak English and middle school. Meant to say 'Mandarin 中国語 chuugokugo'.)
ガイド: ????????????!
Hahaha yep, that's 'Pre-advanced Japanese' for you. Hahaha. But anyway, I'll be attempting to blog about the entire trip in the coming weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to sustain because we all know how terrible I am at travel entries (Just click on the tab above.). Heh.
Anyway, a quick shoutout before I begin... Dad didn't want to join a tour group because it would be too rushed and we couldn't go free-and-easy because you really need to drive in Hokkaido. So Dad went online and found Megumiさん from Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Inc.. Together with my parents, they came up with the itinerary for our trip. Her company actually provides their own itineraries but feel free to make changes. Mum wanted a couple of places to be included so we changed quite a bit and Megumiさん was more than happy to accede to our requests. Her emails were also very prompt and my parents really couldn't stop gushing about how good she was. :D It was expensive but everything was arranged and booked for us (No admin needed!), we got our own driver in a huge and comfortable MPV and we didn't have to rush at all. :DDD どうもありがとうございました！＾＾
Chitose Air Terminal Hotel エアターミナルホテル
Air Terminal Hotel
http://www.air-terminal-hotel.jp/eng/
We flew via JAL and reached the New Chitose Airport around 8 plus at night. It didn't make any sense to travel a couple of hours to Lake Toya so we spent a night at the Airport Terminal Hotel. I shared a room with my siblings, which wasn't small and was very clean. The staff were incredibly friendly and patient too. And the breakfast buffet was a-mazing. Unfortunately, I deleted my photos because Apple kept telling me my iPhone had no more space but please take my word for it. ಥ_ಥ The food was simple but it was very well done. In fact, I think I had my best Japanese rice there. *nods seriously* (Lol. We didn't really look out for food places to go this time round.) So good. And I'm going to douse my rice in furikake from now on. :D
Lawson, 最高なところ。
Oh yeah, just a note! By the time we got our luggage bags and everything, most shops at the airport were closed or about to. So we got our dinner from Lawson, which is GREAT. Hahaha. My favourite place, besides the drugstores. Heh. It has everything. Bento sets, onigiris (YUM.), spaghetti, bread, snacks, SHISEIDO skincare kits (SHISEIDO, wth! We only have this at up class counters!), makeup etc. #haven (▰˘◡˘▰)
Watanabeさん's car, where I spent several hours sleeping comfortably.
When we went down to check out, Watanabeさん, our driver/ guide, was already waiting for us (He is always on time! Really good.). He prepared a bottle of water for each of us every single day and there were umbrellas and plenty of leg space and comfort. :D Also, he's very friendly and shared a lot about Hokkaido with us. He even sang to us during long rides and patiently taught us the song 'Suki Desu Sapporo 好きです札幌'. :D
See, I can't stop gushing over how good the people from Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Inc. is too! Haha. Anyway, it was about a 45-minute drive to our next destination and I will blog about it tomorrow. ◡̈
Hokkaido 2017 Diary 北海道の日記
Day 0: Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel Inc.+ Arriving at Hokkaido (New Chitose Airport)
Day 1: Volcanoes + Best Ramen + Best Hotel Everrr (Chitose → Noboribetsu → Lake Toya)
Day 2: Prettiest fields + Yummilicious cakes in Otaru (Lake Toya → Otaru → Sapporo)
Day 3: Shiroi Koibito Park + Outlet window-shopping (Sapporo)
Day 4: Pretty flowers + Telly Tower + Red bricks (Sapporo)
Day 5: Soba-making + Aunt Jam's love for Anpanman + Fairytale land (Sapporo → Furano)(For more photos, please check out my Instagram @charlenejudith.)
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