here is the obihero’s horse racing track
i bought 3 tickets. but i got no luck… well, at least i have got myself the ticket as a souvenier. not bad haha
audience can get very close with the horse (since they run so slow, i guess nothing too dangerous huh)
nicely groomed
thats how the horse race goes, with slopes n very heavy loads for the horses…
gomi taro (五味太郎) exhibition in hokkaido obihiro museum of art (北海道立帯広美術館）
rokkaitei (六花亭) desserts. i love them! :D
after work, jacqueline n i biked from furano JR station to the cheese factory
there is a TVB flag hanging behind the cashier area
there really aint much in the cheese factory. n this is what i like the most in the factory, nothing related to cheese though :P
here is the center point of hokkaido, right inside an elementary school in furano (富良野)
the very popular farm tomita!
everything lavender, including the color of the gardeners'uniform
kanno farm
bumped into filex (an ex-colleague in hk) when i was in kanno farm
biked a whole day in biei (美瑛）, a long steep slope in the pic, this is a tough one, took this pic when i was taking a break
finally something other than flower! a straw roll man in shikisai (四季彩の丘）
拓真館 - a gallery of a famous photographer, 前田真三
actually i wasnt allowed to take pix in the gallery :P
logo of a barber shop, will this sign make u go into the shop n give it a try? ;-)
what's so interesting there?
more lavenders, more flowers...
nishinaka, a very small JR train station near by my 2nd wwoof host
getting my belly painted for the belly button dance (へそ踊り）:D
my japanese teammates really like the belly painting of this guy. they said this is some kinda sumo related drawing…
its so hard for me to take pix while holding up the big heavy hat n dancing at the same time… plus i didnt want to make it so obvious that i wasnt putting all my effort dancing as a performer but taking pix like a tourist hehe
this is so cool haha. instead of belly painting, some jap r treating this festival more like a halloween
i went to farm tomita again (took me 30mins to bike there), ~7 in the morning this time
not many ppl around, so much nicer! :)
another art gallery, this time its goto sumio (後藤純男)
japanese painting using washi (和紙) n some very expensive insoluble mineral pigments (岩絵具)
"why cant i join them in the festival (祭り)?"
"is it becuz i m wearing pink??" :(
flowers flowers flowers!!! i have seen almost too many of them :P
all the beautiful colorful flowers makes a dried ugly leaf more interesting than ever before :P
日の出公園, one of the most popular place for shotting wedding pix, n here is a pair of couple from hong kong
here is otaru (小樽)
glass shops n glass studios r everywhere in otaru
a good kaiten sushi (回転すし）restaurant i learned from another wwoofer’s guidebook, yummy n cheap
lucky that nao n i went there early (at 12ish), for i saw many ppl waiting by the time we left
this is a very interesting house, very cool, i wonder who is living in there
in real person, the owner wasnt as friendly as how he looked in his business sign displayed outside the shop haha
we bought 4 of its famous red bean buns. its not bad, yet very filling
the famous otaru canal
so many chinese tourist here! esp near the canal area during sunset! (n i was one of them haha :)
like all other beautiful tourist spots, there r some artists painting n selling their artworks next by the canal
bumped into filex again ^o^
the sapporo JR station
in hakodate morning market
one can fish a squid, get it cut up, n eat the squid sashimi right there
n i had a dancing squid sashimi bowl... quite an experience it was :P
the goryokaku tower (五稜角タワー)
there aint much inside the star now, but may have more to offer later for it seems like they r in the process of building some museums n whatnot.
one can get a nice view of the star n the city up from the tower :)
euro-style architecture area in hakodate
one downside when traveling alone -- not easy to get a nice pix of myself... (cant ask for too much from strangers :P)
a very steep slope called ChaChanobori Slope (meaning - elderly), the slope is so steep that ppl who r walking on it, look like an elderly, walking slowly, with their back bent forward
looking at the the beautiful harbour view of hakodate makes me wonder if hong kong will still have its harbour view years later, or will it become a “river view”…
thats creative :)
old public hall of hakodate ward
old british consulate of hakodate
trams in hakodate r very similar to those in hong kong
the famous squid festival (イカ祭り）！
its all about squid n dancing, many groups performed, its like a mixture of jazz dance n traditional japanese dance
hakodate's famous night view
these crab-meat buns were so good. i had two for breakfast (went back for another one after eating the first one :)
lots of crab meat inside the bun
the mascot of hakodate morning market
noboribetsu - full of demons (statues :), volcanoes, hot spring hotels...
there r several walking trails in noboribetsu onsen area. n i jogged all of them slowly in this very hot day
i saw many of this statue along the walking trails, n all of them put on a red apron. what's this all about??
i cafe! my favorite! recommend to all backpackers ;)
cheaper rate if u sit in the public area
n i always had a private booth
there r over 150 shelves of comics in this internet cafe
all-u-can-drink!! besides soft drink, there r slush drinks, hot coffee n tea, fruit juice, milk, even miso soup n porridge during meal time :D
shower room, with shampoo n bath gel
n hair dryer too! :)
the sapporo morning market
sushi bowl for breakfast again :D
the uni was just sooo sweet that having it with wasabi n shoyu would be such a waste!
the sapporo TV tower
時計台 (the clock tower)
by now, u probably hate how i always put up a v-sign when taking pix, right? well... i was just trying to blend into the jap society... haha
this is the former hokkaido government office building
the Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens (北海道大学植物園) in sapporo downtown area
hokkaido university
lunch in hokkaido university, had its famous beef toro rice bowl (牛トロ丼） n a salad. yummy, n good deal too!
here reminds me much of umich, outside the michigan union or the angell hall maybe?? somewhere in the central campus
visited the hitsugigaoka observation hill (羊ヶ丘展望台） with nao
here is one of my favorite in sapporo - a very nice place in hokkaido university for an afternoon nap
i love subway in japan, so good :D
had a slow n easy time here, enjoyed my sandwich, did some reading, writing, napped for a while...
kushiro wetland, a famous national park in eastern hokkaido
i asked this jap couple for directions. instead of just giving me instructions of how to get there, they offered me a free ride. so nice :)
this couple has been traveling around japan with their camping van whenever they have time. very cool. i want to do this too. maybe later :D
got dropped off at the kushiro wetland observation deck
kushiro morning market - known for katte don (勝手丼), kinda like a made-to-order rice bowl
時しらず salmon, sanma (pacific saury / 秋刀魚 - kushiro is the only place where the fish can be served raw), scallops, hairy crab, n chuu toro... very happy :D
there is a sitting area in the market where ppl can eat the fish n crabs that they have just bought
the akkeshi bridge (厚岸大橋)
becuz of the rainy weather, i didnt see much in akkeshi (厚岸) besides the bridge n many seagulls
味の三平 -- a small yet very popular ramen shop in sapporo
the man on the left is frm kyoto, just like me, he came to this ramen shop just becuz he heard that its good
the sapporo beer museum
sapporo factory really is no factory, but a shopping mall, i had a good late lunch there while watching the olympic n updating my journal
the obon matsuri (おぼ祭り) in sapporo downtown
everyone dances in obon matsuri :)
made friends with some japs in the 祭り(festival)
gundam in obon matsuri (i guess my bro would love to have this costume :)
umm... i actually didnt know that guy next to me :P
i have been to several art exhibitions during my 8-wks hokkaido trip, n this is my favorite - Leonard Foujita exposition in hokkaido museum of modern art
宮崎 駿 (Miyazaki Hayao) animation fans may be interested in this one - exhibition of kazuo oga, a background artist of many popular animations, including totoro, kiki's delivery service, princess mononoke, n many more...
a very nice bento i got myself in daimaru (大丸)
got all my souvenir shopping efficiently done in this airport shopping mall :)
lucky me, hit the baggage weight limit right there, no more, no less :D
bye bye hokkaido, thank u for all the fun u got me :D
having a nice, slow buffet breakfast in seoul's incheon int'l airport
the best airplane meal - korean air's bibimbap :)
