Hey Hive!
So if you missed the last couple of posts, we are currently recounting our final journey to Japan back in July 2019 when we decided to explore a new region and see Hokkaido in summer (since everywhere else in Japan is really hot during that period)!
Last week, we continued our journey up Shikisai-no-Oka or Shikisai Hills, which is known for their very beautiful flower fields! We were part of a group tour going up to the hills from Sapporo and we saw so many rows and rows of beautiful colourful flowers!
We took a walk around the entire field and enjoyed the view of so many different species of colourful flowers before checking out the souvenir shops and enjoying a nice lunch and melon buffet!
The restaurant had a deal for melon buffet (which was also included in our group tour package), and since this is probably the only time we would get to enjoy Japanese melon we stuffed our bellies full of it! Melons in Japan are typically very expensive so this was a good deal, and it tasted really nice and juicy too!
Anyway, there's still more of our flower field adventure so we continue!
6 July 2019. Saturday.
After we were so stuffed of melon, it was time to take a walk to digest it. Unfortunately it was around 2pm in the afternoon then and the sun was at its peak so it was quite warm. We stayed in the shady areas as much as we could while walking around.
We were on the other side of the hills but there were still plenty of colourful flowers here too, and of course the signature of Hokkaido - lavender!
This place was called Farm Tomita and there were so many different flower fields here, and even a white birch forest!
If you caught the previous post, you'd have seen many lavender products for sale in the souvenir shops; from potpourri to various soaps and cosmetics. I guess this is where most of the lavender comes from.
There were even some honeybees pollinating the flowers! I was kinda scared of being stung but I tried to take a picture as close as I could.
There was quite a lot of people here but the sun was also out so I tried to take as many pictures as I could while also dodging the heat.
I like lavender scented things a lot, but seeing them growing naturally and smelling them here was a completely different experience.
I think there was also different species of lavender that were growing on the farm.
It was definitely quite a sight. We walked around the farm trying to get away from the people and the heat while enjoying the flowers at the same time. A tough line to walk, but we tried.
When there wasn't anyone else around, it felt like we could be in a pointillism painting or something.
There was a whole area of shops selling all kinds of trinkets and souvenirs where everyone was gathering.
It was quite the line too; I'm not sure what they were buying but maybe it was the lavender ice cream since it was really hot out.
There was also a cafe there selling all kinds of lavender drinks and dessert, like lavender lemonade, soft serve and even cheesecake!
It was quite a huge store too, and since it was so hot out we decided to go in and take a look.
And as expected, it was crowded as hecc in there. It was hard to even walk around let alone see any of the souvenirs. But since we weren't going to buy anything it seemed pretty pointless so we promptly left.
We kept seeing the ads for lavender soft serve that was really tempting!
Even though it was really warm out, I bet the flowers loved the sun so they could grow nicely.
Thankfully we came out here in the morning so we could see the other fields earlier and not have to tolerate this heat then. It felt like we were in Singapore heat all over again. But for this view of the flowers, I'd say it's worth it.
I wonder if there are flowers in bloom earlier in the year, like during Spring time so it's not as hot. We did go there in July when its summertime after all. Maybe in April it wouldn't be as warm?
There were also shops selling melon as well of course, but it was ridiculously expensive, at around 10,000jpy!
Apparently, this farm has been around since 1958 in Nakafurano Hokkaido, when Tokuma Tomita started plowing the fields. He is the grandfather of Tadao Tomita, who launched lavender cultivation.
While walking along, we found this little rock trough dripping water and apparently it's fresh cold water from the Tokachidake mountains! The sign said feel free to drink so we tried it and it tasted like cold water indeed.
It was cooler in the shaded areas so we tried to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
Now that there are cheaper fragrances, I wonder if Farm Tomita gets most of its revenue through ecotourism.
Not only did they grow lots of flowers, but there were plenty of fruits as well, like cherries and these Europeans pears!
We still got to enjoy a nice relaxing stroll through the farm despite it being quite warm out.
there was even a little greenhouse with special plants inside. I guess these plants needed more shade or required certain temperatures to prosper.
The greenhouse looked a little bigger on the inside actually. And there were lots of flowers not at their peak yet in here.
There were even some spices growing too, like rosemary!
After that we headed back out and we were back at the beginning again. I'm not sure if we walked the whole farm, but I guess we walked the areas which were less warm.
Here were more lavender flowers growing in pots and the birch trees!
We came across yet another dessert place and finally decided to try the lavender soft serve ice cream! They also had melon soft serve, but since we just had lots of melon at the buffet, we figured we'd try just the lavender one.
And here it is! It definitely did smell of lavender, and was melting fast with how warm it was. Thankfully we found a place to sit down and relax while eating our ice cream.
To be honest, it didn't taste that great. Or it would taste just like how most flowers taste I guess - bitter. It wasn't too bitter but probably because of the added sugar or something. All in all, it was okay, but I wouldn't buy it again. Maybe the lavender and vanilla cone would taste nicer.
We saw a cute little doggo walk past and he looked right at me as I snapped a photo!
After that we were kinda tired from walking so we sat back and relaxed while trying to cool down before getting ready to leave.
Soon enough it was time to head back so we took the bus back to Sapporo and slept on the bus. We were so exhausted after all that walking and eating.
For dinner, we had probably one of the worst experiences ever. We were craving some meat and decided to eat at Gyu-Kaku, one of our favourite yakiniku places!
The food was fine, but it was really crowded in the restaurant at the timeso we had to sit at a counter-style table next to these two guys who were smoking the whole time!
It was absolutely disgusting since we were downwind of his gross cigarette smoke. And it was an indoor, air-conditioned restaurant! I legit saw some of the cigarette smoke land on our grill it felt like we were ingesting the second hand smoke too.
The smoke stench was so overwhelming I completely lost my appetite tbh. And it's not like we could be asked to move elsewhere since the whole restaurant was packed.. So we quickly ate our plates of meat and left. I actually got so mad because of those inconsiderate guys ruining our meal.
We visited the Donki Hote not too far away and came across the local mascot - Melon Kuma!
He's a bear with a melon body and actually looks kinda cute, but also ferocious!
And that's all for our flower field expedition! Even though it kinda ended on a sour note thanks to those inconsiderate smokers, we had so much fun enjoying the view of the colourful flowers and the very healthy melon buffet! It was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience that I highly recommend to anyone visiting Hokkaido!
Thanks so much for reading, and tune in next week for more Sapporo adventures!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
TacoCat’s Travels #173 (Japan 9.0 - Hokkaido): Basking in Beautiful Flowers! 🌼
