Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Days 3-4 – Asahidake, Yumoto Yukomansou Ryokan

More selfie antics instigated by my older son. Keeps them busy during long drives.

After wrapping up Asahikawa Ramen Village, it was time to head to our first of many ryokan.  We booked Yumoto Yuomansou with the intent to do a little hiking and sight-seeing around Daisetsuzan National Park.   As we drove from Ramen Village to Asahi-dake Mountain, the drive took about an hour as it is located in the neighboring town of Higashigawa.  The kids continued their selfie antics here and there, while we drove through a very scenic road.

Mt. Asahi-dake is Hokkaido’s highest peak. Along the way, the landscape consisted of remote rice farms, trees, and lakes that were all green around us as it was the beginning of the summer months.  These farms which are called satoyama, appear as though they work with nature as opposed to totally changing the land to farmland. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Days 3-4 – Asahidake, Yumoto Yukomansou Ryokan”

Tabemono Vacation – June/July 2016 Trip to Japan, Hokkaido and Tohoku Itinerary

 

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Hokkaido is the northern island of Japan. We flew from Haneda airport near Tokyo to Asahikawa using the ANA foreigner air tickets which is available only if you purchase before arriving to Japan.

Traveling abroad with a family with four young children is not easy, but Japan is one of the safest countries with a wide variety of attractions and  great food.  This combination makes it a popular destination in my household.  The only challenge is that a family of six is hard to accommodate by Japanese standards.  We need to plan out accommodations and what to do and where to eat carefully as Japan tends to be cater to small groups. In fact most hotels accommodate groups up to 3-4 people unless you know what to look for and book as early as possible to secure the few rooms that can accommodate a large family.

In our previous trips we travelled through the Kanto to Kansai regions of Japan, so this time we really wanted to experience other parts of this beautiful country.  Our selection narrowed down to whether we wanted to spend time in Hokkaido or Kyushu and the choice was further easier to make given that we will be taking the kids during their summer break, which meant hot and humid weather in the Honshu and Kyushu islands.  Thus, the vacation was focused on Hokkaido to avoid the muggy, hot heat the rest of Japan faces during the late June and early July months.  In fact, during our stay, the weather for the most part was great in  Hokkaido, outside of rain for a day or two during the first two days.  We even needed jackets  a couple of times in the mountain areas,  but otherwise experienced very enjoyable weather. Continue reading “Tabemono Vacation – June/July 2016 Trip to Japan, Hokkaido and Tohoku Itinerary”