Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Geographical Center Marker 北海道中心标

Visited 10.07.2012

As Furano city is located in the center of Hokkaido, it is also referred to as the "belly button" of this huge island by locals. The geographical marker for this center position is located in the premises of Furano Elementary School.

Note: The marker is neither the stone ball nor the 4 m tall stone tablet. The actual marker is the small stone tablet which has been there since 1914. Make sure you don't point to the wrong marker when taking a photo (because I did...).

If you happen to be Furano town, do drop by to take a picture with the marker to show that you have "conquered" the center of Hokkaido!

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Sidenote: 
On the 28th and 29th of July every year, the town will celebrate Heso Matsuri (Belly Button Festival). On these two days, a string of fun filled activities and programmes are lined up. The main attraction of the festival is the Belly Button dance, whereby participants will paint humorous faces on their abdomens and dance down the street of Furano town. Overall the years, this festival has become a highly anticipated event in summer season, attracting both locals and foreigners to take part in the parade.

The committee also created this adorable looking mascot for Furano (as shown in the photo collage below), which is hard to go unnoticed when you are exploring the town of Furano (at the train station, on the pavement, in souvenir shops, etc).

Heso Matsuri website: http://www.furano.ne.jp/hesomatsuri/en/index.html

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Hokkaido Geographical Center Marker 北海道中心标
Furano Elementary School
< 15 mins walk from Furano JR Station
< 5 mins walk from Furano Marche

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Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Yuigadoxon 唯我独尊

Visited 10.07.2012

Specially came to Yuigadoxon for our first dinner in Hokkaido. Yuigadoxon is one of the most established (in terms of reputation) curry restaurant in Furano. Yes, in terms of restaurant's appearance, it does not look appealing at all. A two-storey wooden house hidden within the trees, looking out of place as compared to adjacent modern buildings. Got to know about this restaurant through Taiwan's popular gourmet search TV programme - 食尚玩家.

We were lucky to find no queue outside the restaurant on the day of visit (~ 6 pm). Interior of the shop does look a bit shabby and needs some form of refurbishing. The walls and pillars were covered with memo pads and cards, are written with praises for the food! Indeed, the savoury fragrance of curry could be detected several metres away as we were locating the shop.

A total of 29 types of spices were used in their signature curries, while homemade sausages was also one of their specialties. We ordered both homemade sausage curry (1100 yen) and omelette homemade sausage curry (1450 yen). Curry definitely lived up to its name, it was thick, not overpowering considering the huge amount of spices utilised, with a spicy aftertaste. Sausage was slightly on the saltier side for my tastebuds, but the meat was indeed well seasoned. Omelette was cooked to perfection, creamy and moist on the inside.

Overall, a very satisfying first dinner in a humble setting in Hokkaido!

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Yuigadoxon 唯我独尊
< 10 mins walk from Furano JR Station
Opening hours: 1100 - 2100 hrs
Closed on Mondays (Tuesdays when Monday is a public holiday)

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Video: Restaurant was featured in 食尚玩家. Fast forward to 12:30 for their recommendation on Yuigadoxon.

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Furano Grape Juice Factory and Winery 富良野果汁工场, 富良野葡萄酒工场

Visited 10.07.2012

Furano Grape Juice Factory, much smaller scale as compared to the winery. Factory only opens for visitors during Summer season (May - Sep).
Overall, quite a small factory (less than 15 minutes to complete the tour). On the second floor, you can view related information on its cultivation and manufacturing processes, a tourism information corner, and a shop selling grape juices/wines, grape juice jellies and soft serves. A glimpse of its ground floor manufacturing line from the second level, however was not in operation when we were there.

Sampled their grape juices and had their soft serves (grape flavoured) at a discounted price of 200 yen with Kururu bus pass. Eventually, bought several bottles of 100% straight grape juices (both red and white) and jellies from the shop. One can really taste the rich and sweet flavours of grape in just one small soft serve!

Walked to Furano Winery, which took us approx 20 mins. Along the way, we saw plots of land that were solely dedicated to grape cultivation. However, we did not manage to spot any fruits hanging in the vineyard.

Similarly in the winery, we did not manage to catch a glimpse of its manufacturing process. Did sample various types of wines on its second floor, but was not a wine lover in the first place. Actual highlight was the huge lavender field beside the winery. Blooming lavender bushes & flowers covered the gentle slope. Standing among the flowers, occasional breezes brought along the aromatic natural scent of lavender.
- Received free postcards at the Winery, with the Kururu bus pass.
- Saw grapevines at the foot of Winery, and finally spotted some fruits, but were unripe.

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Furano Grape Juice Factory (富良野果汁工场)
北海道富良野市西学田二区

大きな地図で見る

Furano Winery (Chateau Furano, 富良野葡萄酒工场)
http://www.furanowine.jp/
北海道富良野市清水山

大きな地図で見る

How to get there?
(1) Kururu bus, only available from 1 July to 15 Aug.
(2) Furano bus, to Grape Juice Factory, Rokkatei, Winery and Farm Tomita. Only available in July and August. Fee = 150 yen.
Furano bus: http://www.cbnet.co.jp/furanobus/index.html
(3) Twinkle Bus Biei Lavender Course, makes a 20 mins stop at Furano Winery. Only available from 30 Jul to 12 Aug. Fee = 1000 yen.
(4) Taxi, about 1000 yen from Furano JR Station.

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Day 1 Itinerary: Furano 富良野

Day 1 - 10.07.2012
https://maps.google.com.sg/maps/ms?msid=205065800026451234650.0004d3299e22f1f7e3e34&msa=0&ll=43.354892,142.384615&spn=0.038257,0.077162

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Asahikawa Airport (1340 hrs) > Furano JR Station (1500 hrs)
via Lavender Bus, fee = 1000 yen
Bus stops at Biei JR Station, Kamifurano, Nakafurano and New Furano Prince Hotel (Last stop).
Lavender Bus: http://www.furano-kankou.com/english/hyperlinks/access-Lavender-bus.htm

Check in: Furano Natulux Hotel

Visited Tourist Information Centre, located outside Furano JR Station:
- Purchased Kururu bus pass.
- Collected Choei Lavender Park chairlift discount voucher (300 - 50 yen discount = 250 yen).
- Arranged half day sightseeing taxi for Day 3.

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Attractions: Furano Grape Juice Factory and Winery

Furano JR Station > Grape Juice Factory
via taxi, fee = ~1000 yen
Had to take taxi because we missed the shuttle bus at 1520 hrs and the next one comes at 1620 hrs.

Grape Juice Factory > Winery (Chateau Furano)
approx 20 mins walk.

Winery (1726 hrs) > Furano JR Station (1730 hrs)
via Kururu bus, bus stop M.

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Dinner: Yuigadoxon (唯我独尊), for omelette and homemade sausage curry rice.

Strolled to Furano Elementary School, location for Hokkaido geographical center marker.

- End of Day 1 -

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Day 0 Arrival: SIN > HND > AKJ

Day 0 - 09.07.2012
Day 1 - 10.07.2012

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Route: 

(1) S'pore Changi T3 (2130 hrs) > Haneda (HND) Int Terminal, 羽田空港 (0515 hrs)

via SQ636
Note: Japan timing is +1 hour later than Singapore. 

(2) HND Int Terminal > HND Domestic Terminal 2 

via Airport shuttle bus service, to board the bus at Level 1. 
- Loop service which ferry passengers from Int Terminal to Domestic Terminal 1 and 2. 
- Bus comes every 6 minutes. 

(3) HND Domestic Terminal 2 (1115 hrs) > Asahikawa (AKJ), 旭川空港 (1250 hrs)
via Air Do NH4757

Handea Airport: http://www.tokyo-airport-bldg.co.jp/en/

Asahikawa Airport: http://www.aapb.co.jp/

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Purchase: 
Due to stiff competition from budget air carriers, SQ has been offering pretty attractive deals recently. Deal grabbed, without further ado.

As there are no direct flights to Hokkaido from S'pore, a transit at either Haneda or Narita Airport is required. The more well-known domestic air carriers that fly to Hokkaido are namely ANA, JAL, Air Do (Hokkaido Int Airlines, in which ANA is a major stakeholder) and HAC (Hokkaido Air System).

For visitors travelling to Japan via air carriers who are members of (1) Star Alliance (SQ, ANA) and (2) One World (Cathay Pacific, JAL), they are entitled to purchase domestic air fares from ANA and JAL, respectively, at cheaper rates.

(1) ANA: http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/sg/e/wws_common/fare/special/airpass.html
(2) JAL: http://www.oneworld.com/flights/single-continent-fares/visit-japan/

How it works:
Per domestic flight ticket = 10,000 yen + 500 yen consumption tax + applicable airport taxes
This programme/campaign allows visitors to travel up to 5 destinations within Japan.
- Personally I think this is a good deal to make use of.

Tip: If you are travelling by ANA or JAL, it is recommended to book all your air tickets on their online website and you will automatically be entitled to the cheaper domestic airfares.

However, if you are travelling via a partner airline, you will need to purchase the tickets through authorised travel agents, e.g. JTB, to enjoy the cheaper domestic airfares. An additional administrative fee (I paid $20 per pax) will be charged as well.

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5 long hours of wait @ HND Airport:
Was advised by travel agent not to book the earlier flight to Asahikawa (0650 hrs), in the event SQ flight is delayed. Duration between the two flights was less than two hours. However, we can request to be on the earlier flight, if we reach there on time.

To our delight, plane touched down in Japan punctually and upon immigration clearance and baggage collection, we rushed to domestic terminal immediately, hoping to board this earlier flight.
To our dismay, only two seats were available and we had to stick to original plan.

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Commemorative stamps: 

- Haneda Airport 羽田空港 -

- Asahikawa Airport 旭川空港 -