Saturday, March 16, 2013

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Asperges, Biei Senka 美瑛選果

Visited 12.07.2012
Revisited on 14.10.2017https://hsuchia.blogspot.sg/2018/05/hokkaido-revisit-2017-biei-senka-senka-ichiba-senka-kobo.html


Asperges is a French restaurant which utilises seasonal ingredients all grown and produced in Biei. Knowing that Asperges was a popular restaurant in Biei, I made a reservation for lunch at 1130 hrs the day before with the help of staffs from Furano Natulux Hotel. Calling to make a reservation is strongly recommended as this restaurant gets pretty packed during lunch hours - was not able to book a table for 12 noon and had to settle for the earlier timing of 1130 hrs.


Got to know this restaurant through CNA's Japan Hour programme and liked the concept of incorporating seasonal ingredients which were freshly plucked from the fields of Biei every morning, in their dishes - one of the initiatives of Biei JA (agricultural association) to sustain farming activities in Biei. No English menu was available at that point in time, but fortunately I did check out the menu (with the help of Google Translate) on their website prior visiting. While putting together this page, realised that they revamped their webpage last year, and have updated their content with English version too!



Ordered two different lunch courses (the cheapest as well). Overall lunch experience was excellent - initially wanted to rush through lunch such that we can catch the earlier Furano-Biei Norokko train at 1302 hrs, but the atmosphere of the restaurant was just too comfortable and laidback, which had us enjoying our lunch in a leisure manner.

(1) Lunch course for 2,100 yen:
  • Field of Biei, assortment of 20 different types of vegetables from the farms in Biei. Aesthetically pleasant and healthy dish, which reminded me of the colourful flower parks in Biei. 
  • Nanatuboshi (Seven Stars) rice produced in Biei, four kind of beans and bacon risotto. All felt that this was a very delicious and savoury rice dish, one that will attract us to patronise this restaurant again. 
  • Cherry tomato in syrup. Just the right amount of sweetness - a simple dessert to complete the meal. 
(2) Lunch course for 2,650 yen:
  • Potato cornet, contains mashed potatoes and fried sweet potato chip.  
  • Field of Biei. 
  • Slices of Biei pork, accompanied with mashed potato and roasted onion. Felt that the pork was slightly salty, but the roasted onion was very unexpectedly juicy!
  • Cherry tomato in syrup.
  • Strawberry jelly with ice cream. A very delectable dessert - strawberry jelly melting as soon as it saw the temperature difference in the mouth! 
  • Chocolate and carrot financiers. 1 piece each. 
  • Coffee, black tea or herb tea to choose from. 

After lunch, we visited the market in Biei Senka, which sells Biei locally grown agricultural products and livestock, a similar concept to Furano Marche. Ingredients that were utilised by Asperges can be purchased in this shop too. Food such as rice, corn and potatoes were also available for taste testing. Bought a few packets of tidbits - dried sweetcorn and milk cubes, which cost around 200 - 250 yen per packet.

Tip: Biei Senka operates a stall in New Chitose Airport. If you happen to depart from New Chitose Airport, you can still do your last minute shopping there.

Recognition: Restaurant was rated 1 star in Michelin Guide Hokkaido 2012.

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Biei Senka 美瑛選果
北海道上川郡美瑛町大町2丁目
http://bieisenka.jp/

Asperges
< 10 mins walk from Biei JR Station.
http://biei-asperges.com/
Opening hours:
- 1100 - 1900 hrs (1 Apr - 3 Nov), closed on Wednesdays.
- 1100 - 2000 hrs (Jul to Aug), no rest days in this two months.
- 1100 - 1900 hrs (Nov to Mar), only open on weekends. Closed from Dec to Jan.

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Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Hill of Zerubu ぜるぶの丘

Visited 12.07.2012


Third flower park of the day. 
As we had some time left, our taxi driver proposed this other flower park as the final stop of our sightseeing day trip. Hill of Zerubu has been a well-known flower park in Biei, and is also the park nearest to the train station.


Highlights: A large garden where flowers are planted in a circular fashion - an exclusive feature of this park. A large variety of flowers are planted in this garden during the summer season. Apart from lavender, lilies and roses were spotted in this area, which I have not seen or missed out in other flower parks earlier in the day. What attracted me most was this amazing plot of land dedicated to sunflowers - an extremely beautiful sight that is beyond words to describe.


A great way to end our day trip in Biei!

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Hill of Zerubu ぜるぶの丘
http://biei.selfip.com/
Opening hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs

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How to get there?
(1) Approx 2.3 km from Biei JR Station. Alternatively, bicycle rental shops are readily available near train station - can choose to ride to this attraction instead. 

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Patchwork Road 拼布之路

Travelled 12.07.2012

- Buckwheat, asparagus and barley fields -
Patchwork road is located on the northwestern side of Biei, and passes through various agricultural fields which are all arranged in square plots of land. These plots of vegetation resembles patchwork when viewed from above, thus explains how its name came about. To me, it was indeed an eye opener as I finally got to see how some common vegetables looked like before it ends up on our plates. As we passed by each field, our taxi driver will stop and introduce that vegetable to us - buckwheat, asparagus, potatoes, barley, rice, etc.

Biei is well-known for its scenic natural landscape of fields and hills. Another highlight of Patchwork Road is its "famous" trees that are located along the route. Most of them became "celebrity" trees after appearing on TV commercial or packaging.


(1) Ken & Mary tree - this giant poplar, standing in the middle of a field, was featured in Nissan skyline "Love Skyline"commercial in 1972. It is named after the actor & actress in the commercial.
(2) Seven stars tree - a lone oak tree that appeared on Seven Stars cigarette packaging in 1976.
(3) Family tree (亲子の木) - made up of two taller trees with a smaller tree protected in between by both.


(4) Mild Seven hill - this colony of trees appeared in Mild Seven cigarette advertisement.
(5) Northwestern Hill Observatory Park - a pyramid shaped observatory which allows one to see Mt Tokachi range on a good day.

- View from observatory -
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How to get there? 
(1) Twinkle Bus Biei Course. Route covers Ken & Mary tree, Seven stars tree, Family tree and Northwestern Hill Observatory Park. Departs from Biei JR Station and entire bus trip takes about an hour. Bus service is only available from June to October. Fee = 500 yen.
(2) Bicycle is another popular mode of transportation to tour the Patchwork Road. Do take note that it takes approximately 3 to 4 hours to cover the entire course and there are slopes (uphill) to overcome along the way.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Aoi ike (Shirogane Blue Pond) 青い池

Visited 12.07.2012
Revisited on 14.10.2017https://hsuchia.blogspot.sg/2018/05/hokkaido-revisit-2017-shirogane-aoi-ike-blue-pond.html


Some may find this scenery familiar. Yes, this picture appeared as one of the wallpapers in Macbook Pro (http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/features-retina/). Located near Shirogane onsen area, this pond is mysteriously blue in colour. Because of rain, waters appeared to be murky (as shown in the picture above) due to soil erosion. Otherwise on a good day, one will be able to see the reflection of white birch from the waters clearly.


Background: A dam/dike was built by Hokkaido Development Authority for emergency preparedness - to hold back volcanic mud if volcanic eruption from Mt Tokachidake is to occur. Waters started to collect in this dike. Reason for the blue waters remains unknown despite water analysis conducted. However, one hypothesis given was colloids formed from aluminium containing water from Shirogane and Biei River, reflect as blue colour under sunlight. Indeed, a beautiful picturesque created by natural phenomenon.


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Aoi ike (Shirogane Blue Pond) 青い池
Approx 18 km from Biei JR Station
Biei Tourism website (in Japanese): http://www.biei-hokkaido.jp/kankouspot/refresh/refresh.html


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How to get there? 

(1) Twinkle Bus Asahikawa Sweets and Biei Course, makes a 30 mins stopover at this attraction. Only available on selected dates in July and September.
Fee for complete course (board and alight at Asahikawa JR Station) = 2,500 yen

(2) If you plan to stay at Shirogane Park Hills Hotel, Aoi ike is about 45 mins away by foot.
Park Hills Hotel: http://www.biei-hotelparkhills.com/english/footpas.html

Monday, March 11, 2013

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Shikisai no oka 四季彩之丘, 四季彩の丘

Visited 12.07.2012
Revisited on 15.10.2017https://hsuchia.blogspot.com/2018/12/revisit-hokkaido-2017-biei-shikisai-no-oka.html


Second flower park of the day.
Shikisai no oka is a well-known flower viewing spot in Biei during summer season. Covers a huge land area of 7 hectares in size, approximately 30 different species of flowers are grown here, creating a magnificent landscape of beautiful flowers. No admission fee required, but visitors are encouraged to donate 200 yen which will go towards park maintenance fund. To me, strolling/walking is the best way to admire this panoramic scenery if time and weather permits. One can also choose to ride on a tractor bus, buggy or cart to tour the park more efficiently, but for a nominal fee.


Unfortunately due to bad weather conditions (downpour became heavier), we could only cover a portion of the park. Late July to early August should be the best time to visit this park, when most of the flowers are in their full bloom stage, covering the gaps between the rows. What definitely brightened us up was this huge field of sunflowers located at one end of the park - vibrant colour of sunflower imparting a sense of warmth and positive energy in this wet weather! To me, this was the highlight of this flower park which definitely made this trip worthwhile.


 Shops are located at the entrance of the flower park.
- Fresh vegetables and fruits (e.g. potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, melons, etc) grown locally were on sale.
- Food stall selling snacks and meals, such as curry rice/udon, croquette, etc to choose from.
- Souvenirs.


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Shikisai no oka 四季彩之丘, 四季彩の丘
〒071-0473 北海道上川郡美瑛町新星第三
http://www.shikisainooka.jp/english/index.html

Opening hours by season:
  • April to May, October: 0900 - 1700 hrs
  • June to September: 0830 - 1800 hrs
  • November: 0900 - 1630 hrs
  • December to February: 0900 - 1600 hrs
  • March: 0900 - 1630 hrs

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How to get there? 
(1) Twinkle Bus Biei Takushin-kan course, makes a 15 mins stop at this attraction. Three trips per day from July to August. Only 1 trip per day in June, weekends in September and October. Fee = 500 yen.
(2) Approx 30 mins walk from Bibaushi JR Station (美马牛). 


- Bought a postcard depicting Shikisai no oka -

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Roller Coaster Road ジェットコースターの道

Travelled 12.07.2012


Our taxi driver drove through this 2.5 km stretch of road in Kamifurano that has steep rises and falls. With good control of speed, this road is definitely not as thrilling as the name suggests!

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Roller Coaster Road  ジェットコースターの道
http://en.visit-hokkaido.jp/travelPlanner/details.php?code=6101013000016

Hokkaido Summer 2012 北海道夏季之旅 - Saika no sato 彩香之里, 彩香の里

Visited 12.07.2012


First flower park of the day.
Attraction was not planned in my original itinerary but was told by our taxi driver that this flower park was along the way. Saika no sato occupies about 7 hectares of land, making it the largest flower park located in Nakafurano.


Day 3 was a rainy day and definitely not the best day for such sightseeing trip. Despite covering only a small area of the park due to bad weather condition, the beautiful colouration of flowers covering the entire field still manage to lift up our spirits. Was introduced to other forms of lavender flowers that were grown in this park; spotted some in white, slightly pinkish colours. A shop, which sells snacks (e.g. lavender soft serves) and souvenirs (e.g. lavender potpourri), is also located at the entrance of the flower park.


Reasons to visit: 
(1) Even though this flower park is not served by local buses, it is still within acceptable walking distance from Nakafurano JR Station. Alternatively, you can take a cab from Nakafurano JR Station and walk back after that - to save on transport costs.
(2) Less publicised as compared to Farm Tomita, which means smaller tourist/visitor crowds.
(3) Smaller tourist/visitor crowds means one can take scenic photos with least interference (i.e. strangers in the background).

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Saika no sato 彩香之里, 彩香の里
北海道空知郡中富良野町丘町6-1
http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~saika/
Opening hours: 0800 - 1700 hrs, only from June to September.
Free admission

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How to get there? 
(1) Approx 20 mins walk from Nakafurano JR Station.