| [Volume 9 Issue 8, #1936] | ||||||
| Hokkaidō Trip Summer 2014 - DAY 4C of 8 Tranquil Greens in Biei (美瑛) | ||||||
中文讀者請注意: 因為篇幅問題, 這一系列日本遊記只有英語版本, 敬請見諒.. | ||||||
| the garden hopping trip in Furano (富良野) earlier in the afternoon has given me such a great experience to learn about how the colors of different flowers can bring delights to our lives.. this was the first time i see millions of stalks of flowers at once with my bare eyes, though the gardens are all manmade, i actually felt so close to the nature already.. as we continue our journey to Biei (美瑛) after that, we continued to get close to the nature through a different kind of experience - the Biei Patchwork Road (美瑛パッチワークの路 Biei Patchi-wāku no michi).. | ||||||
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 #4C-F1 ■ ■ after Farm Tomita (ファーム富田 Fāmu Tomita), our friend let us choose one between two options: (1) drive further to see more flower fields, or (2) head back to Asahikawa (旭川) and see some other beautiful sceneries on the way as featured in TV commercials.. we thought: (1) would be paiseh to get him to drive any further and (2) two flower fields were good enough and subsequent ones may not excite us anymore.. so we opted for the option (2) and there we were, heading to Biei (美瑛) which is about 20min drive away.. without the expected image of flower fields in our minds, it got us more excited about where our friend would bring us to, you get what i mean??  #4C-F2 ■ ■ the first stop we made was Hokusei Hill Observatory Park (北西の丘展望公園 Hokusei-no-oka Tenbō Kōen) and in the photo, the observatory deck (展望台 tenbōdai) with a very unique pyramid structure.. i just stayed up there for a brief 3 minutes and left to avoid the crowd.. afterall it is not a tall one, probably just a 10m, so it actually made not much difference looking out from the deck or from the ground.. also as the park is already on a hill, the view was superb enough and i could roam more freely on the ground rather than contained myself on the deck.. :) #4C-F3 ■ ■ and you wonder what it was like looking out from the observatory park?? standing on the hill with cooling breeze, overlooking the rural landscape and mountains at the backdrop, i felt what was captured right in my eyes was such a great blend of masterpiece by both nature and mankind on the surface of Mother Earth.. it was certainly not colorful like the flower fields in Furano (富良野) but the greens i saw was definitely giving more impact on how serenity was felt.. #4C-F4 ■ ■ from the top of Hokusei Hill (北西の丘 Hokusei-no-oka) we enjoyed a bird's eye view of the landscape.. an "overview" which was then followed by us driving on the road through the crops and vegetation fields of Biei (美瑛).. there were rice fields, wheat fields, potato farms, corn fields, buckwheat (蕎麦 soba) fields etc interlacing on the land like forming a piece of patch art, hence the name "Biei Patchwork Road" (美瑛パッチワークの路 Biei Patchi-wāku no michi).. different from the serenity felt overlooking from the top, passing through these fields made me felt myself dwindling into this vast tranquil creation..  #4C-F5 ■ ■ another highlight along the Biei Patchwork Road (美瑛パッチワークの路 Biei Patchi-wāku no michi) are a few trees that were featured in commercials and commonly recognized by the (Japanese) people.. one of those famous trees is this "Tree of Ken & Mary" (ケンとメリーの木 Ken to Merī no ki), a poplar which is now 91 years old, featured in one of the Nissan Skyline (日産スカイライン) TV commercials in 1972.. it was named after the actor and actress of the commercial, and since then this spot has become a tourist attraction of Biei (美瑛).. interesting huh?? this was the video i found on the web, but can anyone please enlightened us where this tree was seen?? :p  #4C-F6 ■ ■ the next famous tree was this "Tree of Seven Stars" (セブンスターの木 Sebun-Sutā no ki), an oak, which was once printed on the packaging of the Seven Stars Tobacco.. and again, since then this spot has become a tourist attraction of Biei (美瑛).. unfortunately, as we reached the place, two groups of tourists (from "Singland") were there making lots of noise and a middle-aged man among them even went to pluck the leaves from the tree, no qualms of what he was doing yet showing off what he got to his groupmates like he was the hero!! what an unsightly thing that spoilt the beauty of the place!! @#$%^&*  #4C-F7 ■ ■ the famous trees marked the end of our driving trip on the Biei Patchwork Road (美瑛パッチワークの路 Biei Patchi-wāku no michi).. while you thought our "garden hopping" was over, on the way back to Asahikawa (旭川), we did a very final one at this Zeburu Hills (ゼブルの丘 Zeburu no oka).. colorful flowers and beautiful blossoms which we never get tired of, and thank god this was not packed like Farm Tomita (ファーム富田 Fāmu Tomita).. i am not posting individual photos of the flower fields as this post is more on the serene side of Biei (美瑛), anyway you can actually see similar photos in my previous post.. #4C-F8 ■ ■ we were back to Asahikawa (旭川) around 6pm after a very amazing trip getting close to the flora of Furano (富良野) and Biei (美瑛), one delightful and one serene perfectly balanced.. just the right timing for another round of dinner at home, today we had shabu-shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ) and Hokkaido beer (ビール bīru) and desserts (more melons!!).. needless to say, it was a sumptuous and scrumptious dinner, a very felt-warm one too as we picked food from the pot for each other and kanpai (乾杯 - toast) for friendships.. oh, we also selfied using selfie-stick with remote shutter (no photo shown due to privacy reason), and this "technology" seemed to impress everyone, it's one fun part during the dinner, haha!! :D to the friend and family, i am so grateful for their hospitality and would like to say お世話に なりました (osewani narimashita) to show how much i appreciate all that were done.. | ||||||
| so that was day 4, started off with a serene morning and then half a day of well-balanced delight and serenity, before it ended with a very happy and warm dinner.. this put an end to our 2-day stay in the Northen area of Hokkaido, and the next day we were going to travel to Southern Hokkaido.. stay tuned for day 5 in the coming post!! :) travelogue posts in this series: |
2014.08.29 | 北海道夏(4C)
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I see food!
ReplyDeleteNo chop today?
Deletehee..hee...Wanted to say something related to the post :)
DeleteMun, haha chop is from 'someone' else one, we better don't use his 'copyright' word :p
Deleteoic. Thanks Hayley for pointing it out. :)
Deletehaha, all you can see is just food and food only?? :D
DeleteOoooohhhhhh I just love the vast expanse of fields. How nice to be outdoors.
ReplyDeleteIf I could, I sure want to run around there :)
run? think you can fly over there too with all the fresh air and lovely scents
DeleteFly there first. Then can run as much as Lina wants.
DeleteYea I don't mind to run there too! And let Aden run and play with the flowers, opps I mean admire at the flowers ;))
Deleteoh yeah, always fun to be outdoors when the weather is cooling and air is fresh.. and everywhere is oh so green.. i don't mind running there too~~
DeleteAfter all the workout walking around, a nice meal sure is great too.
ReplyDeleteBur n calories, masuk calories.
Hahaha
hahaha, at least ada masuk ada keluar.. we eat but we must also exercise lah.. cannot all the time just eat and eat and eat and blog hopping in front of the PC whole day long but do nothing else.. @_@"
DeleteHaha, at least got keluar and masuk, balance up.
DeleteAgree with SK, exercise is important! Cannot just eat and sit down, also cannot just exercise no eat, I guess moderation is the key la!
But I think Japanese food won't be very oily/fattening, I remember I din't gain much weight after I came back from my Japan trip last time, since most food I took are soup base, seldom fry stuff, even meat also were lean meat, plus we walked a lot during a trip, so I guess all balance up already la! ;)
Deleteyeah, everything must be moderate and we cannot overdo just a single thing.. and yalor, actually i don't find myself gaining much weight though i kind of eat more in Japan, probably due to the food itself..
DeleteHmmmm... if me, I would probably skip that tree.
ReplyDeleteVery pening to be surrounded with a swarm of people from tour groups one. Especially the noisy ones. (They all are noisy to me)
errr, the trees are beautiful and the surrounding patches of crop fields are nice too.. just that the swarm of noisy people were spoiling the beauty!!
DeleteI think nobody likes noisy group la, but sometimes really cannot avoid one, what to do? Takkan go and complain meh?
DeleteSo just have to walk away, don't mess with them...
yalah, takkan go there and complain.. just walk away lah, don't need to be the same "class" as them mah..
DeleteWah! Thambee also following the crowd. Use the kayu to do wefie! Terer la! Hahaha
ReplyDeletewakakaka, not my kayu but my friend brought along.. actually i find that very useful, especially the remote shutter.. i was a little hesitant initially, but after trying that, i find it so convenient lah.. Mak Glam should try~~
DeleteHallo good morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnother post of the beautiful scenery you have seen in Japan!
Good afternoon Hayley,
DeleteSo a trip to Hokkaido for you and your family?
sure Hayley can go there with her family soon, her online business seems going well~~ :)
DeleteHaha, SK, how you know my online business is good? :p
DeleteAnyway, it's just the beginning, I am still not so confident, but I am thankful to have supportive friends and also at least manage to sell off certain products, I believe if the product is good, no need very hard sell also never mind, people will know, cause I put in effort and I try the products myself and share the testimonials.
Well, trip to Hokkaido, of course I'd love that!! But seems not so possible at the moment, no money leh, how to go? :p
But I do hope one day soon I can revisit Japan! Any city also never mind, janji Japan will do, kekeke!
okaylah, everything starts slow and once you get on track then you also no time to count your cash already, hehehe!! errr, got lah, now start to save money and by the time Aden is more grown up then it will be the right time to go.. :)
DeleteMemang the BEST hospitality one can offer to friends who come from overseas! I would appreciate such friends and if they come over, I hope I can give them the same treatment if not better!
ReplyDeleteSo in this post, I see more greens than the colours in the previous post.... I can imagine seeing them "in real".... the scenery must be breathtaking.. I love looking at greens actually, that is why I love Taiping lake.. :)
Yes, the best hospitality. But sometimes also paiseh want to trouble friends if too frequent so if our own group is large then better to travel by ourselves rather than the friend would need to rent a van to take the large group around.
DeleteYes, nice to have friends/relatives oversea, can always lend a helping hand whenever we go there.
DeleteThis post memang all very greenery, good for the eyes, good for the mind too!
indeed very hospitable and the best hospitality!! if they are coming over, sure we will double the return, haha.. oh yeah, the scenery look like something surreal but then they are so real lah, so breathtaking and definitely can help to destress..
Deletehey SK! New home design again!! LIKE!!
DeleteYes, this new design is so very orangy bright! So happy colour!
Deletehehe.. if you have been following my blog, I change the template on a monthly basis, at least something afresh every month, haha!! :)
DeleteGood morning bloggers! You guys are early! Where is that King of Chops from Sibu? Still sulking away Kah in front of his PC? Aiyoooo Aiyoooo..... He needs help badly. Anyone can help him please? LOL
ReplyDeleteHey the post today has trees, food and beautiful flowers! That's the essential things of a beautiful life. Let me come back after my breakfast yeah.... Kikikikiki
maybe chopping cili kot? :p. Why sulking in front of PC?
DeleteLovely post for the coming Merdeka weekend mah.
Yeah no got see STP in 4B as well..
DeleteSTP takes his own time to slowly enjoy and savour his retirement days, lots of time to slowly comment on blogs.
Deleteguess he won't come here anymore, he's too busy chopping off my friendly comments and links from his blog i guess, so no trail of links to lead him here.. haiz, i guess that was really my bad and no one else's!! maybe the other day, i joked on the biscuit that is always out of this world to him, and my bad for the oversight that he actually will never accept people giving negative comments though he always like to do the same to others, my bad my bad!! i was actually trying to express my view, but being mistaken for humiliating him, i really deserve that lah, deserve him showing no respect at all in removing any comments right after they appear on the blog without informing.. i think must be hurting him so much that he didn't even bother to defend like he always would do, defend till the end of the time so long as he is the one to end the debate, must win and musn't lose.. oh, my bad for one mistake that crush an entire life!!! haiz, how sad, i so hate myself~~ sobs sobs!!! :(
DeleteSure? Think STP is not that small gas. No one to be blame for any misunderstanding and pleaze don't hate yourself. Anything we or Bananaz can do to mend a broken kampua?
DeleteNot to worry we shall do our level best. He ain't heavy he is my brother.
Deletemuahahaha, no thank you, i don't fancy kampua~~ :D
DeleteOh dear, so serious as that? Hope it is not... We haven't even had a bloggers' gathering yet!! I thought it would be great to gather us together one day... all come and have a merry time...
DeleteCome to think of it, if I cannot accept negative comments in my blog, I think by now my blog will be "emptied" of comments... hahahaa...
I think Our blogs should be opened to "agree to disagree"... agree?
sure all the HAPPY bloggers can meet up and have a happy gathering.. and I gotta agree with you, we should be open-minded.. though I don't think we necessarily need to "agree to disagree" but at least we must "respect the disagree", give things a thought why people would said so rather than straight away disapprove everything :)
DeleteLove the greens so orderly
ReplyDeletehow did Bananaz know they are greens?? :D
DeleteIt's all in the mind since the day Monkey God manifested Bananaz from a stone *quote & unquote from my late mama's birds & bees education*. Grass shall be green, sea is blue, cili is red until I blew it in Klang when we were given green cili during company's dinner hehe.
Deleteclever Bananaz, and surely Bananaz knows that bananas are yellow~~
DeleteAlright nice "Tree of Seven Stars"..did you tie a Yellow Ribbon round the Ole Oak Tree or merely seeing Stars?
ReplyDeleteerrr, because of that swarm of noisy Singland tourists, we just stood from a distant to take a view, didn't bother to go near..
Deletelike the Tree of Seven Stars ^^ great for photography ...
ReplyDeletebut that swarm of noisy Singland tourists just spoilt the whole thing :(
DeleteYa ho, so wasted! Perhaps you can plan to go there again SK, hehehe!
Deleteerrr, i think no need to purposely go there for a second time lah, haha!! :p
DeleteBiei Patchwork Road? sound interesting. can't wait to see the story unfolds. scrolling now.
ReplyDeletehahaha.. me good in creating suspense huh?? :p
Delete#4C-F1
ReplyDeleteOoo Biei is something like the must see place is it? Like the filming place in New Zealand for the Lord of the Rings?
Can't wait to see
errr not really a must see place i guess.. Furano will be more famous for the flowers.. unless you would also like to see those field patches, then Biei would be nice to go also.. wow, can't compare with New Zealand lah, haha~~
Delete#4C-F2
ReplyDeleteHokusei Hill Observatory Park - the observation deck so low. Like just a small double storey house. Could it be not really functional. Just built it for shooting movie or ads. Those romantic movie leh....boy girl up the tower looking at shooting stars and making a wish
yalor, not tall at all lah.. just an observatory deck lor, but didn't actually see any equipment on top woh, probably now more of a tourist place gua..
DeleteGood morning everyone ! I guess SK really felt refreshed after the garden hopping with all those beautiful and colourful flowers all around. I also hope I can see such beautiful sceneries some day. So , it's day 5 ?
ReplyDeleteOops...its still day 4.
Deletestill on the same day lah.. Biei and Furano are near to each other, so usually will go to these two places together..
DeleteYeah , I think I will go for option 2 too unless I am too excited with the flowers and wish to see more. Else I rather save up some time to see other stuffs like in option 2. After all , you guys all limited time there.
ReplyDeletethat was what we were thinking also.. also, we feel bad to make our friend drive any further since that would be very tiring..
Delete#4C-F3
ReplyDelete1. serenity- i feel is when i saw the blue sky and the blue clouds there...so calming.
2. those are rows of lavenders? so trim and properly arranged leh. Like tarak semak samun
Delete3. You snapped circular photos is it? north west east and south is it? wahhhh ppandai
Delete4. lovely greenery....hmm...macam not much traffic leh. The road empty. But maybe cars are parked elsewhere. not at roadside
Delete5. Hahaha...me and my big mouth...now can see two cars there. such green field. Nice to go there picnic and fly kites
DeleteU said u go up 3 minutes only wor...can snap so many photos ah.. sure also have selfie there. fast hands
DeleteKucing - he used a fast shuttle speed cam. Hahha. ..
Deleteyeah, blue sky white cloud on top and green fields at the bottom, how nice right?? yalor, i actually didn't snap a lot of photos from the observatory deck lah, too many people already.. i just walked on the ground and better still, not much people and can take photos from all directions..
DeleteThat pyramid observatory structure was very unique and though it's pyramid like , it looks modern. I wonder why it is used for but my initial guess would be for astronomy. The top deck may be open at night for the telescope to come out to see the sky.
ReplyDeleteIt's located on top of a hill ...wow....you have a birds eyes view of the surrounding!!! And that place looks calm and serene too. Nice !!
Deleteyeah.. this park is on a hill, so we can have a bird's eye view of the green green surroundings.. it's very serene, very scenic, beautiful!!! errr, don't know what the structure is for, probably more of touristy usage now??
DeleteThe surroundings really looks serene, quiet and relaxing. Love the yellow and light green grass bed there. I don't think you can see these in boleh land. So , I assume that area consist of my farms. It seems very much like a countryside.
ReplyDeleteerrr, maybe there are places like this in Bolehland but not yet found, or found but we have to pay RM15 to enter but once gone in, nothing to see, and two years down the road, never maintain probably and closed down, totally abandoned and allowing grass to freely grow there~~ :D
Delete#4C-F4
ReplyDelete1. ooo that is why it;s called patch work roads. They are so clever to plant so many crops in a "tersusun" way. If one type of crops failed, they still have others as a back up.
Recently learnt from gardening group that some corps if tanam side by side will help each other...eg ..keep pest away .
2. looks like some sort of flower instead of vegetation. Must have been paddy or wheat "flowering"....errrr...if that is what it is called la...
Delete3. looks like something have just been harvest wor. All the dry straws. hahaha....reminds me of my school days where the gardener have just cut the grass in the field. we would kumpul all the dried grass in a big pile and Geronimo!!! jump ito the big pile
Delete4. lovely contrast of green and yellow there
Deleteyeah, at first i thought the patchwork refers to those colors of different flowers.. rupa-rupanya refers to all the interlacing crops fields.. true also leh, got green got yellow got white, really looks like patchwork..
Deleteno idea what those plants are.. but one thing our friend said was, the quality of rice in Hokkaido is getting better these few years.. why?? thank to global warming, the weather becomes averagely warmer in Hokkaido and hence creates a better environment for the rice to grow.. interesting??
Those brown roads are so nicely carved out. Are they tar or just ground roads ? I was wondering what are they planting there besides flowers ? I'm sure there's vegetables and all sort of plants. Eh ....didn't see any cows leh? Hahha. ...
ReplyDeleteOh ...didn't read further. You did me to mentioned what they planted. Oh....corns. I don't mind buying some and eating there fresh !! And it's good too if they have steamboat ...can eat the fresh vegetables there. Hahha. ...
Deleteof course tar roads lah, meant for vehicles one dei.. errr, i thought i mentioned in the post there were rice fields, wheat fields, potato farms, corn fields, buckwheat (蕎麦 soba) fields etc mah.. hahaha!! wah, steamboat in the crops field?? that would be so nice!!!
DeleteI would love to jog on the green green grass !! Hahaha. ...
ReplyDeleteoh, that would certainly be very healthy, fresh air to breathe in while you jog..
Delete#4C-F5
ReplyDelete"Tree of Ken & Mary"....mak oi.....older than me leh the trees.
ahem...no idea on the video.
of course we have not see this commercial before lah.. 1972 before we were born and somemore only in Japan..
Delete#4C-F6
ReplyDelete"Tree of Seven Stars"...why pluck the leaves? Lucky leaves ka? LOL...if in Malaysia maybe they will put red ribbon as a lucky wish.
if everyone pluck the daun botak lo the tree
dunno that uncle lah.. purposely went to pluck the leaves and showed off, like he very "sai lei" like that.. so not civilized if i am not offending..
DeleteThe name itself "Patchwork Road" already bring sout the curiosity in me. Definitely not the patchwork roads that we have over here hah..hah...hah...
ReplyDeletehahaha.. definitely not the same as our patchED road lah.. that in Biei is really like patch art lah.. :p
DeleteThe view from the observatory park is really awesome !! Again , like to comment that it's seems so serene and relaxing up there as mentioned by you. And not forgetting the breezy and cool wind there. So nice !! I guess all your stresses are melted away.
ReplyDeleteyou are right.. standing on top of the hill looking out from that angle, with cool breeze blowing, one would certainly feel really refreshed and relax..
Delete#4C-F7
ReplyDeleteZeburu Hills ...aiyo....so nice leh....especially the top right photo. They arranged the flowers /plant so nicely that it looks like an arch of a rainbow
hahaha.. i am sure Meow will love this place, the flowers seems to be more nicely arranged here leh.. like the tracks on a stadium, but with different colors..
DeleteSo , biei means patchwork road ?
ReplyDeleteno lah, Biei is the name of the town lah.. Patchwork Road is the road through the interlacing crops fields..
Delete#4C-F8
ReplyDelete[I feel dizzy!! Let me browse photos without animation]..where the animation? nothing moving
hahaha lovely shabu shabu dinner leh
Deletesecond pic top right look like some sort of melon.,...dont think have seen it before here
Me too wondering what animation? I
Deleteerrr, got la, that little swipe to the left or right during the transition of photos as you click the buttons?? noticed or not?? hahaha~~ subtle one lah, i cannot do canggih ones because a lot of browsers still will not support the feature..
DeleteTree of Ken and Mary ...sounds so romantic. Initially I thought it was barbie doll commercial. ...hahha....that was a long time ago in 1972. Didn't have the chance to watch the video yet , maybe later.
ReplyDeletehaha, indeed this Ken and Mary couple was very popular back then and help to boost the sales of the car leh.. err, 1972 was way before i was born lah, somemore only in Japan woh..
DeleteLooking forward to day 5....wondering what things you guys will be up to next muhahaha
ReplyDeleteaiyoh, how come this round my travelogue macam cannot finish writing one?? hahahaha, i usually used just 4-5 post to conclude last time leh~~
DeleteMay be there were too many things you've seen and did, and too many things you wanna share with your readers so that's why? ;)
Deleteor maybe i'm also getting older, so old uncle is more long-winded, haha!! :D
DeleteThis SK, always say he is old he is uncle already, aiyoyo, where got people keep reminding himself like that one?
DeleteThough I would not get tired of seeing more flowers, you have made the right choice to see something different. After all, the flowers would be more or less the same. So why not take the opportunity to see a different scenery? And yes, you are being very considerate to your very kind friend. It would be best to head home and see the sights along the way. You friend would be tired if he had to drive further.
ReplyDeleteyes, you are indeed reading my mind Phong Hong!! that was exactly what i was thinking then.. furthermore we had to get back to Asahikawa for dinner with his family also..
DeleteI think we should learn like SK, if the friend is being helpful then we should do the same to him, don't trouble him so much, 好来好去嘛~
Deleteyalah, feel "paiseh" also mah, people already driving us there, so be considerate also not to trouble him that much lor..
DeleteSomehow I find the tree of seven stars very special. It's really like 7 beings flourishing out from the tree , from what I observed from the pixs. Well , since these are tourist attractions , I guess the authorities should protect them from tourists , not locals. I do saw some misbehaving singkies overseas. Don't want to mentioned it here la....
ReplyDeleteoh, you can read the "face" of a tree?? that's interesting to know you can see 7 beings flourishing out from the tree!! ah, if you were there, surely you will be able to see and feel more.. and yes, those swarm of noisy Singland tourists, roll eye!!
DeleteThis must be a season of blossoming flowers. Even at zeburu hills , the flowers are so beautiful !! What a great view there !!!
ReplyDeletei guess there are different blossoms during different seasons, probably the peak is during mid summer?? and the flowers were also so beautifully arranged~~
DeleteSK those flowers photos you took can develop into postcards and give to friends as souvenir, really very nice! I am sure these are just part of it, you sure took quite a lot photos there right? Hehe!
Deleteerrr, i don't know if my photo is good enough to be developed into postcards woh, taken with my phone only leh, maybe resolution not good enough for printing, if see on screen okay lah..
DeleteHehe, just suggesting only la!
DeleteAhhhh ....finally you post some food pixs. Can't really recognised the food except for edamane beans on my small screen. Well , it's nice to ease your hunger after a full day of sight seeing and walking. And , nice and juicy melons as well as tidbits there.
ReplyDeletehaha, i am not a foodie, so food is always not the top priority in my blog, if you would notice?? haha, yeah, more melons during dinner!! superb~~
DeleteI like the shape and design of the Hokusei Hill Observatory Deck. I see that there are many people there. I would have done the same, escape the crowd and do my viewing from the ground where I have more space to move.
ReplyDeleteyeah, the observatory deck is indeed very well designed, i especially love the arch at the four facades of the lower level.. yeah, a bit packed on the upper level, so i just stayed for a couple of minutes..
DeleteYour friend is really nice to bring you guys around and then had a nice shabu shabu with you all. It's always nice to have something warm in a cool weather with delicious food. And ..wow. ..there's Japanese beer too to cheers !! Got any hot sake ? That would be nice too !
ReplyDeleteyeah, i was truly grateful to their best hospitality!! they made our journey so memorable.. haha, they had sake but i just had some beer only~~ :p
DeleteFor me I prefer to drink beer too, and the 梅酒，heard it's very good for woman =)
DeleteI tried the hot sake once and honestly, though the glass is so small and the sake is like a little bit only, I had trouble finishing it, cause I just don't like the taste, and very hard to swallow la! Hehe!
oh, the 梅酒 is kind of nice also.. errr, didn't try sake but the friends there got one huge bottle maybe a 5-litre one, they drink like drinking water, haha!!
DeleteWah serious? Geng!
DeleteMay be they are so used to the taste already la!
Though the view is much less colourful and vibrant compared to the flower fields, it is still so scenic, soothing and tranquil. I love the contrast of the greenery and the bright blue sky. When man works in tune with nature and preserves its essence, it can be a thing of lasting beauty. I guess just standing there quietly and inhaling the fresh cool air, you feel peace and joy and thankful to be in the midst of such calmness and serenity.
ReplyDeleteWow, Phong Hong! I am impressed! Not only are you good in baking, doing accounts, you are also very good at writing and expressing yourself. No wonder SK likes this comment. *thumbs up*
DeleteThank you! Thank you!
DeleteVery well-used words indeed! =)
DeletePH can read your mind, SK, be careful! xD
yes, this is the comment of the day!! so well written, summarize the whole trip to Biei and clearly states what i felt.. Phong Hong can read my mind ke?? ooopppsss~~ :p
DeleteLoves those flowers in 4C-F7, so happy to see it and brighten up my days...
ReplyDeleteyeah, how nice if the Getai are decorated like this huh??
DeleteSK, the getai management can do that, but only can use fake flowers, else, pokkai lo xD
Deletehaha, cannot say like that lah.. maybe say from another way, use fake ones then can recycle for next year to save cost.. :)
DeleteThis place is really nice. Looking at green, sure will make one feels relax, comfortable and peaceful.
ReplyDeleteEverywhere is so clean and serene.
If I stay there , I probably drive over to this place if I am stressed. I'm sure all tensions will be melted at the sight of these beautiful views.
DeleteAgree! Everything looks well maintained and beautiful!
Deleteprecisely.. so serene, so calm, so scenic, so tranquil.. with the breeze blowing, it really made me felt so good standing there..
DeleteGood morning SK,
ReplyDeleteso fast another post for the long weekend. I comment first before reading it.
Have a good long weekend!
same to you, have a great weekend!!
DeleteAll gardens are manmade? Wow that's incredible! Looks so real and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteFor me, I will choose option 2 also, I mean since we already visited the flower field earlier on, enough already la, why not take the chance to see other sceneries?
The observatory park seems more like a place to 避雨/避太阳 to me, hehe... :p But got to say the design is very unique! Yes from photo macam not too tall only. But I think the design and the overall height is kinda match with the surroundings la! I mean everywhere is green and 'nature', if suddenly build a very tall building there, macam spoil the whole nature look already, if you know what I mean.
What you see from the observatory park reminds me what we see at Cameron Highland, something like that, hehehe. Big greenery field, trees, hills at far side, and of course clear blue sky! Well it'd be a great experience if can do Yoga there, haha! Seeing the view makes our mood good, 心情变好变轻松了，hehe~
DeleteThe vegetable fields are very beautiful too! No wonder their vegetables and food are yummy, cause all grow under good weather and surrounding!
(And I don't feel dizzy with the animated speed la, haha)
Well, call me jakun but I actually don't know anything about the tree, hehe! Featured in TV commercials in 1972?? Wah that was very long ago, I wasn't even born yet, no wonder I don't know :p
But I actually more attracted to the flowers field rather than the tree itself, sorry :p
Huh, what did that tourist did? And why? Really spoil the whole thing la! You should take his photo and share in FB, LOL! (Just kidding)
The flowers in the Zeburu Hills are nice, I love how they are being 'arranged', like a round curvy shape.
DeleteYep can tell these kinda places are free of charge one, no need to pay. Since it's like a open place and no guard or whatsoever.
Wah another round of yummy dinner? Shabu Shabu some more, my favorite! But long time never have shabu shabu already, cannot find here in Taiping.
Hayley - I guess there are beautiful flowers everywhere now in japan. Should be a nice time to visit. No shabu shabu in taping ? Maybe you can create one and buy the ingredients to eat at home.
DeleteI believe they really maintain the farms well like the parks. Such are the efforts of the locals.
Deleteyeah, those gardens and fields are all manmade lah of course.. i heard they will send the flowers to factories to produce perfumes, no wonder why they need to plant so many lah..
Deletethe observatory deck looks unique but then i prefer to stay on the ground which i can roam more freely and take photos from different angles and directions.. and it was indeed very relaxing looking at the serene green surroundings.. with cooling breeze and clear blue sky, everything seems to be so beautiful that moment, haha!!
of course we have not seen that commercial before lah.. it was in 1972, way before we were born, and somemore only shown in Japan mah.. but this Ken & Mary actually help to boost the sales a lot back then..
yalor, no idea why that uncle so retarded go and pluck the leaves.. i think that tree is protected lah.. maybe free one he thought, so can bring back as souvenirs!! duh~~
ChrisAu, ya, everything is well maintained and long lasting oversea (well I guess mostly la).
DeleteHaha, speaking of that, I don't think I have organize any homemade shabu shabu before this, not even my friends, normal steamboat got la! May be can plan to do it, since my friends also love shabu shabu =)
SK, true also, if for me also prefer to stay on the ground rather than going into the observatory deck, crowded and cannot guarantee will get a good picture.
Hmm, some uncles memang like that, don't care one, speechless! Next time when we grow old, make sure we don't do that! xD
yeah, they really maintained the gardens so well.. unlike here right?? everything also fenced and covered up, then gotta pay like RM10 to go in, and went in already got nothing to see.. two years down the road, no maintenance and closed down letting it rot there, hahahaha!!
Deleteoh yeah.. i rather feel the freedom to roam on the ground rather than to squeeze myself through the crowd (of course not that packed with people lah)..
Haha yea right, like the cameron lavender garden, need to pay one, but so far I see still nicely maintained la, hopefully can maintain like this for a long time.
DeleteNow I see why it is called Biei Patchwork Road. The various fields interlacing the land are very much like patchwork. Which reminds me of the patchwork quilt that my grandma used to make from remnant cloth.
ReplyDeleteYou seems very observant. Thanks for the answer.
Deleteyes, it's the interlacing crops fields of different colors.. not like the tar patches on the road over here in Bolehland lah, haha~~
DeleteIt is interesting that the two trees in your photo are icons and even attract tourists. Hmmm...not very nice to pluck the leaves isn't it? tsk..tsk..tsk...
ReplyDeleteThey should fence it and put a sign board there - see but no touch. Hahaha. ..
Deleteerrr, maybe the Japanese are very disciplined so they do not need any warning sign to remind them.. but that uncle ah, really, tsk tsk tsk~~
DeleteJapanese memang disciplined la but seeing this as a tourist spot, they really should put up a warning signboard, or may be have someone to guard around?
DeleteCause if spoil really very wasted leh!
errr, i think it's the mentality lah.. the Japanese themselves are disciplined but they would also think the tourist would be disciplined lor, setting up warning signs like not so respectful mah, somemore not nice to see hor??
DeleteAh, nice! You visited another flower field on the way back. I can never get tired of flowers!
ReplyDeletePhong - I guess everybody loves flowers and especially those here with so many colorful beds of different flowers. :)
DeleteAll flowers have the unique power to make us feel better, one of God's creation, hehe!
Deleteyeah, it was kind of nice to end the trip with a visit to another flower field.. nice ending :)
DeleteWhat a nice ending to the Asahikawa trip - another round of homely dinner at your friend's home. In the second photo I see red watermelons and some green melons. Looks like papaya slices except for the green colour. The photo below the green melons show some packaged goodies. Look like mooncakes? Looking forwards to the continuation in your next post .
ReplyDeleteIt's really seems a wonderful dinner for sk and his friends. To me , it seems like a well deserved dinner after all the travelling and walking.
Deleteah yes, nothing beats the homecooked dinner!! i really enjoyed all the food served.. yeah, the green fruit is some kind of melon also, i was told it is some crossbreed of two melons.. it is fragrant but not the very sweet type, taste something like papaya but the texture of honeydew.. errr, very difficult to describe lah, it's a mixture of many things, haha~~
DeleteGood la get to eat homecooked meal when we are at oversea, like that can minimize the craving for our own homecooked meal, I always have no problem eating local food for the first 2-3 days when I go trip, but eventually I will start to miss wantan mee, char kuey teow, bak kut teh and etc etc, hur hur! I guess that's normal huh? :p
Deleteerrr, actually not really lah, i didn't remember i got missed our local food at all leh.. because the food there really nice lor, i wished i could have more instead.. but i admit the day after i came back, i had har mien for breakfast lah~~ :D
DeleteHmm, if go Asia ok la, since their food more or less like ours one, but if you go to Western/European countries then different story already~
DeleteI gotto admit too I won't get bored of Japanese food, hehe! I can still remember how nice and yummy their food is, even the plain white rice is so good! And the tofu! I am a person who doesn't really like tofu but Japanese tofu is really yummy and nice!
I remember having some sort of tofu soup with rice one afternoon during the trip, inside the pot there were just plain soup, some veges and tofu, though 清淡 but it's so so yummy!
美瑛景色迷人過富良野，有機會過夜仲可以觀賞到滿天繁星嘅夜空，一個唔錯嘅體驗。
ReplyDelete美瑛就比較偏向大自然同遼闊草原, 富良野就人造艷麗花叢, 各有千秋囉.. 你上次有去美瑛??
DeleteWhat melon is that green thing in 4C-F8 picture 2? It looks like elongated kiwi to me @.@ What does it taste like?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I want to know too. Hope SK answers this. Too big to be kiwi, must be some sort of melon, I guess.
Deleteoh, i have no idea what melon that was, it's a crossbreed i was told.. rather difficult to describe as it's a mixture of many things, not that very sweet type but very strong melon smell, taste a bit like papaya but then with honeydew texture, errr, i don't know what i'm saying~~ :D
DeleteSK, LOL, luckily you mentioned you don't know what you're saying, cause I cannot understand either.
DeleteBut whatever it is, I am sure it's a good experience if we manage to try it, cause it's a rare chance ma!
because it's very difficult to describe lah.. you only knew how it taste when you eat it lah~~ :D
DeleteLOL next time I go, I try to find it..
Deletevisiting you again, wishing you to have a great weekend~
ReplyDeletethanks for your greetings.. same to you!! :)
Deletewhat is that green fruit besides the water-melon? Looks a bit like kiwis.
ReplyDeleteit's some kind of melon..
DeleteOh my, I missed your Japan trip posts!!
ReplyDeleteWah, nice landscape, love the colourful flowers!
ReplyDeleteOh looks like some tourists spoilt the beautiful environment eh? LOL!
ReplyDeleteYour "floral blanket" not as colourful as my friend's one, hehe :P Maybe the timing problem~~
ReplyDelete沒有中文版，只好看圖片了^^
ReplyDelete