hokkaido
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Kaze no Garden (Wind Garden): Site of a famous TV show (Hokkaido, Japan)
Located on the island of Hokkaido in the well-known town of Furano, which features attractions such as Panorama Road, Lavender Fields and Farm Tomita, also boasts another famous garden that was the setting of a famous television show in Japan. Sharing the same name as the show, Kaze no Garden (or Wind Garden), is an…
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Rokka no Mori: Wasteland turned Garden and Art Gallery (Hokkaido, Japan)
Located just to the south of the city Obihiro, Rokka no Mori (or 六花の森, literally the forest of 6 flowers) is a garden and art gallery in Hokkaido, Japan. Set up by the Rokkatei company, one of Hokkaido’s (and by extension, Japan’s) leading confectionary companies, the garden opened in 2017 on the site of a…
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Shiroi Koibito: Japan’s take on ‘European Cookies’
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Manabe Garden: Hokkaido’s Oldest Conifer Garden
Located in Hokkaido’s Obihiro city is Manabe Garden, the site of the first Conifer garden in Japan. Among its collection includes rare plants, many of which were established even before Hokkaido’s modernisation process which started even before the beginning of the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Manabe Garden Manabe Garden (真鍋庭園, Manabe-teien) is a garden that consists…
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Coming of Age Day in Japan: What you should know
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Motomachi, Hakodate: The Old Merchant District
Hakodate, in the southern part of Hokkaido, was originally intended to be the capital of Japan’s northernmost island. When the country opened up after the Meiji Restoration, merchants and important people from primarily China, Russia, the US and the UK (among others) flocked here to take advantage of the riches to be found here. As…
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Lake Akan: Perfectly Spherical Moss Balls and Other Oddities
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Shukutsu Panorama Observation Deck: A View of Ishikari Bay
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Kitchen Mauni + Japanese Curry
As anyone who has read probably more than one travel article on this website may know, I am somewhat of a connoisseur of Japanese curry. From my ever-increasing number of articles on the subject and having visited various restaurants and makers of recipes, it should come as no surprise that there are yet more to…
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Old Aoyama Villa: Traditional Japanese Mansion in Otaru, Hokkaido
Located about an hour and a half west of Sapporo, just outside Otaru, the Old Aoyama Villa is one of Japan’s remaining traditional villas. Named for the Aoyama family, it has a second name: the Herring Palace. History The villa’s history and Otaru’s history go hand in hand. Historically, Otaru and the village of Shukutsh…
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Goryokaku: Hakodate’s European Star Fortress
Located in the heart of Hakodate is a distinctly European star fortress called Goryokaku, meaning “five-port fort”. But why would there be one here? Why not a Japanese castle? History Despite most star forts being built between the 14th and 18th centuries due to cannonballs and gunpowder, the fort in Hakodate was built between 1859…
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Route Inn Hakodate Goryokaku: High-quality concrete
About Route Inn Hakodate Goryokaku Route Inn is a chain of hotels across Japan. They are usually located near transport hubs or sightseeing places, such as Hakodate Goryokaku (a star-shaped fortress). Route Inns are 3-star hotels with onsen (Japanese hot springs), a restaurant that serves breakfast and dinner, and other amenities typically found at 3-star…
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Route Inn Kushiro Ekimae: Convenient but uncomfortable
About Route Inn Kushiro Ekimae Route Inn is a chain of hotels across Japan. They are usually located next to or close to transport hubs, such as the train station in Kushiro (“Eki-mae” means “in front of the station” in Japanese), hence “Route Inn Kushiro Ekimae”. Route Inns are 3-star hotels with onsen (Japanese hot…
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Nemuro Peninsula: a day trip
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Cape Tachimachi: Looking at Honshu from Hokkaido
Located in the southernmost point of Hakodate, Cape Tachimachi is an excellent place to look over the bay to Honshu, Japan’s main (and largest) island. The name “Cape Tachimachi” has an interesting origin. The original name in Ainu means “the place where you stand and wait to hunt fish”. The Japanese have shorted meaning this…
