We are in Furano, a small city in Hokkaido prefecture known as one of the ski holiday destinations in Japan. It was our second stop after Otaru, still on the first half of the trip, so it’s a bit premature to declare it as my fave part of our Japan trip, but it does? It’s just a feeling I have.
Our first excursion in Furano was to find dinner. It was almost dark when we arrived and checked in, famished. Roaming nearby streets, we couldn’t find any restaurants that were still open. I keep forgetting that restaurants in small-ish towns close sooner. So we ventured further down the hill, found a clear tourist-catered restaurant and went in.
Yin ordered tempura soba, Charles went for curry rice and Vi, ramen. Meanwhile, I got a whole salmon+rice set. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by now; the food in this random place in Japan was again above expectation.
We stopped at a supermarket on the way back and loaded up on onigiri for the next day’s breakfast and some snacks for the night. Unfortunately, the local wine and cheese had to wait until the next day as we crashed soon after we reached the Airbnb.
Farm Tomita
We went to Farm Tomita this morning. The breathtaking view justified the flocking of tourists to the city to see the farm. I took thousands of pictures of the farm and asked Yin to take another thousand pictures of me on the farm. We also feasted on the farm-made lavender ice cream. In addition, I got lavender oil and hand cream for Amma (both most probably will be claimed by the greedy future me for personal use) and lavender-smelling postcards with real lavender flowers stuck on them.
Ningle Terrace
Another magical place we were lucky enough to see that day was Ningle Terrace. We sat in a beautiful cafe surrounded by a forest-like atmosphere for coffee and light snacks, chit-chatting the evening away.
Furano Airbnb Moments
But I don’t know whether the beautiful sight of Farm Tomita, the coziness of Ningle Terrace, or the yummiest ramen we had would be the first thing I think of when I reflect on Furano because, for me, the most treasured moments in Furano happened inside the wooden house we Airbnb-ed.
Vi, Charles, Yin and I spent the night drinking, talking shits, snacking and taking Instax pictures. I then continued with a bit of journaling and a lot of postcard writing before joining Yin in our twin-bed room and typing this to you.
We are leaving tomorrow, and I want to remember my Furano days.
