Charms of Hokkaido: Cherry Blossoms, Baby Blue Eyes, Wisteria & Fuji Shibazakura 2021 - 5/1

Initially opened in 1990, the Porotokan Ainu Museum was dedicated to cataloging, preserving, and teaching the history and culture of the original native peoples of Hokkaido: the Ainu people. In 2018, however, the Porotokan closed down in order to clear the way for the new and expanded National Ainu Museum. This newer museum’s philosophy is based on the ideals of multicultural coexistence and presents various exhibits divided into six separate Ainu-centered themes: history, language, lifestyle, livelihood, worldview, and trade with other peoples. The museum is one building in a larger facility called Upopoy (“singing in a large group” in Ainu language). This facility includes, in addition to the museum, a National Park near Lake Poroto, and a Memorial Site for deceased Ainu.

There are many hot springs in Japan, one of which is located in Hokkaido with the name of Jigokudani, meaning “Hell Valley.” The very characteristics of the valley itself justify the name given to the location. Other physical features of the valley include its crater foundation that is more than a kilometer and half all around.

Mount Usu, Japan’s most active volcano. The unusual thing with Mount Usu is that it does not spew out tons of lava, but instead forms new landmarks. The rise of volatile magma creates the lava domes as well as the crypto domes. There are several walking trails that can be taken to see the destruction left behind. There are also wrecked houses, confection factory, telephone poles, cars and other buildings that remain there to educate individuals on the destructive power of volcanoes. The trail then leads to the craters where you can still see steam emitting from the fissures.

The Trappistine Convent is a Catholic convent located in Hakodate. This convent was the first Catholic convent established in Japan in the year 1898 and the church was reconstructed in 1927. Visitors can view the unique statues located in the small open garden or buy sweets made by the nuns that live there. Visitors are not allowed into the convent where the nuns reside, but are allowed into the garden or the shops located on site. Guests can buy cakes, ice cream, and books at the shops in which the convent sells to support the nuns that live on site.

The Goryokaku Fort was first built over a hundred years ago, this established structure held the magistrate’s office where Hokkaido was administered and was the first western-styled stronghold of its kind in Japan. The fort was not always affiliated to military, once it lost its importance for military self-defense, it was employed as a park in 1910. This area is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in early May because it has more than a thousand trees blooming there each year. An observation tower is also available for public use to view the grounds from above.

The Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse refers to the several buildings lined up facing the Hakodate Bay. The Kanemori Youbutsukan is a shopping center, which offers a variety of goods. It is set up daily like a flea market for people to enjoy. The Hakodate History Plaza is where the Hakodate Beer Hall is located. Here you can have a chance to enjoy Hakodate beer, and there is an exhibition hall at the center of the plaza showcasing the history of the area.

Motomachi is located at the base of Mount Hakodate. Motomachi was one of the first areas to flourish with foreign influences, which can be seen from the remnants of the western styled streetscape and residency of various consulates. Aside from the western styled buildings that decorate Motomachi, there is a famous street called Hachimanzaka slope, where many movies, dramas and commercial used the area to film scenes.

Known as “Lying Cow” for its shape, Mount Hakodate offers one of the best views from its summit some 334 meters high, overlooking both sea and land. The views that can be seen from Mount Hakodate include the peninsulas located south from the summit, the Tsugaru and Shimokita Peninsulas belonging to Aomori Prefecture. In addition to the peninsular views, the night time and daytime views in either direction are popular among the tourists, so tourists need only worry about the observation deck and ropeway operational times when visiting Mount Hakodate.

Hakodate’s Morning Market is a market specializing in seafood. It was created after World War II and extends some four city blocks. This morning market consists of approximately 160 shops, however tourists from all over can buy and have their meals prepared for them at that moment. Seafood like sea urchins, clams, king crab, salmon and more amongst the fruit and vegetables that they sell as well. This market offers sales every day from early in the morning until around noon time.

Matsumae Castle is located in the town of Matsumae and was the only Japanese style castle to have been established on Hokkaido. The original castle was destroyed many time throughout its history, but the current building standing there today was rebuilt in the 1960s. The current castle is home to the museum which showcase the local history of the Matsumae clan and also features some Ainu history.

Matsumae Park was once the former castle grounds north of Matsumae Castle. This area is the home of over 250 different species of cherry trees and features over 10,000 cherry trees. Because of the 250 different species of cherry trees, Matsumae Park has a unique and long cherry blossom season that lasts from late April to late May. The Matsumae Cherry Blossom Festival is held here for much of late April to late May as well.

One of the many attractions available to visitors in the Matsumae Castel area is the Matsumaehan Yashiki. This place is a small, but interesting them park. This little theme park recreates the historical Matsumae Town from the Edo Period. This park features a guard station, merchant houses and even a magistrate office. There are many life sized mannequins representing the people from that age. Visitors can also rent costumes (the clothes people wore during the Edo Period) while they explore the park.

Onuma Park (known as Quasi National Park) is located north of Hakodate in Hokkaido. Lake Onuma is located within Onuma Park. Lake Onuma is known for the resorts that permit year-round for guests at their hotels some of which offer golfing, canoeing and camping among other activities as part of their outdoor attractions. Even during winter, Lake Onuma has a ski resort for tourists, so people can try snow- based activities in the colder seasons. During colder seasons and even in spring, Lake Onuma is usually frozen until May due to the high altitude in its already cold prefecture of Hokkaido.

Besides skiiing and snowboarding in the winter, or golfing and rafting in the summer. Niseko has plenty of other activities besides the outdoors like glass art. There are plenty of glass art galleries and workshops for visitors. Guests can shop for fine glassware or even make their own to keep and take home.

The Otaru Canal was employed by businesses to transport their merchandise to warehouses with smaller ships since the bigger ships could not directly unload their goods to their destinations. However, eventually there was no use for the smaller vessels when the facilities were modernized, making the use of canals less necessary. Now the area is a tourist attraction, during the day people take leisurely walks about the scenic route where there are museums, restaurants, and shops. Furthermore, Otaru Canal is the main site of the Snow Light Path Festival which is celebrated annually during February as a winter festival.

The glass made in Otaru is refined and is made in many workshops that also offer hands-on experience for guests who take interest in making their own glassware for a fee. Otaru is located in the prefecture of Hokkaido, neighboring the city of Sapporo. Aside from glass workshops, there are also many cafés, restaurants, and other shops that also allow guests to admire and purchase their artistic glass.

Among the many shops found on Sakaimichi Street is the Otaru Music Box Museum. It not only displays various objects, but also sells a wide range of music boxes, some of which are more elaborate than others; some move and others light up along with their melody. Midst the various types of music boxes are some made from glass, wood, or even traditional Japanese fabric, some are fashioned after sushi or Western-themed concepts. These music boxes also carry different songs according to a collection that the establishment has at their disposable.

The Otokoyama Sake Brewery and Museum provides a variety of information and displays for its guests. Mount Taisetsu produces the water used by Otokoyama to produce sake; it is said that the water from Mount Taisetsu will bring longevity to whomever drinks from its spring waters. Sake tastings are also offered as part of the experiences that this sake brewery can offer to guests. Otokoyama’s sake is not only known throughout all of Japan, but also internationally known; it won its first gold medal in 1977 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and has won several awards throughout the years.

The Blue Pond is located in the center of Hokkaido near Biei right outside the Shirogane Onsen. Many people that own Apple computer products will recognize this location from the Apple screen savers images. This pond gives off a deep rich blue color because of the natural minerals dissolved in the water. It was not until recently that this location started to become a popular tourist destination, so this location is still a little underdeveloped compared to popular locations. Besides the pond there is not much else to do, but to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The Furano Cheese Factory, is known for its various cheese and dairy products. The factory also has a pizza and an ice cream factory. The ice cream shop offers adventurous flavors like pumpkin, asparagus, and cheese. If guests look for a different experience other than tasting pumpkin ice or the several other special flavors that the factory offers, they can try a hands-on experience making cheese, ice cream, or bread. These workshops use the dairy products from local farmers just like the rest of their merchandise. The factory also invites visitors to see the cheese- making process through the windows.

Thanks to the same type of climate that allows lavender to grow, Furano grapes are also able to be cultivated. Furano’s winery selection of wines includes red, white, and rose wine types. The winery is open to the public and offers free wine tasting. The grape juice factory also has a window view of the process of its juice production, which also gives grape juice sampling to its visitors. Restaurants nearby serve Western dishes with the wine, so guests can buy a bottle and have a meal with their favorite wine at the end of the day.

The Sapporo Clock Tower is a museum and a symbol of Sapporo’s city. Once used as a drill house for physical education and military training for the students in the Agricultural College, it now holds small displays of the origins of Sapporo’s development and local history. The clock itself was bought in 1881 from Boston, Massachusetts. Its appearance now consists of red roofs and white walls that stand out to people passing by this historical monument. It was once the tallest building when it was constructed, but is now overshadowed by the taller business buildings around it.

Located in the center of Sapporo, running from east to west is Odori Park. It was supposed to be the main street separating Sapporo north from south as a fire break, but now represents the area holding the annual Snow Festival events. It has 92 types of trees and many flowerbeds, enough to attract tourists and locals for a relaxing time in its vicinity. For guests wishing for good views and photographs, there is the Sapporo TV Tower’s observation deck available to the public for a fee. The deck is especially popular during the Snow Festival’s events held every February.

Nightlife plans for guests in Sapporo might include activities like hitting the pachinko machines, nightclubs, bars, karaoke, and restaurants. If that is the case, it will probably lead them to Sapporo’s biggest entertainment neighborhood, Susukino, which is similar to Shinjuku’s Kabukicho red light district. As such, it should not come as a surprise that expenses might run a little higher here than in other parts of the city. Susukino is one of the sites that hosts the annual Snow Festival held every February in Sapporo. Genghis Khan nabe, or Susukino’s Ramen Yokocho are local foods recommended to all.

The Nijo Fish Market has been selling its freshly caught and prepared merchandise for over a hundred years since its establishment in 1903. It is located in the center of Sapporo’s city, near Nijo Station. Among its fresh sea urchins, crabs, and other fish products, it also offers melons, corn, and other fruits and vegetables for reasonable prices. Shops or restaurants also prepare fresh seafood for their clients; donburi (rice bowl) dishes that include fish atop the rice serving is one type of prepared meal. The markets take about one city block of space up for their businesses.

Asahi Breweries is one of Japan’s largest and most successful beer brands, known for their flagship product, “Asahi Super Dry”; a lager beer that is hugely popular in Japan. The Hokkaido Brewery opened as the largest beer production facility in Sapporo, as well as one of the most memorable, with large silvery beer canisters rising above the production building. The factory churns out over 50,000 kiloliters of beer per year, offering a guided factory tour which includes tasting its signature “Asahi Super Dry”. The restaurants at the brewery serve, in addition to Asahi beer, some of Hokkaido’s signature dishes, including “Genghis Khan” (pronounced Jingisukan), a type of Mongolian barbeque with vegetable and mutton.

Home of the Sapporo 1972 Winter Olympics, the Okurayama Ski Jump is a 90 meter high skiing structure that is still used today. Since it is an all- weather structure, it’s still used not only during winter seasons, but summer as well. However, it is not open to the public when there are special events in progress. The public can enter the museum at the bottom of the Okurayama Ski Jump structure. There are also exhibits, documents, and general Olympic Winter Sports information displayed in the museum for guests to enjoy.

The Historic Village of Hokkaido is a restored area based of what remained from the Meiji era and Taisho era. It is now an open-air museum with shops, households, and horse-drawn trams that run through the village. It displays various buildings and shops that were once constructed during Hokkaido’s growing development, including 60 different buildings from all over this northern island. It is also a place where many who lost their positions in the Edo Shogunate went to start their lives anew, especially samurai. It is located in the suburbs of Sapporo. It consists residential, mountainous, fishing, and agricultural zones.

Located in Sapporo, Shiroi Koibito Park is a factory for confectionaries and a theme park. It is known for its white chocolate and its famous souvenir cookies in Hokkaido. There are various indoor and outdoor activities and places to visit. Guests can enter the factory and see how cookies and candy are made by the Shiroi Koibito employees. The factory tours also include a hands-on experience for guests to create and design their own cookies. The park is opened year-round, including its seasonal rose garden, which is said to be at its best during summer seasons.

Just north of Tokyo is Ibaraki Prefecture, home to Hitachi Seaside Park where the beautiful baby blue eye flowers bloom each spring. The hills full of more than a million baby blue eyes (Nemophila) match the bright blue skies on sunny days, making it a truly wonderful spring scene.

Kairakuen was built in Mito in 1842 for one of the lords of the Mito Domain, Tokugawa Nariaki – member of the prestigious Tokugawa clan. This landscape garden, along with Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa and Korakuen Garden in Wakayama, is one of Japan’s Three Great Gardens. Unlike the other two gardens, Kairakuen – which means “a park to be enjoyed together” – was designated as a public park since it opened. The most popular feature of this garden is an exquisite forest of over a hundred varieties of plum tree, and the city hosts a plum blossom festival there every year.
The primary building on the property is the “Kobuntei” a traditional Japanese building that visitors can explore. The upper level has windows that offer a good view of the garden below.

Ashikaga Flower Park is located in Ashikaga City, which is on the border of Tochigi and Gunma Prefecture. It is a place where there is a wide of flowers planted on the grounds that bloom when they are in season. Inside the flower park is a wisteria tree that is over 100 years old. It is so large that there many beams to support the branches as it covers a wide area creating this umbrella effect. It is said that the tree dates back to about 1870.

The Uchimura Kanzo Memorial Stone Church was designed by American architect Kendrick Kellog and built in Kanazawa. This magnificent building was commissioned by the followers of Uchimura Kanzo, a Christian spiritual leader, evangelist, author, and founder of the Japanese “Non-Church Movement”. Though unopposed to congregational places of worship in general, Kanzo was dissatisfied with how Christianity had developed in the West, and the building reflects his more “natural” philosophies in its curved arches, ribbed skylights, and more organic layout.
This church is especially popular with young couples who desire a Western-style wedding, and marriage services are held here often throughout the year. The natural and verdant aesthetic to the church makes ceremonies especially memorable.

In the woodland to the north of Karuizawa is the especially lovely Shiraito Falls, one of many falls in Japan to have that name. Shiraito is a word that means “White Threads”, which is an especially appropriate description for these falls. This particular Shiraito Falls is an especially broad waterfall; a white curtain of water, seventy meters long, is draped over a curved stone rim crowned in bushy green foliage. The area is especially popular in the autumn season, when visitors enjoy the colorful change to the overhanging leaves.
The source of Shiraito Falls is groundwater that emerges from the overgrowth to fall into a pristine natural pond, so the flow of the falls remains constant no matter how hard it rains. Looking at the waterfall from the observation area, it appears like the water is flowing directly out of the rock!

Matsumoto is home to one of Japan’s four National Treasure Castles, the Matsumoto Castle. This castle is one of the most beautiful, and complete original castles in all of Japan compared to the other four National Treasure Castles. During the spring season, Matsumoto Castel is a very popular location to view the cherry blossoms.

The Fuji Shibazakura Festival is held from April to early June and is located south of Lake Motosuko near Mount Fuji. Many people come to see the 800,000 shibazakura flowers bloom and with Mount Fuji in background, creates one of the most beautiful scenes to see in the spring. The best time to go would be within the first three weeks of the event because that is when the flowers will be in full bloom.

Located just a five minute walk from JR Chitoise station and a 10 minute drive from the airport, the hotel offers guests comfort and convenience. The in- house restaurant serves up traditional Japanese dishes. However, if you are in the mood for other cuisines, just step out of the hotel and you will find numerous restaurants and bars where you can indulge with your favorite cuisine or drink.

Toya Sunpalace is located along the Lake Toya and all guests room are faced to the lake to be enjoyed the beautiful spectacles in season through the year. Please enjoy and relax at the big main bath and a open-air hot spring bath. There is also an amusement baths park including wave and slide pool. The summer fireworks at the lake are popular.

Facing beautiful Hakodate Port, this hotel is located in exotic and poetic surroundings including Motomachi Park, a historical church and the morning market.

Hilton Niseko Village, Japan's premier mountain resort offering unparalleled year-round winter and summer outdoor activities in an unbeatable location. Set at the foot of Hokkaido's Niseko Annupuri Mountain, the Hilton Niseko Village is the perfect base from which to enjoy a huge variety of outdoor activities.

Asahiakwa Grand Hotel is a European- Style city hotel with distinct look and located at the city center. The hotel's lobby and entrance are designed by Canadian designer John Edison, the great- grandson of the king of inventors, Thomas Alva Edison. The stately architecture and elegant space enable guests to have the supreme satisfaction during the stay.

This modern luxury hotel and resort, situated in the northernmost major city of Japan, is a landmark for opulence and leisure. Guests will enjoy a location that is just a short walk from the Sapporo Subway Station and an additional six minutes from the JR Sapporo Station. ANA Crowne Plaza Sapporo is an ideal choice for guests who want a central location close to public transport links and a vast selection of on- site facilities as well as first class professional service.

Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Ikebukuro is located 3 minutes by foot from Ikebukuro Station, a massive terminal with eight different subway and JR lines. From the station, over 17 round trip buses depart to both Narita and Haneda International Airports each day, assuring convenience for guests arriving by or planning to make a transfer by air. When setting off from the hotel, guests can easily reach popular attractions such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and Ikebukuro Café, a unique space where visitors can play with owls and other animals.

Located in Mito, 2.5 miles from Kairaku-en, Mito Plaza Hotel has accommodations with a restaurant, free private parking, a garden and a terrace. This 4-star hotel offers luggage storage space. The property provides a 24-hour front desk, a shuttle service, room service and free WiFi throughout the property.

Located in the Utsukushigahara hot-spring area, Hotel Shoho offers Japanese and Western accommodations with mountain views. Guests can relax in the indoor/outdoor hot-spring baths and request massages for an extra cost. The air-conditioned rooms feature a flat- screen TV, a fridge and a safety deposit box. Japanese Yukata robes and toothbrush set are provided, and the private bathroom comes with a hairdryer.

Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Ikebukuro is located 3 minutes by foot from Ikebukuro Station, a massive terminal with eight different subway and JR lines. From the station, over 17 round trip buses depart to both Narita and Haneda International Airports each day, assuring convenience for guests arriving by or planning to make a transfer by air. When setting off from the hotel, guests can easily reach popular attractions such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and Ikebukuro Café, a unique space where visitors can play with owls and other animals.