Eastern Hokkaido Roadtrip - Akanko, Kussharoko, Abashiri, Shiretoko
We took a camping/onsening/feasting roadtrip through eastern Hokkaido- known to have absolutely nothing to offer but breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
We took along with us our friend Michael Tripp who also is a former Hokkaidoite. Our final destination was Shiretoko but we planned on stopping in at many other places along the way.

Furano

We left bright and early on Friday morning. Our first stop was Furano. Hokkaido people live for Furano in the summer. It’s something that you hear over and over for a few weeks …

Along with our camping trip to Toya Lake last month, we also visited Hakodate.
We enjoyed the freshest (wiggling on our plate) squid that was perfectly clear in color and tasted like heaven. We also had uni (sea urchin) for breakfast. Such a luxury!

It was a gourmet trip. We ate and ate and ate.
During our 3 day stay in Hakodate we managed to visit all the places we wanted to. We also had a little romantic afternoon boat rowing around the Goryokakukoen moat.

We fully enjoyed Hakodate. Being Vancouverites, …

Have you heard of the g8 summit? Well, this year it’s happening in Hokkaido at Toya lake.
We took a camping trip to Toyako (which is Toya lake in Japanese in case you haven’t figured that out already..) last week. Aside from the super high security highway checks, it was more than beautiful.

We bought a tent from Costco a while back for 6000 Yen (that is 56CDN as of Jun 23 2008). This trip was the first time for us to use the tent. We found a campground which allows …

This Sunday was the annual Healthy Marathon (ヘルシ　マラソン) in the nearby town of Biei. Biei is about 120km away from Takikawa, and is known for its annual marathon as well as its beautiful flower gardens spread over vast rolling hillsides. The Biei marathon attracts thousands of competitors and spectators every year during the June 8th weekend.
Kevin registered online for the 10k quarter-marathon back in early May along with our good friend, Matthew Caesar. Kevin spent a solid month doing a rigorous training routine of 3 day-a-week 6:00am runs …

We spent the last Saturday in town being very big Barbies, but more in the sense of a Japanese dress-up doll instead of the blond and pink. We were invited to go for dinner with the Takikawa Soroptimist group, for a formal Kimono dress-up session, make-up, hair, and dinner. It was a fantastic invite that we jumped on immediately.
In case you are thinking “What is a Soroptimist? Is that like a Pianist?”

Soroptimist (”best for women”) is an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve …