Shunichi ABE - Have a look at this

Here is one of my favourite pics of all time. This was taken just outside of central Biei by talented Biei photographer ShunichiAbe. 

There are many spectacular locations for taking great photos around Biei all year round, and I would definitely recommend it as a sightseeing location.

More Information:

Biei

Bieiland

Day Trip Ideas #3 - Biei Part 2 - BieiLand

So you stopped by Zerubu no Oka (Day trip ideas #2), and are back on the road (Route 237) taking you to central Biei. 

As you make your way down the hill leading into town, you'll notice a small intersection at the bottom. Take a right at this intersection and follow the winding  road up the hill. At the top there will be a left turn with a little sign to showing you the way to the Northwestern Hill Observatory Park. The car park is on the left, while on the right you'll small galleries and a small cafe style ice cream shop to grab a snack.

The Northwestern Hill Observatory Park is beautiful, allowing you to capture Biei's rolling hills from all sides, with the entire Taisetsuzan Mountain Range as the backdrop. In the galleries section, look for BieiLand, the gallery of famous photographer Shunichi ABE. Here you'll be able to purchase amazingly beautiful postcards, posters, desktop and wall calendars or some exceptional photography. All of Mr. Abe's work is raw, that is, not digitally or otherwise altered.

This is most certainly a worthwhile stop on you visit to Biei. Give it a try!.

More Information:

Biei

BieiLand

Biei Map

Furano

Furano Map

Samurai Defeat Samoa in Massive Upset

Australian Football International Cup Update:

The Japan Samurai defeated the more fancied Samoa in their International Cup clash in Australia.

The final score was 

Japan 8.7.55 to Samoa 4.7.31

The 24 point victory margin is a great result for the Samurai who went into the match as underdogs. 

Japan's next match is against India where Japan's form should see them start as favourites. Whatever that result proves to be, the Samurai should be well pleased with their performance against Samoa and will hopefully improve further as the cup continues.

Kubokura Satomi - Asahikawa Athlete

Beijing Update #3

This one is really a bit of a stretch, but we were on a roll and had to mention one more Asahikawa Athlete, Satomi Kubokura. She finished in 11th place in the women's 400m hurdles. 

Though we've tried, we can't actually verify that she's from Asahikawa at all, so if you learn something different, drop us a line. Until then, we'll claim her as an Asahikawa local, similar to the Australian tradition of claiming anything good to come out of New Zealand as Australian (Russell Crowe, Crowded House).

In any event (pardon the pun),

Congratulations!! Kubokura Satomi

Shinji Takahira - Asahikawa Bronze

Beijing Olympics Update #2:

Shinji Takahira (pictured on the left), born in Asahikawa in 1984, was part of Japan's  'almost-all conquering' 4 x100m relay team in Beijing. Had the team conquered Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, they would have walked away with the Gold Medal, but as it turned out had to settle for the bronze.

This is nevertheless a spectacular result for Japan, a nation not noted as a track & field contender. For Shinji Takahira the result bears extra significance since he is Hokkaido's first Track representative in the last 48 years.

Congratulations!! Shinji Takahira

Masae Ueno - Asahikawa Gold

Beijing Olympics Update:

This one is also just a little late...well, only about a week. Nonetheless,...

Masae Ueno  

wins the gold medal in the 70kg weight division of the Women's Judo Competition.

She was born in Asahikawa in 1979 and this is her second gold medal after claiming victory in the same event in Athens 4 years ago.

Congratulations!!  Masae Ueno  

Asahikawa - Get some Soup Curry

Although its name leaves little to the imagination, soup curry will surprise you both with its appearance and with its rich flavour. 

In a landscape of cuisine dominated by elegance and simplicity, soup curry seems not to succeed in either discipline, yet has grown in popularity in a short period of time to become one of Hokkaido's sought after delicacies, particularly on its home ground, Sapporo.

More information on Soup Curry Here

PS: Soup Curry is totally awesome in winter. -20 degrees Celsius will usually get the body craving some extra warmth.

TNT Tours In Autumn

With Autumn rapidly approaching, TNT (Taisetsu Nature Tours) wish to announce the availability of professionally guided tours to different locations in the Taisetsuzan National Park during the Taisetsuzan's most stunning season.

TNT will save you time, hassle, and money and show you a side of the Taisetsuzan that only those lucky enough have had the privilege of seeing.

The availability of Tours is strictly limited so please contact us at Asahikawa Tourism to make the appropriate arrangements for your Autumn tour.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Asahikawa this Autumn.

Contact: 

info@asahikawa-tourism.com

How About a Weekend Here in Autumn

I was just writing some stuff about the Taisetsuzan National Park and came across this picture from last Autumn. I completely forgot how awesome Tenninkyo is. 

Seriously, how about spending a weekend at an Onsen Hotel surrounded by nature of that calibre. There are several great hiking trails nearby and plenty of opportunities to take pictures that will make everyone jealous. I love this place.

Day Trip Ideas #2 - Biei Part 1 - Zurubu no Oka

      Zerubu no Oka

There are many areas to cover on a trip to Biei, and although Biei is an easy day trip out of Asahikawa, there really is much more to it than can be covered in one day (unless of course you just want to snap a picture and run).

Biei is about 30 minutes by car, south east of Asahikawa traveling along Route237. If you are lucky enough to have a hire car with an English Navi. system, I strongly recommend using the back country roads since they are much more picturesque, though can be difficult to navigate for first time travellers.

This brings us to the first stop, just before descending the small hill to get you into Biei city. 

Zerubu no Oka

This is a place for lovers of color, flowers and photography. You can casually stroll around the park for a good hour taking in the spectacular color. If you are tired or otherwise incapacitated, hire a four wheeler to get you around using the paths carved out in the endless sea of color. Whether you want to just stop for a while and stretch your legs or take a long walk surrounded by beautiful color, Zerubu no Oka is a pleasant, free, pit-stop on your way in or out of Biei.

Samurai Update - Kiwis prove far too strong

Japan played its first game in the International Australian Football Cup this morning, but were unfortunately outplayed by a strong and skilled  New Zealand outfit. The final score was 

New Zealand     13.13-91 

Japan                00.02-02

And if you're wondering what that all means, 

13.13-91 is; 13 goals 13 points = (13x6) + (13x1) = 78 +13 = 91 points TOTAL

and for Japan 

00.02-02, meaning 0 goals, 2 points = (0x6) + (2x1) = 0 + 2 = 2 points TOTAL.

As you can tell, the game was not that close, but the Japanese team should take heart from the fact that New Zealand do have a very strong team with plenty of experience.

Japan's next match is against Samoa in two days time, a match which is bound to be played at a frenetic pace since both sides boast a good stable of speedsters.

I'll let you know how that one goes.

Asahikawa Day Trip Idea #1 - Show me the Lavender

If you want the centre of Hokkaido and the associated benefits of perfect access to all corners of this great island, look no further than humble, rural, ready to bust out Asahikawa.

Over the next few weeks I'll try to post as many day trip ideas from Asahikawa as I can possibly remember making over the last six years. Lets start the count at #1 and see how we go. This one is titled "Show me the Lavender", and if you know anything at all about Hokkaido, you'll know that we can only be talking about Naka Furano, everyone's favourite flower destination.

Furano is about an hour south of Asahikawa using the major roads, and about 50% longer if you want to use the scenic rural roads (these are actually quicker during the peak tourist season when the major roads are full of tourist buses). For the Biei lovers, please don't panic, we haven't forgotten about you, we'll cover Biei in a different post (For those that are interested, Biei is closer to Asahikawa than Furano and by all accounts should have been mentioned first,...what can I tell you,...Furano came to mind first!).

If you're into the lavender and flowers, you need to head to Tomita Farm. The last three weeks of July should be about right. Once there you'll be able to see, smell, photograph and eat lavender (...lavender ice cream at least). Tomita Farm has many great gift shops dedicated to lavender related products, you'll be sure to find something you like.

Naka Furano access information can be found here.

San Roku Matsuri (Asahikawa's Summer Festival)

Yes I know, it was over two and a half weeks ago, but here are some pics from the San Roku Matsuri of 2008 anyway.  Those that made it will remember great food, lots of color and plenty of noise. See you there next year.

See the zoo at night

Just to show you that the fine people at Asahiyama Zoo are not getting lackadaisical about their popularity and recent success, they have recently trialed a week long stint of leaving the zoo open until 9pm. 

This serves the dual purpose of allowing a unique view of the zoo's animals as well as a fantastic night view of the Asahikawa's city lights. Quite pretty on a nice clear evening.

My guess is that the zoo is trialing the late close to check its financial viability in the hope of permanently extending the zoo's open hours in the future. We don't know for sure at this stage, but we will endeavour to check it out with the management.

Unfortunately, for the time being at least, the current run of late closes has run its course, and while it's a bit disappointing for those that were unable to make it, don't despair, the zoo is quite cool during the day too.

Here are a couple of  pics of Asahiyama Zoo at night.