Hokkaido Autumn Guide: Koyo-chasing (fall foliage) in Sounkyo Onsen, Mount Kurodake and the Asahiyama Zoo!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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Our mission today is to conquer one of the most popular entry points to the Daisetsuzan Mountains: The peak of Mount Kurodake, 1984m above sea level; but as we look out at the gorgeous walls of the Sounkyo gorge outside our hotel window we can't help but be tempted to just stay in with a cup of hot green tea the whole day.


We eventually do drag ourselves out of bed and to the (also mediocre) Western/Japanese buffet breakfast before walking to the Sounkyo Onsen town center. There isn't really that much to see & do here: There's a public bath house, Kurodake no yu (黒岳の湯), which has an amazing rotenburo (outdoor onsen), a Daisetsuzan national park visitors' center, and a half dozen restaurants serving up ramen and tonkatsu curries.


Oh, some nice autumn colours to be found as well.


At the end of the town's main walkway/alley is the Mount Kurodake Ropeway's base station - where a ¥1,950 fare buys you a return trip up a cable car to the 5th station.

In Japanese fashion, '5th station' doesn't mean that there are five stations; rather that this particular station is five-tenths (halfway) up the hill.


At the 5th station there's a rooftop observatory deck, and a bunch of pleasant walking trails to various spots to view the surrounding mountain ranges ... and a ¥600 (return journey) ski/chair lift up to the "7th station." In winter this is a pretty popular ski/snowboard destination.


There isn't actually too much going on up here at this time of year. There are a few patches of snow, for kids to play in while both their parents take photos; and a small hut serving up light bites, coffee and hot chocolate.


Heading up to the peak from the 7th station involves a 45min-1hour, 464m of vertical elevation hike up the side of the mountain. In the spring and summer months it's an intermediate hike up steps and climbing over boulders. In autumn, the snow makes it way more challenging, and you really do need to be properly equipped.

We obviously weren't, so after a couple dozen steps discretion got the better of valor and we turned back down the hill. If you're better prepared for the hike, remember to sign in at the visitor's / climber's logbook at the hut before setting off.


Once we're back down at the onsen town we stop by one of the shops for some miso ramen; and then head back to our hotel for some hot spring tender lovin' care! We absolutely adore rotenburo's (outdoor onsen); the cool autumn breeze on our faces contrasting with the soothing heat of the natural water makes for a very relaxing experience.


I totally randomly found this photo online; it was totally not taken by me with a GoPro that was
smuggled in when there was nobody else in the bath

We then go seek out some nearby attractions: Firstly the dual waterfalls of Ginga no taki (銀河の滝) and Ryusei no taki (流星の滝), a 5-minute drive away ...



... followed by a brief visit to the Taisetsu Dam (大雪ダム), also a 5-minute drive.


With our sightseeing done and dusted, we head back to the hotel for dinner and call it a night.

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After charging up with breakfast the next morning, we check out and head to Asahikawa's ¥820-for-adults Asahiyama Zoo. We actually really liked this one. Maybe it was because of the nice and cold 10°C weather, maybe because there were penguins and red/lesser pandas and polar bears. In any case if you've got kids and/or are simply young at heart, we highly recommend paying a visit as well.






For lunch: Asahikawa Ramen Village, where eight of the city's most famous ramen restaurants have set up shop.


Obviously we can't tell which one of the eight are 'best' from just one meal. What we can say, is that our instinctually-chosen Saijo Ramen (さいじょうラーメン) was very good, especially the clear, Silkie Chicken-broth'ed ukkokkei ramen (烏骨鶏ラーメン), which is a clear, gingery, welcome change from the usual miso and tonkotsu suspects.



After lunch we head back to Sapporo, and check in to Route-Inn Sapporo Chuo in Susukino. At ¥10,900/night, plus ¥1,000 for parking, inclusive of a buffet breakfast we think this is possibly the best value hotel in our entire stay.


We had a pretty low-key evening: some window shopping and terrible food court dinner at Ito Yokado.

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If you're wondering why we're back in Sapporo, it's because we're using the city as a base for our upcoming day trips to Jozankei and Hoheikyo Dam, and then onward to Noboribetsu and Hakodate. Check out our write-up on the journey here!

And if you haven't read it already, our previous write-up included some very nice scenery in Furano and Biei.

Hokkaido Autumn Guide: Koyo-chasing (fall foliage) in Furano, Biei, Blue Pond and Sounkyo Onsen!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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In our view, Hokkaido is best visited either during Winter (for skiing/snowboarding and the Sapporo Snow Festival), or during Fall/Autumn, when gorgeous hues of yellow and red lend character to the monotony of an otherwise all-green foliage. We'd heard that the mountain range & hills of the Daisetsuzan National Park are the best place to chase the autumn colours in early October, so we plot a course to one of the popular entry points: Sounkyo Onsen, with pit stops along the way at Furano and Biei.


From our starting point of Otaru, the expressway to Sapporo is a dull, boring drive. A little further into the mountains, though, and the straight road starts winding and curving around the hills. The backdrop also improves noticeably, with progressively increasing hues and tints of yellow and red; compensating somewhat for the annoying 40-50km/h speed limits.



Two-and-a-half hours later we take a first pit stop at Furano. The town, and the various surrounding farms, are hugely popular for visitors in the summertime for lavender flower fields. October is quite a bit past the peak lavender season, but there are still quite a few nice autumn flower fields around.


Before visiting the most famous of all the touristy farms around the area, Farm Tomita, we pay a visit to Tomita Melon House: A small collection of charming buildings serving up slices of juicy and impossibly sweet Hokkaido Melon, and other snacks & tid-bits like Melon Pan (with actual melon cream) and creamy, fatty Furano Milk.




We then head over to the adjoining Farm Tomita proper! Interestingly enough, access to the farm and its various flower fields is totally free. The biggest of the lavender fields are, unfortunately, out of season, but the smaller ones are full of multi-coloured autumn flowers and are beautiful in their own way.



There are a few rows of lavender flowers - purple and majestic; with a terrific backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of the Daisatsuzan Mountains.


The farm's primary source of income is extracting essence of lavender (and other flowers) to make perfume, which it sells in the various gift shops littered around the property. If that's not quite your cup of tea, the cafe serves up some surprisingly fragrant lavender soft serve ice cream, cream croquettes and Buttered Corn & Potato (じゃがコーンバター).


After stocking up on a few bottles of lavender perfume as gifts for family back home, we get into our car and head to Biei; stopping briefly only for a quick photo of this cheerful little sunflower field ...


... before reaching the Blue Pond. This pond shot to fame when a photo was featured as part of OSX Mountain Lion's desktop wallpaper. It normally has a very milky light blue colour, but strangely enough in our visit it was more a murky dark green.



As there's some sunlight time remaining, we head over to Biei; to explore the area north-west of town known as the Patchwork Road (パッチワークの路).


Why Biei? Well, thanks to the farms and contours of the hills, the entire area is simply amazing.


We also engaged in some Japanese-style sightseeing: Hunting down various groups of trees that are famous for various reasons. Pictured below: the Mild Seven Tree (famous for being in a cigarette commercial a long time ago), and the Parent Child Tree (famous for some other unknown reason).



Since tree-chasing after sunset is probably a bit of a waste of effort, we drive to our accommodation for the next two nights at Sounkyo Onsen: Choyo Resort Hotel.


Our Japanese-style room comes in at ¥30,350/night, and is inclusive of buffet breakfast and dinner. In the evenings, a crew goes from room to room setting up the futons - thin, Japanese-style mattresses that are great for cultural immersion but not so great for actual comfort to older backs.


The dinner can only be described as adequate; other than the free-flow ズワイガニ (snow crab) legs, the remainder of the buffet items aren't particularly delicious.

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With a full day of sightseeing done and dusted, we retire for the night. Tomorrow, we visit the rest of Sounkyo Onsen, the Kurodake Mountains, and the Asahiyama Zoo on the way back to Sapporo. Do check it out!