Hello Hokkaido! Lavender Season @ Farm Tomita, Furano

All right, all right, I hear ye. I’ve noticed a surge in readership for my Hokkaido posts as of late, which means… holiday season is around the corner!

It looks like Japan is one of the hottest destinations for the summer, so here’s a major throwback to the highlight of my Hokkaido trip last year, when I visited the breathtaking flower fields at Farm Tomita, Furano.

Getting there was easy enough; we opted for the Chuo Bus Tour (link below) which took us around various places of interest besides Farm Tomita. The drawback is the limited amount of time you get to spend at each place, but I was suppose that’s a toss-up between a luxury of time and convenience. (I would seriously recommend driving over if you can, because you might wanna spend more than an hour frolicking amongst the gardens, just saying!)

When we arrived, I was simply awestruck by the sheer magnitude of flowers blooming, even though it was very early in the season.

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Hello Hokkaido! Ishiya Chocolate Factory & Shiroi Koibito Park

When you live in the tropics, there’s not much you can glean off the supposed winter season that graces other continents. You can, however, experience the cold winds of the monsoon season come December – what we fondly refer to as sweater weather. 😉

For me, sweater weather ignites a particular (okay, year-long) craving…for the comforting taste of chocolate! So today’s post is a little throwback to one of my absolute favourite place to visit in Hokkaido, Ishiya Chocolate Factory. 🙂

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Pokémon Cup Noodles from Pokémon Centre

It’s no secret of mine that I’m absolutely obsessed with Pokémon, ever since those animated monsters hit my television screen some fourteen years back. With Pikachu and gang dominating the anime industry ever since, it’s no surprise that they would have their own instant cup noodles alongside their already massive line of games, shows and merchandise.

The concept of these instant noodles is no stranger to the otaku world, really – just replace the regular kamaboko (boiled fish paste) with prints of the character in question. But since I had never seen them before, I was pretty excited – gotta eat ‘em all, I guess! 😀

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Hello Hokkaido! Kitakaro Cafe 北果楼 @ Sakaimachi Street, Otaru

Japanese cream puffs. They taste like heaven, cherub’s kisses, and sweet dreams come true. Okay, I may have exaggerated a little, but that’s the feeling I get whenever I bite into one of ‘em pastries: soft, puffy shell with rich cream, fresh custard and I think I just drooled over my keyboard typing that last sentence.

And then, there’s Kitakaro Cafe’s cream puffs.

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Hello Hokkaido! From Singapore to Sapporo

I’m bubbling with excitement as I write this post, as I’m venturing into yet another topic on this humble blog of mine, and that is one of my pet loves, travel! 😀 Well, what’s life without exploring new things now and then? 😉

Speaking of new things, I finally realised my dream of travelling to Hokkaido with my family last week, ever since I learnt about its abundance of fresh seafood, scenic spots, and fresh seafood at scenic spots. Sadly, I didn’t get to travel last year due to time and financial constraints, but as they say, better late than never aye? 😛

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