Playing in the dasies

Dasies remind me of being in school and making daisy chains that were so long that we could drape them all over ourself. If I sit in a field of dasies now, I still make them! It is just too addictive and easy! Up near the top of the lavender field there was a break in the surrounding forest of pine trees, and we spotted some daisies....and not just a few. Tall, wild dasies, coving quite a big area. We knew we probably werent meant to go there, but we did anyway. Turned out that quite a few Japanese people also followed us to take photos too! Mikaly is quite into this "serious pose" which he does quite well, and when I try, I just end up laughing my head off! I thought that this picture needed to be on the cover of an albumn or something! We actually enjoyed being in the dasies just as much as the lavender, it felt very carefree and light! And, to top it off, the weather was perfect! Being away from the humidity in Honshu was amazing! It was such a nice trip, probably too short but so nice to visit in the summer compared to the winter!

In the Lavender Fields

I had so much fun in Furano. We made it to the city in not bad timing, and the people who were driving us had done their research and looked up which lavender farm to visit. That farm was obviously the best, because the line of cars snaking down the street was pretty long! We waited almost an hour in the car to get in, but that was OK, we werent in any rush! Once we got there, I was so impressed - not only was the farm huge, but it was purposely set up for visitors. While it didnt cost anything to get in, there were gift shops and food stands and snacks and restaurants and a museum all over. Trust the Japanese to take something like a farm and make it into a thriving tourist attraction! There were lots of Lavender fields of course, but there were also some other flowers, like daisies, sunflowers, and lots of different coloured flowers. I really loved the place, and Mikaly and I went around taking photos of the beautiful lavender. I enjoyed the lavender field which was on a hill, because it looked like you were surrounded entirely by the lavender. It made for such pretty pictures and we had such a nice time taking photos. I was especially pleased to see more dragonflies, they looked amazing against all the purple! We spend a lot of time with the photos, and then got some snacks, especially some cool soda thing that was flavoured with lavender. I loved the gift shop too, because everything smelled so good! I was so glad we had made the long trip all the way up there, as it was definitely a trek, just because the photos were unbelievably worth it.

Along the road to Furano

The next day, we got up pretty early and headed back into Sapporo to catch another train into the middle of nowhere. Not quite the middle of nowhere, but it certainly felt like it. We got picked up by some people that Mikaly had met who were also JETs, as they were also driving out to Furano, to see the lavender fields. On our way, we stopped at a pretty spot to take some photos, where we spotted this cool dragon fly. They are everywhere in summer! Usually I am dodging them on my bike, so it was nice to see one up close!

Big Kids and Little Houses

After we got outside, we really didnt get very far. We discovered these cute miniature houses, which were kind of like little wendy houses. In some of them, they had two floors, and little tables and chairs inside. Others were shaped like travellers wagons, others were cute little thatched roof cottages. I loved the little brick mansions best! We spent a lot of time playing in them, and acting quite silly. It was easily some of the most fun I have ever had, playing like a big kid, and squeezing myself into tiny little houses!
Mikaly is a great big poser, and it quite tall, so it was quite hillarious to see him fit himself into these little houses. And we werent the only ones, lots of other Japanese tourists were also doing it, and having a great time! Who wouldnt! We took lots of photos, untill the sky got darker, and the weird clock tower did it's last show. Complete with bubbles and German Ooopah music! We saw the cute little miniature train which went around the chocolate factory, and the fountain all the way from Bridgewater in England. Then we headed back into the city centre, which thankfully, I remembered where all the good shops were! We picked up some things for Mikaly's Mum and tried to get him some new shoes. Its nice to be able to shop late in Japan, and then we headed back out via train to Mikaly's town of Joichi!

Take me to the candy shop

The final part of the museum was seperate entirely and was a candy making shop. You could stand and watch the people making hard rock candy. I dont think I've ever seen them make it, and I was quite entralled. They pull the candy strands apart several times, dying it, and rolling it into shapes before cutting it. There were all sorts of different colours of candy, and I tasted a few, because some employees brought round some tasters, assumingly in an attempt to make us buy some. I didnt actually buy any, but did take some cool photos of the different jars, which I thought were pretty, especially filled with the different colours inside. My favourite was the rainbow ones, and I loved the cola flavoured candies, although they looked a bit like lego pieces and werent particularily attractive! I spent quite a long time watching the candy being made before Mikaly dragged me outside!

Chocolate factory

After our yummy lunch of pizza and pasta, I did some internet searching and found a pretty cool sounding chocolate factory. And who doesnt love a chocolate factory? So, Mikaly and I rushed across town to go there before it closed. It seems that, after doing everything in the city centre, the things left to do all seem to be in the suburbs! We made it to the chocolate factory before it closed, and got a free cookie just for going inside! It appeared to be more of a cookie with chocolate factory than a chocolate factory, but Oh well! When we first got there, there was a complimentary photo, with the factory sign and the date. This is a common thing in Japan, it just marks that you were there and when. There is often a proffesional photographer as well as an employee who will take your photo. Its like that all over Japan. At Disney, they have a man who's job it is to take peoples photos with their cameras in front of a statue. Great marketing ploy. The whole place looked like an old fashioned English and European village. The main house holds the museum, which has lots of history about how chocolate is marketted and the different packaging etc. The whole place was really pretty. There also was a strange museum which housed old gramaphones. I dont think I knew anything about a gramaphone before I went there! We saw a lot about how the cookies were made, and how the yummy white chocolate was put in. The cookies come in a nice blue package, and they are apparently quite famous in Japan as the souvenier from Hokkaido!We stopped and had a snack of Baum kucken and ice cream, as well as yummy hot chocolate. They had a lovely tea room which overlooked the nice park outside the Chocolate Factory! It was nice, and we got to watch the nice clock which went off on the hour!

Back in Downtown Sapporo

I am always so pleased when I can go back to a city and remember my way around! Mikaly and I headed back into the city of Sapporo, and I was excited to see how different it was, when there was no snow and ice, and also that there were a lot less people! It is quite a pretty city. We passed the park, but didnt have time to go there, as we headed to my favourite pasta restaurant! In the winter, they have amazing cheese fondue, but we ended up with great pizza and pastas!