Just Passing By

A simple yet picturesque suburb somewhere in Hokkaido which I, unfortunately, did not have the privilege of exploring.. I was only able to capture these pictures from inside the tour bus. Mounds of dirty snow, cute and colorful buildings, an occasional biker, and I was even able to see little Japanese kids on some sort of field trip! They were so adorable. And so tiny.

Sweet Home

A place where I feel content, where I am happy, where my soul needs nothing more and nothing less, where my troubles vanish, where I am completely at peace. I love the bucolic areas of Japan, even more so when everything is covered in snow. Everything was so simple; it felt as though I had found equilibrium.

I took these pictures in the Dried Flower House of Farm Tomita. There was a little cafe where they sold lavender-flavored ice cream. It's a bit strange to be eating ice cream when the weather outside is ice-cold, but it was absolutely divine. The taste was sweet and tangy, but very light. Eating and tasting soft-served ice cream in Japan is a must, there are so many favors to try! There was also a gift shop that sold goods made with the lavender produced by the farm, like lotion, perfume, and soap. And lastly, the dried flower house, of course! I have no decent photos of it, sadly. It was a giant, wooden room with bouquets of dried flowers in an array of colors, dangling from th ceiling, covering the walls, doors---everywhere! In just a few steps, you can go from winter wonderland to an autumnal haven. Oh Hokkaido, my sweet home.

A Greenhouse in Farm Tomita

One of the places I visited in Hokkaido was a flower farm located in Nakafurano, called Farm Tomita. Early April probably isn't the best time to visit since the weather is still very cold and there is still so much snow. Normally, the vast fields of unadulterated snow are filled with streams of colorful flowers. But during the winter time, Farm Tomita keeps their flora inside a greenhouse, so anyone can visit at any time and still enjoy a beautiful array of flowers, including lavender, poppies, and marigolds.

Visiting the farm early in the morning was just amazing, The greenhouse was very cozy. I could have spent hours inside there, just looking at the flowers and sitting on a bench. It would have been absolutely amazing to sit there with a book and a cup of coffee, different from the usual coffee shop, ha ha! I was a little bit sad because I was expecting the room to smell like lavender, but the lavender was still in the process of blooming. So instead, the air was cool and crisp, and very fresh, as if the little greenhouse was a box of spring. There was also a little brick well covered in moss. I was taken aback when I read a sign that said "Do not feed the fish." There were fish in that well!

My Favorite Place

First order of business upon landing at the airport: stock up on Lipton Milk Tea at Lawson, my water for the trip.

My family and I ate at this cozy hotpot restaurant, where we had ourselves some seafood hotpot. The place was completely barren; there was only one other table occupied. Two if you count one of the staff handling some papers. Snow began to fall heavily while we ate, what a great way to start the trip! My restless nephew kept himself busy while waiting for everyone else to finish their meal. Afterwards, we bought ourselves some soft-served ice cream. Blueberry for me.

Traditional Japanese toilets, nyehe. How ominous looking.

As a travel agent, my mom organized the trip as part family vacation and part familiarization trip. A lot of time was spent inside a bus as we moved from one area to the next. Sometimes it would take up to three hours to get to the next destination, but I don't think I slept once on that bus. The snow kept me busy. There were times I'd stick my camera out of the window to take a photo of the scenery and pull back quickly as if I were shooting bullets at some zombies, then quickly hiding to reload. Although in reality, I was hiding to prevent frostbite. I'd love to open my window and feel the icy breeze on my face. You can't get that in the Philippines. I was like a dog sticking its head out the window, but that didn't matter. It did not matter at all.

Early in the Morning

My first official day in Japan. Or at least a fraction of it. Watching the sun rise, a great way to start the day (especially since I had to wake up at such an ungodly hour). A crescent-shaped croissant for my first round of breakfast. Sakura that has yet to bloom near the bus station. Two cute, fashionable girls hiding from the cold wind; they were there for quite awhile, I'm not quite sure what they were waiting for. Passed by a steampunk-esque area on the way back to the airport. I didn't fly all the way to Japan just stay overnight at a hotel, of course! That morning, my family and I went back to the airport to take a flight to Hokkaido. It's my most favorite place on Earth, I think.

First Night

A night-time arrival in Osaka, Japan. After a flight, bus ride, cab ride, a lot of standing and waiting to get to our hotel, I still managed to take these photos. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the hotel room; it's so cozy isn't it? Cozy being a euphemism for tiny. Ha ha. The view from outside the window was luminous and quite relaxing. I dropped dead on the bed that night.