Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya Tour

Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya Tour

We booked a day tour with Chuo Bus to to the Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya. Chuo bus has multi-lingual audio headphones so this made the tour much more interesting. Here's the link to find out more about this tour : Day Tour to Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya

Our Chuo Bus is big and comfortable

Our first stop was at Lake Shikotsu. This is Japan's second largest caldera lake, formed some tens of thousands of years ago in a massive volcanic eruption. We took the optional cruise around the lake for Y1,100 (SGD$14). 

Scenic cruise around the lake

Explanation of the different kinds of fishes on board the cruise

Fishes underwater

Those who prefer may take the duck rides around the lake rather than the cruise

After the cruise, we headed for lunch at Toyako Manseikaku Hotel for salmon lunch. There is some time after lunch for a nice stroll around the area and take in the beautiful view of pristine Lake Toya and its crystal clear waters.

LeTAO and Kitaro Otaru

LeTAO Otaru 

There are two LeTAO cafes in Oatru. We visisted the newer one, LeTAO Pathos.

You have to register at the booth and take a seat to wait for your turn. 

Animation video at the waiting area to keep you entertained

Cafe is packed to the brim, be prepared to wait 

Each cake set is Y840 (SGD$10.70) with a cup of coffee. I usually don't like Japanese coffee but the one here tastes fine. 

Most popular cheese frommage cake ! Yummy! Must-try ! I really love it ! 

Strawberry cake has a very nice light texture 

We bought the LeTAo strawberry home 

Kitaro 

Time to buy home some snacks and titbits and Kitaro is the place to do so. 

Freshly baked apple cake 

We bought the apple cake back home for our family. The foodstuff generally expires in about 2 weeks so they have to be consumed soon.

To die-for cream puff ! Another must-try !

Otaru

Getting to Otaru 
It is very easy to get to Otaru from Sapporo. Just take the JR train from Sapporo (JR Hakodate Line) and algithg at Minami Otaru Station if you plan to walk around. Otherwise, alight at Otaru Station to buy tickets for the Stroller Bus. The ride is 30 min and costs Y620 (SGD$8). There may not be seats though and I noticed that the young people in Japan do not give up seats to the elderly. So actually we in Singapore are doing quite well! 


Our day didn't go as well as planned. We bought tickets for the Otaru Stroller's Bus （おたる散策バス with a "One-Day Pass （一日乗車券)" at Y750. It is supposed to bring us to many touristy places in Otaru but all the instructions are in Japanese! 

We boarded the wrong bus and the terminal stop was the Aquarium. We are not fans of the underwater world and were famised. Luckily we spotted an eatery nearby and decided to get lunch there. 

Unintentional 'Visit' to the Aquarium at Otaru

We were very excited to see the words '食堂‘ meaning canteen after losing our way.

The nondescript 'canteen' turned out to offer the most delicious seafood we've had in Japan. Otaru is a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan so it is well-known for its fresh supply of seafood. Here's what we had :

Very reasonable prices with various tyeps of seafood available 

My favourite grilled sotong ! Nothing like what we've tasted in Singapore. Fat and Juicy ! 

Grilled fish with lots of bones 

The scallops were BBQed on the spot at the shop front! Fresh and succulent !

Equally fresh and yummy prawns

We took the same bus back to the 'interchange' and this is when things got 'interesting'. On the way back, we saw a hot spring place and decided to take the same bus back travelling towards the Aquarium so we could stop by the onsen. Alas ! The bus went by a different route !  We ended up taking the bus to and fro for 1 hour before we eventually ended up at the 'interchange' again. 

Ok, now we decided to go straight to the Otaru canal and we waited for a bus. After like 15 min, we realise that the buses do not stop at the bus stop. We went to like 3 -  4 different bus-stops before we found a bus that could take us to the canal ! 

So here's the canal....finally ! 

Otaru Canal is the symbol of this city. It will look romantic at night with the gaslights and stone warehouses. As there was a drizzle that day, we can hardly see painters who would usually set up their easels along the canal, reminiscent of the artists on the banks of the River Seine in Paris. 

Rows of quaint looking shops

Venetian Museum, an Italian style glass museum with a huge gondola in the middle of the ground floor.

You can dress in period costumes for memorial photograph and buy Venice-imported glass items here. 

FARM TOMITA （ファーム富田）

 And finally the highlight of the tour....FARM TOMITA ! It is one of Hokkaido’s most famous flower farms. 

Side-walk cafes for a break. Try the roasted corn or potatoes. Super yummy !

Wish I could bring home a pot of these beautiful Lavenders !

Don't forget to try this refreshing soda at the cafe! There's a round glass ball at the top, very interesting. 

Another highlight of the farm tour is the mouth-watering snacks such as melons, lavender cake, lavender cream puff, lavender jelly, lavender pudding, melon buns and so on.

Shop for lavender products like hand cream, soap, candles, pillows and small gifts !

Furano Cheese Factory

After lunch, we proceeded to the Furano Cheese Factory 富良野チーズ工房 

Garden beside the factory

Entrance to the factory, which is famous for delicious cheese and ice cream made from fresh milk, and pizza with their cheese!

Finally, the highlight of the tour....Farm Tomita in the next post ...

Chiyoda Farm

It's time for lunch ! We were brought to the Chiyoda Farm for our Biei beef Hamburger Steak or Beef Stew.

Entrance to the farm

   

Bright and cheery sunflowers ! 

Biei organic beef stew. Really yummy !

Hubby had the hamburg steak. Just as good !