Presenting the latest episode of
“Hawaiians in Hokkaido”
Starring: Lari and Anna Sumida
July 12-26, 2017
This trip was unexpected because I got an email from Odetta Fujimori who asked if I was interested in taking her son, Keala Fujimori’s Holoholo Hokkaido tour, because there was a cancellation. So I asked Anna, who is teaching, and she said yes, since this tour was during her summer break. So we both signed up and Keala met us for dinner to give us details about the tour. Keala is our tour guide and driver and there are only 6 of us on this Lavender Tour: Ed and Odetta Fujimori, Joyce and Harold Asato and Anna and I. This custom tour costs $4000 not including air, but all meals and drinks are included. So Anna and I decided to fly to Tokyo for 3 days then we flew to Chitose to meet the tour group and came home from Chitose after the tour.
I found an AirBnB apartment in Shinagawa, and it was close to the train station and very compact-just right for 2 of us and much cheaper –about 1/3 the cost of a hotel! We adventured on our own. On the first day, we went to Tokyo Edo Museum in Ryogoku. Next door is a small Sumo Museum. We had chankonabe for lunch nearby-it was nice because we got to try a lunch special with small-sized serving instead of the huge bowl that the sumotori eat. Then we took the metro to Asakusa and Kaminarimon Thunder Gate and Sensoji Temple and then by train to Yotsuya, to meet my college friend, Sharon Banno, who has a very successful Amway business in Japan. She took us to her brand new luxury apartment and we met her husband for dinner at a local izakaya.
The second day in Tokyo, we met Yumi Ibaramoto at Yanaka and strolled through Yanaka Ginza then we went to Ueno and strolled through Ameyoko shopping street. We took a train to Ginza and Anna shopped at Tokyu Hands before meeting Yumi’s family at Umenohana, for fancy Yuba kaiseki dinner. Yuba is liquid tofu and you skim the “skin” off the top, dip it in sauce and eat it.
The next day, we decided to take a train to Tokyo Tower and returned to our apartment for our luggage before checking out and riding the train non-stop to Haneda for our flight to Chitose. When we arrived in Chitose airport, we were amazed at all the shops, food samples and everything in that airport. We had fun before we met Keala and our tour group.
Keala, our tour guide and driver extraordinaire, gave us such a wonderful experience, like no other tour-because it was personalized for the 6 of us. He took us to all the best places to eat, to wonderful and amazing experiences, to meet his friends and his wife, and so much more than any other tour could offer. We went to a kombu farm, where we could buy kombu directly from the farmer, to an udon factory, to glass blowing where we could make our own glass bowl or cup, to a dairy farm, to an asparagus farm, a melon farm, sunflower farm, lavender farm, blue pond, and so much more.
Our accommodations were superb, from regular hotels to little hideaway ryokans, to large fancy ryokans, and to a ski resort chalet. But the food! Unmatchable! He took us to the best ramen shop, the best tonkatsu, the best sushi, the best buta-don (pork on rice), the best izakaya, the best seafood in a fish market, the best seafood at a “secret” ryokan, -nothing but the best! I thought I didn’t like uni (sea uchin) until I tasted the sweet, fresh uni at the fish market. We shopped to our hearts content, because all we had to do was leave all our shopping in the van until the end, when we had to pack up all our omiyage into boxes. Hokkaido has the best ice cream-so creamy and good. They also have the best, sweetest melons, sweet cherries, mushrooms, oysters, hairy crab, and delicious asparagus. Depending on when you go to Hokkaido, you will encounter the best of each season in fruits, vegetables, seafood, and more. We went to 2 sake breweries and to Nikka Whiskey. I drank a lot of Sapporo Classic beer which is not exported, so only available in Japan. Sapporo was having a Beer Festival in Odori Park, with each block having a different brand of beer in tents all through the park. After shopping all day, it was great to sit and have a cold beer at the festival.
Of course, I really enjoyed all the different onsens at hotels and ryokans. The biggest and best was at Yoroushi Daiichi Onsen, where we had a beautiful suite and us ladies got to choose our own yukata. The onsen there had so many pools and a hot stone detox room-even a outdoor co-ed pool, which I ventured out to-no shame-just go for it. Another hotel had a rooftop onsen with a huge TV to watch while soaking. Anna and I enjoyed every minute of this trip! We are so grateful to Keala for providing us with nothing but the best and to Odetta for inviting us.
Anna’s Top Ten:
-10. People watching at Summer Beer Festival in Sapporo, Odori Park w/ Lari, Shorty, & Keala
-9. Keala cooked us delicious shabu shabu dinner in Niseko at Orchards Chalet w/ Niseko cream puffs, Niseko cherries, Furano melons, & Yamanashi peaches for dessert
-8. Sharon Banno’s million dollar condo in Yotsuya
-7. Umenohana restaurant yuba dinner (tofu based kaiseki dishes) in Ginza w/ Yumi’s family
-6. Kushiro Marsh: reminded me of my Father’s favorite Japanese crane calendar pictures he loved
-5. Seeing Olympic skier jump from top then from bottom – AMAZING!
-4. Biei to see Aoi Ike Blue pond
-3. Hokuryu Sunflower Park (and I bought seeds to plant!!!) and all the other farms: lavender, kombu, dairy, asparagus, melon,
-2.Shopping and Glass blowing in Otaru
-1. Owl Onsen Yoroushi
Lari’s Top Ten:
-10. All the beer and sake we could drink included with our meals
-9. The wonderful yuba dinner with Ibaramoto family at Umenohana in Ginza
-8. Meeting Sharon in Yotsuya
-7. Making my own bowl by glass blowing in Okura
-6. Watching the ski jumper at Okurayama Ski Jump
-5. The onsen ryokan in Yoroushi
-4. The kombu farm
-3. Aoi Ike blue pond
-2. The Onsens: I love soaking in the hot pools.
-1. The FOOD! Everything was super amazing & delicious!
We arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
We visited with Sharon Banno in Yotsuya, where she lives and works within walking distance.
Yumi went with us to walk through Yanaka Ginza and Ameyoko Ueno.
Asako (Yumi’s sister), Koji (Yumi’s hubby), Anna, Kenzo (Yumi’s son), Lari and Yumi having kaiseki yuba dinner at Umenohana-very fancy place!
On our last morning, we took a quick trip by train to Tokyo Tower.
I love chiso with my sashimi… yummm!
Every day, Keala prepares our day’s itinerary on a white board back of the front passenger seat.
We visited the Kikuchi family kombu farm in Cape Nemuro, far eastern part of Hokkaido.
This was my favorite: Yoroushi Ryokan. Luxurious room, delicious food for dinner and breakfast, and fancy onsen pools, indoor and outdoors.
Notice that the men have the standard yukata, but us ladies have different ones.
Yamauchi-san is Keala’s good friend. He owns an asparagus farm and a PV farm that he sells electricity to the grid.
Sunflower farm, so bright and cheerful!
Lavender farm.
Keala and his wife, Tomoko.
Melons are super sweet!
Nikka Whiskey is very, very good!
Nagashi somen-grab it as it comes down the bamboo chute!
Glass blowing at Kim Glass Design in Otaru.
Odetta blowing her glass at Kim Glass Design in Otaru.
Keala, Anna and I shared this large beer
Okurayama ski jump in Sapporo
Happy birthday, Harold!
At Chitose airport unloading from the van.
Sue sent me this photo of Houdini so sad, missing me while I travel.
lariyasui 