We travelled about 3 hours from Furano to Hokuryu for the biggest sunflower field in Hokkaido. The weather was really sunny, so much that it was hard to take photos in the fields and no one except me wanted to stay longer among the flowers. We were there on 26 July 2017, and some of the fields have not bloomed. It was a pity as I would imagine it to be really magnificent.
Mapcode: 179 840 544*11
Fields that were not in bloom
Bicycle rental at 100yen
Tractor ride at 500yen / adult.
The signboard beside the bicycle rental shop tells you which fields have bloomed and the percentage in bloom.
Ringing the bell. Not sure of its significance though.
Water wheels near the sunflower maze field
Entrance fee - 300yen / adult. Hubby asked me why I needed to pay to go into the field when there's other places where you can see the sunflower fields for free. I guess he's right but I really wanted to take some selfies among the sunflowers haha!!
The weather felt like it was 35 deg cel. I had imagined Little V would want to run around in the maze with all the pretty flowers, but in reality she was not impressed and wanted me to carry her ALL THE WAY. It was sooooooo hot! Holding the umbrella for her the whole time except that few seconds of photo taking. And guess what, I forgot to bring her portable fan for the trip.
The highlight for V was probably when she got to feed the ducks. She tried her best to throw the feed into the water though most of it ended up on the pavement.
Sunflowers are so pretty! And there's so many types too!!! Long vs short petals, light vs dark centres..
In case it gets too hot to stay outdoors, there's a huge building where you can have your lunch and do some shopping.
Large eating area with sandy grounds
Sunflower ice cream for dessert!
There's a nursing room / diaper changing room at the far end of the cafeteria.
I realised the diaper changing tables are lined with cottony soft towels in this part of the country. I guess it's more comfortable but I wonder when they have been last washed.
Gyudon (Beef Bowl) 牛丼 - Simple but good
Fish soba - Interesting combi
After eating we did a bit of shopping. There's quite a lot of sunflower themed souvenirs to get.
These owls were really cute but I have no idea where to put them.
So i ended up with 2 bags of sunflower snacks. Perishables are the popular items to get nowadays since there's really not a lot of space at home.
And my highlight.. Sunflower soft serve ice-cream! It's quite nutty and I liked it!! Little V loved it too! I really wanted to bring it near some sunflowers for photo-taking, but the fields were toooooo far!!! I guess the clear blue skies will do! We stayed at the sunflower fields till about 2pm, then set off to Ohashi Cherry Farm for cherry picking!
We went to the regular fields for cherry picking since I wasn't sure if everyone's a fan of cherry buffet. We had lots of fun picking the cherries and we ate so much that Little V refused to eat more cherries the next day.
Mapcode: 450 518 845
Purchase the tickets at the vending machine and approach the staff in the shop for entry to the fields. The staff will pass you boxes if you want to purchase the cherries home for consumption. If you are feasting (eating) at the fields, just pluck the cherry. If you want to bring it home, pluck the cherry with the stem.
1500yen / adult
Entrance to the cherry fields
The first tree that we spotted was this one with yellow cherries. We were not sure if we could eat from this tree since we paid for the regular field price. Before we can even start tasting, an obasan came over and directed us to the other end of the fields. So we thought, ahhh this is not part of the 1500yen we paid for.
So we ate to our hearts' content and as we walked down the slopes, we came back to this tree again. Then we saw the sign saying that we can eat from this tree in the field, just that we cannot pack the cherries for purchase. So it was a tactic for us to eat from the other trees first, so that we won't empty this sweeter and yummier tree of cherries. It makes business sense but it wasn't a very nice gesture. Even when we approached this tree again, the obasan reappeared and kept asking us to go further up to the other trees.
Despite the little episode of the yellow cherry tree, we had lots of fun and Little V got to pluck her own cherries!
I think I must have eaten 3 or 4 dozens of cherries
If you want to bring some cherries home, there are boxes of different sizes available.
And of course there's soft serve ice-cream again! We were too full from the cherry buffet to eat anything more.
Haruchan sushi was an impromptu dinner choice as no one was interested in more curry. The sushi was good (as usual) but nothing special. We sat at the tatami seating area with leg space underneath the table, so it was great for us and the active toddler.
Large carpark for Haruchan Sushi guests
Fried chicken - this was quite yummy and tender!
Boiled pork belly - Not my cup of tea
Yummy chirashi don!!
Yummy sushi set!!
A great day spent among the flowers and cherries! On our way back to Furano, we spotted a few fruit shops. You may want to look out for them especially if you want to bring some seasonal fruits back home!
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