Day 3 cont'd: Flowers of Bibaushi and Ramen Dinner in Asahikawa city

Mural of the local scenery at the Asahikawa station

Disheartened by the continuous rain that day, Ginko chan and I decided to take the train to Asahikawa city - 40 minutes away from the Lavender Batake Station. Unfortunately we go there around 4pm which means that many attractions were closing down soon or too far away for us to catch the next train back. The tourist office directed us to the little sake brewery nearby and after that we walked around the city center till dinner.

The view from the Lavender Fields Station - Naka Furano

The rail tracks after the rain

View of the surrounding farms

Fresh lavender for sale

The sake brewery was not too far from the station, and I really can't remember the name. Sorry! However, if you can read kanji then you can probably figure it out. Ginko chan wanted to get some sake for her dad but since we still have quite a journey, she decided to get it in Tokyo. So we got sake ice cream instead. It tasted like.... fermented rice. Very sake-ish, as sake is made by fermenting the rice. The sake taste was soft and subtle, so you could still taste the milk. The first time I ever had sake ice cream. Very unique.

For dinner, we had 2 options: izakaya or ramen. We ended up with ramen. It was on a little alley, but there were so many people inside. So I had a feeling that it had to be somewhat good. On the walls there were tons of autographs of what I think should be famous people otherwise they wouldn't bother putting it up. We ordered butter corn ramen, I had soy and Ginko chan had miso based soup. I removed my excess butter and Ginko chan kept hers. Yeah, we're different that way. Anyway, we were in Hokkaido and we were having ramen. The verdict? Good of course! But if I were given a choice, I probably won't go back. I'd rather go to the ramen alley in Sapporo. When we left, I figured out that it was Baikohken ramen, surprise surprise. They have branch in Singapore if that is closer to you. Here are some reviews on the Singapore Baikohken, in contrast to my so-so liking, they quite like it: ieatishootipost, camemberu, the travelling hungry boy.

See the signature collections?

Soy based corn butter ramen

Miso based corn butter ramen

Down Town Asahikawa

Anyway, as promised. Here are some pictures from Bibaushi, a small little town between Furano and Asahikawa where we stayed. I love our hostel, it was so cute and cozy. Breakfast there is also good and healthy. They always give us some kind of veggies, hard boiled egg, a warm side dish (one day it was curried beans) and sweet breads. It was a scenic little town with charming views. I could so have a 6 months sabbatical and rent a house there. I'd be so zen...

Liberty Youth Hostel, Bibaushi - our charming hostel. We were really sad to leave.

Around Bibaushi

Wild flowers of Bibaushi or the correct term that I learnt at the Botanic garden: herbaceous plants

The fields were just exploding with flowers, I wanted to spend the whole summer here

The Bibaushi station - it was really small! The first night we got here, Ginko chan had a moment of doubt of what have I gotten her into!

Baikohken

住　所：	〒060-0003 札幌市中央区北3条西4丁目 日本生命札幌ビルBF
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