Japan Day 20 - Shiroi Koibito Park & JR Tower Observatory T38

15 Nov - Time flies and tomorrow will marked the end of our 3 weeks in Japan. For today, only plan was to go visit the Shiroi Koibito Park and catch the sunset at JR Tower Observatory T38. I must say that the breakfast venue of our JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo is simply fantastic. They have the highest breakfast dining location where you literally have an unobstructed view of the sunrise (provided you rise early to queue and get the best seat). 

Watching sunrise while having breakfast

After breakfast, we took a train to JR Hassamu Station and walk to Shiroi Koibito Park.

Passing by Hassamu Nishi Park

Shiroi Koibito Park is a theme park by Ishiya, consisting of a free area with a shop, cafe and restaurant and a paid area with various chocolate-related exhibits and, most interestingly, viewing windows through which visitors can observe their signature Shiroi Koibito cookie production process. There are also paid workshop classes available to create your own cookies if you are interested.

Shiroi Koibito Park entrance

Within the park, it also has an hourly Mechanical Clock Tower show where it consists of a parade of jolly singing and dancing mechanical dolls.

Bus theme seats for a cafe

Catching the sun setting at JR Tower Observatory T38

As the day closes, it is time to pack our luggage to head home tomorrow. We will be transiting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Hopefully, we will have some time to spare for their signature bubble milk tea!

Japan Day 19 - 四季彩の丘, Biei Blue Pond, Shirahige Falls & Farm Tomita

14 Nov - Today is a day trip out to the Furano area. At current time of the year, it is already the off peak season and flowers are past their blooming time, we are expecting much lesser crowd. However, the sky seems to have its own idea and started snowing the moment we entered the mountains. The weather really caught us off guard this year as we are not expecting Japan to have a very short autumn.

At the very least, we experienced our first ever snowfall overseas! And it is a heavy one.

四季彩の丘

When in season, the background will have flowers in full bloom

We are expecting to see an azure pond, but......

the snow has covered the Biei Pond.

Entrance to Shirahige Falls

Shirahige Falls

Shirahige Falls with background bridge

Farm Tomita is also the same situation. All the fields are emptied of flowers during this off season, with the exception of its green house, where you can still catch some lavender in bloom. Its cafe is still open and they serve really good Hokkaido Danshaku Potato Croquette.

Farm Tomita

Lavender in green house

Japan Day 18 - Sapporo Clock Tower and TV Tower

13 Nov - After fond memories of Hakodate last night, we bid goodbye to the city in the morning and took a train to our final destination for this trip - Sapporo. Arriving in the late afternoon, we quickly checked into our hotel (JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo) and left to explore the surrounding before retiring for the night. Not too bad, we managed to have our dinner in between and covered the Sapporo Clock Tower and TV Tower. 

For the Sapporo TV Tower, it is a re-visit after 13 years. Same place, different company, different vibes. 

Sapporo Clock Tower

The Sapporo Clock Tower is a wooden structure of American design developed in the 1870s with assistance from the American government. It is known by many as the symbol of the city and is a main feature of almost all domestic and international tours of Sapporo. The clock after which it is named continues to run and keep time, and the chimes can be heard every hour.

Final touch-ups for the "The Sapporo White Illumination" which runs from Nov 2025 to Mar 2026

Sapporo TV Tower

The Sapporo TV Tower, built in 1957, is a 147.2-metre-high TV tower with an observation deck at a height of 90.38 metres. Remembering that Hokkaido is well known for their milk ice-cream, we went around searching for the ice-cream shop that we patronized 13 years ago, but unfortunately, it was no longer there. As time is limited, we took some photos and return to our hotel to rest in preparation for the full day road trip tomorrow.

Sapporo TV Tower up close

Japan Day 17 - Goryōkaku & Mount Hakodate (Million-Dollar View)

12 Nov - Having scouted Hakodate surrounding the previous night, we focused on the main agenda today, which is visiting Goryōkaku in the morning & Mount Hakodate in the evening. After a full breakfast in our hotel, we set off for a train ride to Goryōkaku Station using our JR Pass.

Front of JR Hakodate Station

JR Goryōkaku Station

Manhole with Goryōkaku design

Goryōkaku is originally a star fortress completed in 1866, serving as the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo. Most recently, it was featured in Detective Conan Movie 27: The Million-Dollar Pentagram which was released in theaters on April 12, 2024. This attraction was already an Instagram spot for tourist to begin with, so it is a must visit spot when we are in Hakodate! 

Base of Goryōkaku Park

View of Goryōkaku Fort from the tower

To catch the Million-Dollar view from Mount Hakodate, we need to reach the top before sunset and before the horde of tourists arrival. Sparing no time, we left Goryōkaku after we took our share of photos and took a taxi to the Hakodate Ropeway. Mount Hakodate offers one of the world's best night views, earning it the nickname "Million-Dollar Nightscape" and a Michelin three-star rating, known for its unique fan-shaped city lights framed by the sea on both sides, best seen at dusk after sunset to witness the transition from day to night.

Top of Mount Hakodate

Waiting for the transition from day to night Million-Dollar View

To escape squeezing with the crowds and the cold, we decided to comfortably have our dinner at Restaurant Genova. To get the best seats, you need to start queuing 30mins before the restaurant opens at 4pm. Though the food is a bit pricey, I assure you it is well worth the money spent.

Last shot of the scene while waiting for the crowd to disperse 90mins after sunset. We still need to queue another 30mins to take the ropeway down.

Japan Day 16 - Hakodate (Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse & Hachiman-Zaka Slope)

11 Nov - As we bid goodbye to Sendai, we took the Shinkansen to Hakodate and arrived at the destination around 3pm. Noticeably colder and more windy than Sendai, we quickly head to our hotel to check-in. As daylight is shorter coming to winter (Sunset around 4.40pm during this period), we headed out again to explore our surrounding before night falls.

JR Hakodate Station

Our hotel for the next 2 days - Premier Hotel Cabin President

They got lots of cute bears in the lobby

Exploring Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse

Hachiman-Zaka Slope

Dinner at Lucky Pierrot, which is recommended by my colleague

Ordered Oyakodon and burgers

Unique building covered with red plants