Kin follower Aug 3 22:11 I hoe Westjet will pay for your prolonged stay in Toyko
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 4 00:30 Looks amazing!
monjayaki — so hard to wait for the caramelization!
Takoyaki stand in Ueno. So good!
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 3 16:00 Amazing!
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 3 17:01 Niki no Okashi!!!!!!!!
Takoyaki stand in Ueno. So good!
tokyo station! 🚉
Breakfast in Sukiya! Day 2 of flight interruption.
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 3 12:30 Ain't nothin wrong with that!
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 3 12:30 ok that was pretty cool!!!!
Costco madness
late night costco run before we said goodbye to tyler and winnie :( 🥩
Izakaya dinner
short walk around a shrine in hodate
Serious ice after baking in the castle grounds
Odawata castle
Ollie... future ninja?
Strategizing and deadly accuracy with a shuriken... Ollie belongs in a castle!
The final meal in Tokyo for the Yos
Tyler (タイラー) Aug 2 22:59 Lovely meal but already sad!
Shibuya at 4am is wild. So many 'unflitered' moments - the hangovers, the rats, the garbage, the (still incredible) neighborhoods. I even did some street therapy with a couple of people :P pretty wild.
Countless card shops later, we braved the line at Pokemon Center to get these... Oh the sweet smell of success!
Kin follower Aug 1 22:39 That looks yummmmmmy
Normal ikebu fashion
Helen (ヘレン) Aug 1 00:50 17000+ steps in our half-day in tokyo, ready to rest before another big day
Checking out the sights, sounds and tastes around Senso-Ji Gate in the Asakusa district
Helen (ヘレン) Aug 1 00:49 lol, we can always count on vinh getting snacky right after an AYCE meal :)
endless metropolis, super beautiful at night
Tokyo Skytree
Monorail
On the way to Tokyo, this is the cool people's row
Nobody knows and it's impossible to know where ana is
kin follower Jul 31 22:21 All Nippon Airline?
Fare thee well, Hokadate!
Finally found my beloved tsukemen! So good! 😋
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 30 21:15 one more back fat ramen 😋
📍 Hotel Global View Hakodate ↗
Corn & cream pie
Red bean & sweet potato in a mochi wrap
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 30 21:16 red brick warehouse — shopping area, so many stalls. and cheesecakes!
A misty walk through Hakodate!
This is her "are there any good bakeries in the area" face 🤣
Breakfast at the market
Hakodate Morning Market - bustling with people eating all kinds of food 😋
Chinese food for dinner plus salt ramen
Waking around Hakodate
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 30 21:20 toyako saved us with their quick tire service, arigato gozaimasu!!
When life gives you lemons, buy Pizza-la
Toyako, where we were totally intentionally located
Toyako, where we were totally intentionally located
some flowers on our walk around toyako!
Happy little accident!
The fun never stops at ENEOS Dr. Drive
Well that ain't good
Clam curry and crab sushi
Evening wandering
Obihiro!
view from our hotel room
obihiro food stalls
Early evening wandering
got the butadon!
Butadon!!!
got the butadon!
Helen disagrees but I think he's beaufiful
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 30 21:22 ugliest mascot in japan!
Obihiro roadside eki
Japanese cranes and THE MOST INCREDIBLE ELM TREE EVER
Roadside shrine area
The Shrine area (motorcycle, breastmilk, war veterans, etc... you know... totally normal shrines)
Cheese mochi
Confluence of river and ocean = powerful waves
Confluence of river and ocean = powerful waves
The "Vortex" where the river meets the sea
Build our own sakedon
washo market for diy chirashi! the hotate & ebi were super sweet, and uni was incredible
Building our own chirashi bowls
Big ball of gas
Large-billed Crow (also Jungle Crow)
Japanese: ハシブトガラス (hashibutogarasu), kanji 嘴太烏 — literally "thick-billed crow"
Scientific: Corvus macrorhynchos japonensis
Broadly, hashibuto (our crow) is the forest-and-city crow: heavy bill for tearing, more carnivorous and scavenging, at home in dense canopy and equally at home on a Sapporo rubbish bag. Hashiboso (not our crow) is the farmland crow, working open fields and river flats, more of a generalist forager on the ground. In Hokkaido you can often work out which one you're looking at from the habitat before you see the bill.
Oh, deer.
Clearest picture I got, and maybe i can confidently say its a Black-faced Bunting (アオジ)... but who knows.
Well hello
Not sure what this guy is - its a juvenile bunting for sure but unclear which it is unfortunataely. It could be:
1) Black-faced Bunting, アオジ (aoji), Emberiza spodocephala personata.
2) Chestnut-eared Bunting, ホオアカ (hooaka), Emberiza fucata
3) Meadow Bunting, ホオジロ (hoojiro), Emberiza cioides
4) Grey Bunting, クロジ (kuroji), Emberiza variabilis
Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler
Japanese: シマセンニュウ (shima-sennyū), kanji 島仙入
Scientific: Locustella ochotensis
This species breeds in Kamchatka, Sakhalin, the Kurils, and Hokkaido and in Japan it's essentially a Hokkaido bird, densest in exactly the Kushiro–Nemuro coastal belt. The Japanese name 島 (shima, "island") reflects its island-and-coast distribution.
These birds winter in the Philippines, Borneo, and Indonesia.
Eurasian Nuthatch
Japanese: ゴジュウカラ (gojūkara), kanji 五十雀 literally "fifty sparrow"
Scientific: Sitta europaea asiatica
It walks down trees head-first. This is genuinely unusual! Treecreepers spiral upward and must fly back down to start again, while woodpeckers brace on stiff tail feathers and can only climb up. Nuthatches have no tail brace at all. They hang from one hind claw and pivot, descending head-down, which lets them see into bark crevices from an angle every other bird misses.
Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile (upper limb), adult (below).
That's the standard post-fledging arrangement: the young bird stations itself on a conspicuous perch and calls, the adult forages nearby and comes to it. Within a few weeks the adult's tolerance runs out and it drives the young off the territory.
Stejneger's Stonechat
Japanese: ノビタキ (nobitaki), kanji 野鶲 — "field flycatcher," 野 no (field/moor) + 鶲 hitaki (flycatcher)
Scientific: Saxicola stejnegeri
This is arguably the signature small bird of the Hokkaido summer. In Japan the nobitaki is essentially a Hokkaido breeder. It nests across the island's grasslands, pastures, and marsh edges, and almost nowhere else in the country. The only Honshū breeding populations are on cool highland plateaus like Kirigamine and Sugadaira in Nagano, plus the Mt. Fuji slopes. For most of Japan it's just a bird you glimpse on migration in spring and autumn.
Japanese Bush Warbler (also called Japanese Nightingale)
Japanese: ウグイス (uguisu), kanji 鶯
Scientific: Horornis diphone
Across most of Japan the uguisu is a year-round resident that just moves down from the hills in winter. In Hokkaido it's a genuine summer visitor. It arrives late April to May, breeds, and clears out to Honshū and points south by autumn. So the bird that Japanese literary tradition calls 春告鳥 (harutsugedori), "the bird that announces spring," announces a Hokkaido spring that's already halfway to summer.
Absolutely stunning views
Sunrise!
Great Spotted WoodpeckerJapanese: アカゲラ (akagera), kanji 赤啄木鳥 — literally "red woodpecker." Scientific: Dendrocopos major japonicusThis one is juvenile so not sure if it is male or female.
Great Spotted WoodpeckerJapanese: アカゲラ (akagera), kanji 赤啄木鳥 — literally "red woodpecker." Scientific: Dendrocopos major japonicusThis one is juvenile so not sure if it is male or female.
Great Spotted WoodpeckerJapanese: アカゲラ (akagera), kanji 赤啄木鳥 — literally "red woodpecker." Scientific: Dendrocopos major japonicusThis one is juvenile so not sure if it is male or female.
Made it to the birding area
This is what 3:00 a.m. in Japan looks like
Kin follower Jul 28 11:00 Watch out for wondering bears
Post-dinner walk around town & the harbour
night time stroll
Self-grilled robatayaki time
Self-grilled robatayaki time
dinner by the water!
Self-grilled robatayaki time
Self-grilled robatayaki time
Kin follower Jul 27 22:57 Yum, nice sea food. Price is for plate or each piece?
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 28 09:09 by piece — you buy tickets and then go around and choose what you like
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 28 09:10 robatayaki (charcoal grill cooking) originated in kushiro
Self-grilled robatayaki time
scenes from kushiro
Whoa, open bar
Wow, this place is amazing!
oceanside michi no eki
Beef for lunch
more snacks for the road!
Crane Michi No Eki
Cows are real!!!
Snack time! Hojicha & black sesame ice cream, then a strawberry daifuku while dipping my feet in a foot onsen
sakura falls — cherry salmon pursuing their destiny!
Salmon leaping to their spawning site at Sakura falls, outside of Kiyosato
Abirishi michi-no-eki
Cape Notoro-misaki, a stunning area.
prison life
At the entrance
No smorking!
Potato, chicken, and ramen 😋
Slurping some refreshingly tangy ramen at another roadside stop
bihoro pass, enhanced by excellent roadside snacks
The beautiful view along the 243 highway
Enjoying some roadside kamayakis - red bean and tapioca, and red bean with whipped cream
Another rest stop snack 😋
One last trip to Pan De Pan for some buns... After our breakfast buffet.
Breakfast buffet course 2
Breakfast buffet course 1
Akan Ainu Theatre
Yes we saved the entire Ainu people
Hello, Owl god
We are about to do an illuminated night walk! Kamuy Lumina
Buffet dinner!
Mini hot spring to warm up those cold little hands. However, too hot for these little hands!
Deeeeer!
Education!!
All of the birds I should be seeing
OK maybe the footbath was a little hot
Boiling our tootsies in a public foot onsen
Pan de pan!
Murderhornet
Ainu Village area in Lake Akan
Be nice!
lake akan, birthplace of the marimo
Marimooooo~ Marimooooo~
See? Our boat!
Welcome to Lake Akan!
Our future boat!
Welcome to Lake Akan!
One of many breakfast courses
New Akan Hotel - Lake Akan
43.43338, 144.09697 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
Dinner buffet!
onsen ready!
Sobaaaaaaa
Head to head eating
Roadside soba noodles!
soba noodle lunch on our way to lake akan!
The famous and incredible Ginga Waterfall in Sounkyo Gorge
Deluxo toast! Crispy melon spread and crispy curry spread.
Night at the farm
Mister donut!
kin follower Jul 24 11:22 Ollie looks totally awake with donuts, all those energy in sugar.
Aji no Banban Sanroku ten
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 24 09:50 asahikawa shoyu ramen with “lard lid” on top for insulation — lol, for the ramen & for us.
cutest moving company logo!
Walking Asahikawa :)
Asahikawa downtown
Kitakari Flagship Store
43.79037, 142.40202 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
tanbo art!
Tonkatsu Wako - so good!
Sushi for lunch @ Aeon Mall
Discovering Kaldi Coffee
glamour shot
Asahikawa from above
up to the observation deck in asahikawa
Night sky at the farm
Café ガスト
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 23 10:08 cold tan tan noodles — not bad for “japan’s dennys” :)
Incredible sunset on our ride home
Supermodel... supermodel... superfox
ningle terrace — forest of magical tiny people
Ningle Terrace, one of the coolest little shopping centres in the world.
Our van vs average car
furano-san!
the famous furano om curry. side of katsu to make sure we hit protein goals 😝
Tasty curry plates!
Tyler (タイラー) Jul 23 00:35 I'm still full!!
Milking a cow at the Furano Cheese Factory
Tyler (タイラー) Jul 22 15:56 Getting your own cremia the hard way!!
Hot soup in a can from a vending machine!
Mount Tokachi, which erupted for the first time since 2004!
Mount Tokachi, where the volcano erupted 6 hours ago (first time since 2004)
This RV is the cutest ever!!! 😍😍😍
Who knew roasted corn could be THIS delicious!
Cremia wo eat-i-mashita
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 23 10:11 like evap milk in ice cream form! 😋
shirogane waterfalls, a result of volcanic eruption — the upper rock is ancient lava!
Food stands everywhere!
shirogane blue pond
The Blue Pond and Area
Rest stop food stalls
Michi no eki
Heron
We'll be ok.
Let the feast begin!
Sushiro!!!
Monkeying around while Uncle Vinh tries to sleep 🐒
Farm Tomita in Furano!
🤣
Today's ice cream flavours are melon and lavender 🍦 Both were delicious!
Even the workers' scooters were lavender 😍
farm Tomita!
43.41981, 142.42632 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
Dropped a pin
43.41994, 142.42609 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
Watching the country pass by on our way to Furano
Eco Town
🤣
I mean.... I mean... How could I NOT eat one???
Breakfast time!
Japanese breakfast at Sukiya 😋
Helen (ヘレン) Jul 23 10:22 beacon for king of moths!
gondola!!!
43.02589, 141.32854 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
Gondola up to Mount Moiwa
Checking out the view and... wildlife? 😂
It's quite the skill!
Ramen Alley! 🍜😋
Ichikura ramen!
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dX6UVQ7UmsQkWwYi7
The landmark Nikka billboard in Hokkaido
So many butt holes!
Be careful eating the onigiri in Hokkaido!!
Random cosplay
The park outside the Akarenga building
So much to see & eat
Quite a bar sign!
hokkaido ice cream is the BEST
We all scream for ice cream 🍦
World's best soft serve??
Guitar Store
James x Luffy
Run-chi!
We are eating at
https://en.sapporo.parco.jp/shop/detail/?cd=005861
Hokkaido scallops, two ways - fresh & dried
Tried some Hokkaido scallops... fresh!
Nijo Market!
Shopping and eating at the Nijo Market
Admiring some natural beauty and structure.
Sapporo TV Tower and Odori Park
Lawson!
43.06349, 141.35439 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
The Kitaka mascot is so cute!
Exploring Sapporo!!!!
First konbini breakfast run!
landed in sapporo! sukiya for late night snack!
Ollie ALMOST went straight to bed.
Arrived at our first villa, the Yoshinaga B&B Snow. 🏠
43.09905, 141.34020 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
A single piece of Arrivals glass separates me from my wallet, while Helen taunts.
I'm in Sapporo waiting for the Kim's and Vihns
Just arrived to New Chitose Airport :)
42.77520, 141.69230 · see it on the map · open in Google Maps ↗
It's the official start of the trip! Today I'm off to Chitose Airport to rent the car, and pick up the Kims and Vihns :) Excited to start Hokkaido :)
on our way!! ✈️
on our way!! ✈️
