July 19: Chitose to Biei

 We got up early but even though the rain had stopped we couldn’t get going right away because I had forgotten to get an ETC card for the car when I’d checked the car out. We packed everything in the car, drove to the nearby convenience store for a quick breakfast, and then drove to the car rental agency where I had to explain what I needed. This cost just $3 for the ETC card rental, and the gentleman helped me plug the card in and  then we were on the way to Biei. We got onto the limited expressway and immediately the rain came back. Fortunately, by the time we exited the expressway, it had stopped raining and we started seeing the sun!

Driving in Japan is different from California, not because you’re driving on the other side of the road, but because the speed limits are set absurdly low. The default speed limit seemed to be 40kph in cities, and 60kph elsewhere. I eventually learned from observing other drivers that 100kph seemed to be where people ended up driving when conditions were good, and 80kph otherwise. Not once did I ever see a police car pull anyone over for speeding!

Stopping at a drug store in Furano, we bought a bottle of insect repellent. I had asked ChatGPT to find a brand that was DEET free, since we were mostly wearing synthetic clothing and I obviously had a brand new plastic camera. DEET uses have been known to leave fingerprints on plastic camera bodies and I’ve seen DEET burn holes in cycling shorts. Don’t ask me how I feel about putting that on my skin!

From Furano it was a short drive but a very twisty one to the  Shirogane Blue Pond. It was warm now but despite the busy location the parking lot was very well organized and we had trouble parking. When I had last visited we didn’t even see the parking lot because we had ridden there by bike! The blue pond was less blue than bluish green, maybe, and the crowd detracted from the experience. However, once past the pond the crowds diminished to nothing. We were hungry and I remember the burger place advertised from the road that was within walking distance, and we all could stand to stretch our legs so we walked there.

The burger was very good, and after that we found an ice cream place nearby that was also quite good. We would later discover that Japanese ice cream was almost always soft serve in Hokkaido. After we walked back, we then drove a short way to Shirahige Waterfall. This was an impressive waterfall that was easily accessible from the parking lot. We walked across the bridge and then given how much hiking we had already done today, the kids refused to do more.

It was still a little too early to checkin, so we headed to Takushinkan, the photo gallery for the Maeda family of photographers. Xiaoqin took a nap in the car while the kids and I went in and admired the photos of Hokkaido and the Biei area in seasons other than summer. It’s a short 20 minute visit but enough that we could now check-in at the AirBnB.

At the AirBnB, we unpacked, turned on the AC, and relaxed. Well, the others relaxed while I took a walk to the Four Seasons Tower in Biei, which was right next to the city hall.  It featured an elevator that took you up to the 5^th floor for views of the surrounding area. The views weren’t all that great, but it was fantastic for having no fees and easy access.

For dinner, we walked to Kame Tsuru, but it was fully booked! We made a reservation for tomorrow night and then walked down the street to GIO, a Yakiniku and Hot Pot place run mostly by Chinese waiters. We ordered a Wagyu Yakiniku and had a great meal. This was followed by a supermarket visit for breakfast. By the time we got back it was quite dark. The forecast for the next day was for more fog and rain, so a visit to Asahidake was out of the cards. I advocated for an early visit to the Fukiage open-air Onsen first thing in the morning and then hoping the weather got better the rest of the day. It would be everybody’s first open-air Onsen except for me!