Hello Hokkaido! Hotel La Vista Hakodate 函馆湾多美迎酒店 / ラビスタ函館ベイ 7 and 8 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Hotel La Vista Hakodate 函馆湾多美迎酒店 / ラビスタ函館ベイ  7 and 8 June 2016

One activity you cannot miss in Hakodate is to savour its fresh seafood. Many will head to the world famous Hakodate Morning Market to satisfy their appetite. Another alternative is to stay in a hotel such as La Vista Hakodate which we did for 2 nights.
The website of the hotel: 

http://www.hotespa.net/hotels/lahakodate/

We decided to stay there because of its famed buffet spread. Being big eaters, we can chomp down everything we want and get a good night stay in this top ranked hotel and its famous rotenburo. In fact, La Vista Hakodate's buffet is ranked #2 in the entire Japan as ranked by rocketnews:

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/05/05/japans-top-10-hotel-breakfasts-2016-kobe-hotel-dominates-list-once-again/

This is their secret weapon: 

Free flow of their kaisen don - yum!! We just scooped plenty of their kaisen (seafood) such as ika, ikura and salmon and went for more at least 2 more rounds of their free flow kaisen don.

Hello Hokkaido! Coffee Mori no Tokei 珈琲 森の時計 and Ningle Terrace ニングルテラスin Furano – 14 June 2016

Coffee Mori no Tokei 珈琲 森の時計 and Ningle Terrace ニングルテラスin Furano – 14 June 2016

I am a fan of unique coffee houses, so when I was in Furano, this place was highly recommended by the Tourist Guidebook. It was also highly raved by bloggers.

When we arrived at Furano, it was dark and drizzling – putting our plans for a Farm Tomita into disarray. We did not want to check in or hotel as well – so I suggested a visit to this café to seek refuge from the rainy day. Imagine how nice it is to enjoy a warm cup of freshly grounded coffee while the rain drizzles outside – warm and safe in the café…… ^_^

Referencing from websites and maps, the café was said to be located in the forests below New Prince Hotel Furano. We were worried whether we could find it in all that rain, but I decided to brave a trip anyway.

After we parked, I found Ningle Terrace instead:

I would advise visitors to park next to Ningle Terrace. I found a sign next to the Terrace:

That means we are on the right track! Follow the route the sign says.

It led us into the route just next to Ningle Terrace. I was a little worried then, as I was not sure whether it was too deep inside, and it was raining. Nevertheless, I decided to go in still.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, the sight wasn’t too welcoming.

Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House とみたメロンハウス - 15 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Furano Farm Tomita 富良野 ファーム富田 and Tomita Melon House とみたメロンハウス

This June, I took a trip with my family to Hokkaido to spend late Spring/early Summer. Hokkaido is nice during this period during the transition from Spring to Summer - the weather is nice and cooling, not too warm yet. Unfortunately, during this time, most of the flowers are not in bloom yet, especially the much raved about lavenders.

That brings into the place I am reviewing for this post - Farm Tomita in Furano.

Furano is a mainly agricultural place - with tons of vegetables farms mainly, due to its inland status. It is famous for vegetables and curry - in contrast to Hakodate which is famous for seafood.

There are tons of gardens in Furano as well. When people talk about Furano, the beautiful summer gardens come to mind. When I spoke to a bartender in Sapporo about what to see in Furano, he recommended Farm Tomita without batting an eyelid. This has gotta be THE place to visit in Furano, not to be missed.....

If you are on a tour, Farm Tomita would definitely be in the itinerary. If you are on a self-drive, here's the map code and telephone number for your Japanese GPS (Navi).

Telephone: +81-167-39-3939

Map code: 349 276 889

The first picture I took when I entered the garden.

We were there in mid-June, so most of the flowers were still budding.

Mini-flowers.. imagine how they would look when they bloomed!

Hello Hokkaido! Kinotoya BAKE Cheese Tarts in Sapporo - 11 June 2016

Sapporo Kinotoya BAKE Cheese Tarts

If you are ever in Sapporo, try not to miss the delicious original cheese tarts from BAKE by Kinotoya. Almost anyone who arrives in Sapporo would not miss trying all these tarts.

Hello Hokkaido! Farm Restaurant Azemichi Yorimichi in Furano (Kamifurano) あぜ道より道ファームレストラン - 16 June 2016

Hello Hokkaido! Farm Restaurant Azemichi Yorimichi in Furano (Kamifurano) あぜ道より道ファームレストラン

Before leaving Furano, we wanted to try out for the last time good curry in the area. We googled and found an interesting recommendation in Google with consistently good reviews.

The website of the restaurant is this:

http://yasaimura.co.jp/aze.html

We were amused by the cute photos in the homepage – apparently it’s run by a group of female farmers. The vegetables are freshly harvested and they offer what they can get from the day before. It is truly a joy to enjoy the freshest vegetables!

The restaurant operates from 10 am to 4 pm (Last order 3.30 pm). Take note they are closed on Wednesdays.

The restaurant is situated far out in the fields so it may be a challenge to find.

Here is the telephone number for your GPS (Japanese Navi):
Telephone: 0167 45 3060
Map code: 349 251 398

And here’s a picture for you to identify.

Very beautiful setting in the farmlands – picturesque!

Tokyo Series - Value (cheap and good) lunch at Michelin Star Restaurant Nakajima @ Shinjuku 新宿割烹 中嶋

Hi there! Sorry about the lack of updates in years! Honestly sorry but I was really caught up with Life... I graduated from my studies and became a slave to my work... but recently I quit my job and had some time to travel - went to Japan.

I took a lot of pictures but I didn't get a chance to blog about them... let me select a few worthwhile restaurants to showcase.

For my first post after a long hiatus, let me showcase a Michelin star restaurant! Well, when I first chose the place, I didn't know it was Michelin - it had good reviews in tripadvisor that attracted me there.

The name of the place is *drum-roll*......

Nakajima 中嶋 (literally means middle island)! Apparently it specializes in sardine ryori, or sardine dishes. My first thought was disgust, as I wasn't a fan of sardines. My only schema of sardines was that of those canned types... so wasn't exactly a turn on, but I decided to go give it a try to see what the Michelin fuss was about.

Hong Kong: Cafe Landmark (the one and only!) - April 2014

Guess guess where this place is??

Look very atas and high class? It actually is, but it's quite affordable... you could make a trip here for the food.

The title already gave the answer away. This is the famous Landmark Cafe of Hong Kong, located in Central in the shopping mall called 'The Landmark' (duh).

This place wasn't actually on my radar. But I asked my HK friend where I should hang out to see TVB stars, and he suggested visiting this cafe. He added that a lot of TVB celebrities have their high tea at this place, and this is also the place where the paparazzi camp to collect the latest romance gossips. He suggested reservations, but as this was an impromptu decision to visit the cafe, I decided to come by early around 3 pm to get a place.