Leaving the farm and a beautiful ride through horse country
All too soon it is time to say farewell to the Yubari Forest Farm Hostel and Miwa and her mom. We have had wonderful experiences throughout our travels, but none compare to the hospitality, friendship and incredible food that we have enjoyed here. It is a special place and we will return one day.
I finally got Miwa to try my trike. Her face tells the story of her experience.
Miwa, a special host and friend. She and her family exemplify the character of Japanese people that we have observed as hard working, ethical people….no shortcuts.
Yes, we did have a large breakfast, and it may seem a bit early in the day for ice cream, but we are leaving melon country today. So, we treated ourselves to a treat of soft serve Yubari melon ice cream with local melon jelly on the bottom. Recommended!
Riding by this river made us think of the fellow we met at the hostel. He had been fly fishing in the area along rivers. (Sorry…can’t remember his name.)
We were able to put together a really good route on secondary roads for today’s ride. It can be a bit of a challenge as we had to rely on Google Maps as Ride with GPS didn’t have a route for us. To our surprise this area is made up of mostly exclusive and massive horse breeding farms. We had the good fortune to explore these beautiful landscapes and prize winning horses with very little traffic. We didn’t want it to end.
Some of the farms covered 100’s of acres and were well groomed and looked after. Abira is the town closest to this area. We first rode through Northern Farm which is part of the Shadai Group and is Japanese owned by the Yoshidas family. it is home to over 3,000 horses valued at over 100 million dollars. In 2005, one of their horses, Deep Impact was a Triple Crown Winner.
It was wonderful riding here, but when we tried to move on, we couldn’t get the gate to open. The automatic doors open from the other side. Thankfully a car came along just as we were about to give up.
One quarter of arable land in Japan is here on Hokkaido. It represents a large part of Hokkaido’s economy and Hokkaido ranks first in Japan in terms of agricultural products.
A cartoon character, Doraemon is depicted on this barn. He is the main character of one of Japan’s most popular cartoons. It tells the story of a robotic, cat shaped male, without ears, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to help a young boy named Nobita Nobi.
Mary Ellen is taking a breather after a very long and steep climb on this hot and humid day. Surrounded by lush vegetation and trees, it is a good place to stop.
Anyone who knows us, will be surprised to see that we have succumbed and eaten at a McDonald’s. But, needs must. Since leaving Yubari we have been riding in rural areas with no commerce and we were hot, tired and hungry. McDonald’s was the right choice…air conditioned, table service (imagine that!j and we ordered two of their special features that were Japanese inspired.
We had a combo meal which included a beverage, fries and burger.
As well as the Michi close by, the other nice surprise is a large community park filled with flowers and recreational areas just outside our hotel. A nice end to a good day.
Our hotel is in the background with the sun setting on a wonderful day. We know that we will be leaving Hokkaido in a few days as we need to arrange passage on a ferry and get back to Osaka for our flight home. Bittersweet, but such a memorable time we have had on Hokkaido.
