Rent a car when you arrive at Chitose Airport. The one-way option will suffice as public transport will be the mode of transportation back. The journey starts as soon as you rent the car! Head down the Hokkaido Expressway towards Ebetsu and Asahikawa.

Get off the expressway at the Naie-Sunagawa IC and head towards Sunagawa City. Sunagawa City was once a mining town where the coal miners often relied on sweets to relieve their fatigue. For that reason, the sweets industry flourished in Sunagawa. Now, Sunagawa has its own ‘Sunagawa Sweet Road,’ which is home to as many as 19 different sweet shops that offer a range of sweets, including cakes, Japanese sweets, bread, gelato, and donuts.

Scattered along National Route 12, the 19 stores of Sunagawa Sweet Road include a wide range from well-established confectionery shops to trendy cafes. Thus, in addition to the locals, many visitors from outside Hokkaido come here to buy sweets too. There are many different types of desserts available, so go around and visit the various stores to try them out!

Sweet Road is home to the main store of the famous sweets shop, Kitakaro.

Established in 1991 in Sunagawa, Kitakaro now has shops in Chitose Airport and in Sapporo City. Its sweets are beloved by both locals and tourists alike.

The “Hokkaido Kaitaku Okaki” is a classic Hokkaido snack made using locally produced glutinous rice. It is meticulously made over seven days, by first polishing the rice, then steaming it, turning it into mochi, leaving it to age, and then dry, followed by frying and seasoning. The result of this arduous process is fragrant rice crackers with a unique, firm texture and rich flavor.

There is a variety of Hokkaido Kaitaku Okaki to choose from. The flavors include scallops from Esashi, autumn salmon from Shibetsu, hokkai shrimp from Notsuke Odaitō, and sweet shrimps from Mashike, all of which are Hokkaido produce. There are also seasonal flavors like sea urchin, so look out for those when you visit!

Made with carefully selected ingredients produced in Hokkaido, the “Yōsei no Mori Baumkuchen” is one of the popular items here. This cake has a soft, spongy mouthfeel, delivers a refreshing sweetness, and simply melts in your mouth. To create its moist texture, the bakers bake one cake at a time carefully, while making necessary adjustments to the baking conditions, the thickness of the dough, the temperature of the kiln, and so on. This Baumkuchen is definitely something you should get when you stop by Kitakaro.

The Hokkaido Kaitaku Okaki tastes best when eaten within three weeks, and the Yōsei no Mori Baumkuchen within two, so do keep this in mind if you are purchasing them as souvenirs to bring back home.

Moreover, the store has measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 by providing hand sanitizers and ensuring social distancing.

A café has been set up next to the Sunagawa main store so you can enjoy Kitakaro’s sweets right away. You can even have lunch here as there are main course options like omurice and spaghetti available. (Currently, as a measure against the spread of COVID-19, the café is temporarily closed. Please visit Kitakaro’s homepage to check on the café’s reopening and hours before visiting.)

Once you have had your fill of sweets, head back onto the Hokkaido Expressway for Asahikawa. As the rental car is to be used for only one day, make sure to return it before checking into the hotel.

Take a direct bus from Asahikawa Station to “Asahiyama Zoo.” As of 31 March 2020, there are 675 animals of 101 species exhibited in the zoo’s compound of approximately 151,000 square meters.

Asahiyama Zoo gained its reputation for its interactive exhibits showcasing the animals’ natural movements and unique abilities. Because the animals here are so lively, there is always something new to discover on every visit, which makes this zoo a beautiful place for both adults and children.

Because there is so much to see around the wide compounds of the zoo, it is recommended that you leave an entire day for the visit. Plus, as there are also gift shops and restaurants on the zoo grounds, there is no need to worry about meals or souvenir shopping. Since the zoo is the only attraction for the day, you can take your time to explore and enjoy.

For more information on the zoo’s measures in response to the spread of COVID-19, please visit their home page.

The third day of our Asahikawa itinerary will be for enjoying natural landscapes to your heart’s content! In the Asahikawa area, there is a volcanic mountain range called Daisetsuzan. With mountains as tall as 2,000 meters and more, it is often referred to as “the roof of Hokkaido.”

Home to the Daisetsuzan, the Daisetsuzan National Park is Japan’s largest national park and was known to the Ainu people as “kamuy mintar,” which means the playground of the gods.

Asahidake, the highest peak of Daisetsuzan, is 2,291 meters above sea level but can be accessed via the ropeway, which will take you to the fifth observation point. To follow this route, take the Ideyūgō shuttle bus from Asahikawa Station and alight at the bus stop “Asahidake.” Here, you can take the “Asahidake Ropeway” up the mountain.

Near the station at the top of the mountain, there is a path that is open from June to around mid-October. Come September, the turn of seasons means there will be a colorful array of red, yellow, and green autumn leaves. You will not get to see this at other times, so you definitely should take in the beautiful scenery while strolling! After you descend the mountain, you could soak in Asahidake Onsen near Sanroku Station, before taking the shuttle bus back to Asahikawa Station.

Head to “Ueno Farm” in the morning to enjoy its beautifu and mystical garden. Buses headed directly for Ueno Farm are in operation when the garden is open between late April to mid-October. Take the bus from the bus stop “Ichijō Hatchōme (Feeeal-mae)” near Asahikawa Station.

This place was originally a farm, but aesthetic improvements were made so that customers would appreciate the rural and agricultural landscape better. There are pamphlets available in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English, so you can thoroughly enjoy the garden while browsing them.

Within the farm compound is a café where you can order takeout lunch and savor it in the spacious and comfortable garden. To counter COVID-19, the tables and chairs have been arranged in a way so that the seats do not face one another. The compounds are regularly disinfected too.

After lunch, take the 1:00 p.m. or the 2:00 p.m. (last) bus from Ueno Farm to “Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum” (nearest station is “Nagayama Nijō Rokuchōme”).

Here, you will get to learn more about “Otokoyama,” the local sake brewed using Asahikawa water, as well as the culture of sake brewing, which is one of Japan’s traditional industries. If you are looking to take home a souvenir from the museum, the gift shop offers limited goods like Japanese sake and sake bottles. You would not be able to find these anywhere else!

Social distancing is strictly enforced, and the museum is also regularly disinfected so you can be at ease when you visit.

In the front garden is a spring of what is known as the “Water of Longevity.” This is also what goes into the making of the Otokoyama sake. Currently, drinking the water at the spring is prohibited, but it is alright for visitors to bring some home. You can visit and collect the water from between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but please be sure to be mindful of the local etiquette. Remember to put on a mask and maintain social distancing.

What better food to have for dinner than Asahikawa’s specialty, Asahikawa ramen? The restaurant for today, Asahikawa Ramen Village, is a 5-minute ride away by taxi from the Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum.

Asahikawa ramen has a typical broth made from seafood, pork bones and chicken. In addition, because the Asahikawa area is unusually frigid even within Hokkaido, the soup is usually served with a layer of oil on top to insulate and prevent it from turning cold.

This shop was established in 1996 to spread awareness about Asahikawa’s ramen culture. Now there are eight stores within the city, all serving up the ramen that they are so proud of! With foreign language menus provided in each store, the ordering process is fuss-free even for non-Japanese language speakers.

Within the compound is a gift shop that offers souvenir ramen you can bring home. If you are looking to take some commemorative shots, there are exciting photo spots, such as a bench that makes the subject look as though they are sitting in a ramen bowl.

Each store is enforcing strict measures against COVID-19, including the placement of vinyl sheets in front of the kitchen and cashier, alternate seating and installation of partitions between seats.

“Heiwadōri Shopping Park,” located right in front of Asahikawa Station, is considered by locals as the main street of Asahikawa and is where departmental stores and food establishments abound. There are also many options in this area for some last-minute souvenir shopping, such as the classic “Kibana,” an almond wafer snack with white chocolate sandwiched in the middle, and “Kuranama” cookies.

There are two ways to return to Chitose Airport: you can either take an express bus that sends you directly from Asahikawa Station to the airport or go by train and change at Sapporo Station. If there is time to spare before the flight, you could stop by Sapporo and sightsee.

Traffic conditions can be unpredictable during the autumn and winter seasons so it would be wise to avoid a packed Asahikawa itinerary. If you can, try out our recommendations above, and you will be sure to have an enjoyable trip to Asahikawa!

Text by:minna no kotoba sha

*The above article is based on information from July 2020