Japan 2025 | FindPenguins

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Trip start
September 23, 2025
Japan 2025
Kami Furano and surrounds
Sep 26–28, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
- Caity, Al and Badge flew from Osaka to Sapporo and picked up the rental car.
- They then made the journey to Kami Furano wher they stayed for 2 nights and Em joined for the second night.
- Caity, Al and Badge went to a place that evening to eat food made in the yakiniku style. Apparently it was delicious.
- They then went to a very interesting Karaoke bar where Badger sang Hey Jude and Alex sang Bohemian Rhapsody.
- Caity, Al and Badge drove along Panorama Road and saw the ‘patchwork’ effect of the fields in the area south of Biei's town
(Biei is a small town famous for its gently rolling hills and vast, colourful fields).
- They also visited the Enigmatic Blue Pond and Shirahige Falls and drove towards Mount Tokachidake, an active volcano that dominates the landscape.
- Caity, Al and Badger also visited Fukiage Onsen (a natural, free, and wild outdoor hot spring located halfway up Mount Tokachidake). Their first onsen experience!
- Later that afternoon they fetched me (Em), I had made the long journey from London (and high included an 11 hour flight, another 3 hour flight and a train journey). I was very exhausted!
- They then had a 1.5 hour drive (along the Roller Coaster Road) and also visited Kanayama Lake on the way back to the accommodation.
- That night we enjoyed dinner at a local yakatori restaurant.
- Al and Badger stayed up to watch the springbok game that was at mid-night! What an amazing game with Sasha scoring the most points in any game than any other springbok in history! I tried to stay up but was too exhausted. I did wake up at 2.30am when he came to bed and he gave me the lowdown on Sasha’s amazing performance!Read more
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Japan 2025
Asahidake & Sounkyo Gorge
Sep 28–30, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
- We got up and got ready and left the air bnb and drove along a scenic route to an area called the Daisetsuzan National Park.
- On the way we stopped at a flower farm and ate some fried potato dumpling things (sort of like vetkoek around a potato) and spanspek.
- We then went to see Mount Asahidake (we didn’t climb all the way up). We went up the cable cart and walked a loop around the area. It was very pretty with the autumn colours starting to show.
- We had a lunch of croquettes made with potato and pork, which were yummy.
- We then drove a couple hours to check into our hotel called Taisetsu hotel. It was very cool and different. Had a number of onsens. We stayed 2 nights at that hotel.
- The next morning we headed to the cable car just down the road from the hotel. We got the cable car and chair lift up and then hiked up to the top of Mount Kurodake. It was quite a lot of climbing but so worth it at the top. We climbed down and had some delicious ramen for lunch.
- We then had a quick drive to see Ginga and Ryusia falls, which were very beautiful. We then drove a bit further on to see Obako (a rock formation that showcases the gorge's unique columnar jointing geology, which resembles traditional Japanese folding screens (byobu)).
- That night, we went to see the Miraculous Illuminate festival (an event that uses projection mapping and interactive lights to transform the natural autumn foliage of Momijidani Valley into a magical experience).
- Al, Caity and Badge used the many onsens while staying at the hotel, which was a cool experience. I used my thermometer to check the temperature of the onsens to determine which ones I could go in (which was one or two of the much cooler ones).Read more
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Japan 2025
Shiretoko
Sep 30–Oct 2, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
- We had a few hours drive to Shiretoku, where we were hoping to see bears.
- Along the way we drove along Mikuni Pass, which showed amazing views of the forests of Daisetsuzan.
- We also stopped to see another beautiful waterfall along the way called Oshinkoshin Falls.
- We stayed two nights at Shiretoku Hotel. It was nice to sleep on actual beds and not futons!
- The next day we headed out for a hike, hoping to see bears. We went to Shiretoku Conservation centre where the trail started. We had a bear safety lecture before starting on the trail. It was a beautiful trail with amazing scenery! We didn’t see bears, unfortunately or maybe fortunately as it might have been a bit scary to see them on foot.
- That afternoon we had booked to go on a boat. Unfortunately, because of me being pregnant they were a bit weird about me going on the boat. They said I had to go on bigger, more stable boat because of the risk of motion sickness. So Badge and I went on another boat trip while Caity and Al went on the original boat trip (FYI their boat wasn’t small at all!) Al and Caity got to see three bears but we didn’t unfortunately.
- That evening we went to such a cute restaurant run by a couple. We ate some really delish food such as gyoza and katsu curry. The others had plum wine, which they liked.Read more
Wow such exciting time you guys are having , travel safe 👌 [Chris]
10/4/25Reply
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Japan 2025
Yuyado Daichii
Oct 2–3, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
- We started our day with a beautiful drive along the Shiretoko Pass (Route 334), which connects Utoro on the west coast with Rausu on the east.
- Along the way, we stopped at Shibetsu Mire (a National Natural Monument). We had a walk along a short trail, which was very pretty.
- We then continued our drive to our next accommodation called Yuyado Daichii. This was beautiful ‘ryokan’ built along a river and forest. It was the most amazing accommodation that we stayed in so far! Such a beautiful building with wooden floors and looking onto the river.
- There was amazing bird life to see and they even call you at any time of day or night to see the Blakiston’s fish owl if it makes an appearance! Luckily it made its appearance at dinner time and not in the middle of the night!
- That night we also had the most amazing dinner that included quite a number of little courses that were delicious! Unfortunately, I couldn’t have the sashimi but Badge ate that for me.
- The accommodation also had amazing indoor and outdoor hot springs that Al, Caity and Badge took full advantage of. I briefly went in two that were cool enough (I bought a thermometer with) but all the others were too hot! The showers were great though and they had such nice products to use and Dyson hair dryers.Read more
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Japan 2025
Kawayu
Oct 4–6, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
- We stayed two nights in a town called Kawayu and stayed in very eccentric accommodation called the Art Inn. This is run by artists and was quite an eccentric place to stay!
- The first night we had dinner at a soba noodle restaurant, which was great! Just a lot of food. We also got to do some washing at a laundromat. They had these large scale washing machines that can wash and dry in 60 minutes! Crazy!
- The next day, we drove to Lake Mashu, which was a beautiful, huge, clear blue lake.
- We went on a hike through the forest and along the water’s edge.
- We then went on a boat ride to see some special, spherical algae that you get at Lake Mashu.
- That night we had a really delicious meal at a restaurant by our accommodation that included gyoza, garlic prawns and pork belly skewers.Read more
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Japan 2025
Noboribetsu
Oct 5–7, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
- We drove to Lake Onneto, which was another beautiful lake.
- On the way to Noboribetsu, we visited Hell valley (also known as Jigokudani). It was cool to see a landscape of hissing steam vents and sulphurous streams.
- We stayed two nights at a quaint Airbnb that looked onto a river. We saw a family of deer by the river too!
- The first night we made a nice home-cooked pasta.
- The next day we did a 9km hike up Mount Taramae, which had beautiful views at the top but was quite cold and windy!
- That afternoon we drove along Orofure Pass, which had beautiful views of Mount Yotei and Lake Toya. We also saw another pretty waterfall.
- That evening we braaied steak at the Airbnb and made yummy prego rolls.Read more
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Japan 2025
Lake Toyo
Oct 7–8, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
- We stayed one night at a quaint accommodation called Pension Ohno alongside Lake Toyo.
- This little town had a promenade along the lake, so I went on two great runs while there.
- We had a really nice dinner of tepanyaki, which is where you cook all your meat and veg on a grill in front of you at the table. I made sure my meat was fully cooked but the others had delicious rare meat.
- The next day, we stopped at a really cute dairy farm called Lakehill farm and had some delicious pizzas. Badger was also really pleased with his glass of fresh milk! 🥛Read more
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Japan 2025
Niseko
Oct 8–10, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
- We arrived in Niseko (a really cute ski town) in the afternoon.
- We stayed in a really nice hotel while there. We played a lot of cards in the lobby while there which was fun.
- The first night there we had a rather disappointing dinner. Some aspects of it were nice but other parts not great.
- The next day we took a cable car up to a point and then hiked up to the top of one of the mountains. The view at the top was really beautiful.
- We had a delicious lunch at a dairy that made homemade pizza! We ordered quite a lot, so kept some for dinner that night.
- That afternoon Badge and I went on a run. The first part was really hilly and quite tough but then we reached some downhills and flats, which were a bit easier!
- The others also enjoyed the onsens while we were there.Read more
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Japan 2025
Last night in Japan!
Oct 10–11, 2025 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
- We had another beautiful drive today. We drove mostly along the Shimamui coast, which had some beautiful scenery.
- On the way we stopped at a swamp/wetland called Shinsen-Numa marsh. We walked along a really pretty trail along the marsh and ended at an amazing viewpoint where you could see the sea. We had some delicious hot chocolates before continuing our drive along the coast.
- We stopped on the way at Lawsons, which is a convenience food store that sells a lot of delicious fresh foods such as rice and noodle dishes, bao buns, sandwiches, sushi, smoothies etc. Other similar stores in Japan are 7-Elevens and Seicomart.
- In the late afternoon we arrived at our final accommodation of the trip, the Grand Blissen Hotel in Jozankei. This room was very nice and had beautiful rooms overlooking the river and each room had its own private onsen (which unfortunately I couldn’t use as it was quite hot!)
- We had a delicious last dinner at a restaurant where all the locals frequent. The others had sushi and then we had a range of other dishes that we shared (such as rice, noodles, chicken dishes).
- The next morning I went for a run and Badger used the hotel onsen, which he said was amazing and had an infinity pool by the river.
- We then packed up and drove to the airport, ready for the long journey back to London!Read more
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