lavender memories

Last year we went to Hokkaido, which I posted about here. I love Hokkaido because it is cool during the summer with very little humidity. There aren't many people living there either, so it isn't crowded like Osaka.

In fact, there are many farms, so veggies like potatoes, carrots, corn, onions and fruits like watermelon are fresh and plentiful. There are also many pastures and dairy farms which make rich and creamy dairy products like cheese, milk and ice cream. Satoshi loves Hokkaido for the nature and of course, the seafood!

I wanted to share with you some photos of our trip to Hokkaido in 2002. It was our first time to see the fields of lavender of Furano. We happened to go during a typhoon, and even though it poured while we rode our bicycles, we were still lucky to be able to experience the wonderfully fragrant fields of lavender. It was after this trip that I fell in love with the lavender fragrance.

The wheat fields in Bibaushi (a town next to Furano) were beautiful too. I imagine the countryside of France to be like this.

And finally, we were able to catch the most beautiful sunset on the Okhotsk Sea (this is the sea between Russia and Japan). At the time, we were staying at the Iwaobetsu Youth Hostel and they had a sunset viewing tour, on the walk from the hostel to the seashore we saw about 20 deer. Being from Hawaii, it was exciting to see deer that close-up.

I wonder where we will spend our summer vacation this year.