Furano is one of the towns in the center of Hokkaido known for its pleasant and picturesque rural landscape. The best time to visit is July where the lavender fields are in the bloom. Nonetheless, we choose to visit Furano in Winter where the white snow covered fields is another amazing sight. Also, during winter, Furano turns into a popular downhill and cross country skiing resort.
Where to stay? New Furano Prince Hotel
There is a wide variety of accommodation to choose from at Furano. From pensions to B&Bs/Farm houses, to luxury 5 stars resort with onsens, one does not need to worry about the lack of accommodation at all.
We stayed at New Furano Prince Hotel, which was an excellent choice. In fact, New Furano Prince Hotel is the most famous hotel in the Furano area. It is a true ski-in-ski-out hotel surrounded by great restaurants, bars, activities and sightseeing choices.
New Furano Prince Hotel is the only hotel locted at the base of the Furano side of the mountain. In and around the hotel, you will find the beautiful fairy land Ningle Terrace, Kaze no Garden (an English garden), Shisai No Yu Hot Spring and various restaurants, bars and cafes. Furthermore, the resort is only 10mins shuttle or taxi ride from downtown Furano.
The hotel room was fantastic. It was clean, spacious and cosy. What more could I ask of?
The hotel also has its very own indoor and outdoor hot spring. It's so convenient to just pop by at anytime of the day. However, you are expected to strip naked when going into the hot spring and hence, as a first-timer, I do really feel quite uncomfortable to see so many naked strangers with me in the hot spring. There are also some etiquettes to adhere to before submerging yourself into the hot steaming water. First of all, always remember to bath yourself before entering the hot spring. As the spring water was very hot and sulphuric, one may feel dizzy after being in the water fro like 20 mins. Always step out if you feel uncomfortable. Lastly, always bath yourself again after the hot spring session.
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| Indoor hot spring and outdoor hot spring behind the sliding door |
Dinner at New Furano Spring Hotel was fantastic as well. It was a wholesome spread of goodness with salmon, ebi prawns,, tofu, steam fishes, chawanmushi and lots more. Even the western dinner we had on our 2nd night was incredible! Just look at these pictures and I'm sure you can savour what we were eating!
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| Day 1 dinner |
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| Our 2nd say western dinner |
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| Very nice minestrone |
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| Yummy steak |
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| Vanila ice-cream |
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| Dinner with great view of the skiing resort |
Ningle Terrace
One of the best reason to stay at New Furano Prince Hotel is that the resort is just next to Ningle Terrace. It is a beautiful collection of boutique cottages, housing speacialty arts and crafts along with their creators. The creators sit there in the shops displaying and making more of their products as you wander around. You can be assured that the products are 100% hand-made and comes with only that unique piece per design. The cottages were created using natural materials and timber. There was also the beautiful plank walkway around the waterfalls and trees.
The forest gives off a beautiful scent with pine trees and the waterfall does create a wonderful atmosphere for wandering around or stopping in the café. At night, the entire place light up with fairy lights and gives a magical atmosphere.
The cafes serve a range of products including hot and cold drinks, baked milk, cakes and cheese platter, and some delicious ice-creams. Do remember to stop by for short break and snacks before you continue your shopping at this wonderful place.
Ningle Terrace is the perfect place for wandering around and enjoying the beauty of the magical look-alike forest, or for getting some perfect souvenirs with a touch of nature and Furano.
Located in the forest below the New Furano Prince Hotel and Ningle Terrace is this pictureaque coffee shop known as "Mori-no-Tokei" or "Forest Clock Café". This coffee shop was once the setting of a famous Japanese TV drama. The name "Mori-no-Tokei" is a reference to time, and how time passes slowly when sittin, looking out into the forest, with a fresh cup of coffee. The entire coffee house made of timber looks enchanting in this amazing pine forest. As I sipped my coffee and enjoy my slice of chocolate cake, while looking at the snow flakes that fall above the crystal glass rooftop, I could almost feel that time really stand still!
Activities @ Furano
There are lots of activities to keep yourself occupied within or outside the resort. In fact, within the resort itself, you can either ski or sign up other snow activities such as snow-mobile or hot-air balloon flights.
We tried the hot air balloon flight over a shot distance and the experience was awesome. As we ascend upwards slowly, the amazing landscape that unfolded before us was simply breathtaking.
For those who wishes to visit the igloo village, you can also catch the resort shuttle bus to the igloo village itself. I personally find the village quite small and the igloo bar was empty on the day of our visit. Yet for someone like me who has never seen any igloo before, visiting this place is still a must.
Furano Cheese Factory
The Furano cheese and ice-cream are very popular products made fresh from Furano milk. That's why, its a must for us to stop by at Furano Cheese Factory where you can have a better understanding on the process of cheese making. Apparently, there were workshops held during the summer time to teach tourists how to make cheese cake. Unfortunately, winter was off-season and it's a pity that we were not able to attend any workshops. I would definitely love to attend one. Do remember to try the Furano ice-cream when you visit the cheese factory!
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| Saw this on display and decided to hunt down this restaurant at Furano downtown |
Furano downtown is just 30 mins away from New Furano Prince hotel. There are free shuttle buses to take you to the town. The town is small but perfect for shopping for it has many things in those little boutique stores.
We decided to hunt down one restaurant that served the "Oh-so delicious looking" cheese fondue. I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant but we did manage to locate the restaurant. The chef is a young lady who owned this little humble restaurant with her mum.
The restaurant served quite a variety of Japanese dishes. I decided to go for the cheese fondue while my hubby opted for the beef curry. I would say both of our choices were fantastic!
It's a pity that we only stayed 2 days in Furano. It's really too short to explore the town where there are more places of interest to visit. The entire place is so enchanting during the winter season. I'm looking forward to my trip there again, perhaps in the spring or autumn.
Hi! Can I ask how you arranged for the hot air balloon activity? Did you use a travel guide? Thank you!
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