Things to do in Asahikawa & Surrounds

Asahikawa is the second largest city, after Sapporo, in Hokkaido. This beautiful city has got so much natural splendor. It is also famous for Junmai Daiginjo and there are many ramen restaurants for you to explore.

Suffolk land Shibetsu
Address: Hokkaido shibetsu Nishishibetsu-cho, 5351
Tel: +81-165-22-2991
Website: http://hitsuji.tesio.net/cn2/top.html

Suffolk land Shibetsu is a must visit! You seldom hear about lamb or mutton in Japan but here, you can enjoy fresh and thick slices of lamb grilled to perfect tenderness and dipped in special soy sauce. To minimize the gamey flavour, the lamb is fed with grains and soy beans, instead of only grass.

Snow Crystal Museum
Address: 3 Chome-1-1 Minamigaoka, Asahikawa, Hokkaido 070-8028, Japan
Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm daily
Website: http://www.yukaraori.com/yukibi/

Planning to take your fairy tale wedding photoshoot? The Snow Crystal Museum is a good choice! This charming museum in Asahikawa is dedicated to snowflakes. Reminiscent of a European castle and belonging to the Hokkaido Folk Arts and Crafts Village, there is also a wedding hall where you can borrow an elegant dress and have your picture taken with the dreamlike background. Admission for one adult costs 650 yen.

Jomyoan
AdAsahioka 3-chome 5-1, Asahikawa
Tel: +81-166-55-7156
Website: http://www.kitanoarashiyama.com/shop_jomyoan.html

Enshu Kobori was a feudal lord during the Edo period but also a great tea ceremony master. He also was the originator of the Enshu-style tea ceremony. Nestled in the woodland area of Kita no Arashiyama, the ambience at Jomyoan brings about tranquility and peace. During the tea ceremony, you can enjoy a selection of teas (Bansenji, Mukaetsuke, Usuchatemae) together with delicious “Mizugashi” jelly sweets while looking out over the gardens.

Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum
Address: Nagayama 2 jyo, 7 chome, Asahikawa City
Tel：+81-166-48-1931
E-mail: info@otokoyama.hokkai.or.jp
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm daily

Otokoyama is Asahikawa’s most famous sake, both within Japan and worldwide. So if you were to visit Asahikawa, you must bring a bottle of Otokoyama sake home! This museum allows you to see the sake making process, the tools used in the making of sake and sake-related literature and art. There is also a sake tasting room to sample some of the most famous sake in the world and a gift shop to purchase magnificent sake sets. Its Junmai Daiginjo has won several awards both at home and overseas, and is definitely a must-buy.

Daisetsuzan Asahidake ropeway
Address: Yukomambetsu, Kamikawa-gun, Higashikawa-cho 071-1472, Hokkaido
Tel: +81 166-68-9111
Website: http://asahidake.hokkaido.jp/en/index.html

Mt. Asahidake is an active volcano in Higashikawa town located in the southeastern part of Asahikawa city. It is the highest mountain with 2,291 m in height of the Daisetsuzan Mountain Ranges. You need to purchase a ticket for ropeway at Yamafumoto Station. The Asahidake ropeway runs between the Sanroku Station at 1,100m high and the Sugatami Station at 1,600m high, taking around 10 minutes each way. The time taken to walk the course can vary greatly depending on weather conditions and personal fitness. We took the simpler trek which took about 45 minutes and we saw the beautiful Meoto (Married Couple) Ponds.

Santouka Honten
Address: Sasaki Bldg 1F, 348-3, 1jo-dori 8 chome, Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Tel: +81-166-25-3401
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm daily

Walk to Heiwadori Kaimono Kouen street from Asahikawa JR Station and you will get to see departmental stores and various specialty stores on both sides of the street. One of the must visit ramen restaurants is Santouka Honten. Santouka Honten is the motherlode of ramen because this is where it all started. The white tonkatsu broth is rich and delicious. If you want a spicy kick, go for the spicy miso ramen.

Jiyuuken (自由軒)
Address: 3 Jōdōri Asahikawa-shi, Hokkaidō
Tel: +81-166-23-8686

There is the famous Jiyu Ken Curry Rice in Osaka but in Asahikawa, we went to the award winning Jiyuuken (自由軒) for omakase (6000yen/pax). The curry chawanmushi is excellent. It is soft and melts in your mouth with a very tasty curry sauce. Their pork dishes are recommended and we had the salt grilled pork slices and bbq pork. The seafood stew is another highlight of the dinner with fresh fish fillet and clams in a sweet dashi broth. Good thing is, they have a Chinese menu as well.

Watch our Hokkaido video done by Dennis from SuperAdrianMe!

This trip was made possible by Scoot together with Hokkaido District Transport Bureau, Hokkaido Tourism Organisation, and Asahikawa Touring Promotion Council.