[JP; 2018] Hokkaido - Asahikawa City

Hokkaido was an impromptu decision after we bought our flight tickets to Tokyo. Why Hokkaido's Asahikawa? When Hokkaido most famous city is Sapporo? Just a gut feel that Asahikawa will be an amazing place to visit. This post will bring you around Asahikawa City (around Asahikawa JR Station) by foot.

Flight

From Tokyo to Asahikawa, we booked the flight tickets from their domestic flight carrier - AIRDO!

 AIR DO, https://www.airdo.jp/en/;
Welcome Hokkaido Fare: JPY18,180 (around SGD$227)

The staff over the counter was really nice, she upgraded our seats to the more premium ones, and even took down the pronunciation of my name.

To our horror, the board signage at the gate mentions that there will be a delay cum may re-direct to Sapporo.

Since no one at the boarding gate counter can speak English to tell us where will the flight be landing. We decided to leave it to fate; boarded the flight without knowing where it is gonna land. Little perks of the flight, we had a clear view of Mt Fuji!

And a little bear paper cup!

Getting to the City

So thankful that the flight landed at Asahikawa safely! Grabbed the city bus tickets at this machine in the airport.

Bus to City (Asahikawa JR Station), https://www.aapb.co.jp/en/;
JPY620/pax (SGD$7)

The bus stop sign outside the airport was rather prominent.

The bus ride was not too bad, it was like taking some coach.

The view on the bus was amazing!

Accommodation

JR INN Asahikawa caught my eye when I was search for hotels on agoda. It has a new and modern look (I've a thing for such accommodations, I dont mind paying abit more)

 JR INN Asahikawa, https://www.jr-inn.jp/asahikawa/en/;
SGD$107/night/double room

What's interesting about JR INN, they allow you to choose you own pillow! They have a wide range of pillows; from soft to hard, from flat to thick, just take your pick!

There is also a common area for some reading (with a wide collection of comics) and a PC for your trip research.

Chill & Relax with a cup of UCC Coffee or some fruity tea at the lounge.

After the introduction of all the amazing facilities they have... this is how their rooms look like!

The room's window view was amazing too!

Look how pretty were the snow flakes piling up on the window!

There is a facility that I missed out introducing... Onsen! If you do not mind being naked infront of strangers, there is a in-house onsen for all guests of the hotel (guys and ladies will be separated). The onsen was rather clean & tidy, and there was an area for you wash up and etc.

Food & Shopping

AEON MALL

JR INN Asahikawa is connected to AEON Mall, which offers plenty of food and shopping choices.

First food we had in AEON MALL... Shabu-Shabu!

There is also a foodcourt which offers a wide variety of food at affordable price.

The best place to shop in the whole mall was AEON STYLE aka the atas supermarket.

We bought quite a lot of food from the supermarket to eat!

Heiwa Shopping Street

If you would like to shop on the streets, Heiwa Shopping Street is just across AEON MALL.

Rows and rows of shops along the street, it is like never ending. We went in one of the bigger shops as it looks like it will be cozy enough to hide from the snow.

 

There is also a hidden alley that offers many food options, all the stores over there have a very rich history!

5・7小路ふらりーと, furari-to.net;
北海道旭川市5条通7丁目右6号 ・7号

This is all you can do on foot in Asahikawa City! My next post will be on our self-driving experience in Asahikawa City & also some parts of Hokkaido!