Final day of the Hokkaido tour. Out of Biei, see Furano's lavender, then back to Ōarai on the Sunflower from Tomakomai. I packed up and put the SR400's last tank of fuel in.
Out of Biei to Furano
A short ride south from Biei brings you to Furano. Lavender peaks in July, but a few cultivars were already opening in late June.
Lavender at Farm Tomita
Farm Tomita's lavender fields were larger than I'd pictured. A purple carpet running off into the distance — pure Hokkaido scenery.
The signature lavender soft serve: a delicate lavender note, a properly summery Hokkaido dessert.
Yūbari melon at a highway parking area
Out of Furano, onto the expressway toward Tomakomai. At a roadside parking area I picked up a Yūbari melon — a final piece of distinctly Hokkaido sweetness.
One last seafood bowl in Tomakomai
With time before the ferry from Tomakomai West Port, I went to a nearby seafood spot for a generous kaisen-don. Tuna, shrimp, salmon, scallop, sea urchin, salmon roe. One more taste of Hokkaido's sea, and then the ferry.
Sunflower back to Ōarai
At Tomakomai West Port the SR400 was lashed down and I headed up to the cabin. Out on the deck after departure, Hokkaido's coastline pulled away.
Watching the land recede from the deck, I was already drafting the next plan. Shiretoko. Riding the eastern wetlands. Crossing to Rishiri and Rebun. So many places not yet visited.
Hokkaido is too big. While the SR400 can still take me there, I want more — that was on my mind as I docked at Ōarai the next morning.
Go to the Esanuka Line if you can. Photos don't catch what it really is. Even if you don't ride, standing in front of that road changes something.
An aside, after the fact: in 2022 I drove the southern half of Hokkaido by car, and in 2025 looped the entire island including the east on an XSR900. The places the SR400 didn't reach — I'm chasing them now.
▶ Sequel: Ōarai → Tomakomai by Sunflower [XSR900 Hokkaido Tour ①] (JA)
▶ Related: Three Hokkaido Trips — Routes and Lodging from My SR400, Car, and XSR900 Tours