I had made it into Asahikawa on a rainy Sunday afternoon. After a bit of exploration I called it a day and moved over too doing laundry and getting set for the  coming  days.

On Monday I took the train out to Furano – a town famous for its skiing in winter and the lavender fields in summer – and not much else in between. The city sits in nice surroundings – and I can certainly see how this could be a nice place on a warm summer day – though right now it was  just  the wrong season … with souvenir and local product shops being the only available attraction. I made it back to town earlier than anticipated, so put in a visit at Asahikawa’s city museum with an excellent exhibition on the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Northern Hokkaido.