I walked briefly around Furano but even here it was too hot and sunny to be outside for long.

I sought refuge in a small cafe and enjoyed a strawberry soft serve made with local Hokkaido milk.

I then remembered that Furano has a cheese factory, so ordered a taxi through didi to take me there. This was my first experience with a taxi in Japan, and was surprised to see the doors opening themselves, without any need for I or the driver to open or close them manually!


I ordered two pieces of margarita pizza, made on the premises with their buffalo mozzarella. The ordering machine was cash only, and warned of an hour wait. I committed a faux pas by attempting to sit at a bench, that two Japanese ladies had already claimed as their own. The dining hall was otherwise full, so I waited until a table was vacated - careful to avoid any tables reserved with personal items. I had already booked my journey back to Sapporo, and became increasingly anxious about missing the train. Fortunately my pizza arrived in 50 minutes.


Some more photos of the cheese factory buildings

The train ride south from Furano passed even more dramatic mountain and valley scenery. With the scorching heat many of the windows were kept open, which blasted air as the train sped through tunnels! The train was just a single railcar, a contrast from the packed city trains in Tokyo. I then took a much more modern JR electric train onwards to Sapporo. Surprisingly the train did not have a green car, so I sat in a reserved ordinary car seat, which was perfectly pleasant.






I tried to walk back to the hotel without checking my phone, as I was almost out of battery. And despite getting slightly lost on the way I managed to eventually reach the hotel. I enjoyed some canapés in the “executive” happy hour in the hotel bar, although I forgot to take any photos!