Dog friendly travels in Japan

These are by far the most spectacular fireworks I have had the pleasure of witnessing. Amazing place to be in early August.

While we are here advising dog owners to go camping in Japan, can’t help but stress the importance of taking a Jaffle Iron (Sandwich Maker). And while one is transiting around Hokkaido, stop in at a shop and buy some Royce’s chocolate. Then take some Strawberries and banana and prepare for the taste sensation of your life!

This big beast came and visited us in our Hakuba campsite. Amazing critter!

We have enjoyed every single cidre we have consumed from this area. They truly make excellent cidre. It is kind of expensive but worth it. The Aomori cidre is about 円3500 for three half bottles. The Kimori Cidre (which the link sends you to) is about 円4500 for three full bottles (they charge 円1000 for their tastings of each cidre at the Ringo Park Cidre shop). The Tamura Cidre is about 円2500 a bottle. 

For those of you that know howl’s moving castle, it may have been inspired by this place. All of the famous photos of this castle involve photos of the bridge and the castle sitting on the corner. BUT for the last 200 years, someone thought it would be a good idea to move the castle twice. This is a “once every hundred years” tradition. So the photos above show where the castle use to be and where it unfortunately is now; in the most unphotogenic spot you could put it. The museum inside is interesting.

The Googlemaps direction to this place takes you into some poor farmers orchard and ends in you having to reverse down a very narrow strip to get yourself back out of a messy situation. Googlemaps is not reliable at all to get you here so instead, mark it on the map and then follow your own sensible path to the place. Once there, entertainment is mostly free. The apple trees are lovely. The museum areas are small but interesting and the shop is excellent for buying everything related to apples. The cider is excellent if you like cider. Not particularly dog friendly but we tethered our pup to a tree in the carpark in the shade and no one complained. The cider place was happy to have dogs on their balcony.

A very big drum paraded along the street at the Aomori Matsuri.

I could easily post twenty photos of this festival and not do it justice. Finding 5 was tough! This is an amazing festival of floats. The artistry in the floats themselves is mind boggling; every float made of paper-mache and painted with intricate designs that are lit up internally. Such an incredible feat. And the music accompanying each float was vibrant and energetic. This festival is around the beginning of August. Check the tourist info. 

Tsugaru Earth Village is a place we have stopped at twice. Very dog friendly and quite busy during Matsura Festival season because of the amazing show that Aomori puts on. 円1800 per night for a non powered site. Very good facilities. Coin laundry. Onsen on site 円500. Kitchen sinks and fire pits available. Free hot showers. A worthwhile place to stay that gives you easy access to both Aomori and Hirosaki for the apples.

Not so many fish in Lake Shikotsu except for these little brown and black fish hiding in the rocks and come out when you upset the sediment.

This was our only encounter with wild deer on our trip. Nice to see a herd getting about in the wild and certainly worth the effort of returning to admire the wildlife.

This was our only encounter with deer for our entire trip. A nice experience all the same.

Lake Shikotsu has some of the clearest water in Japan. The centre of the lake is 300m deep. You can scuba dive down to 30-40 metres but it does get very cold apparently. We snorkelled and whilst down there started a little treasure hunt for fishing tackle. Brought back 88 lures from the bottom of the lake.

There is a rich collection of critters getting around the Shikotsu area. Leah gained great delight in finding and photographing many of the bugs.

There is a rich collection of critters getting around the Shikotsu area. Leah gained great delight in finding and photographing many of the bugs.

¥800 per person per night buys you an incredible view. There are basic facilities but camping is right on the lake beach so easy access to swimming, etc. The only downfall is access to shops for basics. Closest conbini is 25km away in Chitose. There is a shop that has basics next to the campsite but the open hours are a little unpredictable. Best to take everything you need. The town of Shikotsu up the road has some lunch cafes and a couple of restaurants but the main hotel's restaurant is hideously expensive. Amazing place though, possibly our favourite in Hokkaido.

Traveling with a pet can be tricky and this place is very anti-pet which means if it is a hot day, you probably should not visit here. The free tastings are great for a quick stop. The shop is well stocked with all sorts of things. The tour takes 70 min according to the brochure and is free. So providing you don't have to share your time with dog sitting duties, should be a very good place to visit.