Furano

I had another delicious breakfast and afterwards my host mom and I went to her friends children's elementary sports festival, it was very fun. After that we went to the downtown area of Asahikawa. We shopped around and got some food for dinner because we were visiting my host mom's mom and dad. They live in Furano. In the grocery store it was different to hear ghostbusters music while looking at what fish you want for dinner, but it was funny XD. It felt like I had to walk with a beat and do a couple dance moves. So after we went to the parking garage to leave, I saw how their parking worked. It was very cool because the cars came one by one by a type of ferris wheel. So we waited for our car to spin to the bottom and we left. Furano is known for its lavender flowers blooming all over in July. Well, I did not get to see the bloomed lavender flowers, but I will see them next month when we go back. I saw pictures though of when the flowers were in bloom and it was gorgeous because rows of differenct colored flowers spread throughout the fields, hills of rich green grass, neatly aligned farming fields, and most of all the gigantic beautiful mountains in the background. My host mom was laughing at me because I was taking so many picutres. It was soooooooooooooo beautifull! My host mom surprised me by stopping at a soft serve ice cream place on the side of the road. But it was not an oridinary one, because Furano is known for their lavender flowers - so I got to try a specialty there, lavender flavored ice cream!!! It was one of the best soft serves I have ever had. You may have never guessed, but the color of the ice cream was... lavender. Aahahahhahaha. It was a hot day so it was double refreshing and there was nothing better than eating ice cream on a tall hill and looking at mountains everywhere in the background. We stopped at a sausage factory and my mom picked some sausage up. We drove to her parents' house and I saw her old school and the house she used to live in. Even if the drive was 5 hours or more I would have enjoyed it just as much because driving through the nature there is unbelievable. In actuality, the drive was was only around 1.5 hours though. We stopped at a little shop on the road and got some asparagus from a field. Arriving at the house, I met my host grandpa and grandma and also a uncle. The house was very traditional and small. If I was one inch taller I would hit my head on the top of a doorway. They were very nice and welcoming. While my host mom and grandma prepared dinner, she told me to ride a bike around Furano for 15 minutes. I got on my grandma's bike, which was small, and I attempted to ride around. I did not get very far, but I still got to see mountatins, vast fields, and hills. For dinner I had rice and sashimi, which is raw fish. It was very good. After dinner, my host mom, grandparents, and I went to my host mom's aunt's house. The house was the same style as my host grandparents'. We had milk tea, calpis, and tea to drink that we picked up from 7-11 just before. My grandparents and aunt asked me quetsions and I tried my best to answer back. It was hard because they would talk so fast and I could not comprehend so fast. It was late when we finally drove home. I noticed some differences like arrows above the road that told where the edge was sowhen it snowed, people would not hit the curb. There was also many shops to put chain around your tires for traction in the snow. I know there is that in the U.S. too, but I have never seen so many. Also, on the side of the road where there was steep hills, there were sideways fences present. I looked at them and wondered what they were for. It was pretty funny to see fences completely horizontal, steaked in the side of a hill. I was tired and went to bed after a very nice day. This weekend was the best!