Hokkaido Travel Diaries: Day 2 — The Day of the Ghost Trees

Travel diaries: December 22nd, Day 2 - country roads, ghost trees, and deer tracks.

After a long first day that began with an early plane ride, I was happy that my only plan for the second day was to walk along the country roads surrounding the town without any bus or train to catch.

Thanks to the weather gifting us another day of blue skies, the day turned out to be the best of the trip. It started with a long walk along the famous Patchwork Road, following the footsteps of deer, who kindly showed up in person later, followed by a coffee break at a forest café, an unnecessarily adventurous walk back to town, and a cozy dinner at a charming Italian restaurant with only three tables.

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After an early night in, I woke up with plenty of time to kill before the sun rose at around 7 a.m. I spent the early morning uploading photos from the previous day and finishing Orbital, this year’s Booker Prize winner. A friend described it as reading like a long poem, and I would add—a love poem for the humanity. It’s a hopeful and gentle book, one that felt perfect to end the year with.

All rooms at Hotel Lavenir come with access to a modest but very good breakfast buffet prepared by a lovely team of elderly ladies, whose sweetness—and, of course, the smell of coffee (as an addict)—made me the first customer every morning during my week-long stay.

While only a little over 1% of Japan`s population identifies as Christian, the country still embraces the Christmas season wholeheartedly, and every morning, there was a new dessert-type offering in the spirit of the season.

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My plan for the day was to walk towards Patchwork Road, a scenic area roughly between Asahikawa Airport and Biei town, with country and national roads zigzagging through it. The area owes its fame to TV commercials featuring the region's isolated yet beautiful trees as a backdrop, as well as an '80s TV show, From the Northern Country, which depicted the life of a family who moved from Tokyo to the area.

The town provides free maps that mark the locations of each tree, and many people choose to drive around in cars or on motorcycles, stopping at various sightseeing spots. During my first visit to Biei, eight years ago when I was still living in Istanbul, I also drove around with a local photographer who showed me the sights. This time, however, I wanted to walk as much as possible to take my time with the scenery.

It took merely five minutes to leave tiny Biei town behind. After crossing a national road, the road got narrower and much quieter. Within 15 minutes, I was already surrounded by the mesmerizing scenery of snow-covered fields and clusters of trees dotting the otherwise empty landscape, showcasing their frozen branches and leaves.

I wandered towards as many hills as I could, provided that there was an open path. Unless there is one, you are strongly advised not to try to carve your own path in the snow, as it might be too deep, and many of these fields are private property.