En route to Furano

The heavy rain stopped. As they drove towards their next destination, Furano, the sky started to brighten. The contrast in weather was uplifting. The drive from Otaru 小樽 to Furano 富良野 was just under 3 hours and they made pit-stops whenever there was anything exciting en route.

The first stop was Sandan Taki 三段滝, which literally means 3-step waterfall. It wasn't a planned stop, so they haven't seen any photos or description of the place before.

Shortly after the waterfall pit-stop, they made another unplanned stop at an Rokkatei outlet just outside Furano. Guess mum couldn't wait for another 6 days before they would get to its main store in Obihiro　帯広. With a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to rows and rows of grape vines, the place was reminiscent of vineyards in Napa Valley and New Zealand. This outlet even got a decidedly fancy name, Campana della Vigna, カンパーナ六花亭.　http://www.rokkatei.co.jp/facilities/campana.html

The fresh grape soft ice cream looked decidedly yummy!! It was one of the special items limited to the Campana shop made from the locally produced Furano grape juice.ぶどうソフトー 富良野産ぶどう果汁を使ったソフトクリーム。