Furano and lavender

You know things are going to get really lavender-y

when the train to the area has a lavender-colored 

line running across it...

 ...and all the more so when even the manhole covers

have it that Nakafurano is Lavender Town!

My very sighting of Furano's lavender --

at Nakafurano's Lavender Park! 

 Photographic proof that it takes hard work on the part 

of many humans to create these beautiful lavender fields

The travel agent in Hong Kong told me that if there was one place I should visit on my Hokkaido vacation, it should be Furano.  A Hong Kong friend, upon hearing that I was headed to Hokkaido in July, told me that I should make sure to check out the lavender fields in Furano.

In contrast, my copy of the Frommer's Japan did not contain a single mention of Furano and its lavender fields while my Rough Guide to Japan only mentioned Furano in terms of a ski resort being located there (although I see that later editions have since remedied this). So this might explain why I only saw one non-Asian looking person in Furano when I visited!

In any event, I'll let the above photos be your guide as to whether I think that Furano is worth visiting for its lavender and other flower fields -- oh, and the fact that I'm going to devote an upcoming photo-essay to pictures I took in Furano of the lavender and flower fields there. ;b