Well, let's talk about why I ended up going to Mt. Asahidake. Even though I'm not dressed for hiking at all, I decided to take the ropeway up there. And guess what, there was a shop at the top. Since I'm not driving, might as well have a beer. It's a bit pricey, but there are no convenience stores around at the base of Mt. Asahidake. They had a local beer, made by the famous Wakaizumi Honten. They don't use sweet potatoes, but they do make delicious sweet potato mochi. So, I had a little snack before my hike. Riding the ropeway up, we were above the clouds. Even though it's midsummer, the temperature was 18°C. It was amazing. I think I understand a little bit how people who love mountain climbing feel. Mt. Asahidake was really nice. By the way, since there are no shops nearby, I highly recommend stocking up on snacks here before heading back to your hotel.

I bought a Frankfurt for 350 yen at the base station shop of the Asahidake Ropeway in Hokkaido. It was not freshly grilled, but it was warm as it was kept warm. You can help yourself to ketchup and mustard. They also had croquettes, which added to the Hokkaido feel of the shop.

On a beautiful sunny day at Asahidake, there were many foreigners enjoying skiing and snowboarding. The ropeway's shop was selling a variety of unique t-shirts, so I bought a "Genghis Khan t-shirt" for my child, which had "Back then, ahead now" written on it (haha). It was so cute that I ended up buying one for myself too. There were also various stickers and souvenirs that I had never seen before, making it fun just to browse through them. My child wanted to eat croquettes, so we stopped at a shop selling various light snacks. The freshly fried Asahidake croquette was delicious and hot, perfect for enjoying in the snowy Asahidake. It was a fun and memorable experience! Thank you for the meal!

I booked a hotel to climb Mt. Asahidake, but the disliked hot spring hotel made me dislike hot spring hotels even more. However, morning came and the hotel's plan included a ropeway ticket starting at 8 o'clock. The ropeway operation began as planned, but we were behind schedule and it was already 8:30. At the ropeway station, there was a shop selling soft serve ice cream. My wife said, "Have it on the way back!" so I decided to have the soft serve ice cream after getting off the ropeway. The man in front of me also got soft serve ice cream, but surprisingly, my wife and I ended up choosing "ohagi". We took some time to take photos of the floating ice cream, but it was difficult to capture it alone. After some failed attempts, we decided to have my wife throw the ohagi while I took the photo. Unfortunately, the ohagi fell on the ground and got squished. We ended up eating it in the car, and my wife commented that the red bean paste was delicious and likely made with real ingredients. Despite the mishap with the ohagi, it turned out to be a very delicious treat.

This is a restaurant located at the Asahidake Ropeway station. After hiking on Asahidake with the ropeway, I got hungry and was relieved to find this restaurant. The food was simply delicious. This is the kind of restaurant you would expect to find at a tourist spot. They use vegetables from Hokkaido, so I think tourists would be pleased.

I visited "Asahidake" for the earliest autumn leaves viewing in Japan. I departed from Sapporo early in the morning and arrived at the sunny foothills before the crowds. I parked my rental car at the parking lot and stopped by a station at the foothills for a quick meal before taking the ropeway. I bought "Ezo deer sausage" for 350 yen and "Imomochi (2 pieces)" for 300 yen. The unique "Ezo deer sausage" had a slightly dark appearance compared to regular pork sausages. When I took a bite, it was juicy with no gamey taste, and the aged flavor and distinctive taste spread throughout my mouth. The spicy seasoning complemented the wild ingredient perfectly. On the other hand, the Hokkaido specialty "Imomochi" had a chewy and soft texture. The sweet sauce was fragrant and enhanced the simple taste of the potato. It was a perfect snack to satisfy my hunger. After enjoying these local snacks, I boarded the ropeway to head to the colorful autumn Asahidake.

At the base station of the Asahidake Ropeway, there are restrooms and a shop on the first floor, and a ticket office, ropeway boarding point, and cafeteria on the second floor. The shop offers a variety of souvenirs and tourist items such as postcards, pins, and T-shirts. They also sell light climbing gear, which is convenient. In the cafeteria, you can enjoy snacks like sweet rice cakes and American hot dogs. I was looking for onigiri as a snack for my walk, but they didn't have any, so I bought a cream bun and fried scallops instead. The cream bun had a rich cream filling and helped rejuvenate my tired body. The fried scallops were also delicious.

When you come here, you must buy the "Asahidake Sablé." It's a tradition. Let's also have the organic HOT coffee, which is just regular coffee. There's a set with coffee and "ohagi." The coffee is 300 yen and the ohagi is 200 yen, making it 400 yen for the set. Even though I'm not very hungry after breakfast, I'll have it as a dessert. The ohagi has a mature taste with a hint of sweetness, fit for a princess. The organic HOT coffee, despite its grand name, is served in a paper cup from a machine-dripped pot. It seems perfect for warming up in the blizzard.

Located at the foot of Mt. Asahi, about a 20-minute drive from the center of Higashikawa Town, is the gift shop of the Asahidake Ropeway. Unfortunately, on the day of my visit, the ropeway was not operating due to strong winds. However, the snack corner was open, offering soft serve ice cream, organic coffee, frankfurters, fried potatoes, and croquettes. I tried the sweet and savory sweet potato mochi for 300 yen, which was freshly fried and delicious. The shop also sells souvenirs and Hokkaido sweets, including unique flavors like pork bowl chocolate and ramen chocolate, although I was too hesitant to try them. Overall, this gift shop seems to be a convenient stop for hikers and visitors to Mt. Asahi.

In July 2015, on a Saturday, I took a ride on the Asahidake Ropeway. The hiking trails on Asahidake were mostly clear of snow in early July, making for a refreshing experience. However, it seemed like it was a bit too early for the alpine plants to bloom. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with the magnificent views of Asahidake. The number of tourists was not overwhelming, which was nice. After about an hour of hiking on Asahidake, I took the ropeway back to the base station. At the base station, there was a dining area where you could enjoy ramen, soba, and other dishes. There was also a space for light snacks attached to the souvenir shop on the first floor. Feeling a bit hungry and with no other customers around, I decided to take a short break. I ordered a hot coffee and some imomochi. Ordering coffee as a set seemed to be a bit cheaper. The coffee was rich and aromatic, perfect for enjoying in the Asahidake mountains of Hokkaido. The imomochi was pretty standard, with a chewy dough made with mashed potatoes and a sweet sauce similar to mitarashi. They were sold in sets of two for 300 yen, and surprisingly filled me up. Thank you for the meal.

On the 4th day of the Asahidake Onsen trip. On the final day, we took the ropeway again to leisurely view the flowers. However, this year the selling kiosk at the Shigemimi Station was closed. We couldn't get bento boxes at the Yukomiso due to hygiene reasons, so we bought takeout here. We ordered 2 rice burgers, mountain croquettes, and regular croquettes. After leisurely viewing the flowers around the Shigemi Pond, we enjoyed them at the first observatory. The croquette only had baron potatoes, while the mountain croquette had minced meat. There's nothing special about the taste, but this year it might be wiser to bring snacks like alpha rice for the trip.