Obihiro and back again

On Sunday morning I walked around Obihiro on my own for a bit before meeting back up with the others for the ride home.

Here are the big ol' hands outside the station.

There was a little art gallery inside the station. I managed to sneak a photo of this one painting I liked. The title is "Hey, nice to meet you!"

Yellow trees in the park.

 A progression of plastic parfaits.

 Amazing arcade prizes!

The mall had a big metal tree with these little dudes in it.

On the way back through the mountains we stopped at this scenic rest stop.

 That little building up there had a great view of the surrounding area.

 That one mountain has a black tip because a cloud is casting a shadow on it, to give you a sense of the scale here.

 We also stopped in Minamifurano to check out the gift shop. Here's their mascot, Minami-chan! Look at her curling stone cap and carrot body.

Miso ramen, butadon, and soup curry flavoured chocolate. Honestly, I bet it's pretty good.

 We stopped in Asahikawa for dinner. A bunch of other ALTs joined us and we wound up with a group of 11. Luckily Namaste could seat us all. I really like this place.

It turned out to be a really nice weekend. I was hesitant  go at first because of how far away Obihiro is, but I'm really glad I did, and it's all thanks to the power of friends who drive. The gas money I paid them was nothing compared to the price I'd have had to pay for public transportation there.