Here’s Grobblers tips if you’re going to Tomamu or Furano in Hokkaido with kids.  The hotel we stayed was not bad, quite a few things for kids to do, especially check out the fishing pond, where I caught a fish and mum and dad didn’t (suckers).  Saw a couple of foxes near the fishing pond too and a deer on the golf course so that was a bonus.

First stop on our road trip around central Hokkaido with kids was Bear Mountain.  This is basically a bear park on Mount Sahoro about 30km from Hoshino Resorts.  Buy your tickets, then get on a caged bus and you’re driven along where you can have a good perve at brown bears in their “natural” habitat.  You get off the bus and go into the Bear research center where you can see a couple of big mamas close up.  It’s not bad, despite many people calling me bear, I’m not actually a huge fan of bears, so I wasn’t that stoked about it. Still, worth going if you’re around the area and a nice way to spend the morning.

Furano, and Farm Tomita, was a total bore for me, absolutely nothing to do except look at flowers, which for me and most kids is about as exciting as watching chess.  The drive there and back took ages too and there were loads of grandma’s on the road driving about as slow as turtles.  If you’re going almost anywhere in Hokkaido with kids, tell your mum and dad to hire a car because without one, you’re be a bit stuck.

We also went to Asahiyama Zoo, which was actually pretty good.  I’ve been to better zoo’s, but as far as Japan goes it was pretty good, big, loads of places and plenty of animals to see including Tigers, bears, foxes, wolves, snakes, polar bears, penguins, and all the animals you’d expect to see at any good zoo.  If you’re going to Hokkaido with kids and anywhere near Furano or Asahiyama, the Asahiyama Zoo is worth a visit.

I had a pretty good time in Tomamu but I’ve had much better times in other places. It’s fine for a few days but can’t imagine staying too much longer than that as there’s no much to do.  Having said that, Tomamu or Furano in Hokkaido with kids is an enjoyable, relaxing holiday.