Flora Furano

Furano in Hokkaido is well known for its lavender blooms, and as part of my summer Japan trip, I made my way to Nakafurano (one of the municipalities of Furano) in the hope of catching this purple phenomena.


However, while the blooms are still visible in late July, it was past its peak; thankfully, the fields of Furano are still a burst of colour. And accompaning these flowers, the butterflies are happily fluttering, so it was macro photography galore! Furano is a popular Hokkaido (and not just in summer; it's famous for winter skiing as well) attraction, so there're plenty of information available.

But if you're there for the blooms (you should!), then here's document that lists the typical flowering period that could help with your planning. And the takeaway is - it's not just the lavenders that is stunning, there're a whole lot more flower blooms you can catch! Note that the link in the document no longer works, and that as with nature, these are just typical timings, and each year may be slightly different. You can down it here.


In the meantime, here's just sharing a mini gallery of Flora Furano!

Rebun Island, Hokkaido

Rebunto or Rebun Island, lies just off Hokkaido's northern tip and forms part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. As it is quite literally the most northern part of Japan, it requires some getting to, and so not that many visitors come to the island. But for those that do, it is mainly for two reasons, it's flora and the many hiking options.



During the summer months of June to August, Rebunto burst into bloom and that's where visitors start flocking to the island. The island hosts some alpine flowers which are supposedly found nowhere else! There are also a good selection of hiking options, as well as acommodation options on the island, all of which can be found right in the ferry terminal (most is in Japanese, but there are some English information to get by).

Unfortunately, I went on a hiking trail (the 4-hour course) that features more of the coastal scenery than the flowers, so I did not get to see many of the famed flora. Nevertheless, it was a great walk with great views, and I really enjoyed it. And the trail ended right at the northern tip of the island, where there is a minshuku (a homestay) which claims to be the northernmost minshuku in Japan! (no, I didn't stay there)



Access to Rebunto (and Rishirito) is via Heartland Ferry from Wakkanai. There are limited express trains and buses to Wakkanai from Sapporo. It is possible to get from Sapporo to Rebunto in a day, but you have to get the earliest train noting the ferry schedule. If you are a hiking and flower fan visiting Hokkaido in Japan, do check out Rebun island!

Wynyard Tulip Festival

Most people would associate Tulip Festival with the Dutch kind, but there are other similar festivals elsewhere in the world. One such place is Wynyard, a town in north-west Tasmania.



Held in October (that'll be spring in the southern hemisphere), Wynyard hosts the annual festivities with plenty of celebrations and fun. There will be parades, games, food - the town literally becomes a carnival. There'll be plenty of children all around, either joining the parading floats, or lining the streets watching the fun. There is even a game competition, called the Tulip Tossing competition! The person who throws a stalk of tulip furthest wins the competition! Who'd have thought of that?



In the surrounding countryside of Wynyard, there're a number of tulip farms. However, the year I went, spring was late, so we didn't get to see the full bloom. Nevertheless, it was still quite a pretty sight, and definitely worth a road trip! Especially if you love flowers in bloom!

Stirling Range National Park

Most Singaporean travellers I know visiting Western Australia and Perth would inevitably do the coastal road trip down to Margaret River wine region, and probably all the way south to Albany. This is really a great route to do, and one I did and enjoyed tremendously. However, there is another place well worth visiting in that region, and that is Stirling Range National Park.


There is another route down to Albany from Perth - an inland highway, that passes by a park known as Stirling Range National Park. The best time to visit is spring, where flowers of all kind bloom. There are, of course, hiking opportunities in the park, and thus, with the abundance of flowers along the hiking trail, makes for a really enjoyable "walk in the park"! :)



There are accommodations in the Park itself, which is recommended if you want to enjoy the full day in the park instead of commuting to nearby towns. An example is here. If you are planning a driving circuit down southern WA, esp in spring, then this is definitely a good stopover. You start from Perth and come down via the inland road to Stirling Range, enjoy a couple of days here, and continue down to Albany and from there, do your usual route back upwards via the coastal Margaret River region. If you are a wine and flower person, you have the best of both worlds! :)