Ashibetsu – part 2

Here are some more photos of Ashibetsu, mostly from the central part of the city.

I’ll start with some from the time that I lived there, 2006-2008.

Midori Park, with a giant pencil at the entrance.

March 2006. What things are hidden under the snow? We’ll find out in another week or two. In Ashibetsu, the snow usually disappears from the ground around the beginning of April. In 2006 it was a little earlier than usual.

Shopping street on the north side of the main part of Ashibetsu. Walking through here, I got the impression that it used to be a pretty busy place. There are way too many parking spaces for the number of customers they have now. And here and there, you can see places where the buildings of other shops and restaurants used to be.

The park next to Ashibetsu City Hall on a rainy day.

Please clean up after your pets.

Rice field in the middle of the city.

Early morning train at Ashibetsu Station.

Ashibetsu Station entrance, seen from the boarding platform.

“Welcome to Kami-Ashibetsu Park.”

Ashibetsu is on the main railway line between Sapporo and the popular tourist areas of Furano and Biei. A lot of special “Furano Express” trains pass through here in summer.

Ashibetsu Sports Park. They have a track and field facility built to Olympic specifications, and several times a year, professional athletes come here for training camps. This facility is also popular with local school sports teams.

I moved away from Ashibetsu in August 2008, but came back in October for a brief visit. Here are some autumn leaves.

In August 2015 I went back to Ashibetsu for a visit. The main part of the city still looked nice, with lots of flowers and well-maintained gardens. A lot of the older abandoned buildings had been torn down, and there were a lot more open spaces than I remembered. In some places, the city is starting to look like it’s full of holes. But it’s still pretty nice.

The photos below are from 2015.

On the first day of my visit, some thunderstorms moved through the area during the afternoon. Here is the Ashibetsu train station under a scary-looking sky.

Behind some buildings in downtown Ashibetsu is this small park. There are many parks like this scattered around the city.

Empty city blocks. In 2006-2008 there were buildings all around here, but now they’re gone.

There are some good walking/cycling paths like this one going through the city.

One thing I like about Ashibetsu is the large number of neighborhood parks, like this one.

Tree-lined street.

Ashibetsu manhole cover.

Street in downtown Ashibetsu, near the train station.

Pagoda-like waiting room in front of Ashibetsu Station.

Downtown Ashibetsu, looking toward the train station.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Ashibetsu.