Furano, After the Lavender

Furano's whole reputation is a photograph taken in the second week of July: corduroy stripes of lavender running downhill towards the Tokachi range.

We came in October, which turns out to be the better deal. The fields are cut and ochre, the mountains have their first white on top, and the farm café that seats two hundred in summer had four people in it including us and the owner's dog.

Drove the back roads north towards Biei in the afternoon. Every second bend has a single tree standing alone in a field with a name and a small car park, which sounds ridiculous until you see one.