Yes, even when I was planning this trip I hadn't realised quite how far north Hokkaido really is! And the weather was (apparently) unseasonably cold: the photo above was really not far above sea level. We were supposed to get cherry blossoms at the end of the week (in Shizunai) but, even apart from the fact that we apparently drove through or past Shizunai without noticing, all cherry blossoms were still in hiding from the cold when we left Hokkaido at the end of the week.