I am travelling to Japan for a month from the mid of May to the mid of June. During this month, I am planning a 9 day trip (May 26th to June 3rd for reference) up north and back. I will have JR Pass during this period and I think everything in my trip besides the ferries and buses are covered. I have come up with the following plan but I do have some concerns whether the trip is feasible with all the travelling involved. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Here is the plan I have come up with. I am listing the travel times that I have found as well:
Day 1 – Tokyo to Hakodate (4h30m). Planning to reach around afternoon or so via Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen. I want to check out Fort Goryokaku and also take the cable car up Mount Hakodate to see the sunset.
Day 2 – Hakodate to Sapporo (3h30m). Sapporo is sort of a pitstop for me. My main target is Wakkanai but its too much travel to do in one day since I also want to see things. Plan to see the major sights and just explore the city.
Day 3 – Sapporo to Wakkanai (5h10m). I plan to head out to Wakkanai via the Soya limited express train at the earliest. I will be staying in Wakkanai for 3 nights. The first day I plan to visit Cape Soya and Cape Noshappu and just explore the city the remainder of the time.
Day 4 – Rebun Island. The main highlight of my trip. I intend to take the earliest boat over and then do the 4 hour hike or 8 hour hike depending on when the last boat leaves the island.
Day 5 – Rishiri Island. The other main highlight. I want to take the earliest boat over and cycle the island completely. Will stay till the last boat leaves.
Day 6 – Wakkanai to Hakodate (5h10m + 3h30m). Thus starts my journey back down south. This day is mostly just travel. Will be recovering in Hakodate for the night and maybe just roaming the city if I have time/energy.
Day 7 – Visiting Osorezan (3h30m – 4h). Osorezan is something that really caught my eye. It seems so beautiful, mysterious and unique. Despite being quite out of the way, I really want to visit this. Planning to sleep near the Shimokita station (Mutsu) for the night as I am not really interested in staying at a Monastery.
Day 8 – Osorezan to Sendai (3h30m). Exploring the city for the day.
Day 9 – Sendai to Nikko (2h30m). Nikko is another place that I really want to visit. Ive seen a lot of good things and definitely want to spend one day here. This would be the last stop on my small trip and would mark the end.
My other main concern is the weather. I really feel like rain would kill my trip. It would probably kill both islands for me and maybe even Osorezan. I tried searching when the rainy season starts in these places and also the weather during the last week of May but I couldnt really find anything. Is this a good time to visit these places or is this the rainy season? I can always completely change this entire plan if required.
Also how accurate are the train journey times found online. If it says say 3h30 including changing trains, can I safely assume that I could make the joruney in 3.5-4/4.5 hours on that day?
by nishshastry