Itinerary Check – Jan 2025 in Tokyo and Hokkaido

My husband and I are planning our very belated honeymoon for this January (and late December) in Japan. We are flying in and out of Tokyo and have a not-so-short list of the things we want to prioritize on this trip. I have a few questions and there are a couple of things we can't decide on and would love an outsiders perspective. In addition to this being our honeymoon, we also land in Tokyo on my husband's birthday.

30 December – Tokyo

• Arrive at HND 0550
• Early Morning: Drop luggage at hotel, Stroll neighborhood, Head toward Aoyama Cemetary, Meiji Shrine, Omotesando
• Afternoon: Grab lunch before returning to hotel to check into room, Relax and get settled in to room before dinner
• Evening: Dinner (reservation for birthday dinner TBD, looking at either Denkushiflori or Gonpachi), followed by drinks at the Andaz rooftop bar.

31 December – Tokyo

• Morning: Sleep in, get breakfast at Aoyama Flower Market Tea House, head to Harajuku and Shibuya, want to check out the Pokecenter in Shibuya.
• Lunch: Tenkazushi in Shibuya, stroll and return to hotel to rest before evening.
• Evening: Dinner at hotel restaurant, head to Ōji Inari-jinja Shrine Fox Parade, visit shrine, depending on how tired we are we will either go out for a few drinks or just go back to the hotel and pass out

1 January – Tokyo

• Morning: Sleep in (again), find somewhere open for breakfast
• Midday & Evening: Still trying to figure this one out. Thinking we'll make this our day to check out shrines and outdoor activities but I'm having some difficulty this far out determining what other attractions will be open.

2 January – Tokyo –> Hakodate

• Morning: Conbini breakfast and early shikansen to Hakodate
• Afternoon: Arrive in Hakodate, check in to Ryokan, explore Bay Area and Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses, Take ropeway to Mt Hakodate for sunset view
• Evening: Return to ryokan for dinner and evening relaxation in onsen

3 January – Hakodate –> Niseko

• Morning: Hakodate Morning Market for breakfast (there is this squid and crab bowl that I saw advertised somewhere and I'm determined to find it and eat it). Depart Hakodate for Niseko via bus transfer to Grand Hirafu
• Afternoon: Arrive at hotel in Niseko, get settled in to room then get fitted for ski rentals.
• Evening: Hopefully find somewhere to get ramen or curry for dinner and have an early night

4 January – Niseko

• Morning: Breakfast at hotel then pick up ski rentals
• Ski Day
• Evening: Dinner reservation at Kamimura

5 January – Niseko

• Ski Day

6 January – Niseko

• Final Ski Day
• Return rentals at hotel, pack up room

7 January – Niseko –> Sapporo

• Morning: Conbini breakfast and take bus from Niseko to Sapporo
• I don't have plans for Sapporo but I really want to check out the Sapporo Beer Factory, and just see the city in January/winter

8 January – Sapporo

• Still ironing out plans for Sapporo. Is it worth it to stay in Sapporo for this full day and night and leave the following morning for Tokyo, or should we maximize our time in Tokyo and fly out tonight?
• Evening: EITHER Stay in Sapporo, go out for dinner & drinks OR head to CTS to catch a late flight back to TYO

9 January – Sapporo –> Tokyo

• Morning: If we do stay the night we will try to get an early flight back to Tokyo, like 10am, so that we can get to our hotel relatively early and still have a good chunk of time in Tokyo that day.

10 January TO 13 January- Tokyo

• I want to leave this part of the trip open to be a little more flexible with our time. I know I want to go to Kappabashi Street, we would like to check out a Sumo match if we can, we have tattoo appointments booked for one morning, definitely Tsukiji Fish Market and hopefully a Tuna auction if we can get the lottery right, TeamLabs or Borderless (I don't think we need to see both, but let me know if I'm wrong), and all the other quintessential Tokyo must-sees.
• If there's anything glaring that I haven't included or something you would recommend that isn't commonly suggested we'd love to hear it.

13 January – Tokyo

• 2030 Leave Tokyo via HND back to the US.

So, if you've made it this far I would love to hear any suggestions or critiques of this itinerary and especially what you would do about visiting Sapporo. As I see it we have three options:

1. Spend 1 night in Sapporo with a half day before and after (This would get us back to Tokyo on the night of January 8th)
2. Spend 2 nights in Sapporo with a half day before and then a full day in between (This would get us back to Tokyo in the early afternoon on January 9th)
3. Spend 0 nights in Sapporo and go straight to CTS from Niseko to return to Tokyo (This would get us back to Tokyo in the early evening of January 7th).

We are leaning towards option 2 but are interested in your thoughts. Thanks in advance for the help!