Hi guys, it’s my first trip to Japan and I’ve never seen snow before so I’m not sure if my path is optimised/hassle free cos the rail-pass thing is a bit confusing but here’s my itinerary, feel free to comment/suggest any improvements!!
22 Dec- land in chitose at 3.35pm, check bags and explore christmas market, market goodies for dinner
23 Dec- activate 5-day hokkaido rail pass, go to hakodate in the morning, reach around noon and have ramen for lunch, go to goryoukaku in the afternoon, have dinner (preferably hakodate-style ramen), go to mt hakodate observatory, sleep
24 Dec (Xmas eve) – Grab breakkie at morning market and get on a train ride to wakkanai,eat ramen, grab bento, and chill around breakwater dome/wakkanai park until past midnight for a super white christmas
25 Dec – check out cape soya (idk if buses are running but I sure hope they are) and head to asahikawa, have dinner (preferably hakodate-style ramen) and relax at a bar or smth
26 Dec – Check out sakezukuri museum, head to abashiri (taking a quick stop at Kitami for an aquariumto pay respects to a manga), check out museum/park if I have the time/energy before crashing
27 Dec – More museums, cape notoro, and chipmunk park, then head to Otaru before crashing (Last day of rail pass)
28 Dec- Nikka Whiskey Yoichi Distillery, Fugoppe Cave, chill day
29 Dec- Head to Otaru, chill by art museums and canal before heading to Sapporo
30 Dec – Sapporo Beer Museum, hunt for muroran ramen and sapporo ramen, check out Historical Village of Hokkaido
31 Dec – Mt Moiwa/Maruyama and camp at Hokkaido-Jingu Shrine for Hatsumode
1 Jan- Hastumode/yume and drink, maybe solo karaoke/check out meetup or bars, chill and relax
2 Jan – Stonehenge, observatories, and onsen
3 Jan – See Moerenuma park, Shiroi Koibito park
4 Jan – Souvenir shopping at markets/walk around and soak as much in as possible
5 Jan- head home 🙁
1 comment
[National Holidays of Japan](https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/understanding-japan/japan-national-holidays)
be aware that this is the first winter holiday season without any restrictions.. this will be a very busy time.
New Years eve is a local celebration, count on typical restaurants and similar businesses being closed early. Not certain about local train schedules. I would look into restrictions very carefully with your Hokkaido rail pass around this time.
If you are from a warm region of the world, have someone help you with dressing. Your level of cold and comfort is very different from mine.
Something to consider is the access on local roads in most areas. The snow clearing is varied usually depending on recent snowfall. I would think about ‘ice grippers’ (which could be purchased at 100Y stores, hardware stores or similar) and if you think you will be out during the evening hours highly highly consider having something reflective (like a simple armband) and a small head light. Most roads will have sidewalks buried forcing you to walk on the road. The width of roads gets narrower and narrower as the snow falls. My experience is most local drivers aren’t expecting pedestrians in the dark times of the day walking with groceries and so on.