Hi guys, we are planning for Hokkaido Spring trip for Sakura season from 24 April to early May. As this is the first time we are planning for Hokkaido, might need you guys to give some feedback for the itinerary.
* 24 April – New Chitose Airport -> Hakodate (Stay in Hakodate)
* 25 April – Hakodate -> Sapporo
* 26 April – Niseko day trip (not planning to ski but wanna try Gondola and explore around Kutchan)
* 27 April – Noboribetsu day trip (no plan to stay overnight there)
* 28 April – Otaru day trip -> Night depart to Asahikawa
* 29 April – Asahikawa Zoo (Day 1 open) -> Asahikawa Ramen Village -> Stay at Asahikawa (Road trip by car)
* 30 April – Furano + Biei (Road trip) -> Back to Sapporo
* 1 May – Last day at Sapporo
* 2 May – Depart to Airport
Now the issue are:
* Not much information about Niseko in April, not sure is it suitable to explore there
* There is no overnight stay in Noboribetsu, not sure worth the trip or not, as we noticed our exploration in Sapporo is rather abit too short
Let us know your advice for the senpai who did Hokkaido before. 🙂
3 comments
It’s about a week to a fortnight for sakura in Hokkaido. Maybe Hakodate is possible in the last 3-4 days of April.
What do you want to see/do in Furano? The lavender fields don’t bloom until summer so in late April/May it’s just dirt fiends. Because it is so far north, the Sakura usually aren’t in bloom until mid-May in Hokkaido. If you can, I’d suggest pushing your trip back by a week or so. More detailed blooming forecasts for 2023 will start to come out in late January into February so, if you can, wait to see some of those before finalizing all your plans. The weather impacts the blooming and it’s possible they may bloom early so would overlap some with your dates but they might not. Chasing Sakura is a bit of a gamble. Given your planned dates, you’d have better luck in the Tohoku region likely. Hirosaki Castle is jaw-droppingly *gorgeous* when the Sakura are blooming.
– [Trip Report: Cherry Blossoms and Samurai History in Aomori and Akita](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/nahtfk/chasing_cherry_blossoms_in_aomori_and_samurai/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
– [Tohoku Sakura Spots](https://jw-webmagazine.com/cherry-blossom-spots-in-tohoku/)
– [Hokkaido Sakura Spots](https://livejapan.com/en/in-hokkaido/in-pref-hokkaido/in-sapporo_chitose/article-a1000132/)
– [2023 Cherry Blossom Forecast](https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001033/#table_of_contents_anchor1)
Truthfully, I’d spend the night in Otaru. Most just do it as a day trip but we were so glad we stayed the night. Kinda wish we’d stayed 2 nights as there’s so much good food to try there.
– [Cafe Bar and Apartment Stone and Iron](https://www.booking.com/Share-o221Sg)
– We stayed 1 night here booking the entire apartment and loved it. Super cool old stone warehouse that’s been updated. Highly recommend but you will need to walk up a flight of stairs.
– The farm to table restaurant here is very, very good too if you just want to stop in for a coffee or meal. In daytime it’s a cafe with excellent coffee but at night you can order a full dinner. We messaged on Booking after reserving the apartment to make a reservation for dinner the night of our stay.
– [Naruto Main Shop: Best Chicken Ever!!!](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ytLHgK42k7Fx3pKQ7?g_st=ic)
– [Otaru Tap Room](https://maps.app.goo.gl/xhweiPCAr7f4kATC6?g_st=ic)
– [Have coffee/cake surrounded by glass lanterns. Try to go in a weekday if possible as it’s very popular and there will be long lines on the weekends.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/oxe1idPfGTr63EN38?g_st=ic)
– [Otaru Blue Grotto Cruising: We didn’t have time to do this but if the weather is good could be fun.](https://httos://maps.app.goo.gl/QhH4xxpCXBZXRa7w7?g_st=ic)
– [Otaru Stained Glass Museum](https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/otaru-art-base/en/stained-glass-museum/)
In Sapporo we liked:
– [Milk Mura: Ice Cream Bar where you drizzle flavored liqueurs over ice cream. Open late for dessert after dinner.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/XekmEyGaXRBo2TUZ6?g_st=ic)
– [Ganso Ramen Yokocho (Alley)](https://maps.app.goo.gl/goEBUXv8zhMDWp9XA?g_st=ic)
– [Suage+ for Soup Curry](https://maps.app.goo.gl/T7EtRgBTBnpDETZf7?g_st=ic)
If you want to do a day use onsen in Noboribetsu I liked [Dai-Ichi Takimotokan.](https://httos://maps.app.goo.gl/hjbWy8ufS3RPMCsw6?g_st=ic) It’s huge and you could spend a lot of time here. There’s an indoor swimming pool side too if you have swimsuits. Tattoos are not allowed.
Happy Planning!
imo there’s a little too much back and forth… you’re going to waste time and money travelling.
eg – there’s no need to day trip to noborietsu specifically… you can do it on the day from Hakodate > Noborietsu > Sapporo, one-way. If not you’ll waste time travelling from Hakodate > Noborietsu and back.