Hi!
me and my girlfriend are traveling to Japan from March 25th to April 20th. Flights are to/from Tokyo.
We booked this time to see the sakura bloom, obviously. However, I’d also really like to go to Hokkaido, the 4 weeks we are there would allow for that, but we are not really sure if/when we should go.
I can see two options:
1. we go to Hokkaido first (maybe after a few days of Tokyo, but we could also do them at the end) then there might still be snow, onsen will have an even greater appeal and we get to experience more seasons. Winter in the north, and until we get there, warmer days in the south. But this means, that sakura might be (almost) over there by then.
2. we go south first, then by the time we will be there in mid-late April the chance of it being snowy in Hokkaido will be very slim (I think). Although then we could “follow” the sakura bloom.
Would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this. Is Hokkaido in March/April a bad idea? Onsen with snow outside overrated? Should we just skip it, given the time is not ideal? Even though 4 weeks sound a lot, realistically this means only a few days to a week in Hokkaido. Will the weather even matter that much when in Hakodate/Sapporo? (We also want to see more remote parts, but given accessibility and time constraints, realistically this won’t be more than 2-3 days.)
Thanks for everyone’s opinions!
1 comment
Hokkaido in late March/April is not something that stands out as a very good idea at all. The weather is in that annoying phase between winter and spring with sleet and freezing rain common. The powder gets slushy and while you could get probably some snow onsen around Jozenkai or in Sounkyo Onsen – it will not be snow paradise you are looking for.
This year predicts fairly early bloom, so option for going first to Hokkaido, which is the only one that has merits, means you skip on classical sakura in Tokyo and possibly Kansai, leaving you to chase sakura in Kanazawa, Nagano and Tohoku, or just see *yaezakura*.
So, I would guess my vote would be for chasing sakura from Tokyo to Kansai to Kanazawa to Sendai and perhaps finish in Hakodate without seeing Goryokaku’s cherries blossom, but still the city is nice enough (in contrast to Sapporo) to be worth a couple of days at the end of your trip.