Hi Everyone,
My wife and I will be spending 12-days in Hokkaido, from October 11 to October 22, and we would appreciate some feedback on our planned itinerary. Some background: I traveled multiple times to Japan and lived there a year some time ago, but never traveled to Hokkaido. My wife, who is Japanese, never went there either. When we go to Japan, we like mixing time in cities and countryside/nature. We love onsens and day-trip hiking. The highlight of our trip is often the food. We are hopeful that this schedule will allow to see beautiful foliages in some areas but we understand we might be too late (e.g. Daisetsuzan) or too early (e.g. Sapporo) in some of the places we will be visiting. Living in Canada, we are not worried about colder weather in higher altitude.
I didn’t include every details of all activities we intend to do in each places, but I’m confident there will be plenty to do and see in each locations and between for the time we are there.
Day 1: Fly from Narita to Chitose (Sapporo)
Day 2: In Sapporo, explore the city (Ni-jō ichiba in the morning, Sapporo Beer-en, Nakajima park, etc.)
Day 3: From Sapporo, day trip to Otaru and if possible Yoichi to see the Nikka Brewery
Day 4: From Sapporo, day trip to Jozankei onsen
Day 5: Travel by car from Sapporo to Furano, then drive to Biei and spend the night there
Day 6: Travel by car from Biei to Asahikawa, visit the Otokoyama sake brewery
Day 7: Travel by car from Asahikawa to Sounkyo onsen, visit the Ryusei and Ginga waterfalls on the way
Day 8: Travel by car from Sounkyo onsen to Asahidake onsen. Take the Asahidake ropeway and do a day-hike in the mountain.
Day 9: Travel by car from Asahidake onsen to Shikotsu ko
Day 10: Spend the day around Shikotsu ko, hike Mount Tarumae
Day 11: Travel by car from Shikotsu ko to Noboribetsu onsen
Day 12: Travel by car from Noboribetsu onsen to Chitose, return the car and take a plane to Osaka
Thank you for reading!
12 comments
Looks like a good itinerary. I went to Hokkaido during winter for the festivals and it was totally worth it. Not sure what it’s like during fall but I’m sure it’ll be fun.
Might be snow on Asahidake at that time of year so keep that in mind. Tarumaezan is sometimes closed if it gets more active but you won’t know until closer but be ready to adjust your plans.
Hey thanks for the itinerary ideas and places to see! I’m going in early August and doing the rental camper van thing.
Are you hoping they will open up? i am making similar trip but planned in late October 15 days
Which Jozankei onsen are you looking at?
I really enjoy the Hoheikyo onsen in Jozankei. It has a nice Nepali restaurant. When you are out that far I would possibly recommend Takino Suzuran park to stretch your legs.
I would suggest riding to the top of Mt Moiwa while in Sapporo.
Otokoyama brewery is very nice, but it’s not a super long visit. If you or your wife like handmade furniture and checking out neat designs the Asahikawa Design Center is really neat, too. And nearby from the brewery if I remember correctly.
You need to check if your routes require toll charges. You need to cater extra money on that. If the toll charges are rather high, there is a toll pass for foreigners, similar to JR pass but for cars. You need to calculate if it is worth it to get the pass or just pay. Be aware that some entrance/exit of the highway does not have any mann booth, so you may need to rent the toll card.
Do drop by Lake Kanayama, in Minamifurano. Super beautiful lake with lavender fields around.
Foliage should still be great during this timeframe. My wife and I visited Hokkaido in late October 2019 and everything was gorgeous, especially Nakajima park.
One thing I wish I’d known before visiting Noboribetsu is that it is VERY hilly. If you struggle with inclines you might have trouble exploring. That said, it was incredible.
From my week in hokkaido, I suggest going to the top of the train station in sapporo, it has the best view of the city and surrounding hills, the Tower is okay but it was lacking the “wow” also sapporo has plenty of parks (and a zoo but avoid that) near the zoo there is a wooded area, both the parks and the wooded area are secluded (there’s also sometimes baseball near the zoo if you’re into that) what else? Oh there’s some little canals that have fish in them, it surprised me to see that in a city and I thought it was neat, also sapporo is snow proof, meaning most of it is underground which blew my mind the first time I saw it.
As for Otaru, (I also went here) you won’t be able to visit Otaru and the nikka factory in the same day, well you could but it will be stressful, Otaru is magical, from the moment you enter the beautiful station, to wondering around getting lost, finding little shops selling niknaks and finding the old railway line, you will eventually find the canals, there is some delicious food here and guides who will be more than happy to help you or just chat, also if i remember correctly there is a music box shop/workshop museum, I spent half an hour there, lost in the sounds.
Hopefully I’ve helped shine a little light on some stuff. Oh also when you go up Mt moiwa do it at night, it’s one of the best views in Japan, and ring the bell of happiness together to help your love thrive you can also stick a padlock in the railing with your names, you can buy one from Chufuku Station (1000 yen plus tax) (there’s also a planetarium too if you’re into that?)