We ( family of 4, parents and older children age 17 and 20) are planning a 3 week trip in July/August 2020. We have booked flights Amsterdam-(Osaka)-Sapporo and Tokyo-Amsterdam. We would like to tour Hokkaido and North Honshu but I am a bit stuck as how to plan our time. Three of us have been to Japan before and have seen Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama and Nara. The 20 year old hasn’t been to Japan. He is a keen train enthusiast and his must do’s are at least 1 Shinkansen and Tokyo. We like to do 2-3 hour hikes, be in nature but we also like the buzz of big cities and museums/culture. We would all like to see Mount Fuji and walk around a bit.
So, I am starting to plan but I really don’t know if this is at all manageable. We want to see a lot, we don’t necessarily need to have rest days, we’d rather be on the go. We love to be in the car and drive, stopping along the way. But I also want to avoid having to get in the car every day at 7 am and arriving at the hotel in the dark. Also, an onsen or two I would love, the rest isn’t too keen on getting naked 🙂
I feel the 11 days Hokkaido will be enough for us and we would also like to see a bit of Northern Honshu. In this itinerary we would have 2 Shinkansen trips. Going to Sendai would give me a little bit of time on the coast. I feel any holiday needs a coastal part and I need to see the ocean. I love to swim so any tips are welcome. Can you swim in lake Akan or is it too cold? Also, we would be in Tokyo around the Olympic games (should they take place…) so I am looking to book hotels asap.
Day 1/2: Ams – Osaka – Sapporo. arrival in Sapporo on day 2 at 15:50. Go to hotel, have dinner, walk around a bit trying to stay awake until 22.00
Day 3: Sapporo; Asahiyama Park, Odori Park, Beer museum
Day 4: Pick up car. Sapporo – Daisetsuzan;
Day 5: Daisetsuzan; Hike and Onsen
Day 6: Daisetsuzan – Shiretoko
Day 7 : Shiretoko; wildlife tour? Hike, five lakes
Day 8: Shiretoko – Lake Akan
Day 9: Lake Akan; rent a boat, hike
Day 10: Lake Akan – Noboribetsu; Onsen?
Day 11: Noboribetsu – Hokodate (drop off car)
Day 12: Hakodate
Day 13: Hakodate – Aomori (Shinkansen) \*We would be here on July 30th, just missing the festival.
Day 14: Aomori – Sendai (Shinkansen)
Day 15: Sendai – Aizuwakamatsu (rent car)
Day 16: Aizuwakamatsu – Ouchi Juku
Day 17: Ouchi Juku – Fuji (Too far? Perhaps leave in the afternoon and drive 2 hours for an overnight stop?)
Day 18: Fuji
Day 19: Fuji – Tokyo
Day 20: Tokyo
Day 21: Tokyo
Day 22: Tokyo – Amsterdam
​
I know Tokyo is going to be hot and humid and we don’t love that. We still would like to see it though and I think 2 full days is just right for us. I haven’t really planned in detail what to do in each stop.
Any tips or advice is so very welcome. Thanks in advance!
5 comments
Ouchi Juku is a pretty quick visit, you won’t spend a full day there, at most a couple of hours.
So most likely the first day you can take time to reach Aizu and visit around the city and maybe check Kitakata if some of the family member like ramen. Next day in the morning finish visiting Aizu, or even check more nature area such as Tō-no-Hetsuri that is closer to ouchi juku and finally afternoon in Ouchi juku, restaurant will close at 4 or 5 pm, so that’s an early dinner if you want to try the local soba (if you don’t go for lunch), then you can hit the road and make your way toward Tokyo. You can stop somewhere on the way for the night. Actually, if you do it by car, why not spend the night in Nikko, that you can take the morning to check out before going back on the road.
If you really want to stay in Ouchi Juku, I think there is only one minshuku there anyway, you can get there on day 16 in the afternoon on time for dinner at the minshuku, the 17 check out ouchi juku, lunch there and get in the car right after that, it’s a good 4-5 hours drive according to Google maps, so it can easily be more than that depending on trafic condition.
For Mount Fuji, do you have specific plans ? Like climb it or just hope for a view from Kawaguchiko for example ? Yes, being there for 3 days give more chance to see it, but I would advise to plan some activities, I know it won’t be 3 full days, but still, it’s better to know what are the activities in the area, you want to check a traditional village (Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba) or amusement park with roller coaster (Fuji Q Highland)
I personally never rented a car and I would calculate price of train and car rental/toll compared to JR Pass (from Noboribetsu to Kawaguchiko/Fuji). The only place that is less convenient that way is Ouchi juku. Obviously, being four does make the price of car rental much less steep than for me who travel solo. And yes, you can also prefer the convenience and flexibility of the car (not train/bus schedule), even if it is to be more expensive (I honestly have not checked any number).
Have your son heard about Omiya Railway Museum ?
FYI Olympics will run from Jul 23 – Aug 8. It will be in Tokyo and you arrive in Tokyo right around when it ends, but I expect you will still be impacted by it.
If you do consider changing your schedule, Fuji Rock will likely be scheduled for the third weekend of August (19-22) and is Asia’s biggest music festival with lots of international bands. It’s very relaxed and drugs are basically limited to alcohol so not really like European festivals in that regard. You can check out some info at /r/fujirock if that interests you/your family.
If you think you can make the festival and can get accommodations, I think it would be a fun experience. It will be really crowded but I really enjoy Japanese festivals, just walking around, eating, watching things – just a very relaxed evening.
Overall, you have almost two weeks scheduled for Hokkaido. That seems really heavy on the Hokkaido – there’s a lot of really neat stuff in Tohoku. Maybe consider cutting Hokkaido down by several days and allocating them to Tohoku? Morioka is a nice little city with Ryusendo caves near by, as well as other sites, and has wanko soba, a very unique eating experience. Sendai also has Matsushima, one of the great sites of Japan.
If your son is really into trains, there is a limited express train from Akita to Niigata (Inaho) that is very pretty. It runs along the western coast of Japan basically the whole length. If you want to take it, you would of course have to change your schedule pretty drastically but there are certainly things you can do along the way.
If you are curious about any options, let me know and I can elaborate.
I’m a 30 years old Japanese man living in Tokyo.
I lived in Hokkaido for 6 years.
So I don’t know if I’ll be of any help, but I’m trying to help you a little bit.
1) As for as I know, Lake Akan is not suitable for swimming.
It seems to be suitable for swimming in next two reasons. First, It will be too cold to swim. Second, probably there is no one swimming there.
Though, It is a good choice to play in the sharrow coast area in the lake.
2) I recommend you stop by Lake Mashu.
If you have a decent time on Day 7 ~ 9, I recommend you to go to Mashu Lake.
Lake Mashu is the second most transparent lake in the world.
It is located relatively near Akan lake and It takes 1.5 hours one way.
I have been there two times. It has a solemnity and mysterious atmosphere. It is the best landscape in Hokkaido in my opinion. (bellow link is pictures of Mashu lake[摩周湖].)
[https://www.gettyimages.co.jp/%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F/%E6%91%A9%E5%91%A8%E6%B9%96?mediatype=photography&phrase=%E6%91%A9%E5%91%A8%E6%B9%96&sort=mostpopular](https://www.gettyimages.co.jp/%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F/%E6%91%A9%E5%91%A8%E6%B9%96?mediatype=photography&phrase=%E6%91%A9%E5%91%A8%E6%B9%96&sort=mostpopular)
Sorry for my poor English. I’m glad if you can use it as a reference.
1. I think that Lake Akan to Noboribetsu Onsen part would be a stretch – a very long day with little pay off: probably leaving early and stopping in Biei/Furano area for the lavender/sunflower fields would make it a more memorable experience.
2. My take on Daisutsezan with your itinerary is to seek accommodation at Sounkyo Onsen.
3. If you are missing Nebuta Matsuri, you are probably better off adding a day to either Sendai (for a day trip to Matsushima Bay, or Yamadera) or stopping in Hirosaki.
4. Regarding renting a car to get to Aizu Wakamatsu: my take would be to rent a car in Koriyama. If you haven’t been to Nikko/Okunikko before, I would probably finish day 17 there or continue on to somewhere like Kusatsu.
Going to be here (Hokkaido) about 2 weeks earlier next year with my family too! Thanks for posting this.