Looking for an itinerary check for an upcoming trip to Japan in February 2024. I’ve been to Japan 3 times in the past but this time I’m looking to go in the winter, and to areas I haven’t been to before, so I’m mostly looking to see if anything is unrealistic based on winter closures. My primary interests are photography and trying local specialities in Japanese cuisine.
No flights booked yet, I wanna check feasibility before I book anything. Days are sorta flexible, with the main constraints being that I want to be in Sapporo and Otaru to see both the Sapporo Snow Festival and the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival respectively.
I also understand that this is a lot of train riding. I actually really enjoy riding trains, so this isn’t a problem for me. Gives me time to nap, rest my feet, eat some bento boxes, and stay out of the cold. Based on a calculation, it looks like even with the recent JR Pass cost increase, a 14-day pass would still be worth it, surprisingly.
Stuff in **bold** is where I’m most unsure, but feel free to comment on anything else.
2/9/24 – Planned arrival in Sapporo in the morning. Aiming to do the Sapporo Beer Museum and check out the sites around Odori Park, including the Snow Festival.
2/10/24 – Some sites further west in Sapporo, including Shiroi Koibito Park, Hokkaido Jingu, Asahiyama Memorial Park, Sapporo Fushimi Inari, and Mount Moiwa.
2/11/24 – Nijo Market in the morning. Take the train over to Asahikawa in the morning to visit the zoo, and stay for the penguin march. Head over to Otaru in the evening and see the Snow Light Path Festival before returning to Sapporo.
2/12/24 – I have time for one activity in the morning, I’m thinking Hill of the Buddha. Packing a smaller bag and then forwarding the rest of my luggage to Tokyo. Taking the train to Noboribetsu, arriving in the afternoon. Maybe check out Jigokudani, otherwise I can do that the following morning. Spend the rest of the afternoon or evening in the hotel relaxing and taking a hot spring bath.
2/13/24 – Leaving Noboribetsu in the morning. Taking the train to Hakodate, planning to stop at Lake Toya along the way for a quick photo op. Arrive in Hakodate in the afternoon, and aiming to get up the Hakodate Ropeway before sunset (looks like it happens around 5pm-ish).
2/14/24 – Spend the morning and early afternoon exploring as much as I can of Hakodate. Taking a late afternoon Shinkansen to Tokyo. Retrieving my luggage. Maybe meet up with a local friend so I’m not alone on Valentine’s Day lmao. **I thought about flying directly to my next stop (Kanazawa), but it looks like the options to fly out of Hakodate would all involve transfers and several hours layover in Tokyo anyway, so I figured I’d rather just take a train than deal with airports.**
2/15/24 – Pack another light bag, check out of the hotel, and put the rest of the luggage in storage. Take a morning train to Kanazawa, and spend the rest of the day exploring there, focusing on Higashi Chaya and Kanazawa Castle.
2/16/24 – Omicho Market in the morning, followed by Nagamachi Samurai District. I’d like to go see Shirakawa in the afternoon, and then take a bus back before it gets too late.
2/17/24 – Head to Takayama. Spend a few hours exploring here before heading to Matsumoto. See the Matsumoto Castle Illumination. **This is probably the day I’m most unsure of. Hida Folk Village came up as a possible activity but I’m wondering if it’ll be redudant if I’ve gone to Shirakawa the previous day. And will the buses still be running from Takayama to Matsumoto? Google says they will, but unsure if winter road closures will affect anything. The train route looks really illogical for my itinerary, but maybe that just means I can rearrange things.**
2/18/24 – Head up to Nagano in the morning. Hoping to do both Zenko-ji and the Upper Togakushi Shrine this day (**I read that there is a combined ticket?**). From what I found online, the buses don’t run all the way to the upper shrine in the winter so you have to walk from the central shrine. **This seems like a fun little hike but I don’t know how long it would take.** But if time becomes too much of a constraint (seems like the bus will take at least an hour each way) I might just cut it and stay in Nagano for the afternoon. Planning to get to Shibu Onsen in the late afternoon and staying at a hotel that has access to the nine local public onsens.
2/19/24 – Jigokudani Monkey Park is the only planned activity for this date. Maybe finish off any of the nine public onsens I still need to do. After that, heading back to Tokyo, and probably relaxing for the rest of the day.
2/20/24 through 2/23/24 – Basing myself in Tokyo. This would be my fourth time in Tokyo so I’ve seen most of the major tourist sites now. I’m planning to spend one day in Yokohama. The rest of the time is free in Tokyo that I can take fairly leisurely to see anything I want to revisit, or check out some museums. Another thing I’d consider is going down to Kawazu for half a day to see the cherry blossoms that bloom early.
Is there anything here that I’m missing that would create a logistical issue? Or any suggestions on how to rework things to flow better? Open to suggestions. Thanks!
2 comments
I can make some comments about some possibilities.
First, you can fly direct to Komatsu airport from Sapporo. Komatsu is the airport south of Kanazawa and from there it’s a relatively short bus ride to the city. So, you could go from Hakodate back to Sapporo to fly out. Flying within Japan is really simple, not as easy as walking onto a train, but really easy. (We flew direct from Komatsu to Chitose earlier this year for the snow festival.)
An unrelated point but there’s a really cool winter illumination in Jozankei Onsen which is just outside of Sapporo. They make thousands of small snow lanterns in a shrine. The snow festival was cool, but Jozankei may have been the highlight of our time in Hokkaido. We stayed in an onsen ryokan there.
The bus from Kanazawa is really popular and they fill up. My wife and I currently live in Kanazawa, but we were also visiting here on our honeymoon. During our honeymoon there was room on a bus to Shirakawa-go, but not back on the same day. We ended up going to Yuwaku Onsen instead. Maybe have a back up plan or make sure you go book your bus ticket as soon as possible to get a round trip.
As for Hida vs. Shirakawa-go, they are a bit similar. There are actually a lot of the grass-thatched roof “villages” in the area. Shirakawa-go is maybe the most “complete” one with many buildings and great scenery. A lot of the others are fun to see, but much smaller. If you’re strapped for time maybe one is enough.
The bus from Kanazawa -> Takayama may be the same. It’s a popular route. Takayama is a really cool city and definitely worth spending some time in. I’d probably focus more on exploring Takayama, not worry about Hida Folk Village, and then go to Matsumoto. Matsumoto is great too and the castle is fun. Even though Matsumoto is about half the size of Kanazawa it has a bigger city feel.
For road closures, this happens all of the time. The Norikura Skyline which crosses from Gifu to Nagano is currently closed with no plans to reopen in 2023 due to a landslide. However, the main road from Takayama to Matsumoto passes through a crazy long tunnel they put into the mountains. And it’s one of the few roads that crosses the mountains for busses, cars, trucks, etc. I think even if there was a blockage they would work hard to open it. I’d think a delay could be possible in the winter, but I would be very surprised if a true closure happened on that route. You’re right that because of the mountains the train route isn’t ideal.
Hi!
Do be aware that rail pass prices will have gone up by that point and it’s unclear if even with all your travel, you are going to cover the 50,000 yen new price. I would definitely look to see about flying from Sapporo to Komatsu.
I am unsure why if you are going to Shirakawa Go, you don’t just continue onwards to Takayama that day. Shirakawa Go is the same distance from Kanazawa and Takayama and most buses continue onwards. If you want to go the next day, you will be either taking that bus or taking one of 8 trains a day between Toyama and Takayama. The train is quite scenic, but there are only 8 and sometimes the locals get in within 20 minutes of the express trains.
There are always buses between Takayama and Matsumoto (BTW there is a discounted bus pass you can get to do Kanazawa to Shirakawa Go to Takayama to Matsumoto, no backtracking allowed) However, there are fewer in the Winter and if it happens to snow a lot a particular day, they can be canceled.
If you’re looking for things to do in Tokyo, I would also consider going to Mito to see the ume in Kairakuen. Their ume events tend to start around the time you will be in Tokyo. You can buy umeshu made from ume grown in the garden.
I think Togakushi could be hard, because it could very well be hiking up hill in the snow. I’m not sure well they shovel out the path in the Winter, from comments I am seeing on-line it seems a mixed bag. I do know it is a popular snow shoeing spot so…. I think if you plan to stay in Shibu onsen at a ryokan that includes meals, going to Togakushi might be tight.
I preferred Hida no Sato to Shirakawa Go, but if you’re coming from Kanazawa and going to Takayama Shirakawa Go makes more sense, and February is definitely the time to go, as it’s at its most scenic imho.
Good luck!