As the title mention, summer holiday is coming and i would like to have a mini summer holiday trip. Maybe around 3 days 2 nights, any recommendations as must see places?
If you’re into history and old buildings I’d do Hakodate + maybe one of the scenery nearby
If you’re into food and beers, I’d do Sapporo + one of the towns scenery nearby
Hotel Neuschloss Onsen in Otaru perched on a cliff by a small fishing town was a pretty unforgettable experience
I’ve long wanted to go to Shiretoko National Park. The northern edge of Japan.
If you’re looking for scenery, food and/or beer, I’d recommend Otaru. It’s about a 30min train ride from Sapporo and you have a great view of the sea on the way. There’s a great German style beer brewery besides the canal, aptly named Otaru Beer.
From Otaru there’s also a nice, quiet beach called Ranshima which you can reach via train/bus. Very secluded with some small shops that cater to beach goers. The waters perfect this time of year too.
If you’re more interested in nature and outdoors, I can recommend visiting Biei/Furano area, as well as Lake Kussharo and Shiretoko National Park.
If you haven’t done Sapporo yet, that’d probably be my recommendation. Day trip (or one night) in Otaru, etc.
If you’ve been up here before, Hakodate is really nice for a day or two as well. Wouldn’t recommend doing both in one trip though, Hakodate is deceptively far from Sapporo (4 hours drive on a good day.)
Stuff to see/do:
Sapporo:
* Odori Park is pretty nice, but the TV tower is cramped and a bit of a waste of time imho. The observatory at the top of the JR station is -much- nicer, spacious, and has a lovely view.
* Mt. Moiwa Ropeway is pretty nice, can take the street cars fairly close then it’s a short hike the rest of the way.
* Beer Inn Mugishutei has a metric fuck-ton of craft beer, and alright pub food, pretty likely to run into other foreigners there for better or worse. Owner is a pretty nice dude as well.
* Sapporo Beer Garden/Museum. Touristy, but absolutely worth going once for the experience. Get the all you can eat Ghengis Khan, but don’t spring the extra for the set w/ snow crab, it was pretty mediocre. Also make sure whatever you wear you don’t mind it smelling like meaty smoke and beer until you wash it.
Hakodate:
* Mt Hakodate Ropeway: Touristy, crowded, a bit expensive, and worth every yennie. Spectacular night view of the city lights, but bring a coat, it’s pretty chilly up there. Can also take a bus if you make reservations.
* Goryokaku: Another standard tourism place, but still pretty nice to walk around in spring or summer. The observatory here is also pretty nice!
* Botanical Garden + Monkey Onsen: The flowers and plants are lovely, the monkeys look pretty damn miserable.
* Matsumae Castle: Some folks recommend this as it’s only an hour or two from Hakodate, but I honestly was pretty underwhelmed. It’s a very small castle, and if you’ve been to any on the mainland you’re really not missing much. Interior has been renovated to be a museum, some cool curios and whatnot in there, but really not worth the dedicated trip out imo.
* Daimon Yokocho: Go here for food and drink, especially if you’re alone and can speak a bit of Japanese. Bunch of small bars/restaurants, very friendly. Specifically would recommend the SEA izakaya チェーズ, the owner Joe is a great guy and he hires great folks, very fun to chat with. If they’re full, ask them for a recommendation and they’ll have one of the staff ferry you over to one of their sister stores (3-5ish of the stalls there are managed/run by the same crew and they’re all very good. The fried chicken one in particular is great) Avoid the dark bar that advertises you can sit and eat candy and snacks while drinking. It’s true, but the atmosphere there was downright abysmal.
* Bar Mojito: You like rum? go here. You don’t like rum but can appreciate bartenders who are super knowledgeable and will teach you? Go here. Want to end a night of izakaya hopping around Daimon Yokocho with something a little fancier? Go here.
* Bar Boozer: Great one-man-show cocktail bar run by a very lovely lady who knows her booze and will still make time to chat as she’s keeping a full 12-seat bar topped off on her own. Pretty sure she speaks a bit of English as well, going off of google reviews.
There’s a lot of other nice places in Hokkaido, but almost all of them require a car or bus packages, which I don’t know I’d bother with for a short stay. If you want some places to google: Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Furano, Sahoro.
Hope that helps, I can clarify any of the above if you have questions.
I loved Rebun and Rishirifuji islands
3 days, 2 nights? Unless you want to spend a lot of time driving/on transport (which has its own charms), then Sapporo and Otaru would be good, as Hokkaido is bigger than people may expect.
I personally like Hakodate a lot, but depending on when you go, the flower and lavender fields in the Furano area and the blue pond around Biei are also great.
Also, the lakes in Hokkaido are great. My favorite so far is Lake Toya, but Lake Shikotsu is also nice.
We’ll be heading to the East this year, as we haven’t been there yet, but for first timers (and with only 2 nights), I think either the Hakodate area (maybe combined with Lake Toya?) or Sapporo/Otaru, are good “firsts” for Hokkaido.
If you cannot drive/don’t plan on a car rental, then Sapporo/Otaru will be the best choice.
Otaru already mentioned. Take the train there from Sapporo. Beautiful ride. Download the “Ramen Beast” app and try out some top tier ramen while you’re in Hokkaido.
Lavenders in Furano, that area is beautiful. The season might be over by now though.
Noboribetsu Jikokudani is pretty impressive and it’s maybe 3 hours away from Sapporo.
A trip to the Nikka whisky distillery in Yoichi is well worth a visit. Although it’s always nicer in winter with the snow.
If you’re flying into Chitose then I’d say you should just spend your time in the Sapporo area. Other people have mentioned Hokodate, but you’d be spending 4-5 hrs traveling one way from Sapporo. So unless you’re coming up to Hokkaido by train I’d skip it. If you’re here for 3 days, Sapporo and Otaru have a lot to offer. If you can rent a car I’d recommend a day drive from Sapporo to Shakotan, Shikotsuko, Noboribetsu or even Niseko area.
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If you’re into history and old buildings I’d do Hakodate + maybe one of the scenery nearby
If you’re into food and beers, I’d do Sapporo + one of the towns scenery nearby
Hotel Neuschloss Onsen in Otaru perched on a cliff by a small fishing town was a pretty unforgettable experience
I’ve long wanted to go to Shiretoko National Park. The northern edge of Japan.
If you’re looking for scenery, food and/or beer, I’d recommend Otaru. It’s about a 30min train ride from Sapporo and you have a great view of the sea on the way. There’s a great German style beer brewery besides the canal, aptly named Otaru Beer.
From Otaru there’s also a nice, quiet beach called Ranshima which you can reach via train/bus. Very secluded with some small shops that cater to beach goers. The waters perfect this time of year too.
If you’re more interested in nature and outdoors, I can recommend visiting Biei/Furano area, as well as Lake Kussharo and Shiretoko National Park.
If you haven’t done Sapporo yet, that’d probably be my recommendation. Day trip (or one night) in Otaru, etc.
If you’ve been up here before, Hakodate is really nice for a day or two as well. Wouldn’t recommend doing both in one trip though, Hakodate is deceptively far from Sapporo (4 hours drive on a good day.)
Stuff to see/do:
Sapporo:
* Odori Park is pretty nice, but the TV tower is cramped and a bit of a waste of time imho. The observatory at the top of the JR station is -much- nicer, spacious, and has a lovely view.
* Mt. Moiwa Ropeway is pretty nice, can take the street cars fairly close then it’s a short hike the rest of the way.
* Beer Inn Mugishutei has a metric fuck-ton of craft beer, and alright pub food, pretty likely to run into other foreigners there for better or worse. Owner is a pretty nice dude as well.
* Sapporo Beer Garden/Museum. Touristy, but absolutely worth going once for the experience. Get the all you can eat Ghengis Khan, but don’t spring the extra for the set w/ snow crab, it was pretty mediocre. Also make sure whatever you wear you don’t mind it smelling like meaty smoke and beer until you wash it.
Hakodate:
* Mt Hakodate Ropeway: Touristy, crowded, a bit expensive, and worth every yennie. Spectacular night view of the city lights, but bring a coat, it’s pretty chilly up there. Can also take a bus if you make reservations.
* Goryokaku: Another standard tourism place, but still pretty nice to walk around in spring or summer. The observatory here is also pretty nice!
* Botanical Garden + Monkey Onsen: The flowers and plants are lovely, the monkeys look pretty damn miserable.
* Matsumae Castle: Some folks recommend this as it’s only an hour or two from Hakodate, but I honestly was pretty underwhelmed. It’s a very small castle, and if you’ve been to any on the mainland you’re really not missing much. Interior has been renovated to be a museum, some cool curios and whatnot in there, but really not worth the dedicated trip out imo.
* Daimon Yokocho: Go here for food and drink, especially if you’re alone and can speak a bit of Japanese. Bunch of small bars/restaurants, very friendly. Specifically would recommend the SEA izakaya チェーズ, the owner Joe is a great guy and he hires great folks, very fun to chat with. If they’re full, ask them for a recommendation and they’ll have one of the staff ferry you over to one of their sister stores (3-5ish of the stalls there are managed/run by the same crew and they’re all very good. The fried chicken one in particular is great) Avoid the dark bar that advertises you can sit and eat candy and snacks while drinking. It’s true, but the atmosphere there was downright abysmal.
* Bar Mojito: You like rum? go here. You don’t like rum but can appreciate bartenders who are super knowledgeable and will teach you? Go here. Want to end a night of izakaya hopping around Daimon Yokocho with something a little fancier? Go here.
* Bar Boozer: Great one-man-show cocktail bar run by a very lovely lady who knows her booze and will still make time to chat as she’s keeping a full 12-seat bar topped off on her own. Pretty sure she speaks a bit of English as well, going off of google reviews.
There’s a lot of other nice places in Hokkaido, but almost all of them require a car or bus packages, which I don’t know I’d bother with for a short stay. If you want some places to google: Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Furano, Sahoro.
Hope that helps, I can clarify any of the above if you have questions.
I loved Rebun and Rishirifuji islands
3 days, 2 nights? Unless you want to spend a lot of time driving/on transport (which has its own charms), then Sapporo and Otaru would be good, as Hokkaido is bigger than people may expect.
I personally like Hakodate a lot, but depending on when you go, the flower and lavender fields in the Furano area and the blue pond around Biei are also great.
Also, the lakes in Hokkaido are great. My favorite so far is Lake Toya, but Lake Shikotsu is also nice.
We’ll be heading to the East this year, as we haven’t been there yet, but for first timers (and with only 2 nights), I think either the Hakodate area (maybe combined with Lake Toya?) or Sapporo/Otaru, are good “firsts” for Hokkaido.
If you cannot drive/don’t plan on a car rental, then Sapporo/Otaru will be the best choice.
Otaru already mentioned. Take the train there from Sapporo. Beautiful ride.
Download the “Ramen Beast” app and try out some top tier ramen while you’re in Hokkaido.
Lavenders in Furano, that area is beautiful. The season might be over by now though.
Noboribetsu Jikokudani is pretty impressive and it’s maybe 3 hours away from Sapporo.
[https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6751.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6751.html)
Shikotsu lake is also another nice place to see, I recommend the boat ride where you can see underwater and see the fish and geological structures.
[https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6736.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6736.html)
A trip to the Nikka whisky distillery in Yoichi is well worth a visit. Although it’s always nicer in winter with the snow.
If you’re flying into Chitose then I’d say you should just spend your time in the Sapporo area. Other people have mentioned Hokodate, but you’d be spending 4-5 hrs traveling one way from Sapporo. So unless you’re coming up to Hokkaido by train I’d skip it. If you’re here for 3 days, Sapporo and Otaru have a lot to offer. If you can rent a car I’d recommend a day drive from Sapporo to Shakotan, Shikotsuko, Noboribetsu or even Niseko area.