Hi all, a bit of a last minute thing, but my family of 5 are travelling to Hokkaido, arriving morning of 28th April to the afternoon of 4th May
I’d like some feedback on my itinerary and have some questions too
Day 1 28th April – arrival at Sapporo in the morning, checking into an airbnb, probably spending the day exploring the central area of sapporo
* Odori Park
* Botanic Garden
* Nijo Market
* Ber Museum, Tanukikoji Shopping Street
Day 2 29th – Aiming for exploring the south of Sapporo itself
* Hokkaido Jingu
* Bairin park ?sakura viewing
* Maryyama Primeval Forest
* Hill of the Buddha
* Ending the night at Mount moiwa Observation Deck
Day 3 30th – Furano – aiming for the lavender fields
* I expect to be renting a car to get from Sapporo to Furano
* Aiming to spend the day there till ?evening? where I will return back to Sapporo
Day 4 1st – Sapporo round 2
* I’m looking at the North and North East area of the city and perhaps some souvenier buying?
* Moerenuma Park
* Sato Suisan
* Historical Village of Hokkaido
Day 5 2nd – To Noboribetsu
* Estimated travel time is apparently one and a half hours
* ?Hellvalley?
* Kuttara Lake observation deck
* Aiming to stay at a ryokan or a hotel with private hotsprings (family members are too shy)
Day 6 3rd – Lake Toya
* spending the day visiting Lake Toya, exploring the town
* Travel at night to Tomakomai
Day 7 4th Tomakomai
* just spending half the day checking out the town and checking out and moving to the airport to depart
I’m not sure if I am missing some places that should be worth a visit or can I ignore some of these places.
I’m also not sure if there’s enough to do on these days, though, mind you, the family consists of 20-60 year olds and we’re not exactly a very outgoing bunch.
I’d appreciate it if I can get some feedback on the sequence/locations and I’m open to suggestions
We’re very much food focused hilariously enough, but there are some of us who can’t eat beef, but the rest of us will gobble it down. Some recommendations would be appreciated
I also have a couple of Q
1. Is it normal to get an apartment for a family via airbnb? or are there better options?
1. By my guesstimate, with us traveling with luggage a few times, I would think that the best and cheaper option for us is renting a van or something to get us around. I’m in the process of applying for an international license, but would public transport serve just as well? i would think it would be a bit difficult, especially with 6 people
1. Is there anything to take note of, for driving in JP, esp Hokkaido? I’m from SEA, so not TOO familiar with snowy conditions, but I wouldn’t expect anything around this time?
1. Are there any websites to recommend when searching for a ryokan or an onsen place that has private baths?
1. The last time I was in Japan, was around 2019, in Tokyo and used the Pasmo card. but as I understand it, I should be getting a hold of Kitaca cards?
1. Any particular souvenirs to bring back? Mainly for colleagues etc, so nothing too fancy. And also things for my family to keep/save
Any feedback and recommendations are greatly appreciated
by Keneshiro
