A Week in Hokkaido
Most people visit Hokkaido during the winter season for its pristine ski slopes but I think that it is the most magical in the fall. With blossoming flower fields and fall foliage, rent a car and explore the amazing landscape that Hokkaido has to offer.
Notes:
- For this trip, it is advisable to rent a car. This will enable you to travel free and easy around the region and make stops to admire the landscape whenever you wish.
- If you do not wish to drive, there are regional buses that can take you around but your itinerary will be determined by the bus schedule.
- I have only included restaurants where the meals were quite noteworthy. There were quite a number of meals that we just ate from the convenience store or snacked on onigiris.
Day 1: Landing in Chitose Airport
Since we will be starting our adventure in Sapporo, we landed in Chitose Airport, which is the closest.
There are 4 main methods from getting from Chitose Airport to downtown Sapporo; in order of affordable-ness:
1) Bus (to Sapporo Station) --> 1,100yen (1h 20min)
2) JR Train (to Sapporo Station) --> 1150yen (37mins)
From Sapporo station, you will be well connected to the Sapporo public transport system.
3) Taxi --> 18,000yen (1hr)
4) Rental Car --> 1,300yen in toll fees, not inclusive of petrol price
Even though we will be driving for most of the trip, we opted to pick up the car only after we completed our Sapporo leg, as the city is well connected by public transport.
We booked 2night at the "Rembrandt Style Sapporo", which was decently priced and like most Japanese hotels, extremely clean.
Once we checked into our hotel, it was almost evening. Hence, we opted to check out a Hokkaido Specialty; Miso Ramen. We walked over to a local joint.
We spend the rest of the evening taking a stroll down Tanukikoji Shopping Street.
Day 2: Day out in Sapporo
To fuel our energy for the day, we decided to try out another local specialty, Hokkaido Soup Curry!
Subsequently, we took a public bus to the Sapporo Beer Museum.
Next up, we took the bus back to Sapporo Station and transfer bus routes to Shiroi Koibito Park. The whole journey took about 1h 30mins.
We then made our way back to Sapporo station via the bus and grabbed dinner at Gusto; a budget friendly Japanese-inspired Italian- restaurant.
After dinner, we took a tram to Sapporo Mt.Moiwa Ropeway Chufuku Station; to view the Sapporo skyline.
Day 3: Sapporo --> Furano
In the morning, we checked out and made our way over to pick-up our rental car & grab breakfast at a 7-11.
We started driving about 2hrs and our first stop was Ningle Terrace.
Feeling the hunger pangs, we drove ourselves to Furano Cheese Factory.
Feeling a little tired from our early start, we headed into Furano town center to grab a coffee.
We then drove up the road to a shopping complex called Furano Marche.
Seeing as we still had time, we decided to drive to Farm Tomita. However, as we only arrived about 1h 30min before closing time, some items like soft serve ice cream was already sold out.
We then made our way back into Furano town for yet another Hokkaido specialty, Genghis Khan.
Lastly, on our way back to the Farmstay, we passed by the largest Japanese supermarket I have seen and I just had to stop by.
Day 4: Furano --> Asashikawa
The following day, we checked out of our Airbnb and started the 20min drive to Flower Land Kamifurano.
Filling the need to load up on even more sugar, we then drove to a dairy farm to grab some ice cream.
After driving thanking the cows for some delicious ice cream, we made out way to Shikisai Hill.
We had lunch nearby at "Udon Noodle Restuarant Mugiiro no Oka". This was because if you bought lunch at any restaurants, they would waive the parking fee.
Next, we made the 20min drive to Shirogane Blue Pond (Aoiike). This pond is not naturally blue but rather was a result of the dumping of some industrial material, which has somehow made for a popular tourist attraction now.
After exploring the surrounding area, we decided to make our way to Asahikawa and check into our hotel, "Hotel Amanek Asahikawa."
We then made our way out for some Yakitori at a chain restaurant.
Day 5: Daisetsuzan National Park
Before we set off on our hiking adventure, we stopped by AEON Asahikawa Ekimae to grab a picnic lunch and some breakfast. The food section at Aeon has a wide variety of bento lunches where you can just grab and go.
We then made the 1hr drive to Daisetsuzan National Park.
There are quite a number of hikes that you can do in the area, but the one we tried out was Sugatami Pond Loop Hike.
We first took the Asahidake Ropeway which cost about 3,200yen and spent about 2hour hiking. The scenery in this region was unparalleled.
After our hike and driving around the national park, we headed back into Asahikawa for dinner.
We then decided to call it an early evening as we wanted to check out the Onsen at our hotel. This was inclusive in the price we paid for the rooms.
Alternatively, Daisetsuzan National Park is also known for Asahidake Onsen & Kogen Onsen, where you can soak your troubles away.
Day 6: Drive to Noboribetsu
This was primarily a driving day for us as it would take about 3hrs to drive to Noboribetsu. But we did make a couple stops along the way at 2 rest stops and an Apple Orchard.
After that we checked-in at Noboribetsu Grand Hotel. This was quite a old hotel but had very spacious rooms and a natural onsen. We changed at into our robes and spend the rest of the night soaking in the natural onsen.
Day 7: Lake Toya & Back to the Airport
We started our last day by driving to Jigokudani (Hell Valley). The day we went was particularly rainy but I would recommend allocating about 60-90m to walk along the wooden promenade and soak in a foot bath.
Given the state of the rain we encountered, we decided to drive towards a UNESCO Heritage site, Lake Toya.
At the lake, we decided to take a cruise ride that cost about 1,600yen. The boat looks like a castle and you can't miss the ticketing office where the boat docks. The boat takes you to one of the islands in the lake and you do have an option to get off for a little hike. Otherwise, another popular activity on the boat, which the staff actively encourage is feeing shrimp crackers to the seagulls.
After the 40min boat ride, we drove around the lake for pictures and decided we should slowly make our way back to Chitose to catch our evening flight.
From Lake Toya, we embarked on the 2hr drive back to Chitose Airport. After dropping off the rental car & checking-in our bags, we headed to the domestic terminal for dinner and last minute souvenir shopping.
Additional Notes about Rental Cars
- We had chosen to rent from "Toyota Rent A Car" but you do have other options such as international companies like Avis, Sixt, Budget.
- When you rent your car, there is an option to purchase a Hokkaido Express Pass. If you are intending to follow this route above, I would highly recommend getting it as tolls are extremely expensive in Hokkaido. Without the pass, we paid about $90.
- Lastly, the rental car return at Chitose is not near the airport but there are free shuttle buses that run frequently.
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