Originally Posted by
abmj-jr
The trip was actually a bit over 14 days total but the other 4+ were spent going to/from Hokkaido on the various trains - NRT-Sendai-Aomori-Hakodate and Kushiro-Morioka-Tokyo-NRT with a few short stops along the way. The 10 days I mentioned were actually all on Hokkaido - 2 days Hakodate, 1-1/2 days Sapporo, 2 days Asahikawa/Asahidake, 2-1/2 days Abashiri + Shiretoko, 2 days Obihiro/Kushiro.
That seems like a pretty comprehensive overview of Hokkaido. I'd love to head out to Kushiro and Shiretoko one of these days. We're doing our third Hokkaido trip in as many years next month. Doing most of the same places every single time... Niseko, Sapporo, Noboribetsu... mostly because I'm too lazy to research new places. But if you're a photographer and you haven't been, you should check out Shakotan Peninsula and the Niseko area next time. Kamui cape is a pretty stunning location. The panoramic view from Niseko side out towards Mt.Yotei on a sunny day is amazing. On the other hand, I didn't find Bitei/Furano area all that memorable.