keisari

I have been to Tokyo/Kyoto a few times but never to Hokkaido.
I am well-traveled but still have a difficult time figuring out the convoluted train/subway system in Japan.

I would like to spend 4-5 days visiting Hokkaido Island on my next trip to Japan. I don't want to drive but would like to see as much of nature/hiking/sightseeing as I can.

Flights from Tokyo to Sapporo in March (or Feb for that matter) run 650-700 US$ per person. Train trip seems to involve 3 separate trains.

What are my options for travel to Hokkaido and for spending 4-5 days traveling around. I have done lots of reading but would like to hear your expert opinion.

Thank you in advance.

abmj-jr

You will not be doing much hiking and nature viewing on Hokkaido in February. That is the dead of winter. Sapporo hosts the snow sculpture festival in February.

RichardInSF

Except during very peak times, visitors with foreign passports can do domestic flights for about $100 each.

The train trip from Tokyo to Sapporo is impractical unless you are a train buff.

The train system is not as extensive in Hokkaido as in Honshu. A rental car can be a very good idea.

abmj-jr

Gotta disagree with the above. I spent almost 2 weeks wandering all around Hokkaido using only trains and buses. Had a great time, saw everything I wanted and never had to worry about fuel, parking, tolls or tiny rental cars.

A car is good for many but you can certainly enjoy the island without one.

shuigao

That doesn't sound very right. I'm doing NRT-CTS returns in October for less than usd150 per person. Try searching on Jetstar.

evergrn

Or 5000 UA miles one-way.


I'm not a train buff, but recently did Otaru>Sapporo>Hakodate>Aomori>Tokyo in a half-day. Left ~noon, arrived ~9.30pm.


You obviously know Hokkaido better than I do. I recently went for the first time in years, and it was a limited trip at that. So my experience may have been an exception rather than the rule. But based on this one experience (and I've seen blogs of other people whose stories corroborate with mine), my impression is that JR Hokkaido completely sucks. I landed in Jpn and then went to inquire about reserved seats for travel from Aomori to Hakodate the next day. None available. So then I started asking about numerous other segments for 3d, 4d, 7d later. For one segment, I got 3 seats all separated. For the others, everything was sold out, including Green Cars. Wt*?!! We're not talking obon, Golden Week, New Years. This would never happen with JR East/West. I asked the guy at Midorinomadoguchi wth is going on, and the guy says this is common for trains in Hokkaido. So we did 自由席(non-reserved). What an f'ing stress to do this one day after another, esp with 2 kids in tow. And the 自由席 compartments are standing-room only on the aisle. Even if you're lucky to get a seat, you can't even get up to go anywhere. These are ordinary July weekdays before school's out. And most of our trains ran at least a couple minutes late.

I NEVER drive in Jpn, but in Hokkaido I had to make an exception. I quickly figured out there're too many places in Hokkaido that are practically non visit-able without a car, even though there are slow, infrequent buses that will take you there. I've got to admit, driving in Hokkaido was very manageable and even enjoyable. If you're from US, you just have to constantly tell yourself "stay left, stay left!" Of course, I just mindlessly followed GPS Navi. If you don't understand Japnese, though, how does one follow Navi?

Wongo

I concur this info as well. I was trying to use my Green Pass for 3 of us and I had to get mom and her friend in Green then I had to book Reserve Seat mix with Green Seat. Started in Hakodate in green, then moved to Reserve from Toya to Noboribetsu.
Even the Conductor was giving me funny looks but personally really wanted to get the most out of my pass.
Anyhow, ANA 10800 yen per flight is good deal. I flown KIX-HKD that normally would have cost a good part of a leg for locals.

shuigao

Google Maps + a local sim card with data (or a pocket wifi) works beautifully for the Japanese language-challenged.

armagebedar

Hokkaido is full of tourists these days, especially from other parts of Asia (i.e. China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, etc.), so this is not surprising. JR Hokkaido also has limited ability to increase services due to their financial situation, so I wouldn't expect it to improve in the near future.

Wongo

Better then Osaka and Toyko. from my last trip.

beep88

If there is a passenger, s/he would monitor the screen and announce up-coming turns and exits, etc. If it's just by yourself, I guess you'll just have to pay more attention to it. Some rental companies (especially in Hokkaido) do guarantee English car Navi.

Of course you can use Google Maps, but the route options are usually inferior and sometimes impractical. I have done the side-by-side compare over several rentals.

Other issues with Goolge Maps: can't search by phone number, map data can be outdated and causes serious detours.

I was looking for Uniqlo in Takayama early this year. Car Navi data outdated - phone number search did not work. Google Maps led me to the old store location and it's a men's suit store. Turns out "Map Fan +" worked the best. Free app, only available from the Japanese iTune store. Essentially Japanese interface only with available English voice prompt. Can search by phone number. True Japanese routing algorithm.

evergrn

That's a shame they can't improve the situation. Must leave a poor impression on foreign visitors who came to Jpn expecting train travel to be smooth and comfortable.

evergrn

You are right about Google Maps. I've not used Google Maps to road-navigate me in Jpn. But if it works anything like it does in the US, it would've been woefully inadequate. On the other hand, Jpnese Navi is extremely detailed and accurate down to the lane, and it will say things like "take a left just after you pass Lawson on the lefthand side." Driving in Jpn for me is so nerve-wrecking that I definitely needed that level of guidance to feel comfortable. So I take my hats off to non-Japnese speaking visitors who manage to drive in Jpn.

jpatokal

Psst: next time you're poking anywhere around Japan on Google Maps, take a look at the copyright notice at the bottom. What's it say? Oh: Zenrin, the same company that supplies the maps for the majority of Japan's car navigation systems.

Also, Google Maps Navigation added lane guidance in mid-2014 in most countries, although I don't believe it's available in Japan yet.

(Obligatory disclaimer: I worked on maps at Google until recently.)

keisari

I will try Jetstar. on ANA, JAL, expedia, prices are crazy for Feb/March or even April

@evergrn;
UA.com does not show anything with miles for the HND-CTS.

So to summarize, train trip from Tokyo to Hokkaido is NOT recommended while train trips inside Hokkaido may be OK
Any other comments about where to stay or how to plan my 4-5 day vacation?
I understand February is snowy and cold, how about mid March? will I be able to "enjoy" the outdoors? Keep in mind that I am accustomed to Northern Cali weather.