Itinerary Ideas Needed for Hokkaido
 

My wife and I are going to Hokkaido next July for 10 days and see that there's a wide variety of things to do and see there. Can anybody share some itineraries of what they have done for ideas? I'm not sure whether to rent an RV, a car, fly or do the rail pass. We are both active and everything looks great so it's hard to narrow down. Thanks!

If it's summer, rent a car. Don't do the rail pass (see the thread I just happened to create). While driving anywhere in Jpn is nerve-wrecking for me (due to driving on the wrong wide, if you're coming from Amercia), it still beats relying on JR Hokkaido and buses. There are many great places in Hokkaido that are not convenient to get to unless you have a car.

When you say you're both active and everything looks great, what activities do you and what looks great?

For first-timer and you just want to limit yourself to like 4-hour radius of Sapporo, definitely at least a couple days in Sapporo (shopping, eating), ski jump place (loved it personally), Shiroikoibito chocholate factory (1-2 hrs), few hours to max 1 day in Otaru (not that interesting imo), Asahiyama Zoo if you fancy animals, Shakotan Peninsula, Furano-Biei corridor for flower fields and farm restaurants/shops and other agro-tourism, Asahidake Ropeway, Souunkyou, Noboribetsu or Jozankei for onsen, Niseko for river sports and other physical activities. Hakodate is a bit out of the way, but it does have a great touristy seafood market and some people love it there. If you want to spread your wings, you could head out to Tokachi (some more agri-tourism stuff) and even Kushiro and Shiretoko.

The itinerary for my first (and only) trip to Hokkaido is here on blog if you're interested. Rough outline:

Sapporo - Mt Moiwa, morning markets, genghis khan
Otaru & Cape Kamui
Furano, Biei, Sounkyou Onsen, Asahikawa
Jozankei/Hoheikyou Dam, Noboribetsu,
Hakodate

Of the list, in July ... I think I might not bother with Hoheikyou Dam as it's really pretty during autumn, but not so much in summer.
Also, "active" is a bit ambiguous but if you mean you like to take walks and hikes, there's quite a bit of that to be done in both Sounkyou Onsen / Asahidake Onsen and Noboribetsu.

Going to eastern Hokkaido for the first time ever.
We don't have a lot of time. only 2 days to go from Memanbetsu to Niseko.
I realize most people take longer to see things, but I just want to make sure this is doable.
Also traffic is pretty smooth sailing in your experience?
Let me know if there's anything that looks infeasible.

Day 1:
morning: Memanbetu to Utoro (1hr drive)
10:30a-1p: Shiretoko cruise
1:30p-4p: Go spend 1hr at Shiretoko 5 lakes, then driver over the pass to Rausu. **Is there any place stopping over the pass? (mind u we don't have much time to spare)**
4-5p: Hang out in Rausu, although not sure what is there. **If someone has a good cheap food rec there, that's great (like crab, but don't care for uni, ikura, raw fish, etc.)**
5-7.30p: 2.5hr drive to Kushiro.

Day 2:
8a: leave Kushiro for the swamp viewpoint called Hosooka Viewpoint (40min drive)
Spend 20min at Hosooka Viewpoint (there's not much there, correct?)
3hr drive to Rokka no Mori south of Obihiro
Hang out at Rokka no Mori for 2 hours
2-7.30p: 4.5hr drive (plus dinner) to Niseko

Since I didn't drive while there I can't comment on your driving itinerary. If you are at all interested in nice photo opportunities, be sure to get to the Nusamai Bridge over the Kushiro River in downtown Kushiro just before sunset. There will most likely be some competition for good spots but the photos ops are wonderful. Can't promise the kayaker will show up.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Ja.../DSC2388-L.jpg

A few years ago I went to Shiretoko and travelled from Memanbetsu to Utoro and Rausu without a car in early July. Even with a car Day 1 seems a little too ambitious.

Memanbetsu to Utoro will take longer than one hour (1hr28min according to Google) and you are expected to check in for a cruise 30 mins before departure. If you leave Memanbetsu early enough it should be doable. There are several types of cruises from Utoro. I booked one which lasted 3 hours and went to Shiretoko Misaki but due to adverse weather, which is common in this part of Hokkaido, it was cancelled and I went instead on a shorter cruise which went as far as Rusha Kaigan where bears are often spotted. This shorter cruise lasted about 2 hours.

If you want to see all Shiretoko Five Lakes during the “bear season” (May 10 - July 31) you have to join a ranger-led walk lasting about 1.5hr. Without a guide during the season you can follow a boardwalk which is about half a mile long and takes you to viewpoints overlooking Lake One (一湖) and the Sea of Okhotsk. Outside the bear season you can walk on the trail which passes all 5 lakes without a guide but you have to attend an orientation talk before setting off.

There is a viewpoint on the road between Utoro and Rausu with a good view of Mount Rausu and towards Kunashiri Island. But I found Rausu rather underwhelming. I believe it’s only worth going to the east coast of Shiretoko Peninsula if you are going to onsens like Seseki and Aidomari. There are more options for eating seafood in Utoro than in Rausu.

By all means drive up to the viewpoint on Shiretoko Pass but if there is still time I’d rather go to Oshinkoshin Falls, Furepe Falls and Kamuiwakkayu Falls which are all close to Utoro. I only managed to see the first because the footpath to the second was closed due to a bear being spotted earlier in the day and a shuttle bus to Kamuiwakkayu was only running in August.

Some photos of bears by fishermen’s huts near Rusha Kaigan and a view of Kunashiri Island from Shiretoko Pass.

I think Newbie's comments are on point. I spent a few days hiking around Utoro and Rausu. Unfortunately, I didn't get to climb Mt. Rausu because of poor weather. I think there's some great countryside to explore around there, but I'm not sure how much you'll get from a whistle stop drive through. Maybe you'll see one or two picturesque scenes on the way over the pass.

As Newbie said, Rausu is quiet - the only memories I have of it are the seaweed drying on the shoreline, the very seaweedy miso soup that we had with dinner, the bathhouse in the woods at the back of the minshuku, and the deer that were poking around as I emerged from my bath. I loved it. I have a feeling that evergrn would not. For that reason, I think you might as well cut Rausu from the agenda and give yourself more time for the boat trip and sites around Utoro.

Agree with both jlb71 and NewbieRunner, the east side isn't that interesting. I drove to the end of the pavement on the east side and there wasn't much to see or do.

Sorry I'm actually flying into Memenbetsu at night and then spending the night at a place called Shari from where Utoro is supposed to be an hour drive.
Also I had the time of the cruise wrong... it's 10a-1p. If I have to be there 30min before departure, I'd better leave Shari by 8.30am.
The one I booked is supposed to go all the way to the tip. That sucks that yours got cancelled. I hadn't even considered such possibility. The cruise seems like the highlight of visiting Shiretoko. Was the shorter cruise nice, and do they convert the 3hr cruise to the shorter one so that guests aren't completely left high and dry in case the longer cruise needs to be cancelled by weather?
Thanks for letting me know about the bear season. Didn't know about this either, but I guess I am going during the bear season and I will just stick to the boardwalk as we don't have a lot of time and I don't have the attention span for listening to rangers.
Oshirukoshin Falls is apparently on the way from Shari to Utoro. My guidebook says allow 30min, but isn't this waterfall just on the side of the road? Wouldn't a few minutes suffice for stopping by and taking pics?
Based on your comments, I will probably not bother checking out Rausu. But I still want to head to Kushiro that way because Google Map says it's only 20min longer via Rausu and moreover I'd like to check out the views of Russian islands.

I also flew to Memanbetsu, stayed overnight in Shari, then took a tourist bus from Shari to Utoro which stopped for 15 mins at Oshinkoshin Falls. From the car park you have to walk for a few minutes up to the viewing platform.

I had booked a 2pm cruise to Shiretoko Misaki with Dolphin Cruiser which operated a smaller, faster boat. The operator tried to call me 24 hours before the cruise to let me know it would be cancelled due to bad weather but since I had a different SIM in my phone they couldn’t contact me and instead sent me an email. (BTW I now carry a spare phone with my UK SIM with me when in Japan.) They didn’t rebook me automatically but there are multiple cruise operators and I was able to book an alternative, shorter cruise with another operator (Shiretoko Yūransen) which was one of the few cruises running that afternoon. You should sit on the right hand side on the way out. We passed some waterfalls including Kamuiwakkayu Falls but the weather was not at its best.

I stayed overnight in Utoro and joined a ranger-led walk around Shiretoko Five Lakes in the morning. If you can spare the time I recommend a guided walk as you will see so much more. Unlike the rest of Japan things don’t always happen like clockwork in Shiretoko as so much is dependent on nature - weather, bears, etc. - but that’s one of the main attractions of the place.

I also wanted to go to Rausu to see Kunashiri Island and weather on the east side of the peninsula turned out to be much better.

Some more photos of the cruise plus photos taken in Rausu from a hill overlooking the town.

While I’m at it here are some photos of Shiretoko Five Lakes including a ranger with a “recent bear sighting” map and evidences that a bear has been around recently.

I think you'll find the view of the "Russian islands" (don't let anyone hear you call them that) underwhelming. Here is how it looks on a good day with some magnification, if I'm not mistaken:
http://www.saiyu.co.jp/blog/wp-conte...80b8788b1a.jpg
An alternative would be to route through Akan Mashu National park, I think. I don't know how journey times compare, but I think you might find it more stimulating.

@NewbieRunner
Thanks for all the wonderful photos!
The second to the last photo on your first set is that of Kunashiri? If so, that's very nice.
Will leave Shari at 8.15am so that we can squeeze in the waterfall on the way to the cruise out of Utoro.
I'll have to look into the guided walk at the lakes... I have to see how feasible it would be to fit that into our time.

Mashuu Lake seems very nice, and it turns out it's the exact same travel time from Shiretoko Lakes to Kushiro via Mashuu Lake vs through Rausu. Let me think about it. It's just that seeing Northern Territories has been sort of a bucket list thing for me.

The photo was taken from Rausu Harbor so what you see in front of you can only be Kunashiri. I wanted to see how close it was to Hokkaido. And it was/is!

You may have seen this already but information about Shiretoko Five Lakes and guided walks may be found here: https://www.goko.go.jp/multilingual_...d_pathway.html