Will be visiting Japan in the first week of July, and I'm planning on visiting Sapporo - flying there directly. It was a choice between Sydney or Sapporo, two destinations with mild climate in Summer.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions:

1) What sights and/ or tours would you recommend to a first-timer in Northern Japan? I have only been to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

2) How many days would you recommend? I am so far thinking of a total of 5 days and four nights. Arrival day, three full days, then departure day.

I am mainly interested in: city tour, nature sights (gardens?), any theme parks worth visiting, and most importantly, food - I heard that the seafood is good, and also there is this Hokkaido curry?

Thanks for any info!

For your first time, Sapporo should offer you plenty of options. All transit to the rest of Hokkaido extends outwards from there anyways.

You�re probably thinking of Hakodate curry. In addition to Sapporo, Hakodate is also worth a visit IMO. The hike up the local mountain isn�t too strenuous, and the night view from the top of the ropeway is quite nice.

Normally I would recommend Otaru as well, but that�s been swamped by tourists lately.

Time permitting, I�d recommend Rishiri for the isolation, the scenery, and the seafood. Getting there and back is a bit of a trek though, unless you�ll be in Wakkanai anyways or fancy a flight from Chitose.

The best parts of Hokkaido in my opinion are the central and eastern parts, where there are a lot less people. You�d need to be able to drive though, as public transit is sparse.

Rishiri is on my list of places to visit, along with Rebun. I want to go in the early summer when the islands are covered in wild flowers, but I won't make it there this year. If you're flying from Sapporo, I think you need to fly from Okadama (OKD), which means a change of airports if you fly into Chitose (CTS).

The seafood is good but so is the dairy. I'm lactose intolerant and it's worth it. I really like Hokkaido milk pudding but some prefer cheesecake or soft serve.

The Hokkaido based kaiten sushi game is strong Hokkaido Suggestions European style breads are also good in Hokkaido https://discoverjapan.blog/329/ There's also more than one style of ramen in Hokkaido if corn and butter isn't your thing https://www.japan.travel/en/my/story/hokkaido-ramen/

July is also lavender season in Furano at the tourist farms. The main Farm Tomita location is reachable via public transit and would also have plenty of melon slices for sale. But I admit that Furano also has Furano Delice pudding https://maps.app.goo.gl/vh8cZwxWZxe1HJkH7 while Otaru has a variety of LeTao eateries and shops. I think LeTao recently opened a shop in Bellevue so perhaps not a big priority.

I'd also probably stop at the Royce World shop and chocolate factory tour if I were in the Sapporo area and had the time https://www.royce.com/cct/english/

It's also on my list of places to visit around the same time. I looked into it last year and one should book lodgings early for peak season. No surprise since they're small islands with limited availability.

ANA does direct flights from Chitose to Rishiri. That's who I've flown when I've previously visited, as it was way more convenient from Tokyo. Those flights are also timed well in that the closest incoming flight arrives at a nearby gate for the outgoing flight to Rishiri.

JAL (Hokkaido Air System) does Okadama to Rishiri.

ANA flight to Rishiri is seasonal (June to September apparently). Worth considering, I guess. I might try to go in May 2026. Will probably fly to Wakkanai and take the ferry.

Hokkaido curry = soup curry?

Indeed it's pretty tasty and hard to find elsewhere. Many outlets in Sapporo. Otherwise there are a few outlets in Tokyo (I think these are relatively new?) and in the US 1-2 places that make it (sort of) in NYC, none that I know of in LA or SF.

Even the milk itself there is very rich. I think it has more milkfat than those sold in the US?
I was going to suggest the Norokko if you're going to Furano, but it sounds like it has/will be discontinued.

If Whisky is your thing, there's the Nikka Whisky brewery in Yoichi.

I still think my visits to the north east tip of Hokkaido made for an excellent visit, at least to Shiretoko and Akan-Mashu national parks. You fly to Memanbetsu airport from Haneda and rent a car there. Public transit is not a viable alternative however, you need to self-drive. Shiretoko is quite scenic and from the NE side of the Peninsula you can actually see Rissua in the distance. Akan-Mashu national park is one of the few places in Japan where you can learn more about how the folks entering Japan from China way back when treated the native tribes, in this case the Ainu. It's unfortunately very similar to how Native Americans were treated in the USA.

Last time I visited Abashiri I took a train from Kushiro was pretty much was the only person on that train for half the ride. There were buses in city but pretty limited on where they went so I was only able to fit in the Abashiri Prison musuem and the Museum of the Northern Peoples during my stay.
Shibetsu has the Salmon Park and aquarium that I went to but that also needed a drive to get to.
Only thing about Akan was the Ainu 'village' there i visited felt more like a theme park with all the gift shops lining the whole row. I also wasn't a fan of the bears being locked up in fairly small cages at the Ainu museum in Shiraoi either.

Anybody been to Akkeshi? I was craving oysters and googled the best oysters in the world and Akkeshi, Hokkaido came up. It's way in the southeast though, so it's hard to get to.

It is definitely out of the way... my grandmother lives there and I visit every other year or so.
I fly HND-KUH, then shuttle bus to Kushiro station. Depending on my arriving timeframe I either take bus 25 or the train to Akkeshi. There's only 4-5 trains/buses a day so sometimes it is a long wait.
Akkeshi Conchiglie is walkable from the station, The fishery direct sales shop, A-Uroko is also a short walk away. I'd also suggest the Akkeshi Marine museum which is in between and free.
Akkeshi train station usually has a taxi sitting out front so it's not bad getting around once you're there, but if you're on the bus you can get off around Miyazono where there's some restaurants or take across the bridge to Matsubacho where there's some more.

Wanted to ask which is the best city tour operator for Sapporo? Is one day or half day enough?

My schedule:
Day 1: arrival at CTS at 430PM
Day 2: FREE (Not yet sure what to do)
Day 3: Furano tour with buffet
Day 4: Otaru whole day tour
Day 5: departing CTS at 430. Do I have enough time to shop at a department store in AM?

I am going to answer my own post, for the benefit of anyone who may want info regarding the same problem, since I have just completed my trip...

I booked all my tours using Get Your Guide, although the tour operators said they also advertise on Klook.

For Day 1, I took a walking tour which gave me a good overview of the city, and then a food crawl later that day.

Furano tour gave me a good overview of the area but I wish I spent more time at Farm Tomita to enjoy their pastries and more of their soft serve. Melon buffet was good. Furano melons are good but not life-changing as they imply them to be. For those who live in the US, often the Costco Tuscan-style melons can be as good, if not better. I heard that Yubari melons are better than Furano melons but that tour sold out two weeks in advance!

Half day Otaru was fine. 8 hours was overkill - unless you planned on soaking up all the seafood at Otaru market. If you think Sapporo seafood is good (and it is), I feel Otaru's is even better. And the shop owners in Otaru are very nice and personable compared to those at Nijo market.

I did not get to see Asahikawa or Hakodate or the Blue Pond. Will save that for next time.