Drive from Niseko to Hakodate with lunch at Harvester Yakumo

27 May 2026

Hakodate is a vibrant port city in southern Hokkaido known for its fresh seafood, 19th-century Western-style architecture, and spectacular night views. Located in the South-western part of Hokkaido, we did not have time to visit this city in our previous road trip in Hokkaido back in 2024. This time, we planned to spend 2 days in this city to explore its numerous attractions.

Getting to Hakodate from Niseko

After an overnight stay in Niseko and great breakfast at the Ki Niseko hotel, we did a 174 km drive from Niseko to Hakodate. Unlike the previous day, Mount Yotei was shrouded by low clouds in the morning.

Although there is an expressway E5 that could be slightly faster, I chose to travel all the way via National Route 5 which is more scenic and also toll-free. The journey was expected to take about 3 hours.

I planned a stop for lunch in Yakumo, a small coastal town along National Route 5. Harvester Yakumo is the perfect spot for a lunch break after a 1.5 hours drive from Niseko.

Harvester Yakumo

Harvester Yakumo is a Western-style restaurant located on a hill overlooking Funka Bay. There is a sign outside the restaurant that informed us that Yakumo is the birthplace of Japanese Herb Chicken, which is raised on a healthy diet of herbs, giving its meat an unbeatable delicate flavor.

Harvester Yakumo looks like a typical western farmhouse built with red bricks and dormer windows at the roof.

Ample free parking in front of the restaurant.

Upon stepping through the front door, a sign further explained the linkage of this restaurant to a certain Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Beside fried chicken, the menu also includes dishes such as pastas and freshly made pizzas that are baked in a stone oven.

We must try the fried chicken at this place. They actually tasted better than KFC, in my opinion.

We also ordered the Yakumo Beef and Pork Hamburg steak.

There are benches on the terraces with views of the farms below and Funka Bay in the distance. We spotted some crows, so we sat indoors to eat in peace.

Empty benches on the terraces.

View from the terrace of Harvester Yakumo.

Overall, we enjoyed our lunch at this restaurant with good food, good view and relaxing vibes.

Funkawan Bay Panorama Park

Right across the road from the restaurant is the Funkawan Bay Panorama Park. We made a quick stop to check out the ice-cream shop and souvenir store. There are also nice views of the bay from this place.

On to Hakodate’s

Goryokaku Fort

From Yakumo, it took us another 1.5 hours to get to the Goryokaku Fort. The fort was the first attraction we visited in Hakodate since it is located in the northern part of the city. We had just enough time to visit this attraction before checking into the JR Inn Hakodate, our accommodation in Hakodate.

Along the way, we drove past Onuma Quasi-National Park, a popular Hakodate attraction. This place features a forested park with hiking & cycling trails, campsites, a dormant volcano & boating on several lakes but we chose to give it a miss due to time constraint.

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Our Stay in Ki Niseko and dinner at Afuri

26 and 27 May 2026

In late May, after the ski season is over, the Niseko resort area is very quiet and many of the luxurious ski resort hotels are offering their rooms at bargain prices. We were spoilt for choices and we chose Ki Niseko.

Ki Niseko is a boutique ski-in, ski-out hotel located at the foot of Grand Hirafu Resort. During the off-peak season in late May it offered value for money accommodation.

We arrived at the hotel after visiting Mishima-san’s Shibazakura Garden in Kutchan and the Niseko Takahashi Farm.

Our Double Room

We stayed in a standard Double room facing Mount Yotei with breakfast included. The room size is 25 square meters which is quite adequate in terms of space and nicely furnished.

The only negative was that the central air-conditioning was not operating in spring. It was quite warm in the afternoon when we checked in. We had to open the window to let in the cool spring air. Unfortunately, there was some construction in front of the hotel, so it was quite noisy till the workers stopped work later in the evening.

Our Double Room with view of Mount Yotei on a clear day. The mountain was shrouded in clouds the next morning.

On hindsight, we could have saved some money by choosing a room facing the greenery on the other side.

Private onsen in Ki Niseko

Like most luxurious ski resorts or hotels in Niseko, there are nice hot springs facilities available for guests.

Ki Niseko has separate male and female hot spring baths (onsen), both with inside baths and outdoor stone rotenburo baths. The mineral rich onsen water comes from Ki Niseko’s own exclusive spring-water source which has a high mineral content to soothe and refresh the tired body.

In addition to the male and female public baths, Ki Niseko offers two private onsen rooms (Hinoki and Momiji). Reservations for the private onsen are only accepted after check-in and are limited to one per stay. Since we arrived quite early, we managed to use the private onsen before dinner.

Being able to soak our body and tired muscles in an onsen with temperatures over 40°C after a long day of driving and sightseeing was one of the most exquisite pleasures.

Private onsen at Ki Niseko.

Dinner at Afuri

We did not include dinner in our room booking since we planned to have dinner at Afuri, a well-known ramen restaurant that originates in Tokyo. Afuri now had a branch located in Niseko.

We took a slow 700 metres walk to Afuri which is actually located inside a neighbouring hotel (Setsu Niseko). Since we did not make a reservation, I was worried that it would be packed. My worries were unfounded. Being the off-peak season, we were the only customers when we arrived!

We were served by a friendly waiter named Taka who spoke good English. Besides ramen, the menu includes other options like appetisers, small plates like tofu, gyoza, tori karaage, tonkatsu, donburi, and soba.

We ordered their signature Yuzu Shio Ramen that cost 1650 JPY (tax included) and 6 pieces of gyoza that cost 990 JPY (tax included). 

Yuzu Shio (salt) Ramen with chicken broth, shio tare, bamboo shoot, muzuna greens, pork chashu, egg, yuzu and thin noodles.

The gyozas filled with pork, chicken, garlic, shitake. lotus root cabbage, green onions.

I loved the taste of the broth in the ramen. The acidity provided by the yuzu helps to balance the otherwise salty and savory taste.

Their gyozas were the best that we had eaten on this trip. They had nice soft skin wrapping the delicious fillings. The yuzu ponzu dipping sauce provided a nice balance.

We had the whole restaurant to ourselves until another group came in when we were about to finish. This place would surely be packed during the winter ski season where a nice hot bowl of ramen would surely warm the bodies after a day of skiing.

Across from Afuri is a Lawson convenient store with view of Mount Yotei behind. This Lawson Niseko Hirafu with Mount Yotei view could be a place to compete with the insta-worthy Lawson located in Fujikawaguchiko, with Mount Fuji view.

It was dark by the time we finished dinner so we went to the Lawson to grab some beer and snacks. No photos.

Breakfast at Ki Niseko

The buffet breakfast at Ki Niseko had delicious selection of both Japanese and Western options. 

We knew that the hotel would serve the famous Niseko Yogurt Drink comes from Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm (also known as Milk Kobo). I am normally not a fan of yogurt but this is a must try when in Hokkaido. The yogurt is thick, creamy, and does not have the “milky smell” that I do not like.

The famous Niseko Yogurt Drink comes from Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm (also known as Milk Kobo).

We took our time to enjoy the excellent breakfast before continuing our road trip to Hakodate.

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Exploring Niseko in late Spring – Mishima-san’s Shibazakura Garden and Niseko Takahashi Farm

26 May 2026

Most people flocked to Niseko resort area during the winter ski season for their very light, dry powder snow. Niseko's ski season typically runs from late November to early May. In late May, the ski season is over and the whole area transitions into a quiet, beautiful and green landscape. People may still come to this part of Hokkaido for rafting, golf, biking and hiking.

For us, we came to see Mr. Mishima's Garden in Kutchan where a vibrant blanket of pink moss phlox (shibazakura) blooms against the snow-capped Mount Yotei in late May.

Pink moss phlox (shibazakura) at Mr. Mishima's Garden in Kutchan.

The garden is a private residence that opens for free to the public. Due to the popularity, visitors flock to the garden. Being a private residential area, there are not much parking spaces. Temporary car parks were set up a few hundred meters away from the garden for visitors.

The weather during this time in Hokkaido was perfect for outdoor activity. We enjoyed the short walk to the garden.

We had seen an entire hillside covered with moss phlox in Takinoue a few days earlier. See this post: Hill of Pink at Takinoue Shibazakura Koen Park.

But this garden is something else!

The garden spans over 4,000 square meters. It was created by Mr. Kazuo Mishima, a retired local farmer. He spent decades hand-planting each tiny seedling to create his masterpiece that draws plenty of visitors every spring.

The colours of the tiny flowers came in white, pink, and purple. 

We spent some time to take photos of the landscape and the flowers. We also hunt for some lucky flowers. The flowers usually have 5 petals. It is considered lucky, very lucky or very very lucky to find flowers with 4, 6 or 7 petals.

During our visit to Takinoue’s Shibazakura Koen Park, we saw this poster.

My wife was super lucky to spot this 4-petal white moss phlox flower.

She also spotted the 6-petal and 7-petals flowers side-by-side! Super Super Super lucky! 

I think the shibazakura garden here is more photogenic with Mount Yotei in the background.

A mini moss phlox covered mountain inspired by Mount Yotei.

Compared to Takinoue’s Shibazakura Koen Park, this garden is much smaller but this is very pretty too and is definitely worth a visit. Personally, I think the shibazakura garden here is more photogenic with Mount Yotei in the background.

From Kutchan, we drove about 20 minutes to the Niseko Takahashi Farm. This place draws visitors in all season.

Hokkaido is famous in Japan for its fresh cow milk and the Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm is a great place to taste some fresh, local milk products. There are also a couple of restaurants in the farm.

We had our late lunch in the Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm Restaurant PRATIVO. The restaurant’s menu prioritizes using plenty of ingredients from Niseko and is mostly Western cuisine. We ordered the baked rice and Bolognese pasta. The portion size is not large but they are very delicious and value for money.

The restaurant provides panoramic views of Mount Yotei from every seat inside.

Baked rice with Hokkaido chicken and cheese in curry flavour.

Bolognese pasta with Hokkaido pork and beef.

While having my lunch, I noticed that they were plenty of yellow flowers outside. These are dandelions. I told my wife that they would make good photos with Mount Yotei in the background.

Snapping photos of the yellow dandelions flowers after lunch.

Yellow dandelions against the Mount Yotei backdrop.

A bright red tractor is also quite photogenic against the blue sky with patchy cloud formation.

A haystack for the photographer.

A good place to have dessert after lunch is at the Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm MILK KOBO. They serve a wide array of sweets using fresh milk directly from their own farm including many flavors of ice cream, cakes, yogurt, milkshakes & tarts. It is claimed that the variety of delicious sweets were made with milk that were freshly squeezed from the local cows the same morning.

Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm MILK KOBO.

The most popular item at Milk Kobo is the custard-packed cream puff. We bought the highly raved cream puffs and cheese tarts. The fillings in the cream puffs were quite watery and we had to be careful not to let the creamy goodness drip onto the floor. Thankfully boxes of paper tissues were freely available on the table top to mop up any spillage.

The highly delicious cream puffs and cheese tarts from Niseko Takahashi Dairy Farm MILK KOBO.

The fillings in the puff pastry could be a little thicker.

Enjoying our sweets and coffee with a nice view.

Mishima-san’s Shibazakura Garden and Niseko Takahashi Farm were the only two places that we visited in the Niseko resort area before checking in to Ki Niseko Hotel, our accommodation for one night.  

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Drive from Jozankei Onsen to Kutchan with stops at Nakayama Pass, Aikawa VIewpoint and Fukidashi Park

26 May 2026

After pampering ourselves in Jozankei Onsen, the next area to explore in our Hokkaido road trip was the Niseko resort area.

The Niseko area is the Japan’s most renowned ski destination, globally famous for its consistent, ultra-light powder snow. In late May, the ski season is over but there are still plenty to see and do in the area.

Three sizable towns are located around this area - Kutchan, Hirafu and Niseko. We will be driving to Kutchan to see some attractions located in this town before heading southwards to Hirafu and Niseko.

Kutchan is just about an hour’s drive from Jozankei Onsen via National Route 230 and 276. I had planned to make stops at Nakayama Pass, Aikawa Viewpoint and Fukidashi Park during this journey.

Nakayama Pass

Located about 30 minutes by car from Jozankei Onsen, Nakayama Pass is situated almost exactly in the middle of National Route 230, which crosses Shikotsu-Toya National Park.

From near the summit of this mountain pass, at an altitude of 836 metres, a magnificent panorama unfolds, including Mount Yotei. 

Mount Yotei is a beautiful, 1,898 meter inactive volcano in Hokkaido and it looks a bit like Mount Fuji in Tokyo with its near-perfect conical shape. Hence, people call it "Ezo Fuji” which means "Hokkaido’s Fuji".

A good place to stop is at the Nakayama Pass Roadside Rest Area (michi-no-eki). Like any typical michi-no-eki, there are ample free parking, restrooms, restaurants and stores selling local food and products.

Our first photo of Mount Yotei was at Nakayama Pass Roadside Rest Area.

This roadside station was bustling with people. In there, there is a store selling the famous "ageimo" (fried potatoes). This famous store has sold their fried potato since 1968 and there is always a queue. We had to buy the ticket for the food from a machine before presenting it to the staff at the collection counter.

Queuing to collect our food.

The "ageimo" here comes with three fried potatoes on a single skewer.

There is an eating corner with different condiments that we could add to our ageimo. We chose to eat it “as is” first before adding some spicy sauce.

The freshly cooked ageimo was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Definitely a good, delicious snack on a road trip.

Aikawa Viewpoint

View of Mount Yotei for most of the drive towards Kutchan.

Shortly after passing through the small town of Kimobetsu, we drove along National Route 276. We were lucky to see Mount Yotei on this fairly clear day.

View of Mount Yotei from the car as we drove along National Route 276. The road along this highway seems to point directly at the mountain.

There is a small viewpoint parking along this highway where we made a brief stop to snap some photos.  Google Map location here. 

We saw some people risking their lives by standing in the middle of the highway to get the “perfect” shot. Not us.

We made a brief stop to snap some photos.

 

Fukidashi Park

Scenic drive towards Kutchan.

Our last stop before arriving at Kutchan is Fukidashi Park, located at the foot of Mount Yotei. Admission is free of charge.

Fukidashi Park is a serene spot where visitors can rest and relax.

This park is renowned for having one of the highest spring discharge rates in Japan with a daily flow of approximately 80,000 tons of water. Rain and snow from Mount Yotei,  slowly filtering through layers of volcanic rock over many years, emerge as a gently purified spring of renowned water that is rich in minerals.

The water can be freely drawn from various spring points within the park. Kept at a constant temperature of approximately 6.5°C all year round, the spring feels instantly refreshing.

We saw local residents with large plastic containers on a push-cart coming to collect nature’s gift.

Pipes draw water from the natural spring to allow for easy collection.

Visitors are encouraged to bring bottles or flasks. We also collected some to try.
Long exposure photo of the spring cascade.

 Footpath and bridge over the spring.

Spring water is also emerging from the top of this pile of mossy rocks.

After a relaxing stroll through Fukidashi Park and tasting the famous spring water, we continued on our drive to our next destination in Kutchan. The drive was very scenic, with views of Mount Yotei in the background.

Mount Yotei with the flat top that is the crater.

Next Post: Exploring Niseko Area in late Spring – Mishasan’s Shibazakura Garden and Takahashi Diary Farm.

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