We finally made it to Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands!
I have heard so much good things about Hokkaido from friends, relatives and fellow travellers but somehow we had defer a visit to Hokkaido for many years.
Hokkaido offers unspoiled natural sights, peaceful and luxurious onsen (hot spring), mountain trails will take hikers across still active volcanoes, quaint coastal villages, interesting local cuisine and the freshest seafood in the country and many more. As someone who enjoys nature, hiking, good food and good company, Hokkaido was a perfect place to visit in August.
For this trip, my wife and I would be travelling with my son who managed to find time from work to join us.
Getting a rental car is the best way to explore this wild Japanese island with plenty of nature and hiking trails. Having a car makes it much easier to reach the many hiking trails and national parks. The car would be used to explore the wilder parts of Hokkaido while we would use public transport and lots of walking in the cities (Otaru and Sapporo).
The Toyota Corolla Hybrid was a nice car to drive and is spacious for our group of 3 adults and suitcases.
I decided to rent the car from Toyota-Rent-Car with car pickup upon arrival from the New Chitose Airport and car return at Otaru. This rental agency has offices in both places. There is a one-way drop fee of 1650 Yen which is reasonable considering the time and money I would save.
We made sure the car came with the ETC card reader and card. ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) is a system that enables the payment of expressway tolls without having to stop, by means of wireless communication between an antenna located at the toll booth, and the ETC card (IC card) inserted into the card holder in your vehicle.
We also bought the Hokkaido Expressway Pass to enjoy unlimited use of Hokkaido’s expressways, for one fixed price of 8,900 yen for the 9 days of car rental.
The following is the itinerary, with links to trip reports for the activities we did on each day.
Day 1 – Arrival at New Chitose Airport
We arrived at the New Chitose Airport in the evening around 5.30 PM. There is not much time for anything, so the plan for our arrival day in Hokkaido is simple - Collect our rental car from Toyota-Rent a Car at the airport, check into our hotel located near the airport, savour one of Hokkaido’s local cuisines (Soup Curry Garaku) during dinner and have a good rest.
Trip report: Enjoying Hokkaido’s famous soup curry at Garaku Chitose Branch
Where we stayed: Queen’s Chitose Hotel, a business hotel with free parking and good clean rooms and only a 5 minutes drive from Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport.
Day 2 – Travel from Chitose to Asahikawa
This was the day when we started on our 8 days road trip to explore the North Eastern part of Hokkaido. Our plan for the day was to drive from Chitose to Asahikawa via Furano and Biei with a few stops and activities along the way.
There are many attractions located in Furano and Biei. We chose the following to visit on our way to Asahikawa.
- Farm Tomita.
- Lunch at Yuiga Doxon in Furano
- Furano Cheese Factory
- Furano Marche
- Drive down the Panorama Road near Biei
- Shirogane Blue Pond
- Shirahige Waterfall
Trip report: From Chitose to Furano with stops at Furano Cheese Factory and Furano Marche.
Trip report: Shirogane Blue Pond and Shirahige Waterfall in Biei.
I had specifically chosen Yuiga Doxon in Furano for our lunch. The signature food of Furano is omukare (omelette, rice and curry) and this particular restaurant is reputed to use 29 spices to make their curry and also makes their own smoked sausages.
Trip report: Lunch at Yuiga Doxon in Furano.
Asahikawa was where we stayed on Day 2 and Day 3 of our road trip in Hokkaido. Our plan for our first dinner at Asahikawa was at Jingisukan Daikokuya. This restaurant serves the best Jingisukan or “Genghis Khan” where lamb and mutton are grilled on a round cast-iron grill that resembles an ancient Mongolian army helmet.
We arrived at around 7 PM and the queue was too long. We went to Furarito Alley and ate at a local izakaya instead.
Where we stayed:
Mimatsuso Ryokan is a rustic 50-year-old ryokan located within walking distance to the JR Asahikawa Station, eateries and shopping street in downtown Asahikawa. After a day of driving in a road trip, it felt good to explore the city on foot.
We stayed in a Japanese-Style Single Room and a Twin Room with Shared Bathroom.
Overall we had a good stay in Mimatsuso Ryokan.
Trip report: Our stay in Mimatsuso Ryokan in Asahikawa.
Day 3 - Hike at Mount Asahidake and explore Biei.
Daisetsuzan National Park is a popular place for hiking in the summer months of July and August and is easily accessible by car from Asahikawa.
In the park is Mount Asahidake, Hokkaido’s highest mountain at 2291 meters. We chose to do the 1.7 km Sugatami Pond Loop Trail that is accessible by the Asahidake Ropeway.
Scenic drive through Biei’s farmlands.
After our hike, we drove to Biei and had lunch at Farm Chiyoda, a restaurant serving wagyu beef!
Trip report: Farm Chiyoda in Biei.
We finished our lunch by 3 PM. My original itinerary is to explore the sights of Biei such as the Ken and Mary Tree, Zerubu Hill and various observatory parks scattered around Biei scenic farmlands.
It had been a hot day and we were feeling a little tired. We decided to abort our planned exploration and photo shoots and head back to Asahikawa early for a rest before heading out for dinner at Jingisukan Daikokuya.Rain started just as we arrived back at our hotel (Mimatsuso Ryokan). After a short rest, we went out for dinner at about 5 pm a and managed to eat the famous Jingisukan or “Genghis Khan” at Jingisukan Daikokuya.
Trip report: Our evenings in Asahikawa with dinner at Yakitori Gin’neko and Jingisukan Daikokuya.
Day 4 - Scenic drive to Utoro, gateway to Shiretoko National Park via Abashiri.
After staying 2 nights in Asahikawa, our road trip continued with a long drive on this day from Asahikawa to Utoro via Abashiri. Utoro is located along the western coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula and serves as a principal access point for the beautiful Shiretoko National Park. Hence it is a good place to stay when exploring the national park.
The total distance for the day’s road trip was almost 300 km. To make the drive more interesting, my itinerary included sightseeing stops that required a few minor detours.
Ginga and Ryusei Falls.
The planned stops were:
- Ginga and Ryusei Falls and Obako
- Ozoracho Himawari sunflower field next to Memanbetsu Airport
- Brief stop at Meruhen no Oka viewpoint for photos.
- Lunch at Abashiri town.
- Driving down the “Road to the Sky” with a brief stop at the "Road to the Sky" viewpoint (location in Google Map).
- Onnebetsu Bridge to see salmon swimming up river and fisherman catching salmon. (only recommended during the months when salmon comes back to spawn upriver)
- Oshinkoshin Falls.
- Look out for Gamera (Turtle Rock) as we approached Utoro.
"Road to the Sky" viewpoint.
After check-in at hotel, we went see sunset at Yuhidai observatory. It is on the hill which overlooks the town of Utoro.
We had dinner at a small restaurant in Utoro harbour called the Enshi Suisan.
Trip report: Road trip from Asahikawa to Utoro via Abashiri.
Where we stayed: We stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment at the Iruka Hotel in Utoro for two nights. This air-conditioned apartment is located on the ground floor, has our own private entrance and free parking just outside. It features a kitchen with refrigerator, microwave and utensils where we could cook simple breakfast with items bought from the convenient stores (a Seicomart and a 7-eleven) in Utoro.
Day 5 - Explore Shiretoko National Park
Shiretoko National Park covers most of the Shiretoko Peninsula at the north-eastern tip of Hokkaido. It is one of Japan's most beautiful and unspoiled national parks. We had an early start on this day as we had lots of activities planned in Shiretoko National Park.
Before heading into Shiretoko National Park, we made a stop at Utoro Fishing Port where there is a rooftop viewing area called the Utoro Salmon Terrace. Visiting Shiretoko during late August presented us with an opportunity to see salmon being landed at the Utoro Fishing Port
Salmon being unloaded at the Utoro Salmon Terrace.
Trip report: Utoro fishing port - Watching salmon being unloaded at Salmon Terrace.
The main highlight for the day was the hike at Shiretoko Five Lakes or Shiretoko Goko.
One of the lakes at the Shiretoko National Park.
The 3.6 km long hiking trail offers beautiful views of the five lakes, wilderness with surrounding mountains in the background and provide visitors an easy way to experience Shiretoko's unspoiled nature.
This trail is opened from mid-April to mid-November but often closed due to the presence of dangerous brown bears which roam freely in the park. It is important to check the status of the trail before going as the trails may get closed in case of bear sightings.
We were fortunate to come on a day when the ground trail was open and we were also blessed with excellent weather.
Trip report: Hiking the Shiretoko Five Lakes nature trail at Shiretoko National Park.
My original plan was to drive on an unpaved road to see the Kamuiwakka Hot Falls after the Five Lakes hike. We skipped going to the Kamuiwakka Hot Falls as they did not allow visitors to self drive to the falls during this period.
So after our morning hike at the Shiretoko Five Lakes, we took a drive through the Shiretoko Pass (740 meters above sea level) to Rausu. Rausu is a coastal town located on the opposite side of the Shiretoko Peninsula and is well-known across Japan for the vast variety of fresh seafood which is fished on its coast.
We ate at the highly raved seafood restaurant called Jun no Banya in Rausu. Ran by several local ladies, Jun no Banya serves fantastic local seafood.
This old fisherman hut by the sea is actually an awesome seafood restaurant.
Jun no Banya is a gem of a place for lunch in Rausu.
I have always enjoyed learning more about the places I visited. Hence we made a worthwhile stop at the Shiretoko Rausu Visitor Center on our way back to Utoro from Rausu.
The visitor center is located along the Shiretoko Pass, just outside Rausu. There are excellent displays and information on Shiretoko National Park's natural environment, the history and culture of the park, including an eye catching skeleton of a killer whale (or orca) hanging from the ceiling and very interesting taxidermy of Shiretoko wildlife including the brown bears, seals, fish owls and eagles.
There is a viewpoint at the highest point along the Shiretoko Pass where one could catch a view of Mount Rausu.
Just before arriving at Utoro, we made a stop at the Shiretoko Nature Center. There is a trail course (about 20 minutes walk) to the Furepe Waterfall that starts from this place. My original plan was to do the short hike to the coast to see the Furepe Falls after our coffee. However, we were a little tired and the weather was just too warm. We curtailed our original plan and went back to our hotel to chill instead.
We selected Namishibuki as our place for dinner on the second night of our stay in Utoro. Namishibuki is a popular ramen restaurant next to the sea.
Trip report: Dinner at Namishibuki in Utoro.
Day 6 - Explore attractions in Akan Masshu National Park.
After staying 2 nights in Utoro where we explored the Shiretoko National Park, we continued our road trip with a short drive to the Akan Mashu National Park.
Our route would pass by Shari town, which gave us another opportunity to visit the Road to the Sky viewpoint (location in Google Map) and also a sunflower field (location in Google map) that we saw a few days ago when we were on our way to Utoro.
We continued towards Akan Mashu National Park by driving down the Road to the Sky. It was fun driving in the rural area of Hokkaido with views of farmlands and mountains in the background.
Mount Shari could be seen as we drove towards Akan Mashu National Park.
One of the good things about visiting Hokkaido in summer is that we could potentially observe the salmon swimming up the river to their spawning grounds. Along the way, these fish may have to jump up and over waterfalls.
One of the best places to watch salmon jumping up and over waterfalls in Hokkaido is the Sakura Fall or Sakura-no-taki. Few knew of this place and the only way to get to the falls is by car (location of car park in Google Map).
Salmon jumping at Sakura Falls.
From Sakura Falls, we continued our journey towards Kaminokoike (our next sightseeing stop) located in the Akan Mashu National Park. Kaminokoike is a small pond 5 meters deep and 220 meters in circumference. Depending on the weather, the surface of the water looks emerald blue, which is very mysterious.
Although small, the water in Kaminokoike is extremely clear and blue!
After visiting Kaminokoike, we went to an excellent place called Marufu Coffee Roastery (location in Google Map) near the small town of Midori for a break before continuing our drive to Mount Io.
Mount Io or Iozan translated as "Sulfur Mountain" is an active volcano in the vicinity of Kawayu Onsen. We walked around the steaming, smoking area at its base and see the volcanic activity up close.
Mount Io or Iozan translated as "Sulfur Mountain".
After lunch at a restaurant (Otafuku Syokudo) in Kawayu Onsen, we proceeded to Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo.
Lake Mashu is actually a caldera of a dormant volcano and is supposed to be one of the clearest in the world and one of the deepest in Japan.
Walking to viewpoint at Lake Mashu.
Like Lake Mashu, Lake Kussharo is also a caldera lake. There are several free public onsens scattered along the shores of Lake Kussharo.
Sunayu Onsen is an interesting place to visit on Lake Kussharo as the hot spring water is directly surfacing on a beach!
A chance to dig your own hot spring footbath on the sandy shores of Lake Kussharo at Sunayu Onsen.
For coffee break, we went to Kanon Coffee & Sweets. This is cafe serving coffee and handmade sweets, located in the forest by Lake Kussharo.
Where we stayed: Located between Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo, Kawayu Onsen is a good place to stay when visiting the two lakes in the Akan Mashu National Park. It is also right next to Iozan, which is the source of the water for this hot spring town (onsen). We stayed at a onsen hotel called Hotel Parkway with dinner and breakfast included.
Day 7 – Hiking up Mount Meakan and exploring Akanko Onsen
The plan for the day is to drive south and explore the attractions around Lake Akan (Akan-ko).
For the guys, we did a tough hike to the summit of Mount Meakan, an active volcano in the Akan Mashu National Park, that offers breathtaking views not only of the mountain's deep main crater, but also of another, much flatter crater to the north and of the beautiful cone-shaped peak of Akanfuji nearby.
The weather was not good but we pressed on to reach the summit.
Foggy conditions at the crater rim of Mount Meakan.
My wife, who was not keen to join us, explored Akanko Onsen while we were up in the mountain.
Places she visited in Akanko Onsen includes the Akanko Eco Museum, Ainu Koten, Lake Akan and its mud volcanos called bokke).
Mud volcano at Akanko Onsen.
Wild deer spotted while hiking to the mud volcano.
Trip report: Hiking Mount Meakan and exploring Akanko Onsen.
Where we stayed : We stayed at the La Vista Akangawa Hotel. located in a tranquil forest, 5 km away from Akanko Onsen.
This luxury hotel offers breathtaking views of the Akan River (Akangawa) and the virgin forests from all guest rooms. This hotel has nice public and private onsens too.
Trip report: Our stay at La Vista Akangawa, a luxury hot spring hotel located in Akanko Onsen.
Day 8 – Travel to Otaru from Lake Akan
After a early morning walk around the shores of Lake Akan and a nice breakfast at the La Vista Akangawa hotel, we took a long drive, mostly on the expressways, from Lake Akan to Otaru.
The first part of our drive was from our hotel (La Vista Akangawa) in Akanko Onsen, via Ashoro, to Obihiro. I deliberately planned a lunch stop at Obihiro to try the Buta-don (rice topped with strips of barbequed pork). Obihiro is the birthplace of the Buta-don.
We also made a brief sightseeing stop at Lake Onneto.
Trip report: Lake Onneto and trying the famous butadon at Obihiro.
From Obihiro, it was a long drive to Otaru, via Sapporo. Just before reaching Sapporo, we detoured to the Hill of the Buddha, located in the southern outskirt of Sapporo city. The Hill of the Buddha is a shrine that features a 13.5 meter tall statue of the Buddha that is encased in a hill, with the head of the Buddha peeking from the top. Located at the Makomanai Takino Cemetery, this architectural wonder was designed by Tadao Ando, an architect famous for working on many creative buildings both within and outside of Japan.
There are also replicas of the Easter Island Moai statues and Stonehenge at this place.
Easter Island Moai statues at the Makomanai Takino Cemetery.
Trip report: Hill of the Buddha, Easter Island Moai and Stonehenge.
We spent our first evening in Otaru exploring the famous Otaru Canal area and also had dinner at the Otaru Denuki Koji.
It is best to visit the Otaru Canal at night.
Gas lanterns line the Otaru Canal walkway and are lit at dusk, creating a romantic atmosphere.
Trip report: Otaru Denuki Koji and Otaru Canal in the evening.
Where we stayed : Our hotel in Otaru for 2 nights was the Otaru Authent Hotel. It is located in the central part of Otaru and within walking distance to key attractions and also the JR train station.
Day 9 - Explore the Shakotan Peninsula and return car at Otaru.
We started the day with a breakfast of delicious freshly cooked crabs at the Sankaku Market.
Sankaku Market is a great place to eat Hokkaido’s fresh seafood and is one of the few places in Otaru that opens early for breakfast. In fact, we had breakfast there on both days of our stay in Otaru.
Trip report: Our Breakfast at the Sankaku Market in Otaru.
After breakfast, we toured the beautiful coastline of the Shakotan Peninsula that is located on the north-western side of Otaru.
The famous sightseeing spots at the gorgeous Shakotan Peninsula and its beautiful blue seascapes are Shimamui Coast, Cape Shakotan, and Cape Kamui.
Hike to the end of Cape Kamui.
The gorgeous scenery along the trail plus the bonus of seeing a lighthouse and a set of rocks, known as the Kamui Rocks, jutting out from the blue sea is definitely worth the sweat and the workout.
Shakotan is also famous for producing the best sea urchin in Japan. We had one of the freshest sea urchin and seafood rice bowls for lunch.
Sea urchin rice bowl – must try when in Shakotan.
The waters off the Shimamui Coast on the Shakotan Peninsula are strikingly clear. This place is one of Japan's Top 100 most beautiful stretches of coastline.
We had time to view Ebisu Rock before returning to Otaru.
Trip report: Explore Cape Kamui and Shakotan Coast from Otaru by car.
We arrived back in Otaru at about 4 PM and returned our rental car at the Toyota Rent-a-Car office located near the Otaru JR Train Station after 9 days on the road. This marked the end of our road trip in Hokkaido.We spent the rest of the day exploring exploring Otaru’s Sakaimachi Street on foot. This is an attractive, preserved merchant street in central Otaru with many impressive Western style buildings that has been repurposed into quaint shops selling unique and handmade Japanese crafts and snacks. One could easily spent the whole day exploring this street.
Inside the Music Box Museum.
Most shops, including the Music Box Museum, closes at 6.30 PM so we need to go back the next afternoon to do shopping.
Trip report: Otaru’s Sakaimachi Street.
Day 10 - Visit to Nikka Yoichi Distillery from Otaru in the morning and travel to Sapporo by train in the afternoon.
We did a half day Nikka Yoichi Distillery tour in the morning. Yoichi is a small seaside town that lies between Otaru and Shakotan that is accessible by either train or public bus. This is a highly recommended activity for fans of whisky.
Trip report: Visit to Nikka Yoichi Distillery from Otaru.
We returned to Otaru for lunch and spent some time shopping at Sakaimachi Street again before taking the train to Sapporo.
There is not much planned for Sapporo on this night except dinner. We were craving for more Soup Curry, so that was what we ate.
Soup curry dinner at Sapporo.
Where we stayed: We stayed 2 nights at the Hotel Gracery Sapporo which is conveniently located next to the Sapporo JR station.
Day 11 – Exploring Sapporo
The plan for the day was to see some of Sapporo’s famous sights/attractions and do some shopping at Tanuki-koji Street.
I had some interesting sights mapped out on Google Map, such as Odori Park, Sapporo TV Tower, former Hokkaido Government Office, and Sapporo Clock Tower.
We spent more time at the Tanuki-koji Shopping street then actual sightseeing. Besides shopping there are plenty of eateries along the street.
Okonomiyaki lunch at a restaurant along Tanuji-koji shopping street.
The best time to see Susukino is at night. Iconic landmark in Susukino is the Nikka Whisky emblem.
Dinner was at Susukino. Susukino is Sapporo’s main entertainment area with many of Sapporo’s best restaurants, bars, cafes, clubs, cinemas, karaoke parlors, and hotels located here.
Trip report: Evening at Sapporo’s Susukino and Crab Miso Ramen dinner.
Day 12 – Our last day in Hokkaido
There was not much planned for our last day in Sapporo. We had an early lunch at Sapporo Kani-Honke, a well known crab restaurant in Japan.
Kanisuki (crab hotpot) at the Sapporo Kani-Honke.
Trip report: Crab Hotpot Lunch at Kani Honke Sapporo.
We traveled to the New Chitose Airport by limousine bus since it was the most convenient option for us. We had some time to explore the airport, have dinner and do some last minute shopping before our flight at 7 PM.
Overall, we had a wonderful time in Hokkaido. We enjoyed some family bonding time while enjoying the sights, activities and cuisine that Hokkaido offered. The above itinerary for a summer road trip at a leisurely pace went very well and made me wish we could do more of the same.
So, our next trip to Japan will be in autumn 2024. This time, it will be in the southern island of Kyushu!