When to go to Hokkaido?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: June to September, and February for the snow
At a glance
Why go to Hokkaido?
Hokkaido is Japan's big-sky country, settled only from 1869 onwards on Ainu land, with straight roads, farms with silos and towns laid out on an American-style grid. The island accounts for 22% of the national territory but only 4% of the population. You drive for an hour between two villages, pass foxes on the road and see red-crowned cranes in the Kushiro marshes. Upopoy, the national Ainu museum opened in 2020 in Shiraoi, at last tells the story of the indigenous people, their tattoos, songs and language, in a country that long denied them.
The climate sets the programme. Summer, with no rainy season and no oppressive heat, is the time for hiking in Daisetsuzan and Shiretoko, the lavender fields of Furano in July and cycling the roads of Biei. Autumn comes early, with red maples from mid-September at altitude. Winter buries the island under the dry, light snow that made Niseko's name, draws two million people to the Sapporo festival in February and pushes the drift ice of the Sea of Okhotsk right up to the beaches of Abashiri and Shiretoko.
The food follows the seasons and the cold sea. Shakotan sea urchin in June, Hakodate crab, salmon and salmon roe in autumn, Okhotsk scallops, all served raw on a bowl of rice at the morning market. Sapporo invented miso ramen and soup curry, Asahikawa champions its soy-sauce ramen and Hakodate its salt version. Genghis Khan grilled mutton is eaten around a domed hotplate with a Sapporo beer, brewed here since 1876. Farm milk ice creams and Yubari melon round off days on the road.
Map of Hokkaido: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Sapporo
- Otaru
- Furano
- Asahidake
- Utoro (Shiretoko)
- Hakodate
How much does a trip to Hokkaido cost?
Hokkaido is cheaper than Tokyo or Kyoto for sleeping and eating, but the car, cable cars and distances add up. In hostels, on ramen and by train, you can get by on €70 a day. A hot-spring ryokan and bowls of sea urchin push the bill beyond €200.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €60-90/day | Hostel or campsite, JR pass and buses, ramen and konbini, independent hiking |
| Comfort | €120-200/day | Business hotel plus a night in a ryokan, shared car, cable cars, kaisendon and Genghis Khan |
| Premium | €350+/day | Ryokan with private bath, Niseko lodge in winter, Shiretoko cruises, counter sushi in Otaru |
Withdraw cash from ATMs in 7-Eleven, Lawson and Seicomart (the local chain) convenience stores, which accept foreign cards, or at the post office in villages. Ramen shops, markets and small guesthouses run on cash, while hotels and petrol stations take cards. JR Hokkaido's Kitaca card, or a Suica, works on the Sapporo metro and suburban trains.
Is Hokkaido safe?
Hokkaido has no crime problem to speak of. The risks are natural and can be managed with a bit of method. Brown bears, around 11,000 on the island, kill one or two people a year: walk with a bell, leave no food outside and respect trail closures in Shiretoko. In winter, icy roads, snowstorms and motorway closures mean driving slowly, with snow tyres, and keeping a margin before your return flight; off-piste skiing at Niseko should be done with a guide and an avalanche transceiver. The volcanoes Usu, Tokachi and Meakan are active and monitored, with no-go zones signposted. The island suffered a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in 2018, followed by a two-day island-wide blackout. Ticks are present in long grass from June to September. Hospitals in Sapporo, Asahikawa and Hakodate are of a good standard, but the east of the island is a long way from anything.
What to see and do in Hokkaido
- Odori Park and the Sapporo Snow Festival
- Otaru Canal
- Furano lavender fields (Farm Tomita)
- The Biei hills and the Blue Pond
- Daisetsuzan and the Asahidake Ropeway
- Lake Toya and Mount Usu
- Shiretoko Peninsula
- Hakodate and Mount Hakodate
Sapporo
Japan's fifth city, 1.9 million inhabitants, laid out with a ruler in 1869 around Odori Park and its 1878 wooden clock tower. The Susukino district packs in 3,000 bars and restaurants, including Ramen Alley, and Nijo, the fish market, serves sea-urchin bowls from 7am. The Sapporo Beer Museum, in the 1890 red-brick brewery, is free to visit, with tastings extra. Mount Moiwa, by cable car, gives the night view over the city's illuminated grid, and Jozankei, 1 hour away by bus, offers hot baths in a gorge.
Otaru
A former herring and banking port 30 km from Sapporo, Otaru lives off its canal, its stone warehouses and Sakaimachi street, lined with glassworks. Above all, it is Hokkaido's sushi town: a whole street of counters around Sushiya-dori, with sea urchin, scallops and squid from the Sea of Japan. The Shakotan Peninsula, 1 hour's drive west, adds basalt capes plunging into navy-blue water, Cape Kamui with its 770-metre walk along the ridge, and sea urchin from June to August. Otaru is a day trip from Sapporo, or a stop on the way to Niseko.
Furano and Biei
The island's farming heartland, 2 hours from Sapporo, is explored by car or bike between 1 and 25 July for the lavender, but also in August for the sunflowers and in September for the harvest. Farm Tomita, Lavender East, Shikisai no Oka farm with its bands of flowers over 15 hectares, then the hills of Biei and the Blue Pond of Shirogane make up a day, finishing with a soak at the Shirogane hot springs. Furano is also a ski resort with colder, drier snow than Niseko, a renowned soup curry and a cheese factory. The local Furano-Biei train follows the valley.
Daisetsuzan
The roof of Hokkaido, reached by two cable cars: Asahidake on the western side, from Asahikawa, and Kurodake on the eastern side, from the Sounkyo gorge and its basalt columns. Between the two, a plateau at 1,700 metres takes five to seven days to cross on foot, with unstaffed huts and hot springs in the heart of the mountains. Day hikes are enough for most people: the Sugatami loop, the summit of Asahidake, the Kurodake ridge. Asahikawa, 330,000 inhabitants, serves as a base, with its zoo famous for the penguins that parade in winter.
Shiretoko
Japan's land's end, 6 hours' drive from Sapporo or a 45-minute flight to Memanbetsu. Utoro, on the Sea of Okhotsk side, is the base for the Five Lakes, the hot waterfalls of Kamuiwakka and cruises out to the cape, which show brown bears fishing on the shore in summer. Rausu, on the other side of the pass, looks across to the Russian-held Kurils 25 km away and runs orca trips in June and July, sperm whales in August and sea eagles on the drift ice in February. Roads beyond Kamuiwakka are closed to cyclists and pedestrians. Two nights is a minimum, one in Utoro and the other in Rausu.
Hakodate
The island's southern gateway, 4 hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen and 3 hours 30 minutes from Sapporo by express train. The morning market near the station, with its bowls of live squid and its crabs with their claws tied, opens at 5am. Motomachi and its churches are explored on foot down to the red-brick Kanemori warehouses, converted into shops. Goryokaku Fort is seen from above from its tower, a perfect star, pink with cherry blossom in early May. Yunokawa, 20 minutes away by tram, lines up hot-spring ryokan facing the strait, with monkeys bathing in the botanical garden in winter.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Four days are enough for Sapporo, Otaru and a day trip to Furano or Toya. A week covers the centre of the island with Daisetsuzan. Two weeks allow the full loop to Shiretoko and Hakodate, without more than three hours on the road a day.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Hokkaido guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Japan
Sapporo and Otaru in 4 days
Day 1: Odori Park, Nijo market, the beer museum and an evening in Susukino. Day 2: Otaru by morning train for the canal and sushi, returning via the Otaru brewery and Mount Moiwa at sunset. Day 3: car or train to Furano and Biei, lavender in July and the Blue Pond, with a night in Furano or Asahikawa. Day 4: back via Asahikawa zoo or the Jozankei baths, with an evening flight from New Chitose. In winter, swap Furano for a day's skiing at Niseko or the snow festival.
The heart of the island in 1 week
Two nights in Sapporo with a day trip to Otaru. One night at Lake Toya for Mount Usu, the fireworks and a soak overlooking the lake, with Noboribetsu and its Hell Valley on the way. Two nights in Furano for the Biei hills, the Blue Pond and the lavender. Two nights at Asahidake Onsen or Sounkyo for Daisetsuzan, with a day hike on Asahidake and a hot-spring bath in the forest. Back to New Chitose in 2 hours 30 minutes from Asahikawa. Around 700 km, car recommended, JR possible with buses.
The grand loop in 2 weeks
The one-week programme, then head east: two nights in Shiretoko, one in Utoro for the Five Lakes and the cruise, one in Rausu for the orcas or the drift ice. Head south via Lake Mashu, the clearest in the country, Lake Akan and its Ainu villages, and the Kushiro marshes with their red-crowned cranes, then the Pacific coast road to Obihiro and its red-bean sweets. Finish in Hakodate, two nights, with the mountain, the morning market and Goryokaku, and the Shinkansen to Tokyo. Around 2,000 km in total.
Getting there and getting around
New Chitose Airport (CTS), 45 km from Sapporo, is linked by the Rapid Airport train in 37 minutes for 1,150 yen. No direct flights from Europe: connect in Tokyo, then 1 hour 35 minutes with around fifty flights a day, or via Helsinki with Finnair in some seasons.
A car is the easiest way to get around outside Sapporo: €50-80 a day, with winter tyres included in winter. Distances are long: Sapporo to Shiretoko is 400 km. Foreign licences must come with either an International Driving Permit or, for some countries, an official Japanese translation, arranged before you leave.
The JR network links Sapporo with Hakodate, Asahikawa, Furano, Kushiro and Abashiri, with a 5- or 7-day Hokkaido pass at around 21,000 and 27,000 yen. The Shinkansen stops at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, 4 hours from Tokyo; its extension to Sapporo will not arrive before the 2030s.
Long-distance buses fill the gaps in the rail network: Sapporo-Furano in 2 hours 30 minutes, Asahikawa-Asahidake Onsen in 1 hour 30 minutes, Sapporo-Niseko in 3 hours. Within Sapporo, three metro lines and a tram are all you need, with Kitaca or Suica cards. Bikes can be hired at every country station.
Where to stay in Hokkaido?
Hostels in Sapporo, Furano and Hakodate: €20-35 a bed, €50-70 for a double room, with a shared kitchen. Municipal campsites, very numerous and often free or €5, are used from May to October by car or bike.
Business hotels in Sapporo, Asahikawa and Hakodate: €60-110 a room, with a shared bath and a breakfast buffet often included. During the snow festival and in August, prices double and rooms go months in advance.
Hot-spring ryokan in Noboribetsu, Jozankei, Toyako or Sounkyo: €150-300 per person half board, with a kaiseki dinner of crab and seafood. It is worth the price for at least one night of the trip.
Lodges and hotels in Niseko in winter: €250-600 a night in January and February, half that in summer. The guesthouses of Shiretoko and Rausu, simpler, cost around €100-150 with dinner, and should be booked early for the drift ice and the orcas.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Hokkaido?
Kaisendon, a bowl of rice topped with sea urchin, salmon roe, scallops and crab, served at Nijo market in Sapporo, the Hakodate morning market and in Otaru: 2,000 to 4,000 yen depending on the topping, with Shakotan sea urchin the most expensive in June.
The island's three ramen: miso in Sapporo, with butter and sweetcorn, soy sauce in Asahikawa under a layer of fat that keeps in the heat, and salt in Hakodate with a clear broth. Allow 1,000 to 1,300 yen. Soup curry, born in Sapporo in the 1970s, is ordered by spice level.
Genghis Khan, slices of mutton or lamb grilled on a domed hotplate with vegetables, washed down with Sapporo beer, in the smoky halls of the Sapporo Beer Garden or the little tables of Susukino. Around 3,000 yen per person, aprons provided.
Farm produce: milk ice creams in Furano and Biei, cheeses from Niseko, Yubari melons at over 10,000 yen apiece in June, boiled corn sold in Odori Park, and Shiroi Koibito biscuits and Royce chocolates as souvenirs. The patisseries of Hakodate and Obihiro hold their own against Tokyo's.
Entry requirements
Visa-free for 90 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Hokkaido
When is the best time to visit Hokkaido?
From June to September for hiking, mid-July lavender and seafood, with days of 22-26 °C and little rain. Late September to mid-October for the autumn colours of Daisetsuzan. February for the snow festival, the Niseko powder and the Shiretoko drift ice, with temperatures of -5 to -15 °C. April and May are grey and muddy, and November is the off month.
Car or train?
The train is enough for Sapporo, Otaru, Hakodate, Asahikawa and Furano, with a JR Hokkaido pass. A car becomes necessary for Biei, Daisetsuzan, Shiretoko and the east of the island, where buses are rare. Allow €50-80 a day, and bring an International Driving Permit or the official Japanese translation your licence requires: without it, rental companies will not hand over the keys. In winter, driving on snow takes experience.
How many days should you plan?
Four days for Sapporo, Otaru and a getaway to Furano or Lake Toya. A week for the centre with Daisetsuzan and a night in a ryokan. Two weeks for the grand loop to Shiretoko and Hakodate. The island measures 500 km from west to east, so distances matter more than elsewhere in Japan.
Should you be worried about bears?
Hokkaido's brown bears are bigger than those on Honshu and are found mainly in Shiretoko, Daisetsuzan and the east of the island. Accidents are rare, one or two deaths a year, almost always lone foragers. A bell, making noise as you walk, no food in the tent and respecting trail closures are enough. Bear spray can be hired in Shiretoko.
Skiing in Hokkaido: where should you go?
Niseko, 2 hours from Sapporo, gets 15 metres of snow a year and an international clientele, with lift passes around 10,000 yen and expensive hotels. Furano, Rusutsu and Kiroro offer the same snow for less, with less English spoken. Sapporo Teine and Kokusai can be skied as day trips from the city. The season runs from early December to early April, with the best powder in January and February.
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