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Travel guide
Hokkaido
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to September, or February for snow
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Welcome
Hokkaido, in a few days
Japan's northern island is a fifth of the country's land with 4% of its people: volcanoes, caldera lakes and lavender fields spread over 83,000 km². Come in summer to hike the Daisetsuzan and eat sea urchin in Otaru, or in winter for the powder snow and the Sapporo Snow Festival.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Odori Park and the Sapporo Snow Festival free · 2 to 3 hA 1.5-kilometre strip of green across the city, home to the snow sculptures in February and a vast beer garden in summer.
- Afternoon · Otaru Canal free · about 1 hDug in 1923 and saved by residents in the 1980s, now lit by gas lamps, with breweries in the old stone warehouses.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Gracery Sapporo€80 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lake Toya and Mount Usu · half a dayA round caldera lake that never freezes, beside Mount Usu, which erupted four times in the twentieth century and raised the still-steaming Showa Shinzan.
- Afternoon · Hakodate and Mount Hakodate · half a dayOne of the first ports opened to foreigners, with churches and old consulates in Motomachi; a cable car climbs to the famous night view.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo€95 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Furano lavender fields (Farm Tomita) free · 2 to 3 hA family farm growing lavender since 1958, with sloping fields of lavender, poppies and cosmos in rainbow stripes below the Tokachi range.
- Afternoon · The Biei hills and the Blue Pond free · half a dayRolling fields that change colour with the crops, lone landmark trees, and a milky-blue pond of drowned larches formed behind a 1988 dam.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Sapporo Excel Hotel Tokyu€85 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Daisetsuzan and the Asahidake ropeway · half a dayJapan's largest national park, whose Ainu name means garden of the gods; the ropeway climbs Asahidake, Hokkaido's highest peak at 2,291 metres.
- Afternoon · The Shiretoko Peninsula free · half a dayA roadless 70-kilometre spur of wilderness, UNESCO-listed since 2005; an 800-metre raised boardwalk, fenced against brown bears, leads to the Five Lakes.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Nord Otaru€110 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Sushi and sashimi: raw fish at its freshest, eaten at the counter.
- Ramen: noodles in a deep broth, the comfort food of the country.
- Tempura: vegetables and prawns in a batter light enough to see through.
- Okonomiyaki: a savoury pancake piled with filling, the pride of Osaka and Hiroshima.
- Matcha and wagashi: green tea and the delicate sweets made to go with it.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Never stand your chopsticks upright in rice, and do not blow your nose at the table.
- Tipping does not exist and can embarrass: leave nothing.
- Eating while walking down the street is frowned upon.
- Get an IC card (Suica or Pasmo) rather than buying single tickets.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Japanese
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Hello | こんにちは (konnichiwa) |
| Thank you | ありがとう (arigatō) |
| Please | お願いします (onegai shimasu) |
| Yes | はい (hai) |
| No | いいえ (iie) |
| Excuse me | すみません (sumimasen) |
| Goodbye | さようなら (sayōnara) |
| Do you speak English? | 英語を話せますか (eigo o hanasemasu ka) |
| I don't understand | わかりません (wakarimasen) |
| How much is it? | いくらですか (ikura desu ka) |
| Where are the toilets? | トイレはどこですか (toire wa doko desu ka) |
| The bill, please | お会計お願いします (okaikei onegai shimasu) |
| Help! | 助けて！ (tasukete!) |
| Cheers! | 乾杯！ (kanpai!) |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyJapanese yen (JPY, ¥)
BudgetAbout €125 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to September, or February for snow
PlugA/B · 100V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingNo tipping, it is not the custom
Emergency110 (police) / 119
EntryVisa-free for 90 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well outside the tourist trail.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/hokkaido
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.