okoshi2002

I am trying to figure out when the idea time would be to travel Hokkaido in the fall. We would like to hike and visit onsens in the mountain towns. I'd like to get to Shiretoko.

I have read several trip reports here and see that mid-October was when several of you traveled there.

Does flying into MME , getting a rental car, and driving for 10-14 days, back down to Sapporo to fly home sound like enough time ?

Oh- I had hoped to go to the area where uni is found, also, but it looks like it is in another remote part of Hokkaido ?

Thanks for your help !

kja

I don't know, but can direct you to the best source of information I know:
http://www.japan-guide.com

okoshi2002

Thank you kja for referring me to that site. Lots of good information.

mrwunrfl

what is the "area where uni is found"

kuranosuke

i had real uni at pike's marketplace. right out of the urchin. at $4.95 each, such a deal.

okoshi2002

I am referring to the Shakotan Peninsula and the town of Otaru however I suppose there must be uni harvested in many areas.

okoshi2002

I'm sorry there hasn't been much suggested for Hokkaido.

Had hoped somebody could comment on travel there in November.

hawaiiantraveler

fly into Asahikawa like we did and travel north to MME and Utoro/Shiretoko from there. Early October would be the best time to travel and max your chance at also experiencing the koyo in the national parks like Daisetsuzan and around the Akanko areas.14 days is plenty of time. You can make a big circle from Asahikawa (which is the second most populous city on Hokkaido btw)to the north and back and save on the rental car drop charges. You can take the train to Sapporo from Asahikawa easily.

Uni is just sea urchin which I have seen all over Hokkaido. Utoro and actually Hakodate have nice fish markets with lots of morning activities. Of course the fish markets of Sapporo are hard to beat. Have fun!

Aloha!

okoshi2002

Hawaiian Traveler I was hoping you would weight in! I remember you mentioned flying into MME in the past. Did you travel to Utoro during that same trip to Shiretoko ? They are kind of far apart. So October is the preferred time not November I gather.
I appreciate your input.

hawaiiantraveler

Utoro is right next to Shiretoko. You must be thinking of Otaru which is close to Sapporo. Yes October is the best month to visit Hokkaido. We got snow in the higher elevations in mid Oct and have heard of blizzards in November. Real easy driving even in the cities. Lots of wide open countryside with no one else on the roads for miles at a time. Fly into Asahikawa and spend 2-3 nights. Drive over to Abashiri and spend 2-3 nights exploring town n coasts. Drive over to Utoro for 2-3 nights and take in Shiretoko and over the Rausau. Then drive to Akanko for 2-3 nights also taking in the lake areas and the crane observations. Then either down to Kushiro and work your way back to Asahikawa. Or back to Asahikawa from Akan. Get a car with GPS. If you can't read Japanese the Nissan rentals have English gps. Wish I were going with you lol

Aloha!

hawaiiantraveler

Onsen are very rustic ion Hokkaido and not built up like other ares of Japan. Ryokan are always hotel type because in the old days there were no ryokan on Hokkaido mainly because the Japanese rarely traveled north of Tohoku doe to the weather.

mrwunrfl

If you were to drop off the car at CTS then a JR trip via Sapporo to Otaru would be less than 90 minutes.

okoshi2002

Thank you HT and mrwunrfl. If we can only travel in November it may be best to look south of Hokkaido ? We do want to hike and/or at least be outdoors. Thanks for confirming early to mid October would be a better time to be in Hokkaido in the fall.

mrwunrfl

November is a great time to visit Japan, say south of Nagano and except for the Japan Alps region (at least in the latter half of November). Consider Kyushu. There is a review of hiking regions at japan-guide and Kirishima was highly regarded.