Day trips from Sapporo
Apr 13th, 2017, 04:28 PM
#1
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Day trips from Sapporo
I will be taking a short trip to Sapporo next month. I have only been there once before--last fall for one day off a cruise ship. We love Hokkaido, and want to see more of Sapporo and environs. We will likely spend half a day in Otaru. Can anyone suggest any day trips out of the city that we might take easily by train?
Apr 14th, 2017, 07:12 AM
#2
Noboribetsu Onsen would be good choice for an onsen fan. But if you are a fan then you might have visited there from Muroran, your cruise ship stop, which is closer. It would be 73 minutes on a limited express train from Sapporo to Noboribetsu and then a bus up to the onsen town.
There is also an Ainu village/museum on the way, in Shiraoi. It is somewhat interesting and not far from the tiny JR station.
There is also an Ainu village/museum on the way, in Shiraoi. It is somewhat interesting and not far from the tiny JR station.
Apr 18th, 2017, 09:10 AM
#5
Thanks! I think your question is OT.
I did visit there as a part-day trip from Noboribetsu Onsen where I was staying for a couple of nights. A sightseeing option in N.O. was some kind of bear enclosure, but I had no confidence that a village in Hokkaido would do this well. I didn't want to walk up the hill just to be horrified, so I went to Shiraoi instead.
Am pretty sure that I took a taxi from Shiraoi station to the Ainu village and walked back.
It was somewhat interesting as an opportunity to learn about a different culture. It is a museum and not a lived-in village. It lacks some authenticity, I think, as it seems to be a resurrection, maybe partial re-imagining, of Ainu culture in order to provide a tourist attraction. Destroyed and resurrected by the Japanese who are not the true owners of the culture. Not a tourist attraction like Shirakawago where cultural tradition has been maintained and carefully passed down over generations.
There was a performance - one person dancing and the other playing an instrument. Maybe most or all of the costume and the instrument were authentic or true. But the performers were Japanese (not Ainu, of course) and perhaps the dance and music were imagined or borrowed, and not the real thing.
It was a pleasant visit that was, more or less, on my way and didn't cost much in time or money. From Sapporo it would be 68 minutes and about 3500 each way on a tokkyu - not worth it without a JR Pass unless you are fascinated with Ainu culture.
And you know that any time you get out of the big city to an area that gets few foreign tourists that there is the possibility of some fun surprises.
This is definitely a YMMV situation.
I did visit there as a part-day trip from Noboribetsu Onsen where I was staying for a couple of nights. A sightseeing option in N.O. was some kind of bear enclosure, but I had no confidence that a village in Hokkaido would do this well. I didn't want to walk up the hill just to be horrified, so I went to Shiraoi instead.
Am pretty sure that I took a taxi from Shiraoi station to the Ainu village and walked back.
It was somewhat interesting as an opportunity to learn about a different culture. It is a museum and not a lived-in village. It lacks some authenticity, I think, as it seems to be a resurrection, maybe partial re-imagining, of Ainu culture in order to provide a tourist attraction. Destroyed and resurrected by the Japanese who are not the true owners of the culture. Not a tourist attraction like Shirakawago where cultural tradition has been maintained and carefully passed down over generations.
There was a performance - one person dancing and the other playing an instrument. Maybe most or all of the costume and the instrument were authentic or true. But the performers were Japanese (not Ainu, of course) and perhaps the dance and music were imagined or borrowed, and not the real thing.
It was a pleasant visit that was, more or less, on my way and didn't cost much in time or money. From Sapporo it would be 68 minutes and about 3500 each way on a tokkyu - not worth it without a JR Pass unless you are fascinated with Ainu culture.
And you know that any time you get out of the big city to an area that gets few foreign tourists that there is the possibility of some fun surprises.
This is definitely a YMMV situation.
Apr 19th, 2017, 05:22 AM
#6
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Thanks, mrwunrfl....I see your point....I don't think I need to decide until I'm in Hokkaido next month. And actually there is a round-trip discount ticket so the price is about 3500 all in....my Hokkaido JR Pass will be finished by then....
On TA where I also asked about it, the reviews were mixed as well - one person thought it was less commerical than another small Ainu village in Akan-ko....so I guess there are scales of authenticity...lol...
On TA where I also asked about it, the reviews were mixed as well - one person thought it was less commerical than another small Ainu village in Akan-ko....so I guess there are scales of authenticity...lol...
