Hokkaido help in October
 

We will be arriving in Sapporo on or about Oct 12. We will stay for 2 nights on points at the Sheraton Sapporo then rent a car from TooCoo and drive the next morning to Abashiri.

We plan to spend the night in Abashiri then drive to Utoro for two nights at the Hotel Shiretoko to explore the Shiretoko Peninsula.

We then drive to Lake Akan for 1 or 2 nights in a ryokan and explore Kusihiro(sp)marshlands, Lake Akan and environs

Then on to Sounkyo Onsen and 2 nights there probably at Soundkyo Grand Hotel and one night at Tennikyo Grand Hotel. Then back to Sapporo for one night and onward to Hakodate and the rest of our trip….

My questions:

I am reading that it is a 6 hour drive from Sapporo to Abashiri. Is this accurate?

Should I spend 1 or 2 nights in Lake Akan area? Is there enough there? Where do you recommend staying in this area?

Is Soundkyo Onsen area worth 3 nights?

How are the road conditions at this time of year?

Any suggestions and information about not to miss places along the way will be greatly appreciated.

Aloha!

If I selected the correct kanji for Abashiri, Navitime tells me it is 8 hours 50 minutes, 338 km and ¥3,800 toll from Sapporo.

If you can operate in Japanese, I've found that Navitime is a great resource and is pretty accurate about time and toll. http://www.navitime.co.jp/

Thanks Kim....looks longer than I thought. Now I might need a stopover somewhere closer to Sapporo....any thoughts??

Sorry...never been to Hokkaido, never even looked into it, so nothing of use outside of Navitime.

ttt

KimJapan,

I can't figure out the Kanji either on the Navi site. It looks all Japanese to me :)

I am now looking at renting a car in Sapporo and driving to Sounkyo Onsen. Then after a couple of days from Sounkyo Onsen to Utoro.
From Utoro to Lake Akan.
From Lake Akan to Kushiro
From Kushiro to Furano
and finally from Furano back to Sapporo

Would you please approximate our tolls, hours and kilometers using the Navitime when you have some time? domo

Aloha!

I can do that, but can you give me the names of the cities, or better yet, the names of the hotels or a business with an address...then I can input the addresses and get a more accurate result for you - and I can also be more sure that the kanji is correct...if it's wrong, the address won't work. This is actually essential for me to do the places that you have "lake _____" or "mt. ____

", but optional for where you have city names already.

The reason for this is that many places in Japan have the same names..a good example is Fukuoka. If you mistake the prefecture for Fukuoka, you end up actually in Toyama...and that's why Fukuoka Station in Fukuoka prefecture is called Hakata. If you want to go to Fukuoka station, you will go to Toyama prefecture.

So, I want to be sure to avoid this sort of mistake when giving you info.

Thanks Kim for the help

I will be starting this on Oct 2 not the 12th as listed earlier, I know it does not matter to you....but it will to me later

Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
5-5-25 Atsubetsuchuo 2J0, Atsubetsu-Ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido 0040052

to

Sounkaku Grand Hotel
Sounkyo Onsen, Kamikawa-cho
Kamikawa-gun,Hokkaido
層雲閣グランドホテル
〒078-1792　
北海道上川郡上川町層雲峡温泉
TEL/01658-5-3111
FAX/01658-5-3302

旭川営業所
〒070-0031　
北海道旭川市1条6丁目右3号
TEL/0166-22-9235
FAX/0166-23-2819

to

Hotspring Hotel Abashirikoso
78 Yobito,Abashiri,Hokkaido 099-2421 Japan

to

Hotel Shiretoko
37 Utoro Kagawa, Shari-cho
Shari-gun,Hokkaido

to

New Akan Hotel
2-8-8 Akanko-Onsen Akancho
Kushiro 085-0467

to

Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
5-5-25 Atsubetsuchuo 2J0, Atsubetsu-Ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido 0040052

with maybe a stop in between somewhere.
I am just trying to get an approximate of mileage and toll costs we will encounter. Really appreciate all the help Kim.

Aloha!

Great...HT, we have to go to a bbq today, but I will do this for you tonight if we get back soon enough or tomorrow sometime.

Here you go. Estimates are after each destination with toll and no toll options. In some cases, I was unable to get exact addresses but used the town name only so results may in reality be longer or shorter by a bit.



Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
5-5-25 Atsubetsuchuo 2J0, Atsubetsu-Ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido 0040052

to

Sounkaku Grand Hotel
Sounkyo Onsen, Kamikawa-cho
Kamikawa-gun,Hokkaido
層雲閣グランドホテル
〒078-1792　
北海道上川郡上川町層雲峡温泉
TEL/01658-5-3111
FAX/01658-5-3302

¥3,600, 189 km, 4h23m
¥0, 190 km, 7h15m

旭川営業所
〒070-0031　
北海道旭川市1条6丁目右3号
TEL/0166-22-9235
FAX/0166-23-2819

¥450, 59 km, 2h33m
¥0, 56 km, 2h45m

to

Hotspring Hotel Abashirikoso
78 Yobito,Abashiri,Hokkaido 099-2421 Japan

no toll route, could not fine exact location so routing is to Abashiri only.
¥0, 205 km, 7h12m

to

Hotel Shiretoko
37 Utoro Kagawa, Shari-cho
Shari-gun,Hokkaido

no toll route, could not find hotel on navitime so route to town only, no toll, 40 km, 1h27m
to

New Akan Hotel
2-8-8 Akanko-Onsen Akancho
Kushiro 085-0467

no toll, 105 km, 3h41m

to

Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
5-5-25 Atsubetsuchuo 2J0, Atsubetsu-Ku
Sapporo, Hokkaido 0040052

¥3,500, 313 km 7h55m
¥0, 303 km, 10h30m

Thanks Kim thats just the information I was looking for. You are a gem.

Hope your bbq went off without a hitch.

Aloha!

BBQ was fun, but it was sooooo hot. Thermometer read 37.5 at 11:00 AM...about 100 degrees fahrenheit, and very, very humid. Today is cooler, only 32 degrees..90s.

Anyway, glad the info helped. It's a great little website for calculating tolls and time.

because of the recent and now defunct La Nina the waters around Japan are a little hotter than usual these past two years. In fact the warm water extends from the Sea of Japan all the way to the Northern Phillipines.

You know what the warmer waters mean. More humid weather from the south and the warmer water helps to steer typhoons into them. As you know the action has been farther south so far this season but the winds of change have already made the turn.....we shall see, pray its only heavy rain.

Arigato gozaimasu KimJapansan!

Hi there

sorry...joining this thread late...maybe you are already booked up.

3 nights at Sounkyou would be kind of long, UNLESS you are going to do some serious hiking in the area - because Sounkyou itself is a one street village with a cable car ride and a short bike ride to some waterfalls...nothing much else to do apart from sit in the onsen in the hotel.
If you go up onto the top of Kurodake then there are days of great hiking...

Same with Akan really - a small lake resort with boat rides/canoes and an Ainu Culture show...and that is it unless you go to Meakan Dake for a great hike.

amanda

AmandaH,

Thanks for the advice. Hope your vacation back home went well. Missed you on the TA site.

We have already cut down Sounkyo to two nights and one night in Lake Akan

Please tell me about Meakan Dake. Haven't heard much about it before. A mountain for hiking? Lots of great scenery?

Aloha!

I wrote about it here on Trip Advisor website

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Hokkaido.html

Glorious late September/October

see you there...I plan to climb it again this year.

OP, do you have a trip report? I'm going to Hokkaido this Oct., and would be interested in hearing how your trip went. thanks

Click on his name, then look under trip reports. HT always writes fabulous trup reports!

JC98, here it is, Hokkaido is a fabulous place in October, we are planning a trip back sometime soon this time maybe with a couple of Hawaiian friends along.....

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...japan-2009.cfm

Thanks Kathie ;)

Aloha!

Thanks, HT, for the trip report. It sounds like you two had a fantastic time! But it seems to rain a lot in Oct in Hokkaido. So, read in the report that you're good at predicting the weather. For this October, would you mind looking to your crystal ball and let us know whether we should go the week of Oct 8th or Oct 22nd? I have a conference in Sapporo the week of Oct 15th. I think probably Oct 8th is better; otherwise the leaves will have disppeared if too late in Oct?

We probably have about 5 to 7 days total to go around on our own, could you please narrow down the places in Hokkaido that you highly recommend. How unique is Hokkaido? Heard that it's more like the American West. Since the Japanese yen is so strong now, I'm wondering if it's really worth blowing so much money to sightsee Hokkaido, or we should go somewhere else that's more uniquely Japanese? (Places I've been to in Japan: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Fukuoka.)

Your advice is much appreciated!

Yes the 8th will be a better time for koyo viewing. This year should be close to more normal viewing times and not late as has been the case the past two years. Yes is there is some rain in Hokkaido in Oct but not enough to deter you in any way. All that said, I had predicted earlier this year that Japan would have a busy typhoon season as warm water currents are southeast and west of Japan drawing tropical systems in the area towards them. The normal steering mechanisms will be disrupted occasionally by these ocean conditions drawing tropical systems closer and at times through Japan towards Korea. In normal and abnormal years Hokkaido is usually spared the tropical stormy weather.....usually being the key word here.

Hokkaido is very unique and worth the expense imho although lodging and foodstuffs especially farm products are cheaper than in the big cities you have been to. You will definitely see a different Japan than you have seen so far. There are no cultural spots or castles, temples and such as the Japanese have only really started to populate the island about 150 years or so ago. Yes there are parts of Hokkaido around Daisetzusan that remind me of the western US but that is a good thing. There are also parts of the landscape and scenery that took me back to Alaska and the sheer natural beauty of the Shiretoko Peninsula is not to be missed. The ice cream on Hokkaido is also not to be missed ;)

If you don't want to incur the added cost of a rent a car you can get around quite easily by train and JR Hokkaido does offer a couple of special passes for multi day usage but the car will open up the more remote places that the rail lines do not get close to. All I can say is that I am planning a return trip sooner than later this time taking a friend to show them the natural beauty of Japan that is Hokkaido.

Aloha!

Thanks, HT, for the useful tips! About typhoon, would it last until early Oct in Japan?

We're open to renting a car, unless it's extremely expensive compared to public transport? The ryokans you stayed at seemed pretty pricey, but I'll into less expensive options. But it'd be nice to soak in an onsen every day!

Thanks again!

You can check car rental on the TooCoo site. I didn't rent from them on the Hokkaido trip but have at other times and find they have the best average prices of all gaijin rental sites. If you can command the Japanese language you can probably get a better price on a local site.

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

Sometimes JR Hokkaido will have a train pass and rental car deal which is what I used on Hokkaido. I found my deal by checking this site often.

http://www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/index.html

They are running a special now with a train pass and rental car discount and usually run them with the seasons. The summer season pricing is the most expensive season in Hokkaido with the fall being a little cheaper.

http://www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/...ss/rail04.html

IIRC the main typhoon season in that side of the Pacific runs from May through November with most typhoons hitting Japan between May and October with August and September being the peak season. Typhoons later in the season tend to be stronger than typhoons earlier in the season. This season has already started out with a bang with a couple of large storms I can recall recently(do a google search) hitting southern and Central Japan. But I wouldn't let the chance of a typhoon hitting or an earthquake happening alter my travel plans. In the case of a typhoon you will have adequate warning time as the weather guys spot these things weeks ahead of time and the Japanese warning systems are the among the best in the world and as I mentioned earlier somewhere Hokkaido is rarely the target. In retrospect, I was on Kyushu(almost always in the target path) this past November and didn't even think or worry about a storm happening.

And yes there are many other less expensive and still very comfortable options on Hokkaido other than where we stayed. Japanican.com and of course agoda.com can be useful tools in locating properties then sometimes contacting them yourself for the best pricing.

Aloha!

Wow, thanks, HT, for all the specific and useful advice! I'll look at what you sent. No, I don't Japanese, but have some Japanese colleagues who I can probably ask about booking at a better rate. Thanks for the tip!

BTW, envious that you live in Hawaii (which island?). I've always wondered where people from HI go on vacation when they're already living in paradise! Well, at least now I know--Hokkaido. :)

We are on Oahu....enjoy Hokkaido!!!

Aloha!

Hi HT and All,

I'm looking to rent a car in Hokkaido. It seems quite expensive, like $100 USD a day? HT, from your trip report, it seems you got a great deal from the JR promotion. So what JR pass you needed to buy, and how did you use the pass? You also flew into the city near the Daisetsuzan national park, instead of Sapporol, so that saves some driving time and gas.

Any other ways to cut down rental cost?

Thanks!

Yes we started in Asahikawa to minimize the traffic. In hindsight we could have started driving from Sapporo as the traffic is a non factor there.
IIRC we used a three day JR Hokkaido pass or was it a 4 day flexi....doesn't matter, use the one that would suit you best

http://www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/...ss/rail04.html

did you check prices with the toocoo site?

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

here is one out of Sapporo that you can join their club and get discounts depending on how much you spend

http://www.toyotarentacar.net/english/charge/discount/#

sites like japanican.com at times have rental car specials

Aloha!

Thanks, HT, for your detailed response!

Does anyone know of a rental company with no charge for dropoff at a different city? Also, are prices and choices of cars more limited at Asahikawa vs at Sapporo?

We're thinking of flying into Asahikawa from Osaka. Rent a car, drive to national parks and drop it off at Sapporo. Airport or city? The other option is to fly into Sapporo airport and return at Sapporo airport. We'll probably save about 5 + hours with the first option? Any other advantages/disadvantages in doing either option?

=====
Side note: Any worthwhile day trips from Osaka? (We've been to Kyoto and Nara.) Due to the use of frequent flyer miles, we'll be flying into Osaka, stay for 2 nights and 1 day. Heard not much to see in Osaka, so wondering if we could go to Ise? Is it worth a day trip--doable?

Also, is there a car rental office near the Sheraton Hotel in Sapporo?

Thanks

http://shiretoko-t.com/en/index.html#01

I was checking the car rental using the website above. The lowest class cars is what they call Class S on the website (like a Nissan March). Is that too flimsy to drive to the national parks, mountains, etc. in Hokkaido? Is it big enough for 2 people with 1 big luggage and 2 carry-ons?

Thanks!

S class cars are small but are safe and good for the Hokkaido roads and your needs.

The Sheraton Sapporo is actually outside of Sapporo in Shin-Sapporo right adjacent to the rail stop of the same name and I seem to remember a rent a car agency there in the lobby (maybe Hertz). Have you tried that toocoo site I left above for pricing? I see S cars at the Asahikawa airport for less than the 7000 yen day rate and the weekly rates are even better.

Osaka is one of my favorite places to go. Sooo much food and shopping. You can spend a whole day here along the Dotombori:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4001.html

And a visit to Osaka-jo and its adjacent gardens, always worth at least half a day.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4000.html

Aloha!

OK, here's another crazy (or maybe not) idea: Fly into Memanbetsu Airport, closest to Shiretoko National Park. Rent a car there, and work our way back to Sapporo? That will save even more driving time and distance.

Is that airport really tiny? Anybody done something like this or know more about that airport?

Thanks!

One way rentals are expensive in Japan. I found a combination of train and rental cars worked well: rent in Asahikawa for Daisetsuzan and in Abashiri for Shiretoko and the lakes (Masshu-ko is like a larger Crater Lake, and Akan-ko and its algae balls is cool). Incidentally, I found the area south of the Ryusei and Ginga falls (through the tunnel) the most interesting in Daisetsuzan. I used Mazda via Tocoo; look around on their website for specials.

Hi HT,

I just re-read your koyo trip report. Excellent! It looks like we'll pretty much follow your itinerary, except for maybe skipping Kushiro (too early for cranes?) and Otaru (unless you really think they're worth it).

Question: Do you remember what rental car you got? Did it have enough power and stability to go up mountains and through mountain passes? From the map, the road to Rausu looks really winding. How was that drive? Did you go back the same way? Did you have to drive in the dark?

Our current reservation is for a Nissan March. Are you (or anyone) familiar with this? Afraid it's too tiny for the places we want to go to. Please advise, so we know whether to upgrade our car. Don't want to get stranded in the middle of no where with no cell service, no AAA, and surrounded by bears!!

Here's the wiki page on the Nissan March
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Micra


Thanks all for your help!

JC, answered on your thread.

Aloha!