hawaiiantraveler

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!

KimJapan

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/

hawaiiantraveler

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

KimJapan

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

hawaiiantraveler

ttt

hawaiiantraveler

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!

KimJapan

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.

KimJapan

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.

hawaiiantraveler

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!

KimJapan

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.

KimJapan

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

hawaiiantraveler

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

Hope your bbq went off without a hitch.

Aloha!

KimJapan

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.

hawaiiantraveler

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!

AmandaH

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

hawaiiantraveler

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!

AmandaH

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.

JC98

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

Kathie

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

hawaiiantraveler

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!