Natural Beauty of Hokkaido

By Air
Air flights are the fastest means to Hokkaido. For anyone who don't have a lot of time to enjoy the journey but have a lot of money can choose this option.There are a lot of air terminal located at Obihiro, Kushiro, Nakashibetsu, Memambetsu, Okhotsk Mombetsu, Asahikawa, Wakkanai, Rebun Island, Rishiri Island, Okadama, Hakodate and Okushiri Island. However, the largest and most common destination is New Chitose Airport in Sapporo.

By Train

Trains in Japan are always reliable. However, typhoons and earthquakes can and do interrupt their services. In any event the services are delay, the will always keep you informed and apologize for the inconvenience caused. If you have a lot of money and love to enjoy the scenery along the way, you can take the famous bullet train or shikansen from Tokyo to Sapporo (16hrs), Osaka to Sapporo (22 hrs. 15 min.), Morioka to Hakodate (4 hrs. 20 min.), Osaka to Hakodate (17 hrs.), Aomori to Hakodate (2 hrs. 30 min.) Traveling by local trains is naturally taking a lot of time, but if you don't mind spend a day (approx 18 hours non-stop) travel to Hokkaido from Tokyo you have the cheaper option of seishun-18-kippu or JR East Rail pass to enjoy Japanese culture at each stop.

By Ferry
Ferries are the cheapest way to get to Hokkaido and also offer a very different perspective of arriving in the region. The main ports in Hokkaido are Hakodate, Otaru, Muroran, Tomakomai and Iwanai.
Ferries run;

- from Maizuru (31 hrs.), Niigata (19 hrs.) and Tsuruga (21 hrs.) to Otaru;
- from Hachinohe (9 hrs. 30 min.), Nagoya (38 hrs. 30min.), Oarai (20 hrs 45 min.) and
Sendai (14 hrs. 30 min.) to Tomakomai;
- from Aomori (7 hrs.), Hachinohe (8 hrs.), Naoetsu (17 hrs.) and Oarai (18 hrs. 50 min.) to
Muroran;
- from Aomori (3 hrs. 40 min.) and Oma (1 hr. 40 min.) to Hakodate.

Sunflower Cabin

How do we get there
From Tokyo, we took local train to Ooarai, Iwate to board the Sunflower ferry for Tomakomai, Hokkaido. We reached Tomakomai on the next evening and took another train to Sapporo where we already booked a room in a Youth Hostel. We managed to save a lot by using JR East Rail pass to travel by train during our stay in Hokkaido.

Overview
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido. It became famous when the Olympic Winter Games were held there in 1972. Sapporo draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world annually during Yuki Matsuri (Sapporo Snow Festival) in February. The main site is the Odori Park, and other sites include Susukino (known as the Susukino Snow Festival) , and the Sapporo Satoland. This city also famous for its ramen and beer.

Place of interest
Actually we didn't spent much time in Sapporo because we were too busy visiting other cities in Hokkaido. However, there are also many interesting places to be visit here. For chocolate lover, Shiroi Koibito Park is a place where you can experience many activities in making cookies and cakes from chocolate. Shiroi Koibito is the famous chocolate company in Hokkaido. Natures lover who like to understand the life history of salmon, including how they return to the Toyohira River, Sapporo Salmon Museum is the best place for you. There is no charge for admission. You can visit here for more information.

Overview
Furano located in the center of Hokkaido. It is well known for cultivation of grapes, watermelons, muskmelons and potatoes because of its special inland climate. This climate has the characteristic of large temperature differences both between night and day and between summer and winter.The weather patterns in this area ensure long warm days in summer and cool days throughout spring and autumn. There is also a lot of snowfalls during winter. The ski area has as long as 4km groomed runs and fantastic views.

Tomita Farm
If you take an early morning train, you can reach the flower farm before noon. It is the best time to take the flower photo with the clear blue sky as the background. The famous Tomita farm initially grows only the lavender but now there are various type of flowers planted in rows. We leave early to reach Sapporo train station before 7 and managed to reach Furano at 10. After about half an hour walk we reach the flower farm. We are not very lucky because the weather was a little bit clowdy but after about an hour drizzling rain the bright sun took over. However, this time it was too bright and we did not get much great pictures. To overcome our disatisfaction, we tried lavender and rock melon soft cream that was specially made there. It was really awesome. There are also gift shops where you can buy souvenir like lavender potpourri, key chains, post cards and lots more.

Cosmos after rain

Other activities
Hot Air Ballooning - From the ski area, the golf course or from a small farm between the two ski areas, you can fly to 50 meters and enjoy the view with the incredible experience of taking off and landing in a hot air balloon.
Harvesting Potatoes - You will be take to local farm where you can see the process of potato farming coming to fruition as you search for and take home some potatoes.
Fossil Excavation - Hokkaido was once under the sea before the volcanoes pushed themselves above the ocean's surface to create this beautiful land. Using real archaeological tools you can find your own prehistoric piece of the past.
Highland Furano Onsen - Enjoy a soothing onsen while gazing out over Highland's lavender fields in summer and snowcapped trees in winter.
You can find more events and activities here

Overview

Located on the west side of Hokkaido, Otaru is relatively close to Sapporo. It takes approximately 70 minutes to get to Otaru by train.The beautiful scenery of the coastal area such as Otamoi Cliffs has attracted many tourist. Outdoor activiy lover such as skiers and snowboarders can find many snowfields with deep snow cover and late night skiing. Snowcruise Onze is particularly popular because skiers can enjoy the night view of the lights of Sapporo city.

Otaru Canal

The canal night view

It's hard to talk about Otaru without talking about the canal. Otaru Canal is the symbol of this city. At one time, it ran through the middle of the town, but now only a portion of it has been preserved.The gaslights and warehouses along the canal are very popular among the young couples.

Shakotan Misaki

View from the Cape

No trip to Otaru would not be complete without a trip on the Shakotan Misaki. From JR Yoichi, we took bus to Irika to reach the Shakotan cape. It was said that, long time ago, women were not allowed to be in this place because there was a story of the spirit of one lady who really in love with Yoshitsune turned over all the ship that came to the cape. The beach at this area is one of the most breathtaking and it was once chosen as "100 selections of Japanese beaches". So, don`t forget to put Shakotan Misaki in your must go list when you visit Hokkaido.

Overview
Hour-glass shaped Hakodate, is our last destination. We ride the last night train from Sapporo to reach there at 4 in the morning. We only spent a day at this city before we went back to Tokyo. Hakodate developed as a port town is located in the southwest of Hokkaido and facing the Tsugaru Strait. It connecting Hokkaido with Honshu by the Seikan Tunnel.

Grilled crab claw

Morning Market

Hakodate's famous morning market is held at the bay daily from 5am to noon. It is only a walk distance from Hakodate train station. There are more than 360 stalls packed tightly together selling freshly caught squid, scallops, salmon eggs, mackerel, and many other kinds of fresh fish and shellfish. You can also find restaurant serving fresh, delicious seafood meals. Grilled crab claw sell at 1,500Yen each.



Onuma Park

Onuma Park

Onuma Park can be easily visited in either a day trip from Hakodate or on a stop over on a journey between Hakodate and Sapporo, since most limited express trains between the two cities stop at Onuma Koen Station, the central railway station. The park's most attractive area is located between the two lakes Onuma (large lake) and Konuma (small lake) and can be explored entirely on foot. Attractive walking courses let you explore the lakes' peninsulas and islands, several of which are connected with each other by small bridges, in easy 15-60 minute walks. It is also possible to rent bicycles (500 yen/hour, 1000 yen/day). A cycling course leads around Lake Onuma (about 10 km), but follows the main road rather than the lakeshore for most of the distance

Night scenery from Mount Hakodate

Hakodate is best known for the spectacular views to be enjoyed on clear days and nights from Mount Hakodate.Facilities at the summit include observation platforms (free of charge), souvenir shops, a cafe and a cafeteria style restaurant. View life camera from Mount Hakodate here

Taken on the way back

It took us almost 20 hours to go back to Tokyo with local trains. Since we are using the JR East Rail pass we are free to get on and off from the local train between Hokkaido and Tokyo. From our last destination Hakodate, we took the early morning train to Aomori. We spent all one day on the trains playing UNO cards, eating onigiri or sleeping. At last I reached home just a few minutes before midnight. The six days journey is one the best journey while I was in Japan.

During my visit to Hokkaido, I managed to save quiet a lot. I only spent about JPY60,000 (all inclusive) for 6 days.

Transportation
Sunflower Ferry Services - JPY8,500
JR East Rail pass (5 days) - JPY16,000
We use the pass from the second day at Hokkaido but we need to make sure that we reached home before the fifth day midnight to avoid extra charge.

Accommodation
2 night stay at Youth Hostel in Sapporo - JPY7,600

We only spent two nights at the hostel because we slept on the ferry for the first night and reached Tomakomai, Hokkaido the following day. We took train (with JR East Rail pass) to Sapporo and stayed a night before went to Furano the next day. After a day out in Furano, we went back to stay another night at the same hostel. After check out, we went to Otaru and Shakotan Misaki for sightseeing. From Otaru, we took train back to Sapporo to take night train to Hakodate so we can sleep in the train. We reached Hakodate at early morning and spent all day walking around the city. We waited for the early morning (4 am) train to go back to Honshu so we can sleep a little bit before we continue with our journey back to Tokyo by local train.

Food
Usually we eat Onigiri bought from convenience store for our breakfast because it is healthy and cheap.

Miscellaneous
o Bus ticket to Shakotan Cape
o Entrance fee
o souvenir
Almost all places that we visited not charge for the entrance fee. I also did not buy a lot of souvenir due to limited budget, but luckily no one complained about that :P

The most important thing is you must plan your journey. We did a lot of research on Hokkaido before we went there. We print out the train and bus schedule. It helped much because you really can rely on it and manage your time. We also checked the local train route so that we will not take the wrong route to go back to Tokyo.