Things to do in Hokkaido🏔️

We got the train from Nikko, stopping at Hirosaki Castle before going straight to Hokkaido. We then spent a week road tripping around the island stopping at different places, staying a night at each. We rented a car from Budget Car Rentals and between the both of us, it wasn’t that expensive. We only did a week because we went during shoulder season, meaning we were too late for the snow but too early for the spring flowers in bloom. Hokkaido has some of the world’s best winter sport destinations, with constant blankets of fresh snow during peak ski season. As we went in late April the snow had almost completely melted at the ski resorts, so bear this in mind when booking your trip.

Sapporo

🏨Sappo Lodge / Wise Owl Hostels
We spent two nights here staying at a very cute hostel! Sapporo Lodge was a much smaller hostel, in a really good location, right next to Ramen Street. However, on our last night in Sapporo before we flew out, we stayed at Wise Owl Hostels which is a much larger place as I think students live there.

Sapporo City & Panasonic Tower
We explored the city and walked to the Panasonic Tower and main town, popping into different shops along the way. As the capital of Hokkaido, its shopping district is insane with lots of places to go to. I got a really good Patagonia jacket for half the price than I would have in Australia.

Sapporo Beer Museum
The Sapporo Beer Museum is free to enter with a self-guided tour of its exhibits. Once you have finished the tour, you can go to Star Hall to do some beer tasting!

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo
We walked to Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, which was a really nice walk from the train station. The zoo, on the other hand, wasn’t that impressive but we spent a couple hours here before going back to town.

Ramen Street
Known in Sapporo for its huge variety of ramen stalls, this street is lined with different restaurants to choose from. We went three times and went to different businesses each time to try the different dishes they served. Such a wide variety of flavours and so incredibly good and cheap for what we got. Definitely make the most of this street if you’re in Sapporo for a few days!

Milk Mura
A Lonely Planet recommendation was to try Milk Mura, which is a desserts and ice cream shop. We couldn’t read the menu but went all out and ordered one of the tasting menus each. You get to choose two different favoured liquors each, but because the menu was so big and we couldn’t properly understand it, we asked for their personally four favourites! These liquors will come with a pint of vanilla ice cream and small treats, like biscuits, small crepes and whipped cream. We also got coffee on the side. Very filling for what it was but a perfect way to spend the afternoon of a rainy day.

Saera Coffee & Sandwiches
Another Lonely Planet recommendation, which is this hidden sandwich shop! There was a little queue but it didn’t take long to be seated. We then chose three different sandwiches from the menu and split them between us. We got the traditional BBQ pork and corn beef, potato salad and corn croquette and the shrimp cutlet and smoked salmon. A couple of them seemed like a weird combination, but they were actually so fricken good. They were made fresh and were perfect for brunch.

Furano

Our first stop in our road trip was to Furano, where we spent the day exploring the town. In late spring/summer this is one of the areas you can visit the famous flower farms, and see the colourful fields in bloom.

Fukiage Onsen and Hot Springs
Going to Fukiage Onsen was recommended to us, so we spent a couple hours relaxing here before making our way to our next stop for the night. There is also an Open-Air Onsen close by which is also free to use but not as big. Lots of locals go there so it tends to get a bit crowded, but worth going if you have the time.

Blue Pond and Shirahige Waterfall, Hokkaido
We had a quick pit stop at the Blue Pond and Shirahige Waterfall as a nice break in between driving. It wasn’t the best weather, but was pretty cool seeing the blue waters, you can imagine how bright it would normally be in the sunshine.

Asahikawa

There isn’t a lot to do here, so we only spent one night to break up the driving to Otaru.

Otaru

🏨Little Barrel Hostel
Really cute, quirky hostel in Otaru. The dorms were so comfortable, it was a pretty decent price and was very close to the town.

Otaru Canal & Town
We then walked into town and down the canal. The town is very touristy, with us seeing the most tourists of our entire trip so far. The weather wasn’t amazing but we made the most of the day exploring the different shops and stopping by the famous clock tower.

Dairy and Seafood Shops
Whilst we were in Otaru we were recommended to try the ice cream as apparently the dairy in Hokkaido is unreal. This meant we had to pop into all the bakeries, chocolate shops and ice cream parlours they had.

We were also told to try the seafood here as Otaru is known to be a seafood town, with the freshest dishes. We found this local restaurant serving the best dishes and we ordered a sushi platter to share. We were trying to stick to our budget, but that went out the window as this platter was so good. We got a second one to share and vegetable tempura which we definitely didn't need, but was so worth it!

Hakodate

🏨Yukara Leaf Lodge (bit out of the way)
We drove to Hakodate quite early in the morning, and as the lodge was a bit out of the way, we did a bit of exploring on the way first. We did everything in the day except Mount Misen, which we did the next morning.

Mount Hakodate
Mount Hakodate is a 334-meter-high mountain in Hokkaido, famous for offering gorgeous views over Hakodate and Hokkaido. You can get to the summit either by a three minute cable car ride, hiking or driving, which is what we did. Sadly the cable car was not open when we went so we drove instead. Once you are at the top, you can walk around the viewing platforms and see the incredible panoramic views of the city. A really good place to go to for either sunrise or sunset!

Koryuji Temple
A temple recommended for us to visit in the Lonely Planet Guide. Really gorgeous temple and very quiet but we walked around it for a few minutes taking in the tranquil setting.

Goryokaku Tower
We bought tickets to go up Goryokaku Tower and see the famous star shaped fort and gardens from above. Tickets cost ¥1,200 each and it was pretty cool to see the surrounding mountains and views of the city.

Hakodate Morning Market Square
We spent the morning walking around the market, which is known for their fresh seafood dishes. The most popular dish, and something that was recommended to us to try was the Kaisendon, which is a mixed rice bowl with crab, fish eggs, sea urchin and scallops on top. Quite a meal to have early in the morning but we had to give it a go. We got a portion to share between us and it came with complimentary miso soup. Surprising really good, the combination and contrast of the sea food was different and very interesting, and we were tempted to get another portion to share!

Tea Shop Yuhi
Another recommended stop from Lonely Planet Guide. We stopped here for afternoon tea and got a matcha latte and normal latte, then two cakes to share. The tea shop, is right on the cliff so has gorgeous views of the surrounding sea and islands. We spent an hour or so here just relaxing, playing cards and eating. Really nice place to break up the day.

Lucky Pierrot
Lucy Pierrot is an incredible burger chain, only in Hakodate! There are so many stores all over the city and they are known for the delicious variety of burgers. We made the most of this and I think we ate here three times, for breakfast, lunch and dinner on separate days. Highly recommend going to try, Ned was obsessed with their honey chicken burger.

Kakadu Local Restaurant
For our night in Hakodate, we stayed a little bit out of the way in a small hostel. It was in a town over the bridge, near the Ōnumakōen station. I think it is a ski town, so when we went it was practically empty with hardly anything open. After walking around aimlessly, we stumbled upon this local traditional restaurant and we had dinner here. We sat at a traditional Japanese table on the floor and ordered two delicious meals. The sizes were so generous, I got the udon noodles and Ned got the chicken katsu rice bowl. These were definitely one of the best meals we had throughout Japan. The restaurant is owned by an elderly couple and they were honestly the cutest! The meal was also our cheapest meal ever, at probably around £10 for the both of us including our drinks.

Niseko

From Hakodate we drove through Niseko, we were planning to spend more time there but there isn’t a lot to do apart from ski. We were tempted to go, but the snow was pretty bad so we decided not to. If we were there a bit earlier we probably would have stayed one night.

Noboribetsu

From Hakodate we drove straight to Noboribetsu passing Lake Toya on the way for a quick break and coffee. We then explored Noboribetsu town all day before making our way to Shiraoi where we stayed the night at Haku Hostel and Cafe Bar.

Oyunuma Thermal Lake & Jigokudani Hell Valley
The main thing to see in Noboribetsu is to see the famous Thermal Lake and Hell Valley. The smelly sulphurous lake has a 1km walking path around the crater of the lake, which is accessed via boardwalks and takes you right up to the lake to experience the intense heat.

Noboribetsu Hell Valley is a volcanic crater in the middle of the town, which features sulphurous streams and bubbling pools and is the main source to the town’s famous onsen. There is also another walking path which takes you around and through Hell Valley. For both attractions, you do have to pay for parking but it isn’t a lot, and if you’re in town, you can walk to Hell Valley from there as its right by the Onsen.

Noboribetsu Onsen
Lonely Planet Guide recommended for us to go to the Onsen whilst we were in town. We decided to do it and spent a couple hours relaxing. What we didn’t realise was that the Onsen was completely nude and that men and women are separated meaning Ned and I had to go alone and we weren’t allowed our phones so we couldn’t text each other! I tried to go in with my bikini but I got told off and had to strip to enter lol. So if you don’t want to experience full nudity from everyone, I wouldn’t go. I thought, as I had already paid for it I might a well make the most of it. I lasted a couple hours, made the most of the different hot pools and had a really nice shower afterwards. They also have a pool with an water slide and jacuzzi in the basement which you can go in together, so Ned and I met up there and enjoyed the view of Hell Valley.