Travel Japan - Hokkaido

Travel Japan, although winters in Hokkaido can be severe, however the hearts of the people there are warm, the food is excellent, the snow is fun, and the onsens (hot springs) are relaxing.

How To Get There:
Hokkaido is accessible from Tokyo by airplane, train, car, and bus.  The recommended mode of transportation is either by airplane or by train.  I prefer a ride on an airplane - about 1 1/2 hours and you can be in Hakodate or Sapporo.  We decided on a departure from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Chitose Airport in Sapporo on Japan Air Lines, but All Nippon Airways and Air Do also fly there.  If you have time and a JR Japan Rail Pass, traveling by train could be an option, but be prepared for about a 6 1/2 hour trip on the Shinkansen Hayate to Hachinohe, then on LEX (Limited Express Train) Hakucho to Hakodate.  Sapporo is another 3 1/2 hours on LEX Hokuto.

Sapporo Japan:
We stayed at the Sapporo Park Hotel on our last trip, located near the Nakajima Park, close to Odori Park where the Sapporo Snow Festival is held in February.  Close by is the Sapporo Concert Hall (Kitara).  The Sapporo Snow Festival is a must see.  The intricate work done on the large snow structures is truly amazing.  Also amazing are the ice carvings on display nearby.  The Snow Festival now has in excess of 200 statues and over 100 ice carvings on display. 
Don't miss the underground arcades Pole Town underneath the Odori station to Susukino and Aurora Town underneath the Odori Park to the TV Tower.  Those underground arcades are a winner in the severe Japan weather and frigid winter air at street level.
Stop by the Sapporo Beer Museum where the famous Sapporo beer was brewed until 2003.  The admission is free and you can even sample the Sapporo beer at the end of the 15-minute tour in the large hall.  After that go to the Sapporo Beer Garden where you can try the Genghis Khan King Viking buffet for 3300Yen where you can grill lamb on a skillet and drink all the beer you can for 1 1/2 hours.  In the Star Hall, a Viking buffet for 5000Yen features sushi, sashimi, grilled meat, snow and king crab, and all the beer you can drink in the 1 1/2 hours.  For the buffet only it is 3670Yen (Children 1830Yen).
Don't forget a visit to Ramen Yokocho (Noodle Alley), in Susukino, where you can sample a hot steaming bowl of miso pork ramen to warm you up from the cold. 
For the kiddies, don't forget Sapporo Sato Land,  an amusement park with a variety of winter activities such as an ice slide, sledding, etc.

Otaru:
A recommended side tirp from Sapporo is Otaru, a seaport town located north of Sapporo and is about 30 minutes by bus.  Otaru is noted for glassware and Otaru Beer, and is also where the famous Maguro (Big eye tuna) is landed.

Hakodate:
Hakodate is a must see, with its beautiful evening view of Hakodate from Mt. Hakodate, and the famous Hakodate Morning Market (Hakodate Asaichi), where you can find an awesome amount of seafood products, including this writer's favorite - smoked scallops, in addition to local Hokkaido farm products.  Be sure to have a breakfast at one of the restaurants there and sample the seafood breakfast of (kani(crab), ikura(salmon roe), and hotate(scallop)donburi(seafood on steaming rice).  The Hakodate Morning Market is right across the street from the JR Hakodate train station.

Asahikawa:
In Asahikawa, stop by the Otokoyama Sake Brewery and Museum.  This is one of my favorite and best sakes and this brewery has won numerous awards over the past 340 years of its existence.  Stop by for a sake tasting and look in the gift shop, who knows, you might be carrying some bottles of sake home, like I did.

Sounkyo Onsen:
Probably the coldest part of the trip, with temperatures at -14 or -17 degrees F. - it was so cold I forgot the temperature - or was it C?  Anyway, in a narrow gorge in the Daisetsuzan National Park, the Taisetsu Hotel had a nice onsen(hot springs)to warm us up and a great seafood dinner to fill us up too.

Abashiri:
Best known for its prison, where political prisoners were held in the Meiji era.  These prisoners braved the cold and built much of the infrastruture in this area.  This area is also known for its drift ice, due to its brackish ocean water.  We boarded the Aurora ice breaker and went out to sea in search of and found the drift ice from Russia.

Shiretoko Onsen:
Probably best known for the Shiretoko National Wildlife Park, but also known for an awesome laser show in the evening called Aurora Fantasy, which imitates the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Lake Akan:
A part of the Akan National Park, a caldera lake which freezes over in January and offers a variety of winter activities including wakasagi(smelt)fishing, snow mobile riding, skiing, and ice skating.  The smelt fishing was fun - we got to eat the smelt that we caught when we bought them to a concession to be made into tempura.  My daughter enjoyed the ice skating, and we all enjoyed the snow mobile riding.  The onsen at the Emerald Hotel warmed us up and the seafood buffet filled us up.  The fireworks display at night was nice to watch from our hotel room overlooking the lake.  It was too cold to get bundled up to see it from outside on the lake.

Noboribetsu Onsen:
Probably best known for Jigokudani(Hell Valley) due to the large sulfurous deposits in the valley, and in this writer's humble opinion, one of the best, but smelliest onsen in Hokkaido.  Our stay in the Hotel Mahoroba was nice, the rotemburo(open air bath) was nice, with cold air hitting your face while your body was in the hot bath.  The seafood buffet was great - crab, scallops, sashimi, etc. too.

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Special thanks to a dear friend, Mrs. Jo Matsu of Marukai Hawaii Tours.  If you would like info on tours, please contact her at jmatsu@marukaihawaii.com.