Hokkaido (Driving) Trip Itinerary

Hi,

My partner and I are planning our trip to Hokkaido between Sept 24th and Oct 1st. We are also spending 2 days before and after our trip in Tokyo. This is my first time in Hokkaido (4th time visiting Japan) but my partner worked in Esashi for a few years about 10years ago. She didn't get much chance to explore Hokkaido though. She's used to driving in the snow (if any in September) and driving 3hours+ doesn't worry us.

Here is our interim itinerary:

24th - Fly from Narita to New Chitose, arrive early in the morning. Rent car, drive to Hakodate. Arrive late afternoon, check in hotel, explore Hakodate, drive up Mt Hakodate for night lights.
25th - Explore Hakodate, if weather was bad the previous night, go to Mt Hakodate
26th - Check-out, Drive to Noboribetsu, check-in hotel, explore, onsen, dinner then onsen again :)
27th - Check-out, Drive to Furano, explore, possibly stay overnight, if not, drive to New Chitose to return rental car.
28th - Return rental car to New Chitose and/or explore Sapporo (mainly shopping, eating).
29th - Day trip to Otaru
30th - Explore Sapporo, more shopping and eating
1st - Fly back to Narita from New Chitose, leave a few hours to explore New Chitose airport

A few questions:

- Can you recommend any attractions/sights on our drive to Hakodate? We are thinking of going the 'long way' via Lake Shikotsu because we don't want to travel the same roads to Noboribetsu.

- Is there enough to see in Hakodate to justify staying 2 nights? At the same time, we don't want to feel rushed.

- Is it worth visiting Furano in September? Lavenders won't be in season but will the autumn flowers be as nice?

- Is it worth staying overnight at Furano?

- Are there any festivals or events during our time that we can go to? We don't mind changing our itinerary.

- I would really like to see the nightly fireworks at Lake Toya, what would be the best way to see it using our itinerary? It's 2.5hours from Hakodate and 90min from Noboribetsu. Maybe on the way to Hakodate on the first day?

- Do you think purchasing a HEP card (5day or 4 if we don't stay in Furano?) will be worth it or better to use ETC? I'm willing to pay a little more for convenience if HEP card are easier, e.g. is it easy to pay the accumulated tolls on ETC cards when we return the car?

Access up Mt Hakodate after dark is closed to private cars, you either take a bus or the ropeway. A lot depends on individual preference but personally we find Hakodate only mildly interesting so 1 day should be enough. I would go as far as suggesting to skip Hakodate altogether during your time of visit!

For autumn foliage a highly worthwhile destination during late Sept to early Oct is Sounkyo from where a side trip to nearby Ginsendai and Daisetsu Kogen is very popular for koyo.

There is still a small indoor lavender garden inside the greenhouse in Farm Tomita. Also they manage to keep some outdoor flowers till as late as Oct although the colours are not as vivid as those during summer.

The drive between the shore of Toya-ko and Noboribetsu is less than an hour.

Thanks William! We didn't know it was closed after dark. My partner remembers driving up there, must have been during the day. Is there a cut-off time, can we drive up in the late afternoon and drive down after dark, or will the car have to come down in the morning?

I got 90min to Toya-ko and Noboribetsu from google maps, maybe it was timing the other side of the lake. What side of the lake would have the best views of the fireworks. J-G says "The show can be viewed from the hotel rooms facing the lake or from the lakeside park. " I'm not sure where the resort and park are. I'm now thinking staying at Hakodate 1 night and Noboribetsu 2 nights so I can go see the fireworks.

Yes, you can drive up Mt Hakodate in the daytime but you have to pay a toll. The road is closed from 17.00 - 22.00, doubtful whether you can drive up before 17.00 and drive down after it. We too drove to Hakodate but decided to leave our car in the hotel and took the bus instead. We were glad we did as we noticed the access is steep and winding with many hair-pin turns which might prove difficult if one is not familiar with the road condition especially after dark. To have a clearer picture, try making an enquiry through Hakodate Goodwill Guides on their email address below:
hakodategoodwill@yahoo.co.jp

On the following map the mark "A" is roughly the sightseeing boat pier area in the lakeside park on the southern side of Toya-ko. The southern shore is the location for the major hotels in Toya. Indeed the firework can be watched from the balconies and the windows of those hotels facing the lake. Ours was one block inland so we walked out to the park to watch it. The barges shooting out the fireworks moved slowly towards the eastern shore so we too walked in that direction in order to catch a better view.
http://goo.gl/maps/ZaGnm

From the above route you can see that the driving time between Toya and Noboribetsu is around 50 min by using the expressway. If not using the expressway then the driving time is roughly 90 min.
http://goo.gl/maps/dHn93

Hi Obake,

My partner & I are going for a trip to Hokkaido 23rd Sept. Similar to your partner & yourself, we intend to drive all the way from New Chitose to Hakodate the afternoon we arrive at the airport.

I am trying to search online re the drive and it doesn't seem like many do the New Chitose direct to Hakodate drive.

We will arrive in New Chitose about 2pm and by the time we reach Hakodate, should be around 8pm or so. We frequently take long drives here in Australia and don't mind the 3+ hours drive.

However, can I just check with you about the drive - are the roads brightly lit and streetlights all the way? Is it relatively easy to drive from New Chitose to Hakodate?

Thanks for you help.