see and play with snow in Hokkaido

My husband and I are visiting Hokkaido from 20 to 26 Dec. Tentative tour itinerary is Sapporo-Otaru-Niseko-Hakodate, then to Tokyo 26 -30 Dec. Shd be flying out to Tokyo from Hakodate.

My only purpose to visit Niseko is to see, play and enjoy the famous powder snow. We are not keen in winter sports so have no plans to do any winter sports there.

I understand that if this is the case, then I do not have to take the time to travel to Niseko at all as there are many other ski resorts much nearer to Sapporo. But I am thinking I would like to visit Niseko to take a look, eg visit the Hirafu and Niseko villages, as Niseko is world famous. Possible to make Nissko a day trip?Where should I make my night stop before I move on to Hokadate?

Would appreciate any kind advice and recommendations
This is my first trip to Hokkaido though I have been to other parts of Japan.

My planned tour is as follows:-

Sapporo - 3 days (2 nights)
Otaru - Day trip or 1 night
Niseko or another ski resort - day trip or 1 night
Hakodate - 2 days (1 night)

Any comments and recommendations would be most appreciated. We are not keen in onsens too. Thank you very much.

Firstly, you have to understand what makes Hokkaido a destination for locals.
The thing that makes Hokkaido popular are:
1. The abundant nature
2. Hot Springs
3. Ice & Snow activities
4. The European influences

Seeing as you have no interest in 2. and are not doing any 3. it makes going to Hokkaido pretty pointless. There is 1. that you can see as you drive by but you wouldn't be able to go to waterfalls or walk through national parks due to winter. You could probably still visit a nice lake or a valley.

That pretty much leaves only 4.
European flowers aren't in bloom in winter
European fruits aren't harvested in winter
You can enjoy European cakes, glassblowing, tea, coffee, sweets, cheese, wine, and architecture in the area of Otaru and Hakodate.

If you are going to Hokkaido, you might as well go to Niseko. If you are going to Niseko, give skiing a shot. You may unexpectedly enjoy it. Going all the way to Niseko, renting snow shoes and thick jackets just to build snowmen seems to be a waste. Just my opinion though.

If you just want to see snowfall and not to play with it, Sapporo and even places south like Kyoto can give you that experience.

Have you been to Takayama or Shirakawago? If 'normal' snow is sufficient, as you mentioned other places in Hokkaido besides Niseko, you could go to places nearer Tokyo like the Japan Alps. Saves time and there isn't a need to take extra flights.

Lake Akan and Lake Toya are locations to look out for with regards to chilling by the lakeside. Do stay in the hotel to avoid freezing.

Thank you very much Joshua for yr reply.

We are planning to visit Hokkaido to enjoy the seafood, snow n visit the tourist spots.

exactly as I am thinking. - if I am already in Hokkaido, I might as well just go to Niseko since it is so famous. And we are not even going to rent any snow shoes etc. We will just visit Hirafu n Niseko villages, have meals there n just run outside to feel the snow dropping on our faces! That's it - basically to 'see' Niseko and hence considering a day trip only.

We were in Kyoto between mid to late Dec last year n we didn't encounter snow there.

Will it be snowing away every day in Sapporo during the week in Dec I am visiting?

Takayama or Shirakawago we are not keen for now.

From what I see at Japan-guide, the full route at the Japan Alps is only opened till 30 Nov and becomes completely inaccessible from 1 Dec to mid April. It seems best time to visit is in spring? Also there is no mention of winter visits at Japan-guide. So is it a good time to visit the Japan Alps in Dec? If yes then I may consider visiting it from Tokyo. I will be in Tokyo from 26 to 29 Dec.

Yes. I have Lake Toya on my list on route to Hakodate from Niseko if time permits. But I also wonder if it's worth to just make the trip to see a lake.

Lake Akan is further n I do not think I will have the time for it.

In fact, I would love to see the Japanese cranes at Kushiro but it's too far from Sapporo for my trip.

Thank you.

You will have snow in Niseko at the end of December. You should have snow there at the beginning of December. I would stay in Hirafu Village for a night to experience the nighttime temperature drop. Maybe the snow will get "scrunchy." You could also stay in Kutchan for a quick departure.

You can take a JR train from Otaru to Kutchan or Niseko, and get a bus or taxi up to Hirafu village from there. The next day, you can take the train south to Oshamambe and transfer to an express for Hakodate. The train from Otaru to Oshamambe is a nice scenic route, passing between Mt. Yotei to the east and the mountains of Niseko to the west. It's not fast but you can watch the scenery from the train. It follows the future route of the Hokkaido Shinkansen so its time is limited.

Why not just take an express from Sapporo to Hakodate instead of flying? By the time you do all the airport arrival, check-in, and security procedure, you could almost be at Hakodate by train. The Hakodate train station is right near the major hotels, morning market, and within sight of Mt. Hakodate. You wouldn't have to get from the airport to downtown after arrival. There are also good views of the coast and as you get close the Komagadake volcano to the east as you pass the Onuma lakes.

Another place for snow if you don't make Niseko is the Mt. Moiwa in Sapporo. They've got a small ski slope at the top and the ropeway to the top starts down by the streetcar. There's a restaurant at the top and good views of Sapporo and the Pinnetsuri volcanic complex to the north and the Eniwa-dake volcano to the SE (on a clear day). If you rent a car, you can drive up. There should also be snow around Jozankei, a hot spring resort within the political boundaries of Sapporo but an hour's bus ride south of the city.

Thank you Anaguma for your reply.

Thanks for your tip on staying overnight at Hirafu. I think I would stay in Hirafu area.

For Otaru to Oshamambe, the nice scenic route, is this a JR train route n do you mean I go back to Otaru from Niseko to take this JR train to Hakodate?

What if I make a detour to Lake Toya from Niseko before moving on to Hakodate?

I mean I am planning to take a domestic flight from Hakodate to Tokyo Haneda Airport. I understand this is a better option than to travel 4 hrs by train from Hakodate to New Chitose Airport. My tour routing is as follows:

Haneda-Sapporo-Otaru-Niseko-Hakodate-haneda.

I will be flying in to Sapporo immediately upon our arrival in Tokyo Haneda. So will tour Hakkaido first and Tokyo last.

Thank you.

Hi,

I am visiting hokkaido for 3 days 2 nights only this coming december.
Can someone recommend me the attraction and what hotel to stay in?
I am not interested in playing snowboard and stuff, just sightseeing will do.

Thank you very much.

The train from Kutchan/Niseko is on the JR Hakodate Line. You would take it south through small towns to Oshamambe where you would transfer on a cold platform for Hakodate. If you wanted to see Lake Toya, you would have to go back north again at Oshamambe for Toyaura, Abuta, or Date and take a bus from there to the lake. You don't have to go back to Otaru from Niseko. You could also get a bus (Donan bus-not JR) from Kutchan to Lake Toya, skipping the JR train to Oshamambe. From Lake Toya, you would have to get a bus down to the coast (Date, Toyoura) to pick up the JR train to Hakodate.

@Stephanie: it will be getting cold in December and 3 days isn't much time to see very much so I would stay around Sapporo and do day trips out from there. You could go over to Otaru for a day and see the canal and old buildings up to the Music Box Museum and Shukutsu for the Aomori Herring Mansion, and you could take a train down to Shiraoi or Noboribetsu for the Ainu Museum or the hot springs for a day (or south to Jozankei for onsen). In Sapporo, you could check out the Historic Park if you like old buildings, take the ropeway up Mt. Moiwa for views over the city and mountains (on a good day), have a Mongol BBQ at the Sapporo Beer Museum, or just shop in the Pole Town underground malls down by Susukino or in the Sapporo Factory, where the brewery used to be (the beer museum is in an old sugarbeet processing plant).

I would look for something in the Susukino district if you want to be in the center of shopping and night life, or somewhere around the main station if you want easy access to train transport. There are a lot of options in both areas.