Hokkaido Rail Pass or Not?

Hi,

my family (with 2 young children) is planning to travel to Hokkaido this December, our rough plan would be to stay in Sapporo and make side trips to Asahikawa (basically the Asahikawa Zoo), Otaru and even travel down to Hakodate via the train (or would buses be more convenient?)

My question is, should we purchase the Hokkaido Rail Pass in this case? Or purchase their Suica and just top up the card when necessary? Would the pass cover traveling to Hakodate?

Thank you very much.

You need to go to Hyperdia.com and type in your destinations to figure out your per ticket costs for a round trip day trip to compare with the various Hokkaido rail passes.
http://www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/english/railpass/rail01.html

If the total cost for separate tickets and the pass is the same, I would get the pass just for the convenience.

The passes are good on everything except the new shinkansen which runs from Hakodate (Goryokaku station) to Kikonai before it dives into the tunnel for Aomori, so the pass would be good to take an express from Sapporo to Hakodate, or a slower more scenic ride from Otaru to Oshamambe (transfer) then Hakodate.

The Shinkansen runs from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, not from Goryokaku.

You should consider the Regional Japan rail pass for only someone who will come from a foreign country.
It is very cheap ticket.
We Japanese cannot purchase it.

https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/?ap=j0095g

you should study the regional Japan Rail Pass.
If you would try to take a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hokkaido,
You can choice The National Japan Rail Pass.

Ok, thank you everyone for the advices! Will study the lines more!