Nov Hokkaido Itinerary advice

Hi All,

Its my first time visitng Hokkaido so would hope if i can get some advice here. We prefer a slow and relax trip so we do not wish to cramp in too many itineraries and rush during the trip.

We will be going on 13 nov to 21 dec, arriving CTS in the morning ard 8am.

1) Hows the weather during this period? Does it start to snow already?

2)Below are the places we intend to go:

Which location should we start first so we wont waste too much time and transport. And maybe the last 2 or 3 days at Sapporo for some shopping.

Hakodate
Sapporo
Otaru (day trip from sapporo or spend 1,2 days there?)
Lake Toya/Noboribetsu (day trip to Noboribetsu or stay separately is better?)
Asahikawa (not sure to add in to itinerary or not)


3)We will be travelling by public transport, is the JR 4 days flexible pass suitable?


Thank you so much for the help!

Average snow fall is 10cm in Sapporo in mid November.

Here is an sample itinerary, in a condition of at least 24hr for each site.

11/13 JR CTS 9:30-10:45 JR Otaru
11/14 JR Otaru 11:30-13:26 JR Noboribetsu
11/15 JR Noboribetsu 14:43-17:09 JR Hakodate
11/16 Hakodate
11/17 JR Hakodate 6:10-7:57 JR Toya
11/18 JR Toya 9:28-13:25 JR Asahikawa
11/19 JR Asahikawa 14:00-15:25 JR Sapporo
11/20 Sapporo
11/21 JR Sapporo - JR CTS

Otaru is famous for night views in its canal area. Lake Toya and Noboribestu are Onsens. All of the three would be better to stay there. I put Hakodate between Onsens. Put Sapporo at the end. Then, nearby Otaru at the begining. CTS - Otaru has no transfers.

There are 42 buses per day between JR Noboribestu and Noboribestu Onsen, 23 buses for JR Toya and Toyako Onsen.

You might consider 4 buses for Toyako Onsen - Sapporo, 2 buses for Toyako Onsen - Noboribestu Onsen, 2 buses for Noboribestu Onsen - CTS, or 1 bus for Noboribestu Onsen - Sapporo.