Hokkaido without a car

I want to go to Hokkaido (via Sapporo) for Golden Week. I have to fly in via Sapporo due to flight restraints, and would like to use Sapporo as a base for day trips if possible.

Can someone please advise me what places I can see without a car?

My areas of interest are forests, mountains, nature, wildlife, onsens and light hiking. I want to see the shibazakura in Takinoue Park, but this seems impossible as there are no buses that I can find. I'm worried that the other areas of Hokkaido I'd like to see are inaccessible via public transport too.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

By train, you can go to:
- Asahikawa
- Furano
- Noboribetsu onsen
- Shiraoi (Ainu museum)
- Hakodate (a bit far from Sapporo though)

You can also use bus tours by the day. Japanican has many bus tours that depart from Sapporo bus Station, which is just beside Sapporo train station.

Otaru.

If you wanted to spend a night elsewhere to experience national parks and onsen you could catch a shuttle bus run by hotels. For example, here's a Sounkyo Onsen one http://en.choyotei.com/access

Hey everyone, thank you so much for the information, it is really appreciated. There's so much in Hokkaido so it's great to have my options narrowed down to a few places to choose from.

I don't think I can afford to go to both Furano and Asahikawa due to time restraints. Which one do you think would be better to visit during spring (for a 1-2 night stay)? Judging from the photos, Furano looks better, and Biei - which looks beautiful - is a short trip from there. But it's always hard to know which places are the most tourist-friendly for those who don't have cars.

So far my itinerary is this:

Sun 30th April: Fly in to Sapporo (PM). Go straight to Furano.
Mon 1st April: Furano and Biei
Tue 2nd April: Furano (AM), Sapporo city (arrive late PM)
Wed 3rd April: Sapporo / Day trip to Otaru
Thu 4th April: Sapporo / Day trip to Noribetsu
Fri 5th April: Fly out of Sapporo (afternoon)

I can change the days or locations around. Is it easy to access to the main attractions within Otaru, Furano, Biei and Noribetsu using local trains/tourist buses? Are the buses frequent? Please tell me your thoughts.