Hokkaido in 9th Sept - 22nd Sept

Hi guys,

I will be visiting Hokkaido from 9th Sept - 22nd Sept

Itinerary as follow:

9th: Arrived Haneda - transfer sapporo

10th: Otaru - stay in sapporo

11: Sapporo

12: Biei& Furano - Stay asahikawa --- I noticed that all public transport/tour busses stop operating by 31st Aug..., renting bicycle is somewhat not recommended, and I do not drive. So, what and how should I do to be able to visit this 2 places and their farms? Any help is fully appreciated!

13: Probably stay and explore asahikawa... any input is appreciated as well.

14: Lake Toya National Park

15: Hakodate

16: Onuma national park

17: Hakodate

18: Fly morning flight from hakodate to haneda, follow by train to nikko - stay nikko

19: Nikko - stay nikko

20: Tokyo - stay tokyo

21: leave Japan evening.

Please comments freely and any help on Biei-Furano part or possible alternatives will be greatly appreciate.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!

I noticed that all public transport/tour busses stop operating by 31st Aug...

That is simply not true. A lot of the sightseeing trains and buses operate into September:
http://www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/GLOBAL/pdf/e/ml201005.pdf

So, what and how should I do to be able to visit this 2 places and their farms?

Farm Tomita can be reached by train (Lavender Batake Station). While bicycles are not a practical way for the average tourists to explore both Furano and Biei, they can be nice for Biei alone or Furano alone, unless you are not good at cycling. Especially in Biei, there are lot of hills.

An expensive alternative would be using taxis.

Thanks Uji for your reply and the URL!
So according to the link, i have only 1 option on September

Buy a 4days pass, Sapporo -- Asahikawa, board into Norroko-go -- Lavender batake stn -- Furano/Biei -- twinkle bus -- back to Sapporo.

Yesterday while searching all over the internet, I found that near Furano/Biei station there are electric bicycle for rental. How well can we cover let's say Biei with that bike? tough?

Another alternative I see is that to join Chuo Bus day tour in Sapporo (cant understand the japanese site to be able to book the tour online)... perhaps I need to reserve the next day morning on the 10th.

Btw, will 9th - 22nd Sept a crowded season?
Is it difficult to reserve for the twinkle bus tour or Chuo bus tour on short notice of a couple of days?
I am just worried that there will be no more tour available the moment we arrived in Biei.

So any comments on my itinerary so far?
Any further recommendation and input to my itinerary is welcome and much appreciated!

Buy a 4days pass, Sapporo -- Asahikawa, board into Norroko-go -- Lavender batake stn -- Furano/Biei -- twinkle bus -- back to Sapporo.

I think you need to look a little bit more into the location of sights. Biei and Furano are two separate towns quite a far apart from each other. And Lavender Batake Station is located in between of the two. Here are some basics:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6829.html

Yesterday while searching all over the internet, I found that near Furano/Biei station there are electric bicycle for rental. How well can we cover let's say Biei with that bike? tough?

Quite well. The distances aren't that large. There are two areas in Biei. I recommend to allocate at least three hours for each if you travel by bicycle:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6828.html

Btw, will 9th - 22nd Sept a crowded season?

It will be considerably less crowded than the summer holidays. But famous autumn color places (in the Daisetsuzan mountains) can be quite busy, especially on weekends. Note also that September 18-20 is a long weekend that can be expected especially busy. But the regular weekdays should be quite calm.

Thanks Uji!!
I think the electric bike is one very good option.. considering we are not those very sporty kind.
http://www.yamagoya.jp/renta/
I emailed them 2 days ago to ask for more details info, but seems that they are not replying...
Any other bike rental shop around biei/bibaushi station?

Btw, From Haneda transfer to Nikko, any direct train?

Thanks alot!

Hi guys,
if possible could you provide me some advice on how to reserve the free shuttle bus from Sapporo to Toyako-onsen?

We will be staying in toya manseikaku hotel.
Cant seems to find any email addresses.

Thanks in advance!

A list of rental shops in Biei:
http://www.biei-hokkaido.jp/taiken/cycle/cycle.html

And for Furano (towards the bottom of the page):
http://www.furano-kankou.com/access/map_02.html

Regarding the Lake Toya Bus, details in Japanese, including phone numbers for reservations, are listed on the following page:
http://www.toyamanseikaku.jp/bus/index.html