Drive Hokkaido-around Sapporo/Toya/Hakodate

Hi,

We will be spending 10 days in Hokkaido in early May this year. My wife will be in the middle of her pregnancy and our son will be 22 months when we travel. We will be spending 4 nights in Sapporo, 3 nights at Lake Toya, and 3 nights in Hakodate. We'll be renting the car from Sapporo (probably after touring the city for a couple of days) and then dropping it off in Hakodate.

We have done a driving tour of Hokkaido before, namely Sapporo, Otaru, Furano/Kamifurano, Biei, Niseko, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, and Hakodate. This time around, we are looking for a more relaxed vacation (since we have one pregnant lady and one toddler), hence more nights in one place, and are looking to see some of the lesser-known sights that we might have missed our first time around.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places we can visit around Sapporo, Lake Toya, Hakodate, or while we are driving from one place to the next? Preferably places that do not take us more than 2 hrs out of the way. We like nice views and good food, and are not too interested in onsen. Places of interest to toddlers would be a bonus! We are planning to revisit Otaru. I have also come across Onuma Quasi-national park on my research on Hakodate, is that worth seeing?

When we last visited in June, we really enjoyed the flower fields in Furano/Biei. I think a drive out to that area from Sapporo is doable for us, but it seems that not many flowers will be out in May? Do you think that it is still worth a drive out to that area, or will be likely be disappointed since we have already seen the fields in June? We have also heard that there is a nice drive along the coast west from Otaru, but are not sure if it's worth the detour (we would probably do that when driving from Sapporo to Lake Toya). Any suggestions?

Thank you!

In average year early May is cherry blossom season in Hokkaido and 2 popular sakura destinations are the Shizunai Nijukken Road roughly SE of Sapporo and Matsumae Castle which is roughly SW of Hakodate.

Since you have seen flowers in Furano and Biei they are indeed miss-able for a visit during off-flower season of May.

The Shakotan Peninsula west of Otaru is worth the detour for some spectacular off-shore rock formations and coastal scenery if you drive all the way to Cape Kamui with enroute stop in the Shimamui Coast.

From Sapporo to Toya-ko consider taking the coastal route by first going down to Tomakomai which is a popular destination for seafood especially scallops. Poroto Kotan is an open-air folk park/museum for experiencing Ainu culture. Two more beautiful lakes are Shikotsu-ko and Kuttara-ko. Before Noboribetsu is another seafood destination of Kani Goten where you can pick your own choice of freshly caught seafood and have them prepared for you. Further south of Noboribetsu is scenic Chikyu Misaki with panoramic coastal view.

Onuma Quasi National Park is nice with small tree covered islands and is especially beautiful during autumn foliage season with fall colour, not sure about the scenery during May though.

Thanks William5 for your great suggestions! Had not thought about cherry blossom viewing outside Sapporo- it would be a great day trip for us. Will take your suggestion to drive south to Toya-ko from Sapporo too.