Hokkaido Winter by JR Pass and car

Hi

Our family of three (a 20-moth-old baby, missus and I) will be travelling to Hokkaido in February 2018 using a combination of JR East South Hokkaido Pass and a rental car. Our main interest is food and onsen. I have had some driving experience in Japan Alps and NZ South Island in winter months.

Day 1 - Tokyo to Hakodate by train
Day 2 - Hakodate
Day 3 - Hakodate to Lake Toya by car
Day 4 - Lake Toya
Day 5 - Lake Toya to Hoheikyo Onsen
Day 6 - Hoheikyo Onsen
Day 7 - Hoheikyo Onsen to Asahikawa by car
Day 8 - Asahikawa
Day 9 - Asahikawa to Sapporo by car
Day 10 - Sapporo
Day 11 - Sapporo to Hakodate (Yunokawa Onsen) by train
Day 12 - Hakodate to Tokyo by train

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
1. Should we reduce a stay at Asahikawa to one night? We are going there mainly for the zoo.
2. We are spending a night in Hakodate on Day 11 purely to break up the travel time back to Tokyo. I first wanted to do a stopover elsewhere e.g. Aomori but it takes too long from Sapporo.

Cheers

Did you have a look Arbeit flying directly into Chitose airport instead of Tokyo? Or to take an internal flight At least on your last day, so you don�ft need to stop over again in Hakodate and can enjoy an additional day in Sapporo or some onsen?

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Did you have a look Arbeit flying directly into Chitose airport instead of Tokyo? Or to take an internal flight At least on your last day, so you don�ft need to stop over again in Hakodate and can enjoy an additional day in Sapporo or some onsen?

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Hi LikeBike, many thanks for your suggestion.

By all accounts by those that have visited Hakodate, is that Hakodate is worth a stop.

that Hakodate is worth a stop

Depending what you 'd like to see. IMO, the city hasn't got much to offer; it could be a visit during "your transit" to ...... . However, Fort Goryokaku during the hanami wouldn't be a bad choice.

Hi I did almost the exact same trip you are suggesting except I did not go to Asahikawa and Hoheikyo Onsen (I went to Noboribetsu Onsen instead). The train to Hakodate is 4 hours, and if you take the 8:20am Hokkaido Shinkansen you should get to Hakodate by noontime. There are naysayers who insist on flying but me personally taking the train is fun. There are daily flights to Hakodate from Tokyo however, if you want to consider that. But to save money, using the pass is the way to go.

Spending more than 24 hours in Hakodate is plenty of time. There are lots to see. Mt. Hakodate will be freezing cold in February so you might want to check the weather before you go up. The view is amazing at night.

I am not sure if you will rent the car Days 3 to 9 straight, but the train isn't any slower than car. Also remember there will be plenty of snow in Hokkaido in February so unless you know how to drive in the snow, train "may" be better. To Lake Toya, the bus is convenient.

You probably have to spend more time in Sapporo. Depending on when you go there is the Snow Festival there. Besides that there is Sapporo Tower, Clock Tower, Prefectural Building, etc. Also, I am not sure if you were planning to go to Otaru since that would be a day trip.

Sorry for the long message but I have had amazing memories and experience in Hokkaido, and you will too!!

Thanks Villagemayor for your comments.