Hokkaido early September a good idea?

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have previously spent 4 weeks in Japan and visited lots of Honshu and Okinawa (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kinosake Onsen, Himeji, Takayama, Kanazawa, Ishihaki, Miyakojima etc.) and would like to return this September.
We have 14-17 days (first few weeks in September) and were considering Hokkaido, we'd love to enjoy the great nature, hiking and amazing food.
However, I'm aware that we are after the flower bloom season and just before the Autumn colours so I'm concerned that we're missing Hokkaido at it's best.
I don't think my girlfriend can change her holidays but maybe we can come a few weeks later.
If we do, we'd see the autumn colours but it would be cooler.

Thanks for your advice.

However, I'm aware that we are after the flower bloom season and just before the Autumn colours so I'm concerned that we're missing Hokkaido at it's best.

September is not so bad for Hokkaido trip. Not so many crowds, mild weather, and you can see autumn foliage in Daisetsuzan area.

If you have about 15 days, then you can allocate 5 days each for three most beautiful areas :Rishiri and Rebun, Daisetsuzan and Shiretoko. I would fly into Wakkanai (there is direct flight from Haneda, Tokyo) and fly out from Kushiro (to Haneda and then Europe).

September is a great time to visit Hokkaido. I kind of consider it the same as October for Honshu. Not too hot, not too cold but just right......

The only main bugbear is it's too early for the best of fall colours and a bit late for the best of the flowers.

We have now booked our flights.
We arrive in Chitose Airport at 12:50 on 3.9.18
We leave from Haneda at 08:30 on 19.9.18
We were thinking 13/3 or 14/2 nights in Hokkaido

We'd like to visit Sapporo after 9.9 while the food festival is on and apart from that we'd like to explore the beauty of Hokkaido and enjoy amazing food.
My initial idea is that we would hire a car from Chitose and spend 8 days or so visiting the likes of Daisetsuzan and Akan National Parks before returning to Sapporo, spending a few nights there then flying to Wakkanai to spend a couple of nights visiting Rebun/Rishiri and fly from Wakkanai to Tokyo.

Sound feasible?
Any better suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Sounds good to me. Just be aware that when you're planning the driving days don't rely on what Google Maps says the trip length is because that isn't based on the ridiculously low speed limits, rather it mimicks the speeds that most people actually drive at (say, 80km/hr instead of 50km/hr). I'm not endorsing breaking speed limits.... just know that it will take a lot longer if you're the foreigner slowing down the locals behind you.

This place is very cool http://www.sahoro.co.jp/en/bear-mountain

If you want any budget-conscious hotel tips let me know.

I find that the Noboribetsu and Daisetsuzan are great. I also enjoyed Hakodate but note that it's a long drive to there from Sapporo.

Driving around Sapporo can be fun but is quite different than driving in other locations in Japan. Some places in Hokkaido you can drive 60+ km without finding a proper town with a convenience store and gas station!

Rebun is quite popular from June to August so popular accommodations are hard to find. On September the crowds are gone so you can find nice place still vacant. The top popular one is Pension Uni which still have vacant rooms on middle September. Although wild flowers might not be seen, the weather is rather fine as even compared to mid summer.

https://travel.rakuten.com/hotel/Japan-Hokkaido-Rebun-Pension_Uni/6848...

As you might have already noticed the flight fare from Sapporo to Wakkanai is quite cheap (about 50 USD). Then Wakkanai to Haneda is about 100 USD. These are for foreign tourists.