5 Days Hokkaido JR Pass

Hi all, am planning my first trip to Hokkaido in Feb 2019 (24/3 - 03/03).

Below is the proposed itinerary. (Will not be doing any skiing activities)

D1 : CHITOSE - ASAHIKAWA (Day trip to Furano/Biei Stay: Asahikawa)

D2 : ASAHIKAWA / ABASHIRI (Will be taking first train to Abashiri if drift ice can be seen, otherwise we would just stay in Asahikawa and visit the zoo. Stay: Asahikawa)

D3 : NOBORIBETSU (Stay: Noboribetsu)

D4 : HAKODATE (Will drop by for 3 hours before taking night train to Hakodate.Stay Hakodate)

D5 : OTARU (Stay Sapporo)

D6 : SAPPORO (Stay Sapporo)

D7 : SAPPORO (Stay Sapporo)

I was also wondering if this is worth getting the 5- day Hokkaido (\22,000) JR pass since I will be doing long distance travel in the D1 to D5. I did a quick calculation with Hyperdia (even without adding in Asahikawa - Abashiri) the total cost for train rides are well over \22,000 on unreserved seats.

For example:

Chitose - Asahikawa = \5,040

Asahikawa - Furano/Biei = ~ \2000 Round Trip

Asahikawa - Noboribetsu = \8,960

Noboribetsu - Hakodate = \8,210

Hakodate - Sapporo = \8,310

Total = \32,520 (\47,420 if including round trip Asahikawa - Abashiri for drift ice)

I have considered bus options, but due to the lengthy journeys, limited time table and connections, I feel as if the time would be wasted on transfers (although cheaper) - and the bus websites are already giving me headaches! Do you guys have any comments on the itinerary and getting the Hokkaido Pass?

Thanks very much in advance.

hi, you may want to skip furano/biei, nothing much to see in feb. you may prefer to explore more in asahikawa, i liked asahikawa, but some people may find it boring (i didn't)

hakodate may be too far to reach and too short for you to just spend a night there, maybe do it as a separate trip next time.

you may want to check if your hotel in noboribetsu has cheaper transfers from sapporo, so you only have to do asahikawa - sapporo

this will help you to bring down the costs. and help you to rush less and enjoy the trip more.